Before traveling to India in December of 2013, I wrote my travel blogs on Facebook. I have been meaning to transfer the photos and information to my WordPress blog for a while. When the daily photo journal of our trip began posting to the section of Facebook that shows what I was doing on this date in the past I decided there was no time like the present to transfer the trip we took to Peru three years ago. It was a trip to remember. One of best trips I have ever been on in my life. If you have visiting Machu Picchu on your bucket list, do it! Do not mess around, do it!
On the road, day 1: 1st we took a car then a plane then another plane then another plane. Life’s a journey. And this one only has plastic forks!! Waiting to go to Houston
Day 2: In Houston. I just spent 1 hour and 603 calories on that. Setting 16: hill: Whew. I am so ready for Machu Picchu.
I am already having a great time. I am such a vagabond. Funny how I am. I love my posse of friends so much, and their husbands and kids. And then there are all of my own kids. But wow do I love to see the world. Good thing I was born in this time so I can always have both. What I figured out in the last hour: 1. Skrillex sounds like Mickey Mouse on roids. Thank you Sean for adding that to my playlist, and 2. I wonder if I should go native and speak with my Texas accent for the rest of the day? Even after all these years it still sounds authentic.
Just waiting now to take the red eye to Lima. We will be in the air when it goes from today to tomorrow. After tonight 2 weeks of photos from Peru! Talk to you then.
Day 3: We did not leave the airport when we got to Lima. We sat around for a couple of hours and then caught the plane to Cusco. We will stop and spend some time in Lima at the end of our trip. At this point we just want to get to Cusco so that we can begin acclimating to the altitude.
These are two way streets on the way to our hotel.
When we travel I like to find places off the beaten path. I spend a lot of time looking for really cool eclectic places especially at the start of the trip. Often when we travel we only book rooms for the beginning of the trip. It is important to book those rooms though, because when you land you will be exhausted, and you don’t want to be looking for a place to stay then. Upstairs at our suite/ apartment. All the rooms are decorated to theme. This is the imperial Inca suite.
Our room has cases of potsherds from ancient Inca times found when they renovated this hotel.
The view from our room at the Quinoa Boutique Hotel. Both Jim and Sean told me I did a great job choosing hotels:) Cusco is pretty amazing already. Flying from Lima to Cusco you fly over mountain tops peaking through the clouds. Cusco is at 11,000 feet. The descent reminded me a little of flying into Aspen with all the banking and mountains. We are staying in the San Blas area of Cusco. It is the historic district. It is COOL!
The courtyard where we are staying.
Cusco is built on steep hills. We got in and slept a couple of hours. Now I just need to get Jim moving so we can explore.
Lunch
If they could only see how our guinea pigs live! Ha ha. Jim tried the alpaca. He said it was pretty good.
Cusco is one of the few colonially conquered towns that did not demolish the native masonry. The walls here at the bottom were built by the Incas. The Incas were excellent masons.
There are lots of Incan women walking around with these types of clothes on.
The main square in San Blas
Cusco has the largest population of any high altitude city in the world. Which makes sense when you think of how few cities there probably are at this altitude. Our cameras just do not capture the beauty of the rolling green hills/mountains/peaks with a city sprawling over them, with roosters and dogs crowing and barking in the background.
They made chocolate here. Peruvian chocolate does not taste like European or American chocolate. It is less sweet and less creamy. They make a drink called Mayan hot chocolate that uses chili pepper and very little sugar.
From our hotel balcony at night.
It was Ash Wednesday in Cusco
Check out day four here.