Arrival to Cusco

Trip Start Sep 24, 2008
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24
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Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Hampy Homestay de Los Flores
(Cusco hotels)

Flag of Peru  ,
Saturday, January 31, 2009

At last I find peace in Peru.  Sitting on a a balcony in the center of Cusco.  The Plaza de Armas is surrounded by two story architecture.  A fountain sits in the middle.  The constant honking that litters the city of Lima is non-existent.  The air is a bit thinner due to the altitude of this city, but thats more than okay with me, I don't find myself struggling with the distance from the sea.  From my perch the green of the hillsides is all too welcoming.  I have found my home for the next month and a half. 

Getting off the bus yesterday was not only a relief for my knees but also for my body and mind.  Rain sprinkled the street, bringing with it a more than familiar climate change.  After a month and a half of ever present sun mixed with the smog of thousands of buses and their black exhaust, the clean cool air was more than refreshing.  This journey has been so far one of the most eye opening experiences of my life From the Balcony
From the Balcony
 .  I don't much care for the constant change of scenery that I planned for every month and a half or so, but the rewards grow with every step.  Although the bus ride was long, the price was small for the opportunity it brings. 

My home for the next couple of days is a partner of Hampy.  Marita and Angel welcomed me into their home with a cup of coffee and the invitation to just simply rest.  Rest was exactly what I needed.  Time to simply readjust to my aspirations in travel.  Work with Hampy begins immediately.  After lunch today Jorge is going to pick me up and we shall pursue a busy afternoon of introductions, mixed with tours and meetings.  Ideas and views to be exchanged give me a boost I need to keep my head up.  The car ride from the bus station to the house yesterday was filled with excited discussion of my time to come here in Cusco.  Oh how I grew board with myself in Lima, seemingly endless walks and time on the beech.  Thank God for new friends who showed me kindness and amazing sights that Lima offers it's inhabitants.  I might have died of stagnant restlessness. 

All of these thoughts come with a feeling of newness brought by the best night of sleep I have had in more than a month.  I can count the number of nights I have had on a bed where my feet don't stretch over the end of the mattress on my two hands.  The ride from Lima to Cusco is filled with switchbacks.  Sleep in a new place is normally less than great in unfamiliar environments.  Eleven hours my first night in Cusco was more than refreshing.  Today I feel new again.
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