"The feelings of men have founded cities..."

"It was grand and stately, and must have been founded by a people of great intelligence. It has fine streets, except that they are narrow, and the houses are built of solid stones, beautifully joined..." said one lady who saw Cusco (acording to Victor W. Von Hagen anyway), and I can´t say I disagree with her. Cusco is a beautiful city, with many of the colonial buildings we see today having been built on impressive original Inca stonework (as in the picture above).

The Inkas set up an extremely well organised Empire c1500, with the temples and palaces of Cusco allegedly being plated with gold in their glory days (until they were looted by the spanish conquistadors). Today most of the original buildings have gone but the steep narrow streets, pretty plazas and great views remain. I certainly have to catch my breath at the top of the hill where we´re staying at the moment anyway (okay, that´s mainly to do with the altitude and my lack of fitness but the view is pretty stunning too!).

Since arriving in Cusco we have been spending our time soaking up the atmosphere and reading up on the legendary empire, whilst of course making our preparations for Christmas! This week will see Rob continuing his Spanish classes and I will be volunteering to help teenagers and adults to practise their English (see http://www.inca-educa.org/en/index.htm for the project´s website).

So, with 11 days to go until Santa´s work is over for another year, we hope everyone back home is enjoying their Christmas parties!