Lima to Cusco - Worlds Apart

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Up at 6a.m. for breakfast and bus to the airport. New roommie, Sharon, got karate chopped when she (nicely) tried to wake me up. It was early and she's a talker who didn't seem offended so I zombied through my morning routine. By the time we left the room I was awake enough to be laughing at her and she had dubbed me Ninja. Decent start to the day. Also, she promised not to come near me while I'm sleeping which I agreed was the best for both of us.

Bus to airport, waiting in lines, bought a cute headband, onto the plane. 50 minutes to Cusco. Off the plane, on a bus (w/our new local guide Jaime talking to us the whole time), arrived at Hotel Puma. Given 30 minutes to settle stuff in rooms, change clothes, etc. before we were to all be in the lobby for an authentic Andes Peruvian lunch and a walking tour of the city.

Here's what our itinerary said we were doing today: "...time for a special group lunch to welcome you to Cusco and to be introduced to traditional Andean Peruvian cuisine. Later that afternoon your Cusco tour guide will meet you and take you on a short and eawy sightseeing tour of the town taking in the colonial churches and visiting Inca ruins outside the city. We advise you to take it easy today and drink plenty of water to help acclimating to the high altitude in Cusco."

Here's what we actually did today: All of that, plus another stop at ruins with none of the promised breaks in between and about two miles of walking. Their advice even told us to take it easy, but how could we do that if they wouldn't let us!?! I thought I was going to hyperventilate or pass out! Couldn't breathe (kept getting winded and faint) and really wanted a little break after the super early morning call, bus ride to airport, flight to Cusco, and bus ride to the hotel!

To be fair, Saqsaywaman (which we were told to pronounce "sexy woman!") was pretty phenomenal and the first ruins of its type I've really spent time wandering around. We climbed quite a bit and Jaime (our cool, informative, and funny new local guide) explained what things were, how they were used, what symbols meant, and so on. I honestly don't remember a lot of it (though I did take notes and will sprinkle them through these entries to show how smart I now am about Peru, lol) but it was fascinating and made the visit to the ruins (and everywhere, for that matter) much more meaningful than visiting them on my own.

For awhile I was tired, footsore, light-headed, nauseated and cranky. Then, I opted to not get off the bus for the rushed hike they were trying to squeeze in before dark. Gentle reader, it made all the difference. Sitting still for a bit, having control over my self & schedule and kvetching with the others who followed my lead to stay on the bus was great. The rest of the crew came stumbling back (in the dark) and said they saw three streams. Anywho, not gonna gripe overly on here, but our liaison made it clear to the third party tour organizer that it was WAY too much for the first day, which I appreciated.

As a group we nixed their plan to take us to another location (just to shop!) and got dropped off at the hotel. Met up again with Kathy & Farrah (separated b/c we split into two groups: trekkers and non-trekkers. There were too many in our group...they couldn't fit the big bus we needed into the streets of Cusco! It was sad b/c Kathy & Farrah are both trekkers so our group was split up, wah wah) and decided to go out for dinner. Wandered around making our way to the Plaza del Armas (another one!) and found a great Italian "fusion" restaurant on the second floor of a building. The food was excellent as was the company. We picked some extra people up along the way so had a party of 8! The service was fast and good (the waiter even gave us one free pass through the salad bar each) and the food delicious. Several of us got simple margherita pizza figuring it would be light on our stomachs but filling...and it totally was!

After dinner we stopped off at a couple of the little shops around the square. People found t-shirts, jewelry, and jackets. We were all very tired and headed back to the hotel. Shower, bed, and chattering as we decompressed from the day.

Crazy feature of our hotel room: Our window is interior to the building. If it's open and the curtains are open, you can see right into the room across the way...and down to the floor below (Sharon & I are on the 4th floor). As if that's not creepy enough, sound carries like nothing I've ever seen...heard? You can hear conversations, toilets flushing, what people are watching on tv, every little thing. There's glass in the bathroom window & above entrance door but no blinds so the room was bright even at midnight (though I eventually figured out to turn the hall light down) and the Wi-Fi only works in the lobby (hence slightly delayed posts, lol)! So, the Hotel Puma doesn't get my seal of approval, but the staff is friendly and tries pretty hard to be helpful. Plus, it's in a great central location and serves hot breakfast, so it's not all bad...even though they remake our made beds everyday but don't change the sheets...why even touch the beds, then??

So, kind of a rough day, but I promise it all gets better. And, apart from the bloody noses (four so far!) and huffing & puffing, everything is fantastic and this is an amazing trip!

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