Cusco

I made it to Peru. After 3 flights, a stopover in a different country, and little sleep, I arrived in Cusco. I negotiated a taxi ride into the city and was finally seeing my sisters, aunt, and friends. This part of my trip was different from other parts. First, it's been on my list since the beginning. Second, there was a good amount of planning done. There was a group of 8 of us meeting up to do the Lares Trek and Machu Picchu. At first I thought it was just going to be my sisters, Ambreleah and Alysia, and myself. But then our Aunt Sally decided to come. And then our friend Audrey. And then three more people. I hadn't met them before Cusco, but by the end of the trip, we were all friends. It was a good group of people and enough to make our own tour. 

I arrived at the hostel and found that my aunt hadn't arrived yet. She was supposed to be there hours before me. There was a little mix up and apparently she was waiting for me at the airport. I was too excited to see everyone that I rushed out of there, having no idea she was still there. Fortunately she arrived shortly after. We were all together now and anxious to get food. 

We walked towards Plaza de Armas and immediately we were targeted. I know better due to all my traveling, but not so much everyone else. Whenever there is a puppy nearby, my sisters just gravitate towards it. Imagine a baby llama? It was pretty cute. So here we are paying for a photo with local Peruvian women, children, and animals. There would be more of this for sure.

Getting suckered.

We went in search for the Lonely Planet recommended restaurant and got so much food. Ceviche, palta, rice and pollo, and much more. We got a little bit of everything so we could try multiple dishes. Most of which I've forgotten the name of. And of course we got pisco sour. This was my first one in Peru. There is a debate with Chile and Peru on who takes credit for this tasty and refreshing drink. Unfortunately since I was in Chile too long ago at this point, I can't tell you which one was better. Although I think they were pretty similar. 

Peruvian pisco sour.

Later that evening, we checked in with our tour company to pay the balance, and ask any questions we had. We scheduled our full briefing for the following night, where we would get our duffle bags to pack and finalize any last minute details. 

So I had one full day in Cusco before starting our trek. And of course we decided to do a hike. They don't recommend eating certain foods, drinking alcohol, and doing any strenuous exercise beforehand. Well we listened to 2 out of the 3 recommendations. We are all in pretty good shape, so going on a short hike wasn't going to kill us. So off we went. 

However, once we started going up stairs, we definitely felt the altitude. We were at 3,399 meters (11,152 feet). And we started breathing heavy very quickly. Good thing for scenic stops for photo opportunities. 

Working for the view.

We eventually made it up all the stairs and some dirt trails to see Cristo Blanco up close. You would think we were in Rio. But we were not.

Cristo Blanco.

The view down below was pretty amazing and worth the hike up. 

Cusco.

After our hike, we headed back down to find food and rest. I mean, we were starting a 4-day hike the following day. Too bad we couldn't reward ourselves with a cervesa or pisco sour. Once we got to Machu Picchu we would though. 

Plaza de Armas.

Later on, we had our briefing, received our duffles, and had a low-key meal. Of course most of us were up all night getting ready, and the 5:30am pick-up came too quickly. But we were ready to get started. And even though I was a bit sleepy, I was pretty excited to get started. 

Packed and ready to go.