Airport bars, Alpaccas and Cobblestone

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¡Hola!

After a tumultuous 19 hour travel day, Liz and I were finally able to find solace tucked away in the Andean town of Cusco. But let me recap the trip for you. Our fourth of July was perfect: It consisted of choking down cold hamburgers garnished with only onions and pickles in the dirtiest airport terminal imaginable. However, the corona and marg that we consumed in the airport bar in honor of the holiday were great. My advice to you... avoid Ft. Laud airport like the plague. Anyways, enough about the states. After a 3 hour layover (our flight was delayed about 1 hour) we were finally able to embark to Peru. We arrived in Lima at about 23:00 (yes, they use international time down here) and proceeded to go smoothly through customs (except for when the midget cut us in line... I guess we just didn´t see him coming). We got our bags and headed out of the airport, and were greeted with a scene of chaos en espanol. Hundreds of people with signs crowded the area just outside of baggage claim. Luckily, we were able to find our taxi driver which the hostel conveniently offered to arrange for us... and what a fateful decision that was.

Next thing we knew, we were flying through the streets of Lima, cutting off vans, and dodging pedestrians. Granted, the ride was quite efficient, but terrifying. We finally got off the busy street and onto Peru´s Pacific Coast Highway, traveling at anywhere between 80 and 100 km per hour, not sure how that converts to MPH. We arrived in the Loki hostel at 12:30 and paid for everything. The hostel was like a frat party, with a bar on the roof which overlooked the biggest McDonalds that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, we were too tired to partake, especially after we realized that we had to be up at 6 the next morning.

We flew to Cusco this morning, on our hour long flight. The view on one side of the Andes was spectacular, ours looked barren...like the moon. Cusco is much friendlier and laid back than Lima. Words cant even describe how amazing it is here. We hiked up through a maze of cobblestone streets, narrow allies, and steep staircases to find a fitting hostel. The name of it is Home Sweet Home. I am sitting on the porch overlooking the entire city, the view is quite spectacuar. We met a couple friends here. It is really low key and quaínt. It feels a whole lot more secure than the Loki Hostel in Lima. We later found out from our canadian friend meegan that loki is the party hostel.

We had some great food and a few beers at lunch for only 60 nuevos soles for the both of us... which is about ten dollars a person. We relaxed in front of a fountain in the Plaza de Armas, admiring a huge cathedral, watching the native folk dressed in the vibrant colors, walking their furry and snuggly Alpaccas (which we have also found on the menu at most restaraunts). Anyways, enough internet time... dont want to be a hog. Ill update it in a few days. Miss you all.

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