Paragliding over the Sacred Valley
I arrived in Cusco after a torturous overnight bus ride that heaved us from side to side as it snaked its way up through the mountains, tires squealing on each corner. Anyone who fell asleep risked being thrown into the aisles.
The hostel I ended up in Cusco has the best beds (long, thick mattresses and warm duvets) and reliable hot showers - features not to be underestimated. However, it is also populated by a fairly committed party crowd who trickle back to the dorm after a night out at irregular intervals between 1am and 6am. This means there's no competition for the showers in the morning, but it was hard to get a good nights sleep when you wanted one.
It sits half way up a hill over the town and the bar has a fantastic view of the city. I am winded every time I walk up the hill.
Cusco is an attractive enough town. It's clearly catering entirely to the tourist trade, and it seems hard to find everyday items for sale in shops (for example, the only socks you can buy are alpaca wools socks, which of course none of the locals are wearing).
While I was waiting 3 days to get used to the altitude, I signed up to go paragliding in the Sacred Valley.
It was a tandem jump and my instructor Jose expertly swung us around in the thermals rising up the valley to gain altitude. There were two paragliders in the air at a time so we had fun competing for altitude. After circling for a while along the ridge we glided out over the valley and spiralled down to land in a potato field.
Here's a little video (500kB) of the launch of one of my fellow paragliders.
The hostel I ended up in Cusco has the best beds (long, thick mattresses and warm duvets) and reliable hot showers - features not to be underestimated. However, it is also populated by a fairly committed party crowd who trickle back to the dorm after a night out at irregular intervals between 1am and 6am. This means there's no competition for the showers in the morning, but it was hard to get a good nights sleep when you wanted one.
It sits half way up a hill over the town and the bar has a fantastic view of the city. I am winded every time I walk up the hill.
Cusco is an attractive enough town. It's clearly catering entirely to the tourist trade, and it seems hard to find everyday items for sale in shops (for example, the only socks you can buy are alpaca wools socks, which of course none of the locals are wearing).
While I was waiting 3 days to get used to the altitude, I signed up to go paragliding in the Sacred Valley.
It was a tandem jump and my instructor Jose expertly swung us around in the thermals rising up the valley to gain altitude. There were two paragliders in the air at a time so we had fun competing for altitude. After circling for a while along the ridge we glided out over the valley and spiralled down to land in a potato field.
Here's a little video (500kB) of the launch of one of my fellow paragliders.
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