Adventures in Cusco
I arrived in Cusco at 5:30 am. Oh, how I abhor night busses! Thank God it was my last one! I was directed to a movie room to rest a while longer, and there was another Chilean girl in there doing the same thing. It was pretty uncomfortable, so I gave up after an hour. I opened my laptop and did some Cusco investigating...I really didn't even know where to start!
I thought that buying my Machu Picchu ticket straight away was the right thing to do. I grabbed a tourist map from the front desk, and the man showed me where to buy the ticket. I walked the 15 minutes to the location...but I couldn't find the office. I circled the block, stopped to ask numerous people, and one older man even circled the block with me because he was also confused by the map! He finally asked a woman selling food on the corner and she told us that the office had moved! In fact, it was right in the center of town! We looked at each other, shook our heads, and agreed: "un mapa viejo." Useless! Thanks front desk guy! The older man and woman vendor grabbed a cab for me and told him where to go. Even thought it took me way longer to buy the ticket that it should have, I'm glad I was able to experience the warmth and hospitality of the local people.
After I bought my ticket, I stumbled into a plaza and realized a free walking tour was about to start. I thought, "Why not?" and joined the tour. The Lima/Arequipa/Cusco tour trifecta would now be complete! The group was half English/half Spanish speakers, and I thought the tour guide did a great job alternating between both languages. It let me practice as well! We walked through several plazas and learned the history of the city. We were shown the difference between Incan stone walls and more modern walls - the Incan walls are always at a slight incline because they are better able to withstand earthquakes. Makes you wonder when they decided to stop doing that?
I returned to the hostel to check in and take a nap. Turns out the Chilean girl from the morning (Tatiana from now on) was also in my dorm. We both looked each other confusedly until we remembered where we had met. We were both pretty out of it that morning! We both relaxed in the room and then decided to have a small adventure together. Just as we were about to leave the hostel in search of a cafe, a German girl Tatiana had already met spotted her and she quickly joined us. Ceylan spoke better Spanish that I did, so our conversations were both in Spanish and English.
We found a cute cafe to have a little wake-me-up and chit chat until we were hungry enough to get dinner. By the time I arrived in Cusco, I was tired of eating at bad restaurants when the Peruvian cuisine was so renowned! Therefore, I started using Tripadvisor like a bible and chose our dinner spot - Cafe Moreno Peruvian Kitchen. Thank you Tripadvisor, you restored my faith in Peruvian cuisine! We practically salivated over our dishes and oohed and ahhed over the very cute decor. We raved so much we even got a free second dessert! Score! After dinner, we explored the beautifully-lit plazas and several store front areas. We needed to walk for a while to make room in our bellies for beer! It was a really fun night.
The next day, we all had a leisurely breakfast. Once again, Tatiana ran into two other girls she knew, and the four of us walked to the area of San Blas, which has more artist shops and pretty alleyways. The other three girls were on their last day, so they were buying up all sorts of goods! I bought a few things, but it was nice to look around and get ideas. We had a not-so-good lunch (because we didn't go to one I found on Tripadvisor!) and then Tatiana and I had to hurry back to the hostel to find Ceylan because we had all arranged to get a massage at a local place. We smartly decided to forgo the 20 soles massages being offered on the streets and spring for a 40 soles massage! It was pretty nice.
For dinner, Ceylan and I split off the group and went for dinner at Jack's Cafe, a place with good comfort food (yep, T.A.!). Another German girl, Julia, and a Swiss-German joined us as well. On our walk home, we were ushered energetically into a bar we had heard about that had live music, games, etc. It sounded good on the outside..for all 4 people inside drinking! No matter, we got a few beers and played some rousing games of Jenga and magnetic darts. Another fun night!
The next morning was slow, but Tatiana and Julia and I went for ice cream that was made in front of you. So thrilling, haha. I was sad because Tatiana and Ceylan both left that morning, but Julia and I made plans for an Israeli lunch that she had heard about from Israeli friends. The bagels were so good! Afterwards, Julia went to her volunteer job, and I had a solo afternoon. I went to the Choco museum and learned a few fun facts about chocolate. Then I spent the rest of the day organizing information and planning the next few days. The evening was spent at the hostel bar, eating dinner and drinking with Julia and few more new friends.
Cusco and I are really getting along :)
I thought that buying my Machu Picchu ticket straight away was the right thing to do. I grabbed a tourist map from the front desk, and the man showed me where to buy the ticket. I walked the 15 minutes to the location...but I couldn't find the office. I circled the block, stopped to ask numerous people, and one older man even circled the block with me because he was also confused by the map! He finally asked a woman selling food on the corner and she told us that the office had moved! In fact, it was right in the center of town! We looked at each other, shook our heads, and agreed: "un mapa viejo." Useless! Thanks front desk guy! The older man and woman vendor grabbed a cab for me and told him where to go. Even thought it took me way longer to buy the ticket that it should have, I'm glad I was able to experience the warmth and hospitality of the local people.
After I bought my ticket, I stumbled into a plaza and realized a free walking tour was about to start. I thought, "Why not?" and joined the tour. The Lima/Arequipa/Cusco tour trifecta would now be complete! The group was half English/half Spanish speakers, and I thought the tour guide did a great job alternating between both languages. It let me practice as well! We walked through several plazas and learned the history of the city. We were shown the difference between Incan stone walls and more modern walls - the Incan walls are always at a slight incline because they are better able to withstand earthquakes. Makes you wonder when they decided to stop doing that?
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
We went to the Mercado de San Pedro and our senses were overwhelmed with stalls fills with trinkets, rows of juice stands, tiny restaurants with soups and more, and the meat corridor. We continued on through a shopping district and ended the tour just as the others had...with a free shot of pisco sour. As it was then time for lunch, I returned to San Pedro to have sopa de pollo for 5 soles. It was tasty and filling!
I returned to the hostel to check in and take a nap. Turns out the Chilean girl from the morning (Tatiana from now on) was also in my dorm. We both looked each other confusedly until we remembered where we had met. We were both pretty out of it that morning! We both relaxed in the room and then decided to have a small adventure together. Just as we were about to leave the hostel in search of a cafe, a German girl Tatiana had already met spotted her and she quickly joined us. Ceylan spoke better Spanish that I did, so our conversations were both in Spanish and English.We found a cute cafe to have a little wake-me-up and chit chat until we were hungry enough to get dinner. By the time I arrived in Cusco, I was tired of eating at bad restaurants when the Peruvian cuisine was so renowned! Therefore, I started using Tripadvisor like a bible and chose our dinner spot - Cafe Moreno Peruvian Kitchen. Thank you Tripadvisor, you restored my faith in Peruvian cuisine! We practically salivated over our dishes and oohed and ahhed over the very cute decor. We raved so much we even got a free second dessert! Score! After dinner, we explored the beautifully-lit plazas and several store front areas. We needed to walk for a while to make room in our bellies for beer! It was a really fun night.
The next day, we all had a leisurely breakfast. Once again, Tatiana ran into two other girls she knew, and the four of us walked to the area of San Blas, which has more artist shops and pretty alleyways. The other three girls were on their last day, so they were buying up all sorts of goods! I bought a few things, but it was nice to look around and get ideas. We had a not-so-good lunch (because we didn't go to one I found on Tripadvisor!) and then Tatiana and I had to hurry back to the hostel to find Ceylan because we had all arranged to get a massage at a local place. We smartly decided to forgo the 20 soles massages being offered on the streets and spring for a 40 soles massage! It was pretty nice.For dinner, Ceylan and I split off the group and went for dinner at Jack's Cafe, a place with good comfort food (yep, T.A.!). Another German girl, Julia, and a Swiss-German joined us as well. On our walk home, we were ushered energetically into a bar we had heard about that had live music, games, etc. It sounded good on the outside..for all 4 people inside drinking! No matter, we got a few beers and played some rousing games of Jenga and magnetic darts. Another fun night!
The next morning was slow, but Tatiana and Julia and I went for ice cream that was made in front of you. So thrilling, haha. I was sad because Tatiana and Ceylan both left that morning, but Julia and I made plans for an Israeli lunch that she had heard about from Israeli friends. The bagels were so good! Afterwards, Julia went to her volunteer job, and I had a solo afternoon. I went to the Choco museum and learned a few fun facts about chocolate. Then I spent the rest of the day organizing information and planning the next few days. The evening was spent at the hostel bar, eating dinner and drinking with Julia and few more new friends.
Cusco and I are really getting along :)
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