Cusco - Pisac

From Iain: July 25 - We spent a little time walking around the historic district of Cusco before catching a combi to Pisac (elevation 2715 m or 8900 feet) in the Sacred Valley north of Cusco.

Cusco Plaza de Armas

After climbing up and out of Cusco our combi ground to a halt as an alarming knocking noise sounded from the engine.  The driver quickly determined that we were going no further, so all the passengers had to get out and wait by the side of the road for another ride.  Fortunately a regular public bus going to Pisac came by after a short while and we all managed to squeeze on.  On reaching Pisac we made our way to Hospedaje Beho, our accommodation for the night.  We'd made an informal arrangement for a long-term stay at Beho, but as we surveyed our room none of us were too excited about the prospect of staying here more than one night.  The room was cold and a little grim with a lukewarm shower and a flimsy padlock for securing the door.  The final straw was the grubby shared kitchen, which I couldn't imagine using to prepare anything more extravagant than a cup of tea.
To raise our spirits we went to explore Pisac and, as fate would have it, we bumped into Carron Mulligan, Tanya's friend and colleague from the Nelson Waldorf School.  We'd known Carron was in Pisac and so we'd hoped to connect with her.  She was able to reassure us that we'd almost certainly be able to find a better place to live in Pisac, so it was with uncertain hope that we spent an uncomfortable night's sleep.