Cusco

Finally arrived in Cusco yesterday after a long long flight and stop over in Lima (a not very attractive city!) Flew in over the magestic snow clad Andes.  On the drive from the airport to our quaint Peruvian style hostel, Cusco looked like an uneasy mix of the old and the new, with crumbling half built mud brick abodes, sandwiched between internet cafes. But when we ventrued out to explore in the late afternoon and wandered through fascinating cobbled streets all leading to Cusco´s heart, the Plaza de Arms, with it´s imposing cathederal, you could literally feel its ancient mystique and pulsating energy. We ate out at jack´s, an excellent and vibey resturant with the rest of the group, who are all really nice.  We explored some of the market stalls and ended up at another resturant listening to some Peruvian musicians, who played with such passion and joy, you could not help getting swept up in the magic.  Our bodies are still adjusting to the time change and high alititude, but with the help of copious cups of cocoa tea, today we have been able to step up the pace a bit and do some more exploring.  This afternoon we started the retreat with a group mediatation and tomorrow we catch the train for Machu Picchu.
We wanted to down load some pcitures for you to see, but the hostel computer we are working on is so antiquated, it has no port for the flash drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We will have to try our luck at the next place. 
Lots of love to you all, Viv and Coll

Cobbled street in Cusco

Cusco central square

Coll and Viv with local girl and baby lama