Cuzco--the Final Days

In a burst of enthusiasm today, and comletely forgetting that the purpose of Cuzco is to fleece tourists, I went to the City Hall to buy tickets to enter museums and such ("Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!"). I already knew that I didn´t want to buy the full "see everything" ticket at the bargain basement price of $25. Instead I purchased the ticket that I thought would get me into churches and museums in the city center for (only) $13.

One museum was marginally worthwhile. The other three were worthless. Only then did I read the fine print and find out that my "pass" did not include churches, despite the description in my 3 year old guidebook that said it did. It seems that after the guidebook was printed, the Church decided that the City was raking too much profit off the top. (Surprise, surprise! This is only corrupt Peru!) So the Church decided to open up its own ticket office.

I must confess I enjoyed the opportunity to go up to the main cathedral to the beefy security cop that was blocking the entrance and ask him how much it cost to pray. He directed me to the civil office next door. Shades of the Inquisition! The Church never did any of the actual dirty work. They handed over the condemned to the "civil arm."

At the Civil Arm, or office, they told me I could enter four churches at $10 a church, or (such a deal!), I could enter all four for only $36. I told them for that price they should throw in a plenary indulgence. Something probably got lost in my Spànish translation.

I´m looking forward tonight to the absolute best part of Cuzco......leaving it! The only reason people come to Cuzco is because it´s a jumping off point for Machu Picchu. However, only 2 hours away from Machu Picchu (Cuzco is 4 hours away) is the delightful little town of Ollantaytambo. The name is bigger than the town. Although it´s just a little town, it boasts a 4 star hotel, complete with alpacas roaming around as resident lawn mowers. In addition, there is a range of other types of hotels and hostals.

In short, Cuzco is the armpit of Latin America. Avoid it at all costs, or at least don´t spend 5 minutes longer in it than you actually have to in order to get to Machu Picchu.