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We arrived in Cusco a few nights ago after the bus ride from Hell and immediately went to bed. We had to check out of Ukukus hostel at 10am on Monday morning because we had only booked one night there just in case we didn't like it. It was a fine hostel but we ended up finding a nice bed and breakfast to stay at for the week where we would have a private room, called Mallmanya Inn. Private rooms are usually more expensive than the dorm style rooms but at this little place the price was right. We set out in the morning to find our new hotel and with our heavy packs on it was quite a trek. In reality it was probably only a mile from Ukukus, but the altitude takes some getting used to and our bags are heavy. We wound our way through the streets densely packed with venders selling everything from fresh produce to TV remotes to various herbs and coca leaves and juices to toilet paper and toothpaste to these tiny little speckled eggs that maybe come from sparrows or something, I can't even venture a guess on that front. These people have their products laid out on blankets on the sidewalk or on carts and the streets are just packed full of venders, locals and tourists. Basically, I loved it. My first impression of Cusco is that it is a lively city full of artisan and produce markets and friendly locals and children everywhere and always crazy drivers, but there is so much life here and it's nestled in the heart of the Andes so the view of the surrounding mountains is fantastic. Just based on that walk it is already my favorite city we've been to so far. Chivay was cool, but I love Cusco. I am so excited to spend the entire week here.
We found our hotel, with the help of some very friendly locals. At one point we didn't know which street to take so we pulled out our map and almost instantly we were approached by 5 people all trying to guide us in the right direction. It was so awesome. When we checked in we found out that we had actually booked un cuarto matrimonio, so there was only one double bed in the room, instead of a double room with 2 beds. We tried it out for a night because an upgrade cost a little extra, but sharing didn't quite work out. I tried to warn Lauren that I'm a horrible cover hog but she didn't believe me until the next morning, so we promptly went down and asked to have a room with 2 beds. It was only 10 soles a night more per person, so about $3.50 per night more. I think I can handle the extra $15 dollars for my own bed, gotta love countries where everything is cheap.
That first day in Cusco we did little more than wander around and check out all the markets the city has to offer, as well as the Plaza de Armas, the main square. The San Pedro market is the biggest and most popular in Cusco, and it's awesome. Inside they have entire sections for fresh produce, nuts, grains and dried goods, local restaurants, rows of juice vendors that can make any type of jugo (juice) imaginable, and of course tons and tons of stalls selling chulpas (al paca sweaters) and hats and leg warmers and cool pants and bags, anything a tourist could want. I got some local chocolate which I'm really excited to try. The first time we entered the market we made the mistake of entering through the meat section, which was a little gnarly. They had all the usual cuts of meat that one might take home and make into a meal, but there were also entire cow heads, and what I think were piles of black sheep faces with the teeth still in, and cow legs with the hooves attached and whole chickens with their feet still intact. It was a bit much for us and the stench was overwhelming. Since then we have made sure to steer clear of that corner of the market.
On Monday afternoon we met up with the Irish boys and walked around the main square a bit before deciding to go to Paddy's Pub. You can probably guess by the name that it is indeed an Irish bar. There we met an Irish couple and everything started off alright, but unfortunately the girl drank too much and became extremely obnoxious and her boyfriend was a scumbag. He was telling us all how he made up fake business cards saying he was a journalist from Ireland reporting on all the hostels and restaurants of Peru, so these places would give him free rooms and food. He was basically just a horrible person scamming people in a poor country who aren't as well off as he is, and bragging about it. Before learning all this the one thing I found entertaining about the situation was that Lauren and I had been able to understand the Irishmen perfectly fine all week, but once they started chatting with the other Irish people we suddenly couldn't understand them at all. They were supposedly still speaking English but their true Irish came out or something. All I know is that we were lost pretty much the whole time with no idea what anyone was talking about. Fortunately the Brazilian guys sitting at the next table struck up a conversation with me so I was able to escape the 2 most immoral people I have ever met in my life and make some new friends instead. Luciano and his friends are from a beautiful little island in Brazil called Florianopolis and they were wonderful to talk to. After hanging out at the bar for about 5 hours (we even decided to just have dinner there because the boys had drank so much and didn't want to walk anywhere) we finally split ways with the Irishmen and headed back to our place. I felt fine because I had only had one pisco sour; I have learned my lesson with drinking mass quantities of beer at high altitude.
Yesterday morning we got up whenever we wanted, which hasn't happened as often as you might think on this trip. We've always had a bus to catch or somewhere to be so it was nice to just laze around for a change. We enjoyed the continental breakfast, and I have taken to drinking matte de coca in the morning (coca leaf tea) to help me better adjust to the altitude. 11,000 feet doesn't sound very substantial but we've been living quite literally at sea level for the past 3 years, and walking up the 3 flights of stairs to our room everyday is still somewhat challenging. The coca leaf has an enzyme that helps thin your blood so it can circulate faster through your body and deliver more oxygen, so I'm down with the coca. After breakfast we wandered to the main square to enjoy a free walking tour of Cusco that started around noon. We didn't know if it would be all that exciting but it ended up being far better than we anticipated. Our guide was lively and very funny and spoke English quite well, so he was able to make jokes and really interact with the group. It was such a great tour that we are considering doing the Spanish version just to get more language practice. During the tour we learned a bit about the history of Cusco and Peru's most revered man, Tupac Amaru. He lived in the early 1800's, after the Spanish conquistadors had already come over and enslaved the indigenous people, forcing them to work in the gold and silver mines in horrendous working conditions for hundreds of years. Tupac was the man who recognized that this slavery system wasn't cool, so he became very outspoken about human rights and stood up to the Spanish. The Spanish leaders at the time of course killed him and his entire family in horrible ways (all in the name of God mind you), because for some reason this is how people saw fit to treat each other. Human history is fun like that. But his voice had sparked a revolution and Peru became an independent nation not too long after. In fact, the American rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur was named after this Peruvian Tupac because his mother was a Black Panther in the 60's fighting for human rights and she was touched by Tupac's story. Her son then grew up to become a famous rapper who sang of change and freedom and basic rights, cool end to the story right? I thought so. I guess Tupac Amaru is like the Peruvian Simón Bolívar, who is recognized for freeing Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador from Spanish rule. So there's your history lesson for the day, hope you all enjoyed it.
We also learned on the tour that Cusco is shaped like a leaping puma, with the head being the Sacsaywayman mountain, the chest being the Plaza de Armas, and the four legs branching out from this main square. I still have yet to look on a map to check this out but maybe you all will see the city as a leaping cat, look it up. After our history lesson we were led up many many flights of stairs into the winding, twisting alleyways of the Bohemian district. Clearly Lauren and I did not know of this beforehand or we would've absolutely booked our hostel there. It's a really cool district full of cobblestone alleyways and cool shops and vegetarian restaurants and live music every night at one of the bars. When we get back from our trek to Machu Picchu we are definitely staying up in that district. We got to go into the home of a local guy who professionally makes musical instruments. This guy invited all of us in and showed us the variety of traditional Peruvian instruments he makes, including hand carved guitars made from a single piece of wood (they aren't actually guitars, they're called something else here but I don't remember), wooden clarinet type things, and Peruvian flutes which have 2 rows of wooden pipes stuck together that you blow into to create the different sounds. He also demonstrated how to play his instruments, it was very cool.
The tour ended at a little bar where we received a free pisco sour, not bad for a free tour. The rest of the day we spent wandering around the city, popping into the numerous markets. We got some fresh veggies from San Pedro Market and headed back to our hostel to make dinner. We usually try to find a hostel with a kitchen so we can cook dinner (by 'we' I mean that Lauren cooks for me :D) and we end up saving a bit of money that way. More importantly it allows us to eat a little more healthy than we would if we were consistently eating out at restaurants.
This morning after breakfast we spent some time on the computer looking into Bolivia and Colombia. We have decided that it is rather silly to be here for 5 months and only visit 2 countries, so after Cusco we are going to Puno to visit Lago Titicaca for a couple days, then we will cross the Bolivian border and head to Copacabana to see the Bolivian side of the lake. Unfortunately, because our government is just so great and open to people of other countries visiting our oh-so-perfect country of America (we charge at least $100 dollars for South Americans just to APPLY for a visa, meaning there is still a likelihood they will be denied entry, seems fair), Americans are the only ones who have the joy and privilege of paying the $135 visa fee into Bolivia. I'm not feeling at all sassy today, by the way. But moving right along, we have heard such great things about Bolivia from fellow travelers that we have decided to go. After Copacabana we will head up to La Paz, and from there probably catch a plane up to Madidi National Park to see the Bolivian Amazon. After that the goal is to head south to Salar de Uyuni, the famous salt flats of southern Bolivia. Nothing is set in stone but Lauren and I are both excited about seeing another country or 2 while we're down here.
For lunch we went to an awesome vegetarian place with a great menu, and we both got the lentil burger and shared a pitcher of lemonade, it was so good. We will probably go there tomorrow as well. We spent the afternoon wandering around Cusco and running some errands, like visiting the South American Explorers Clubhouse here in Cusco and finding some great information about the Sacred Valley (which we will visit after Machu Picchu) and some info on Bolivia. Then we went to the coffee and chocolate market where I got probably too much chocolate, but it's so cheap I couldn't resist. It was like 5 soles for a bar, which is less than $2. How am I going to pass that up?
Tomorrow we plan to spend the day shopping in the markets and loading ourselves up with Peruvian clothing, should be dangerously fun.
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