Cuzco, rising altitude and tension

Day 3: Lima -> Cuzco

We got up early and breakfast was delivered to our room, again (apparently there aren't enough seats at the table downstairs for everyone?). The scenic seaside route to the airport gave us yet another perspective of the city, and got us to the airport without incident (although plenty of near accidents, and by "near accident" I mean: the type of rare occurrence that would get you the bird and a sound honking in the US, but happens here about every other minute). The only notable story at the airport was that we resigned to eat fast food, and then unknowingly paid extra because we ordered from the guy standing in front of the counter with a menu (instead of the people behind the counter). He did bring the food out to us at our table, but I think I would have rather saved the $2.

Going from sea level to ~10,000 feet wasn't easy on everyone. The white-knuckled guy next to Janet gripped his seat for dear life (which actually had a calming effect on her). For the first time, I saw someone use the barf bag. For real. Visions of that scene from "Stand By Me" danced in my head...

We were greeted at the airport by a traditional band (yes that's right, it's pan flute time!), whose sweet song echoed throughout the baggage claim. The cynic tourist in me found this highly amusing. I believe my inner monologue was "They're putting on quite a show for us, aren't they?"

Navigating through at least 30 locals shouting, pitching their hotel, asking if we needed a ride, and saying anything they could to start a conversation, we hopped in a cab and rode to the tourist district surrounding Plaza de Armas (the main square in town). We would have arrived a bit sooner, but the protests scheduled for tomorrow were already in effect:



And here are a few photos:


We were able to snag a room at the awesome Los Niños Hostel. It was started by a woman from the Netherlands who was disturbed by the number of street children in Cuzco, so she began adopting them. 12 boys later, she had a pretty full plate. The proceeds of the hostel go to helping the children of the city, so everyone doesn't mind paying a little bit more.

I'm silently enraged right now because we did not take any photos or videos of the hostel. Basically you walk into a beautiful stone courtyard with chairs and tables scattered about a central fountain. The rooms are arranged on both the ground level and second floor around the courtyard. Luis (named after one of the adopted) would be our room for the next 3 nights.

[Edit: I found this great picture on the Los Niños website:]


While I wandered around the city, Janet tackled some much needed studying (apparently getting your MBA is serious) in the internet place across the street. For 40 cents an hour, you are basically sitting in a dank room (which smelled a little bit like pee) with 6 computers. Head through the doorway in the back and that's where the family lives, seemingly in poverty. It's truly amazing how everyone seems to be a businessperson of some sort. I guess that is what happens when there are very few decent jobs.

It didn't take me long to feel lost. Turn here, turn there. Suddenly I am the only tourist in a giant market with fruits, vegetables, and giant chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling. Sometimes it is fun to just wander aimlessly, pretending you don't exist and trying to observe without interaction or judgment.

For dinner, we ate at Victor Victoria where we dined on some excellent quinoa (a native Andean staple...supposedly the healthiest grain in the world) and alpaca. Which I enjoyed (tasted like pork). I semi-regretted it when I saw a really cute alpaca on the sidewalk the next day (it was on a leash). Yeah, I'm a softie.

Armed with that knowledge, you won't be surprised that I didn't order this:



Long ago, someone decided that guinea pig would make a great Peruvian delicacy. Yikes!

At this point, we were getting used to drinking bottled water (something we never do at home). And Janet's spanish was coming along nicely.



Hard to tell which she's better at. Right?