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Published: February 6th 2013
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We flew out from the Galapagos this morning at 0945, and back to Guayaquil for a 6 ½ hour layover. We initially thought about sightseeing in the city, but decided to just relax in the airport, and for me to catch up on some journaling.
We caught our 2 hr. flight to Lima, and slept in the terminal at the airport as our flight to Cuzco was at 0520, hardly a long enough night to justify a hotel. Turns out we weren’t the only ones as we joined a group of about 30 hippies lying all over the hard tiled floor in the corner of the terminal. During the rainy season especially it is recommended to fly into Cuzco as early as possible due to the foul weather and fog in the Andes Mountains.
After a fitful few hours of dozing, we boarded another flight and landed in our final destination, Cuzco, at 0645. As we grabbed our bags and started walking out of the terminal we were breathless, the altitude here is over 11,000 ft. It is generally recommended to acclimatize for a few days, or go to a lower
elevation in the Sacred Valley, but we hit the ground running, not wanting to squander any of our short time here.
We took a taxi to the city center, and we were dropped off at the Plaza De Armas, the heart of the Inca capital. The plaza looks like an old European square, surrounded by huge beautiful Spanish cathedrals on two sides. We walked from the Plaza in search of our hotel down twisting old medieval cobblestone streets. This city has a distinct European feel, definitely not the typical Latin American vibe you find elsewhere.
I had reserved a room in advance at The Ninos Hotel on recommendation of my cousin Steffanie and Lonely Planet. The Hotel is run by a non-profit foundation that helps underprivileged children in Cuzco by providing food, medical aid, and after school activities. The story behind the hotel is heart warming. It was started by a Dutch woman who had visited Peru with her boyfriend for a short trip, and instantly fell in love with it. She returned 6 months later after having quit her job and selling her possessions without
speaking Spanish. Her goal, to help just one child out of the scores that she saw begging on the streets. She adopted a two at first and enrolled them in school, and taught them basic life skills and gave them the support and nurturing they needed. 15 years later she has two hotels and restaurants that employ her children, while the profits go to helping over 250 children she has sponsored. To top it off the hotel is incredibly charming with a beautiful courtyard, fresh flowers in the rooms, delicious food, and the most comfortable bed we have slept in.
We dropped our bags and headed off to Sacsayhuaman ruins which are just about a 1 ½ mile from the city center on the mountainside. The walk was incredibly steep up narrow cobblestone streets that led into a lush green valley filled with farmlands and grazing alpacas, the ruins were of an Incan fortress used to guard Cusco. The stonework here is famous for its absolute precision, and still to this day you cannot even fit a blade of grass between its mortarless huge stones.
We then began the arduous task of getting train tickets and entrance tickets
for Machu Picchu. Everything is geared towards overpriced tours, so to do it independently, and without speaking Spanish fluently, suffering from a splitting headache from altitude sickness and lack of sleep, ended up being an extremely frustrating endeavor. It eventually worked out as it always does, and no vacation of mine would be complete without some sort of logistical nightmare.
Dennis couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to an Irish pub called Paddy O’Brien’s for a Guiness and whose claim to fame is they are the highest Irish pub in the world. Needless to say this wasn’t at the top of my list, but it made Dennis happy.
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