Cusco - Peru

One of the things I like most about Cusco is the road signs prohibiting the use of car horns on certain streets and intersections. I really don't know how the average Peruvian driver copes with that. Imagine a sign in the UK forbidding the British from queuing in a bank or post office. It just goes against our instinct.

Seriously though, Cusco is a very attractive place. It has great architecture and charming little cobbled streets lined by houses with uneven roofs. There is no shortage of restaurants, bars and hostels. There is also no shortage of tourists and people trying to make their living from them. This is called the gringo capital of South America - and thinking about it you may as well include Central America in that, too. Not even in Antigua, Guatemala are there so many white faces. And this is at a time when the nearby site of Machu Picchu isn't back to full capacity. It is the gateway to the Sacred Valley, and given that it is a buzzing, good-looking city, not to mention the former Inca capital, it's going to attract some attention.

Cusco is also home to what I call the plastic backpacker. There are plenty of them with their dreadlocked hair and their stripy check pajama-like trousers, doing their best to give off some 'new age' vibe, man! Where were they in Ecuador or Colombia, hmm? There was a lack of striped PJs in Mexico, too. I'm just kidding really. I've not become a travel snob. Wear those PJs. I bet they're very comfortable.

Anyway, you cannot walk down a street without someone trying to strong-arm you into their restaurant. You cannot move for offers of massages, and on most street corners you'll find a woman dressed in traditional clothing holding a rope to the other end of which a llama is attached. If you feel like paying for an 'authentic' photo, there's your opportunity.

Cusco isn't all that cheap either. It has had enough influence from the tourist dollar to have banished the standard Peruvian price. However, if you're struggling there is always a somewhat heavily disguised McDonald's on the Plaza de Armas, should you be missing their particular brand of dirty burger. We must have been, as we went there... twice... and it was good! Hey, it's not our fault that Cusco couldn't offer a cheap alternative. There was a distinct lack of street food on the go.

Truthfully the odd restaurant did offer an 'economical' set menu from around 10 Soles (ususally 3-5 Soles in the rest of the country) and the good thing about these is that it is not the standard fare. You can choose things such as nachos with guacamole for a starter. It certainly beats soup with a chicken foot floating in it!

We stayed in two places sandwiched between our trip to Machu Picchu. The first had a spider that Sophie expertly removed from our room (see below) and the second, El Arcana, was all round better value, didn't have spiders, and had a good atmosphere - although the roof leaked a little. The picture doesn't do the spider justice. It was bigger than it looks.

The constant hassle on the street and the inflated prices soon become tiring which is why we were ready to move on after a few days. But then with so much to go and see outside of the city, I imagine that's what most people end up doing.