Semi-Charmed Life

Peru: Arrival in Cusco

My recent trip to Peru turned out better than I expected. Leading up to the trip, I was not particularly excited about it. I'm not sure why, but I've generally been like that for the last few trips I went on. I don't really get worked up or excited about a trip until I've actually arrived at the destination. Even then, it's only when I return back home that I can fully reflect on everything and truly appreciate just how great my trip was.

I suppose I'll start off with a recap:

We arrived in Cusco on Saturday and checked in to our hostel. The family that runs the place used to live there, or at least that was what we were told. I have no complaints about where we stayed. I really had no expectations as to what kind of place we'd be staying at. The hostel looked well kept and basic amenities were provided. Clean sheets and blanket, clean bathrooms and internet access. That's all I need.

My room.

On the roof of our hostel.

The view from the roof of our hostel.

A common room with some sofas and three computers with internet access.

--

We did not really do much the first day. We worked around the main plaza to explore the area and to also get our bodies acclimated to the high altitude. I believe Cusco is something like 3000 meters above sea level. We were told to not eat heavily and to not drink any alcohol. We were not very impressed by the food in Cusco, so eating too much was not a problem. One thing you immediately notice about Cusco is that the people are very poor. Tourism IS the economy in Cusco. Everyone there will try to sell you on something and they will try to sell you hard. It's also easy to get ripped off, but eventually we figured out how much we should be paying for everything so bargaining became a lot easier. Another thing we noticed: LOTS of stray dogs. There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE.

One of the many strays in Cusco.

The main plaza.

A statue located on the outskirts of the main plaza. You can see it on the top left in the above photo.

We were told to not drink ANY alcohol. So what do we do? We end up buying some beers and drinking on our rooftop, playing music off an iphone, on the very first night. Luckily, we all thought the beer tasted like crap so we tossed it after a few sips.

--

The next day, we went to take our tour of  the Sacred Valley, which served as a pretty good warm up for our hike on the Inca trail the day after. It seemed like everything in Cusco is built on an incline, even our hostel. You only think walking is easy until you're 3000+ meters above sea level. At times our faces, hands and feet would get tingly, and it was a little disheartening to see myself huffing and puffing after climbing a few stairs. We all thought we were in decent shape, but the hike had not even begun and it seemed like we were already pushing our bodies to the limit.

Lots of llamas!

I'm glad he didn't spit in my face.

If you look closely at the picture, there are a lot of holes in the mountain. This is where the Incan people buried their dead.

Some Incan site in the Sacred Valley.

Another Incan site.

Danny getting thrown out the building.

An epic battle was fought here.

I'll continue this another time.

Time for bed. Good night!