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Published: June 14th 2010
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Peruvian Princess
Love her stuffed cat Day 1 - Sunday
Bienvenido South America! Our first time south of the equator! We took an overnight flight from JFK to Lima and actually both were able to sleep fairly well which is quite a change from most of the overnight flights we do. We arrived in Lima for a quick layover, complete with our last Starbucks for awhile, before taking the 55 minute flight to Cusco. Arriving in Cusco was pretty funny as you go up in the plane but you don’t feel like you descend at all….we were flying next to the mountains and all of a sudden we were touching down.
Raul, our taxi driver was waiting for us outside with a nicely printed sign. Raul fit the bill of every international taxi driver so far by having some American flair in his cab…he was sporting Winnie-the-Pooh stickers. The cab also fit the bill by having several broken parts and seat belts that didn’t work…oh well, by now our rule is to always look out the side windows anyway.
First impression of Cusco - much more third world than we anticipated. It is very impoverished…and reminiscent of Egypt and China with dilapidated houses, garbage
Cuys N Roses
Cuys are Guinea pigs which are a delicacy here everywhere, and very dusty & dirty. There are few differences though, there are a ton of dogs here…and I mean a ton. They are everywhere in the streets…of all breeds and sizes. Our first inclination was that they are all homeless, but surprisingly, they all look healthy except for their dirty coats. Brian, our B&B host was chatting with us this evening and confirmed that every house in Peru has a dog, as they like to feel protected. The same goes with the people, they too outside of being dirty look very healthy in terms of their weight. We don’t think many people are starving in Peru…and they are very happy and helpful people too!
We arrived in at The Green House around 12pm, which is located in Huaran in the middle of the Sacred Valley (about 1 hour outside of Cusco) and can I say again…..God Bless Trip Advisor!! This place is a tranquil oasis located in what feels like the middle of nowhere….surrounded by beautiful mountains, the sound of a rushing little river, beautiful lawn/garden, and a great main house and rooms. Think of one of those places that you would go to meditate and do yoga…that’s
what it feels like here. We have an authentic looking room (wood beams on the ceiling) but with a fully modernized bathroom. What more can you ask for? Our hosts, Gabriel & Brian are both very nice along with their 3 dogs- Paco, Leica, and Yana.
We decided to just freshen up quickly and head to Pisac where every Sunday there is a big Mercado (market). Gabriel told us it’s easy and cheap to take the bus there, so we did. The bus was only $1 for a 30 min ride to Pisac…providing us with another memorable culturally authentic experience. The market was great, Alpacas are a big deal here so everywhere you turn, there are sweaters, scarves, wraps, blankets, and…….baby clothes!!! OK, so we are becoming and Uncle and Aunt soon and went slightly crazy on the adorably baby Peruvian purchases today!
We had lunch in a café that offered a 3-course lunch. We started with a salad inside of an avocado that was yummy. Next was a traditional Peruvian soup made with corn stock, potatoes, and other veg. Our main courses were OK, not great….basically grilled chicken and a piece of beef with a good onion
sauce on it. They even brought us a glass of this special drink at the end of the meal that tasted kind of like wassail. All of that food for 16 soles, which is $4!
Since it gets dark here starting at 5pm we headed back to the Green House to have some tea and relax. Another great perk of staying here is the Gabriel cooks a 3-course dinner every evening. The temperature drops drastically as soon as the sun starts going down, so it was so nice to go into the common area before dinner to find a fire, candles lit everywhere, wine, and great music (they play really good music albeit American!!). After dinner we were quite chilled…there is not heat in the rooms and I was a little concerned about the amount of blankets we had BUT to our surprise we climbed into bed to find that they had placed hot water bottles in the bed! Can I say wonderful enough??? I think we were both asleep in a matter of 30 seconds and with the warmth lasting hours, slept like babies for a whole 11 hours.
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Beth
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Sounds wonderful!!
I love the blogs! Keep them coming along with the fantastic pics! Am hoping you two have a terrific time! Can't wait to hear more. Love you both! :) ps No Eleanor yet! :(