Our final quad bike stop before heading back to base was a church. There was no sign of life here and it was a relatively new structure but the location was perfect to pick out the Andes in the background.
After the bikes had been put to bed we clambered into out non seatbelted taxi for the drive back to Cusco. Driver and guide in the front and three of us in the back. Whether it was the higher altitude, the sun, or the adrenaline lag, the two Aussies were soon fast asleep. I wanted to but couldn’t get comfortable enough to follow them.
Instead of being taken back to my hotel we were deposited at the Plaza des Armas. My back was aching, my arms were sore from the quad biking, and I had to contemplate the uphill struggle to my hotel.
When I arrived in Cusco I was a bit under the weather and felt that it was all too touristy, which of course it is supposed to be. Every doorway around the Plaza and to my hotel stands someday persuading you to enter a craft shop, a restaurant or have a massage. I guess every time I walked back from the Plaza to my hotel I would be approached 10-20 times for a massage. In another place one might consider this to be rather dodgy with the looks of the masseuse more important than her massaging skills. That morning I had met an older guy and his wife from Hawaii and he told me that they were excellent masseuses which he had visited the day before.
So I decided to go for it. The young masseuse led me through a bazaar and into the massage rooms. She didn’t speak English so boss lady came in to negotiate. She pushing me to the high end with special coca cream, me setting a lower price. In the end I settled for a discounted Swedish full body deep tissue massage which would take an hour and fifteen minutes. It was a great, if painful massage, which cost £11!!
Grey Trails 