When the Incas ruled an area that stretched from South Colombia all the way to North Argentina, Cuzco was the central and most important Inca City.

Today the picturesque colonial town is popular with tourists. It is the stop off point before or after a visit to Machu Picchu. People we meet speak highly of the city, though Tori and I become a little tired of the barrage of vendors as people approach offerings of day trips, massages, food options, drugs and a whole melee of garments created with the use of llama wool.

What Cuzco does have is an abundance of good eateries. Traditional Peruvian gastronomic delights we sample include Yucas, a type of root vegetable deep friend into chunks.

Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian dish with Asian influences as it is loosely based on a stir fry. The most famous dish that Cuzco is famed for is Cuy.

During the times of the Inca, the guinea pig was a delicacy that was eaten on special occasions and homes contained a dozen or so running around the house ready for guests. Today, the guinea pig is fried and served whole and tastes better than it looks.

It is the Monday before Easter and something strange happens. A huge procession takes place through the streets. It is the day of El Senor de Los Tremblores (The Lord of the Earthquakes). This is a tradition that has occurred on this day since a huge earthquake struck Cuzco 1650. Dozens of struggling men carry a hefty looking figure of Christ around the town. Locals throw masses of bright red petals as the figure passes below their windows.

Elderly Ladies, presumably form the cathedral choirs chant in unison. A brass band plays. Onlookers make the sign of the cross. By night time, the figure of Jesus, blackened over years of candles burning below, arrives back to the main plaza. Bells from the cathedral and nearby church ding and dong erratically. As evening falls, vendors are selling snacks and sweets. The whole square is packed and by seven pm and we are stuck in the middle.

It gets quite boring and we need the toilet, but the crowd is as jam packed as the pyramid stage at Glastonbury, we are not going anywhere until this is over.

After several surreal and monotonous hours the figure of Jesus returns home, through the enormous wooden cathedral doors. Some people around us are crying - they people believe that this procession will keep them safe from potential earthquakes as the earthquake of 1650 stopped as they removed the figure of Jesus from the Cathedral.

Ironically, the following day I am flicking through the numerous cable channels and stop on the national news station. They are reporting feeling a minor aftershock form the Chile earthquake, just in the countryside on the outskirts of Cuzco. We had not felt it and nobody was hurt but a road was destroyed.

The day after a tour of the Sacred Valley we take off on the first of two Treks in Peru. The Lares trek lasts three days throughout the sacred valley. It is less known than the Inca Trail so our group is pretty much the only tourists on the whole trek. On day two we reach a staggering 4,450 meters. It is hard going and the air is really thin to breath. I am pretty elated to reach the top, but Tori has a blister coming along. The next couple of days are mostly down hill, back to the town of Ollymantambo.

The trek takes us through small communities that are a couple of days away from the nearest towns. Because of this, the children come running to us with the hope we may have some gifts. We do, of course. The bread we give them creates huge excitement as they rarely eat such food that we take for granted. The locals in this region wear traditonal dress. It is refreshing to see people wear such outfits as part of their daily life, rather than wearing the bright outfits in towns for the sake of the tourist trade. In a number of towns, locals wear the outfits in the hope you will take a photo for a cost of a sole or two.

When we finish the 38 kms we spend a night at Aguas Callientes. Otherwise known as Machu Picchu town. An urban area that has developed into a purpose built tourist town. It is ugly, concrete and a stark contrast to other beautiful colonial Peruvian towns and the outstanding mountanous surrounding. Tori is up all night with a ´gringo stomach´ and cannot get out of bed the next morning so she misses on our guided tour of Machu Picchu. This is not as bad as it seems as we will be visiting the ruins together in a few weeks time after the Inca Trail.

After returning to Cuzco and recovering, we continue through Peru. Going back on ourselves somewhat to Peru's second largest city, Arequipa.