21-25 June...Parental Pamperings

Matt says...

Mr and Mrs Marr, AKA Pauline and Roger, AKA Lynne's parents and my in-laws arrived in Cusco on June 21st to spend five days with us at the end of their three week South American holiday. And in keeping with our time in Cusco up to that point it ended up being a very lazy five days indeed.

I can't go further than this without mentioning / gloating that they very kindly put us up in their hotel, the Novotel Accor, for five glorious nights. After months in backpackers accomodation it was wonderful to stay somewhere with electricity AND running water........... seriously though, the Novotel was great and it also made a fine makeshift hospital as both Pauline and myself suffered from food poisoning during our short stay there.

We also need to thank them for bringing a few gifts of things we were craving for - Marston's Pedigree and copies of both Time and Newsweek for me, and VO5 Hot Oil (apparently, this is something to do with hair) and Mars bars for Lynne.


Take a typical man, add one bottle of Marston's Pedigree, a comfortable hotel room and a remote-control colour TV during the World Cup. Stand back and watch smile develop........

The main reason we had chosen to meet in Cusco was that Inti Raymi, the Cusqueñan mid-winter festival, was taking place on June 24th. For the entire week preceeding the festival Cusco really came alive. There were parades through the main plaza everyday involving firstly infant school children, then older children, University students, and finally, the day before the solstice, the city's adults.


Inti Raymi was a truly colourful experience

Every parade was a riot of both colour and music and some even involved live animals (although the baby lambs had to have their feet bound together to stop them from running away).


This sight is not untypical during South America's fiesta time - don't miss the bindings on the lamb's legs.

Intersperse the parades with more World Cup matches, including England's victory over Ecuador, many beers in The Cross Keys, great food and even better company and you can see why we set off for Machu Picchu feeling on top form.


Inka guards in Cusco's Plaza de Armas during Inti Raymi

PS - Lynne took all the photographs featured in this blog entry.