And we're back on an airplane, this time just a quick hour flight to Cusco, Peru. Cusco is further inland and is the starting point for all of the hiking trips to Machu Picchu. The closer to Cusco we got, the more we realized that the terrain here was going to be very different than Lima.
Because Cusco is at a higher altitude than Lima, we padded our hiking trip with an extra day to acclimate to the altitude of 11,200ft, (3,400M, if your country was smart enough to abandon the empiric system of measurements). If you've not traveled to a higher altitude location, you may not know this, but altitude can make you feel pretty crappy. It's hard to breathe, and even a few steps will make you suck wind. Headaches and other digestive issues are also associated with altitude sickness, so we wanted to be very careful to not get sick.
While Keith got us checked in at our Cusco hotel, I enjoyed some Coca tea. It is said to help persons prevent altitude sickness. And its not a bad tasting tea, very similar to green tea, in my opinion.
Our plan of "acclimating" did not include sitting on our butts at the hotel like the guidebook advised, so we consulted the local tile map and set of to explore Cusco.
And we saw our first natives dressed in traditional wear. In some places it was obviously done for tourism, but in Cusco and surrounding areas we often saw Peruvian woman, and a few men, dressed in traditional garb.
We made our way to the town center, Plaza de los Armas. Two huge churches are located by the plaza. One called the Cathedral, the other the Church of La Compania. This is the cathedral. We did not tour it. Too many soles!
We did however, get a private tour of The Compania. We happen to stumble through the massive ornate doors at the right time to get David the guide all to ourselves! Score. David told us about the history of the church (only took 17 years to build), and led us through various parts of the building. No fotografias en la iglesia, lo siento, so no pictures to show you of the inside.
Except this one of us in the belltower, and I guess it was ok because it was facing out. Why is my face so shiny? Oh, likely because I was exhausted from climbing the 20 steep steps to get up the belltower.
And the view from the belltower, minus our shiny happy faces.
On our way out of the church we couldn't help but appreciate the details. In a country where it's difficult nowadays to get toilet paper and papertowels, I cannot imagine the effort that went into building this church.
Now we're hungry and needing a pitstop. So we found a spot on a balcony overlooking the plaza, and took a load off. Keith scanned the menu, and I watched traffic.
Traffic is insane in Peru. Lots of honking, weaving and risk taking if you're in a vehicle. Small taxis (seen in the pics above and below) are constantly weaving about the street. To cross the road you take a calculated risk-your best bet is to hope for a gap and cross quickly! We did ride in a few taxis towards the end of the trip, and I am not kidding when I say that I had to hold onto the door for fear of the door falling off the car. Keith looked like a clown in a clowncar in the front seat.
The rest of the day was spend wandering around, sitting in benches in various squares, and we also had a quick update meeting with our hiking tour group. We ended the day with a walk around another square, this one named for St. Francisco. With the sun setting, the lights cast a beautiful glow. I should mention that while Cusco certainly relies of tourism to boost the economy, the tour is also filled with locals doing their everyday thing. While sitting in the squares we saw kids leaving school, mothers and fathers tending to their children, everyday people doing their Cusco thing alongside the hippie European backpackers and American senior citizens tourists. And us. We fit neither category. I've mentioned before that we like people watching, and Cusco gave us plenty of watching to do.
Near Francisco Square we had a last good meal before the hike, and eased our reservations about hiking FOR FOUR DAYS with a little bit of this...the picture of Machu Picchu behind Keith's beer is most appropriate. And those Peruvians pour a good glass of wine.
The picture above is mostly for my parents, who come back from vacations with loads of pictures of food. Above you see Rocotto relleno, which is a stuffed rocotto pepper. SO tasty! Dinner was accompanied by this musician's grooving, and he was more than excited when we tipped him as we left.
It was only later that night that we read that tipping in Peru is not as common (or as generous) as it is in the US. Explains the big smile we got.
Tomorrow I tell you about how we abondoned motorized means of transportation, personal hygiene and good sense as we started the hike to Machu Picchu.
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