Ever Forward

This is the fourth article in a series about my recent trip to Peru with Maty.  This one picks up the story in Cusco, after returning from Machu Picchu.

We woke up early, went to the pharmacy to pick up a couple things for Maty and then went to grab breakfast.  We picked a little fast-food-looking joint on the Plaza de Armas.  What I thought was a toasted ham and cheese sandwhich turned out to be more like ham & cheese on luke-warm bread.  The orange juice was actually made fresh, as is most juice here in Peru.  I’m certain you can buy processed juice, but I gather many people in Peru don’t bother, and it probably doesn’t make any sense at all outside of a major city.

Plaza de Armas - Cusco

I found a battery charger for my camera battery in the Avenida del Sol, which was a good thing.  My first battery had died back in Chosica, and my charger did too.  So I had been a little worried that I was going to expend my second battery before I could recharge the first one.  I was dubious about the new charger, but the shop owner took the time to open the charger and show me it would work.  You don’t often encounter that kind of customer service in the US, but Cuscenos have a reputation for being friendly people.

We stopped at the plaza de armas in Cusco and took some photos.  We wanted to enter the Cathedral, but it had not yet opened.  Assuming we could come back after lunch, we opted to head back to the hostal to rest for a while.  Maty still wasn’t feeling her best and I think both of us were really just worn out from all the walking we were doing.  When we returned, the cathedral had closed, and as yet I have no idea what their tourist hours are.  Never mind, we went to eat lunch, and then caught our bus for the city tours.

We had bought our tour tickets after breakfast, and at 2:00 PM were on the bus.  It started raining and even thundering as our tour began, but quit by the time we reached Sacsayhuaman (3701m).  The tour cost about 15 soles, plus entrance to the major sites.  Our tour took us to:
<> Koricancha – a church in Cusco which also is a museum.
<> Sacsayhaumán (3701m)
<> Q’enqo  (Quenco) (3952m)
<> Pucapucará (3765m)
<> Tambomachay (3,622)

I took the tour in Castellano, and thankfully, the guide spoke clearly enough that I understood the vast majority of his lectures.   Sacsayhuaman was the most interesting to me, and provided an awesome view over the city of Cusco.  Q’enco was the highest point, at nearly 12,000 feet.  The guide took us through a dark cavern there that contains a rock table that is constantly wet… and cold. Tambomachay is known as the “Incas’ Spa”.  I think our guide took another view of this, since the water there isn’t exactly warm.

After the tour we stopped off at a shop where the owners explained the differences between various materials, synthetic, 2 forms of alpaca and regular sheep’s wool.  Naturally, there is an opportunity to spend all your money on shirts and blankets, etc. made from the various materials.  There are souvenir hawks at every archeological site, and it is generally best to avoid them if you are doing the guided tour.  I actually bought a hooded pull-over made from alpaca wool.

After the tour, we headed back to Cusco, and ate dinner.  Maty and I had eaten at La Merienda on Monday, and so stuck with that restaurant during our stay.  It has only been open about four months, as of this writing, and the food was excellent.  We tried different things each time, but really got to know the menu and staff well.  The place probably holds 20-30 people and has a small bar.  We certainly hope they keep up the quality of food!

Back at the Puka Ventana, we took showers and relaxed for the night.  The Puka Ventana looks like I might have renovated it.  An electrical socket in our room was hanging out of the wall and the wardrobe door didn’t stay closed.  On the other hand, it’s fairly clean, quiet and the staff is friendly and very helpful.  Also, the hot water worked for us.  It sits overlooking the city, which means you can easily walk down the hill to the Plaza de Armas in about 5 minutes.  If you don’t feel like hiking back to the top, a taxi costs a mere 2-3 soles (or less than $1.00) from the Plaza.  Some of my photos overlooking Cusco are actually taken from the hostal.

Cusco is beautiful, and I really wish we could have stayed another day.  Adjusting to the altitude is the biggest challenge, but there is much more to do and see in Cusco than can be managed in an overnight stay.  We had to wake up early Thursday morning to catch our flight back to Lima.