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¡Hola Amigos!
Now had I entered this blog yesterday, it would have be entitled ´Contento en Cusco´or ´Gorging on Guinea Pig,´ however, todays events have provided a slight change in plans. But first, I will catch you up on the happenings of the past 2 days in Cusco.
I am once again nestled up on the balcony of our hostel, overlooking the city drinking some coca tea made with fresh coca leaves. I know what you are wondering, and yes, the coca plant is what they make cocaine out of, however, this has significantly subdued effects. It is the distinguishing beverage of this town, as it helps with altitude sickness and it is extremely calming. It was the complimentary tea that we were offered when we checked in here at our hostel (home sweet home, Miradore).
The past two nights have been quite enjoyable, Liz and I have been sightseeing in the city. On the contrary, we have found lounging on our balcony enjoying the view while reading and conversing with people from Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to be just as satisfying. Beliéve you me though, this view comes with a price. I figured we would
Final Climb to Hostel
Liz left her backpack with me and went ahead to make sure they had room. get used to our steep climb at 11,000 feet by now, but it is still a struggle. The weather is like a desert here, with freezing temperatures at night (we have purchased alpaccá gear in the tourist market to keep us warm at night), and intense sun during the day, where we are able to wear jeans and tee shirts quite comfortably. I found myself dozing while liz and I took a rest on the steps of the fountain in the plaza.
You would be shocked by the number of Pizzarias that exist here, about half of the restaraunts are actually. Naturally, we had to try some peruvian pizza. Lots of cheese, not much sauce, but delicious hand made crust baked in a stone oven. Before we dined on pizza, we drank Pisco Sours (a signature drink in peru) on the balcony of a cafe overlooking the Plaza De Armas. Perfecto.
Yesterday involved more sightseeing, where we toured the Iglesia de Santa Domingo. It was very lovely, and I almost broke my arm when I tripped on an Inca stone backing up in my attempt to take the perfect picture of Liz. This town is quite treacherous actually,
Iglesia De Santa Domingo
The black middle section of wall is incan the stones in the VERY NARROW streets and the sidewalks or stairs are quite slippery. That, in combination with the multitude of taxis speeding through the narrow streets makes it a little scary at times (especially when trying tó pass women dressed in colorful wool clothing walking their llamas.) Anyways, we felt content seeing one iglesia, afterall, once you have seen one... youve seen them all.
Last night we decided to brave the Peruvian Cuisine and try a meal of guinea pig (sorry mom). We ordered both Chinese and Indian style guinea pig, complemented by a delicious bottle of Peruvian Cabernet Sauvinon. The guinea pig was mediocre at best, but we were happy to have tried it. Lizs guinea still had legs, and mine was shredded, thank santa domingo. After trying this risky meal, we put ourselves on 24 stool watch. It is almost over, but so far, so good 😊. I felt a little under the weather this morning, but after a delicious juice drink of papaya and pinapple sin agua (without water) at the mercade centro (the local market), I felt as good as new. It was a very cultural experience. Apparently, they eat every part of
Paris Hilton Dog
Please note the pink skirt. What a slut the cow, includíng the snout, brain, legs, balls, kidneys. They also sell fresh frog legs... as the frogs are alive in a dish before being delegged. The fresh frúit was amazing, and they had hundreds of juice stands, there is no telling how the keep in business.
Ok, the rest of the day was a bit tumultous. We heard rumor from our German friends last night that the Peru buses were not running on Miercoles (wednesday) which was our planned day of departure to Titicaca. being on the tíght schedule that we are, we needed to make modifications. After visiting the bus station this morning, we learned that it was a NÁTIONWIDE 48 hour strike/protest. Figuring this out was extremely frustrating, especially with the language barrier and untrustworthy companies trying to sell tickets to buses that will never depart. We then discovered that our train reservations to Macchu Picchu was not running for the next two days. We were supposed to go up tomorrow. This is when we decided to push Macchu back, and get the hell out of Peru. Luckily, thanks to our developing spanish talents, and our rationality in adverse situations, we were able to arrange an
12 sided incan stone
The locals will point out this miraculous stone for 1 sol (about 40 cents). We ignored them the first time and came back later to pretend like we found it on our own... and paid no one. overnight bus to Copacabana, Bolivia (lake titicaca), and be out of the country by tomorrow morning. I guess this will be our last mug of Coca Tea for awhile 😞
We miss everyoné, and we hope you enjoy some of the pictures we posted.
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