Peru Adventure Day 2: Cusco

On Day 2, we woke up way earlier than we wanted to, but knew it was for the best because we would be done dealing with airports for a few days. After a quick continental breakfast that they set up especially for us (nobody else wakes up that early!), we took a quick walk across the street from the hotel to snap a couple of pictures.

 That's our hotel right next to the beach, and the shades at the bottom are part of an underground mall. We really didn't have time to learn anything about Lima, except that over half the population of Peru lives in that one city. Carlos told us that the night before.- I think he said there are 10 million people that live there.

I started practicing not wearing mascara that morning, but I did use concealer and eyeliner. Apparently I don't wear much makeup anyway, so I'm told I don't look that different. But to me, it's like walking without a crutch!

Carlos picked us up again and took us back to the airport and helped get us checked in. We just sat and waited and got nervous for our flight to Cusco. This flight was just over an hour and was an increase in altitude from sea level to 3300 M. I don't know the feet, but it's in the tens of thousands. I'd been told by someone who knew someone that it was the worst flight of their life.

The plane was fairly small and I always love when we board from the runway, it makes me feel like a celebrity or something. Except there were lots of other people on the plane and it was probably the oldest plane still running.

The flight was not bad at all! Beautiful views, Spanish first on the announcements, and a funny snack pack with a chicken salad sandwich that made Bean gag. We drank lots of water as instructed, and as soon as we stepped off the plane, we felt like we were walking sideways. I guess that's the altitude!

We were picked up and taken to our hotel, the Novotel. It had a beautiful covered courtyard so the sun came in and they had lounge furniture and tables for eating. As soon as we walked in, they gave us coca tea.

It tasted good, even without any sugar. If you've never heard of coca leaves before, they are the raw material that goes through several chemical processes to become cocaine. They are illegal in the states probably because the government is too afraid that people will turn it into cocaine. It's supposed to help with a variety of health issues, including altitude sickness. We were feeling tired- it could have been the altitude, or it could have been our very short stay in Lima and early wake-up call. But we went to our room and took a 2+ hour nap!

We didn't want to sleep away the day, so we decided to walk around Cusco and see the sights. It was absolutely breathtaking. It looked like you could reach out and touch a cloud! The architecture was very interesting and I fell in love with the old doors painted in bright colors. I couldn't stop myself from taking pictures.

Out front of our hotel there were a few Inca woman wearing their traditional clothing- skirts, tall cowboy hats, and a baby strapped to their backs with a brightly colored blanket. A younger girl was holding a baby llama. It was so cute, I tried to get a picture (it came out very blurry) but then I realized they wanted me to pay them to take a picture with them. I figured it out the next day but the young girl and her llama were not there, nor was the baby- they were my favorite part so I didn't pay them or take another picture.

We heard some music up ahead so we followed it, and we found a marching band! We chased after them trying to get it on video.

We passed by an indoor market, but for some reason I was too afraid to go in. I didn't want to be pressured to buy anything and I was still practicing Spanish in my head every second- thinking about how to say each thing I was saying in English- in Spanish. We went back to the hotel and took another probably hour-long nap and found a place to eat dinner.

It was called Tartesso's and it was a tapas place just off of a courtyard. Lots of places in Cusco were just off a courtyard. We got a few tapas (sold individually), and Bean got some kind of fish thing, and we split a chocolate dessert. I had a wine split and he tried Cusquenia beer, which is made in Peru. I also learned that the food setting on my camera has an option to change the color to make food look appealing in different lighting. Pretty exciting!

After dinner we headed back to our hotel and decided we weren't ready for bed just yet so we stopped at the hotel bar so I could get Peru's signature cocktail: a Pisco sour. It's made with Pisco, raw eggwhites, lemon juice and sugar. Delicious! Bean tried another Peruvian beer, Pilsen, which he didn't like as much.

We talked to the bartender about his favorite futbol team and other random things. We also met a lady from Australia who gave us her favorite places to visit in the world. She didn't like Italy, but really liked South America. One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting people and learning about them. I guess that's the journalism major in me!

After that lovely day in Cusco, we hit the sack. It was a nice and relaxing day.