Greetings from Cusco! The former capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco today is the main city near the Sacred Valley. As well as being a jumping-off point for the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu visits, it’s a destination in its own right, full of things to see and do.
At 3,400 meters above sea level, it’s more than a thousand meters higher than Arequipa. After yesterday’s bout of altitude sickness, I was nervous about the ascent. But so far I seem to be feeling okay.
Bye Arequipa, hello Cusco
I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and a hundred times better after the best night’s sleep I’ve gotten so far in Peru. Marie and Vanessa also slept well, so all three of us were feeling pretty good. I was a bit sad to be leaving Arequipa and its decently comfortable altitude, the likes of which I won’t see again for a while. But, onwards and upwards. We packed up and prepared to go. No rest for the weary on this trip.
We took a taxi to Arequipa’s tiny airport, where we were asked on check-in: Lima or Cusco? Yeah, the airport of Peru’s second biggest city doesn’t exactly have a lot of flight connections.
We had time to kill, so we got breakfast at a trippy little sandwich shop. We sipped on papaya juice and ate non-toast while watching (and adding our own dialogue to) a tele-novela playing on TV. Then, we browsed in the couple of small airport shops a bit before boarding our one-hour flight to Cuzco.
During the flight, we were treated to spectacular views of the mountains and tiny villages in the valleys between them. The plane actually seemed to be flying lower than some of the tallest peaks, which was a bit freaky. The Andes are no joke.
Chill out day
We landed mid-morning and caught a taxi to our guesthouse. Located through a school courtyard off a tiny side street, it didn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s perfectly lovely and charming inside. There’s a garden terrace on the roof with great views of the city, which is a nice place to chill out.
It’s May 1st, Labour Day, today. We caught sight of at least one workers’ march. All very peaceful as far as I can tell, but then, the historical centre is unlikely to be the scene of any unrest. Mostly we just notice it in how quite a few businesses seem to be closed today.
After checking in and getting oriented, we found our way through the winding streets to the office of our tour company for Machu Picchu later this week to settle all the paperwork. Even the ten-minute walk was enough to leave us feeling a bit winded, so after getting the formalities done, we made the conscious decision to take it easy for the rest of the day.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked by Plaza San Blas and then down to the Plaza de Armas, snapping some photos and browsing in the many, many (and I do mean many) alpaca handicraft shops. The quantity of goods for sale is frankly overwhelming, so I reacted how I usually do when faced with so many choices, and bought nothing. We’ll have more shopping opportunities in the Sacred Valley anyway. Vanessa picked up a cheap headband for some sun protection. I should mention, the sun is strong up here; even with some cloud cover and a bit of rain, it was still all too easy to burn.
We visited the small grocery store to stock up on food for lunch and snacks. The display of single-origin local chocolate bars available for sale is really mouth-wateringly impressive. I may have to do some tasting. I should also mention all the products for sale everywhere made from coca, including candies, tea, and even chewing gum. They must do a brisk sale in these to bemused tourists, I’d imagine.
We headed back to the hotel for lunch and a bit of a siesta. The locals all seem to be on siesta schedule here, so it seemed like a good idea, especially as we attempt to acclimatize. I felt a small headache coming on by that point, so I drank some water and we took a short nap.
First evening in Cusco
For dinner, we went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by one of the guys on the Colca Canyon tour yesterday. It’s an organic farm-to-table restaurant that serves local specialties — both vegetarian and non-veggie — and it was absolutely delicious. Learning our lesson from Arequipa, we ate lightly, and avoided alcohol in favour of lots of water. We did indulge in a lava cake-like chocolate torte for dessert, though, which was absolutely worth it. I mean, hey, you only live once, right?
It’s much colder here, especially at night, so I wrapped myself in blankets before going to sleep. Compared to Lima’s stuffy humidity, this is heavenly.
Altitude oddities
A few things about being at such high altitude that I didn’t realize before coming to Peru:
1. Bottles of liquid (for example, hand sanitizer, soft drinks, cosmetics) tend to explode when opened. Probably due to being packed at a lower altitude and opened at a higher one. Ziploc bags are very useful here.
2. You have to pee a LOT more than usual. That could be both the effects of the altitude itself, and the consequence of drinking so much water. I’m not sure if you really wanted to know that, but hey, it’s all part of the experience, right?
3. Check your ego at the door. Even climbing a single flight of stairs here leaves me feeling winded. It doesn’t really matter how fit you are; even serious athletes feel the effects here. I couldn’t imagine hiking the Inca trail at this altitude. I’m really glad we’re taking the train.
4. Your skin gets really dry up here. Within a day at altitude, the skin on my hands and feet started cracking. I may need to pick up an extra tube of hand cream.
5. Food tastes weird. Sure, some of it is just due to food tasting different in new countries. But even the difference between Lima and Cusco is notable.
More tomorrow!