Our Great Adventure: Cusco Day 274 19/06/2015

We had a leisurely breakfast at the Amaru II before saying our goodbyes to Ann and Ted who were heading back to the UK after being in Peru for four weeks. They've been fantastic company over the last few days and we were sorry to be saying goodbye to them. Hopefully we'll get the opportunity to meet up at some point when we're all back home. We headed out to the bus station to buy tickets for our journey tomorrow to Puno. We decided to upgrade and book seats with Cruz del Sur who provide a direct service primarily for tourists, and avoiding the riot torn Juliaca! Back in the town centre we went to Jack's Cafe for lunch, enjoying antipasta and chips washed down with fresh lemonade. There was another festival taking place in the Plaza de Armas. We were unsure as to what it was although it probably has some link to the winter solstice on the 21st June. We walked around following a tour in the Lonely Planet although decided the climb up to the Inca ruins at Saqsaywaman was too much and instead stopped off at a bar which had a balcony overlooking the square and the festivities. Cusco is a very beautiful city and, although quite touristy, still retains a local and original charm. Back at the hotel we spent the remainder of the afternoon looking at options for the Galapagos and our onward travel to Ecuador before sorting out our bags ready for our travel tomorrow. In the evening we had dinner at Cicciolina, a lovely restaurant in a colonial courtyard mansion near to the main plaza.