Cusco and Around!
Trip Start
May 17, 2009
1
8
19
Trip End
Jun 16, 2009
Cusco,
Peru
Thursday, May 28, 2009
We took our guidebooks´ and others´ advice about taking it easy the first day due to Cusco´s 13,000 foot altitude and we were glad we did. Since we´ve been winging the whole ¨finding a hostel upon arrival¨ thing, we stayed true to form and just picked the bohemian section of the city that the guidebooks recommended for its abundance of places to stay. After taking a cab to our part of town, we soon learned that the guidebooks left out the fact that the bohemian section has some of the steepest hills in Cusco. The locals watching us climb the endless flights of cobbled stairs must have had a good chuckle as we both looked and felt like chain-smokers with colds breathing through straws (just fyi, neither of us smoke..). We found a nice place (near the top of the hill, of course) called Pakcha Real which was a good choice for its very friendly staff, meticulously clean premises, and free internet and breakfast. Our only complaint, though an important one because the nights can get quite chilly, is that the shower temps are extremely hard to regulate because the hotel´s water is supplied by a well and the water heater consists is a 30 gallon tank (for 30 rooms.. do the math). After checking into the hotel, we made a B-line for the train station to get our tickets to Machu Picchu. The fine people of Peru´s rail system decided it would be a good idea to hold a 3rd strike in 2 weeks on Wednesday to highlight their dissatisfaction with their current contracts. Quite strategic on their part when you consider that it is currently the high-season for tourist travel to Machu Picchu, causing a severe backup of high-end customers and backpackers alike- Point made. We waited almost 2 hours in the station just for the ¨priveledge¨ to buy tickets, at which time we luckily secured some for Thursday, returing Friday morning. Since we hadn´t eaten anything since the night before, we had a late lunch and went back to our mountain-top pad. Tuesday night, Taylor did the smart thing and stayed back to do some reading and rest while I found a small cafe to watch my Cavs NOT WIN!
We rose early Wednesday to take a cab about 12 km over the mountain to see some more localized ancient ruins. A popular trek among able-bodied travelers is to take a cab uphill to the farthest of the four ruins and then walk back to Cusco on a mainly downhill road, enjoying the ruins, spectacular vistas, and fresh -although even thinner- air. We were glad we did. We started at Tambo Macchay followed by Puka Pucara, Q´enqo, and ended at the biggest and best ruin of Saqsaywahuan (pronounced Sexy Woman by the gringos). After Sexywoman, we walked a short distance over to a 70ft marble statue of Jesus Christ overlooking all of Cusco. Ironically, the statue was donated to the city by the Arab Palestinean community of Peru. Following a short photo-sesh it was time to head back to town. Apparently, we weren´t as able-bodied as we like to think, as we were totally exhausted by from our long trek and hired a taxi to take us down to La Plaza de Armas in Cusco´s center. We had another late lunch of Pizza and Ravioli at ¨Tratoria Italia¨- before I go on, I must stress that pizza all over South America is a sore disappointment to those who have had the pleasure of tasting good pizza in the States. It looks and sounds great on the menu, is served looking good, but the taste takes a high nose-dive from there (I think it has something to do with the cheese). Wednesday evening was spent seeing the plaza a night and shopping for a few souveniers before sampling a bit of Cusco´s nighlife, though we turned in fairly early for the 6am, 2-hour journey to Olleytatambo where we will catch the train to Machu Picchu (I forgot to mention in the train saga above that the train tickets we were able to procure were only from and back to Olleytatambo which is halfway between Cusco and M.P.). Talk to you next from the biggest tourist attraction in South America!
