First day in Cuzco

We arrived in Lima Peru around 4 am and connected to our Cuzco flight...my Phillies shirt attracted some attention by fellow Americans...also on a similar trip. My bags were on the carosel before I was even there to pick them up (this was a first)...we changed some USD for Soles (Peruvian currency) and were promptly greeted by our choice of American fast food joints...Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. How disappointing after thousands of miles and 15 hours of travel time! I was hoping for something a bit more ¨Peruvian¨. Despite my annoyance at finding all of our American conveniences after barely setting foot in Peru, it certainly didn´t stop me from grabbing a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Apparently my Spanglish isn´t up to speed...I got a ´cafe americano´instead of el cafe. Oh well. Oh, and they nicknamed Andy Andre, haha.



We breezed through customs and soon found ourselves on our final leg of our trip headed for Cuzco. I really hadn´t slept much on the red eye flight but we ascended on the plane just in time for the sunrise to illuminate the Andes mountains...what a sight! I certainly couldn´t sleep after that...The mountains were incredible...very amber-brown in color with snowcapped peaks and deep ravines with squiggly rivers running through (at least that´s what it looked like from my vantage point)....our pilot whose last name was ¨Gaylord¨believe it or not, made some expert manuveurs through mountain canyons to get us to a safe landing...



Upon arrival to Cuzco we were immiately hounded by approximately 38 (muy cortos) men offering to carry our bags, provide us a taxi etc. We politely refused every time (no gracias) and risked life and limb trying to get our bags off of the lightning speed baggage belt! They don´t mess around...they want you outta there fast! I used my impeccable Spanish skills to negotiate a deal on our taxi ride to Hotel Prismo. It was sorta cold and overcast and we seemed to be driving through town just as everyone was starting their morning commute. There are lots of hatchback cars similar to mine but much smaller on the road, and public buses )that look more like mini vans...jam packed with people. We were at a red light next to a woman holding her baby who was about an inch from our window. We were delivered to Hotel Prismo and were surprised at just how cute the hotel is! Hadas- it reminds me of the place we stayed in Hue Vietnam...little balconies to people´s rooms on the inside with a small cafe. A young boy insisted on carrying all of our luggage (bless him) up the 4 flights of stairs...after we were served our first steaming hot cup of coca tea...tasted similar to black tea to me...with leaves floating around in it...I thought it was pretty good, Andy thought it needed some azucar -sugar.



Our room is small but clean (and certainly not a dump Dr. Hyatt!). We have a little terrace that looks over the street with a great view of a hillside with Cuzco written into it somehow...it´s very quaint. We changed and headed out to explore El Plaza del Armas...

Almost immediately we were attacked by 2 women dressed in traditional garb forcing a baby lamb into my arms! Of course to take a picture it costs money...´whatever you want to pay´one minute turned into ´´oh that no work´ the next when we tried to give them less than un sol. They finally settled on a couple soles. We were starving...a young artist boy trying to sell us his work directed us to ´Govinda Lila´s´ a small little vegetarian restaurant run by the sweetest little woman...it was one room with her kitchen sort of hidden by a large cabinet holding her handmade postries. She whipped us up 2 sopas 'soup' and we shared a vegetable curry with quinoa. For dessert we had fresh jugo 'juice'...pineapple and papaya...and just as we were paying la cuenta, the schoolchildren started running by outside with donkeys...apparently they race donkeys here in the mid afternoon! They were dressed in hats and all sorts of colorful Peruvian garb...and the kids were getting really mad at the slow ones who absolutely refused to run. The poor donkeys...but it was quite a sight! Afterwards we wandered through the San Blas section and stumbled upon a cooking contest...complete with chefs on stage with white hats and judges and everything...pretty interesting.

I don´t know if it was the altitude of 11,000 feet that suddenly hit us after lunch but we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a nap. It was only noon but felt like midnight to me! Oh and btw, if you are in need of reading glasses, cell phones or are craving an ice cream cone...Cuzco is the place to be. Ive never seen so many optical places...and they have these soft serve ice cream machines out front of almost every store! The streets are cobblestone and immaculately clean. There are people in uniforms walking around with brooms quickly sweeping up litter...and all of the women here strap their baby on their back with this cloth folded into a triangular shape. It´s no baby bjorn but seems to do the trick...and some of these kids are pretty big to be carried on someone´s back but I guess it´s easier than dragging them through the streets...which tend to be pretty crowded. I also have yet to see a real carseat...seems as though women sit in the backseat of cars holding their babies.

I suspect that Peru doesn´t have any emission standards because the exhaust fumes on the streets are overwhelming...we made it back to the hotel and I climbed right into bed...the sheets smelled heavenly of laundry detergent and there are layers of wool blankets...I tried my best not to think of when the last time ...if ever...they saw a washing machine was, but I was so tired I really didn´t care! The bed was warm and comfortable...we woke up in time for dinner around 6pm, I was happy that the shower was scalding hot. We tried Índigos for dinner...boasting Thai food. I must say, the Tom Yam Gai sopa was an a fairly good rendition of the real Thai version...spicy with lemongrass and I guess in Peru they add some zucchini. We sat next to a wood burning stove and listened to some of our favorite karaoke tunes play overhead ...I can´t even recall any of the songs now but the last time I heard them was surely at karaoke. All I could think of were the poorly made Japanese home movies playing in the background at Yakatori Boy. Is it sad that I recall specific events from those films -I would insert question mark here but I cannot seem to get this keyboard to let me type it! This restaurant also had tables with swings for chairs which was different...and the servers were really nice, and patient with me attempting my Spanish skills once more. Andy tried the masaman curry...a thick spicy curry with chicken, vegetables and Thai spices which was also pretty good...but maybe went a bit overboard with the peanut butter.

We walked through the center square...it´s a brisk night, but clear and the plaza is busy. We arrived just after a wedding...they still throw rice on the couple afterwards here apparently...we saw them drive off in a convertible with a collection of aluminum cans clanking off the rear bumper! There are a lot of churches here...las iglesias. Andy wants to go to mass tomorrow but we just found out its at 7am! I don´t know if I´ll be up for that...we´ll see. Oh, and we caught the tail end of a brazo fuerte competition...yes, that´s right...arm wrestling. It was rather anticlimatic as the loser didn´t stand a chance...but it was a big ordeal. Maybe a Saturday night thing to do around here...the auditorium was pretty filled...

There was a small art-craft gallery that we walked through...one vendor had many religious paintings. One was rather explicit of the virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus...complete with exposed breasts and drops of milk. I really wanted a picture of that but Andy was too embarassed to let me take a photo in front of the artist. In retrospect, I guess it would have been disrespectful and maybe not culturally sensitive...

Anyway...after this we´ll probably check out a lounge or bar...then off to bed. Sunday is a big brunch day here so looking forward to that! Will have to get some restaurant recommendations...

Buenas Noches!