Peru 2015 - Cusco (06 & 07 Dec 2015)

   Cusco was the first city that I visited in Peru and was the city which I spent the longest time in Peru. For those of you who don't know, Cusco is located on a valley in the Andes, and is the most visited city by tourists in Peru. It was the capital of the Incan Empire, which dominated the Andes for about 150 years before the civil war and the arrival of the conquistadors from Spain. What is special about it is it does not have a visible river that flows through the old historic town so water must be irrigated from elsewhere. The old city is listed as UNESCO heritage site (the other two are the Old Town of Lima and Arequipa) because of its cobble stone roads and beautiful architecture.

   I have learned previously that the taxi drivers will overcharge tourists with the taxi to the city so I decided to walk to the city itself. It was 5:30 on 06 Dec in the morning so I figured it would be a good time to walk around and get myself familiarise with the city.

   I took me a while to figure out the location of Namaste House (the place owned by a Hare Krishna practitioner and I would like to experience different types of accommodations  and it would fun to interact with travellers and locals). I was exhausted by the lack of sleep in my two legged flight from Seattle to Lima so I went to a two hour massage session (later I regretted about it and I should have asked Dhruva instead.

   I walked around the Old Town aimlessly and bought some fake hoodies & There are tourist operators all over in Cusco. I went to a pastry shop called Pantastico in Barrio San Blas and the storekeeper (Naysha) showed me different sites (Qorinkancha and Saqsaywaman) and I decided to buy a tourist ticket (Boleto Turistico) to see the various sites. Later two Asian tourists (Calvin and Sofia) came over and we had a good chat for about an hour. I was tired enough and I walked back to Nameste House. Ana, a Romanian Fulbright Scholar that works in Quito, invited me to come to a concert with Incan rock band. It was an awesome performance, but I was too tired to enjoy it. Ana was also tired because of excess rock climbing. We went back to Nameste House by 12:30 at night.

San Blas Plaza in Cusco

Peruvian and Incan flag in Plaza de Armas

Easy tourist money for the local Peruvians

   I got up at about 6:30 in the morning on 07 Dec. I walked to Avenida el Sol to get some Peruvian currency - sol. After that, I walked to the museum and the garden of Qorinkancha to check out some history and artifacts of the Incan time and bought boleto turistico (the ticket where many of the Incan sites would require). At about 11:00, I walked south to Monumneto Inca Pachacutec and learned about the famous Inca Pachacutec and saw the skyline of Cusco from the observation deck. The view was okay. After that, I walked to Pavitos to catch the Coletivo to Ollantaytambo.

   I had some conversations with Sebastien about various topics and experiences in travelling and I admire his willingness to trek despite on . The colectivo went up to the hill to the much less desirable areas of Cusco and it was interesting to see that part of daily lives of poorer Peruvians. The colectivo drove by Chinchero, Urubamba, and finally to Ollantaytambo. Sebastien and I parted way, and I walked up to the ruin using my boleto turistica. It was the first ruin I walked and the scenery was stunning. I stayed there long enough, and made it to the train station to catch the IncaRail to Aguas Calientes six minutes before the train would take off.