Finally in Cusco!
After months of having one of the top questions by locals be: have you been to Cusco? We can finally answer YES. We took an overnight bus from Arequipa via Cruz del Sur, THE western friendly bus to take in southern Peru. We liked it, but didn’t think it was anything over the top, especially since part of the route was on a dirt road and kept Matt awake.
So, we are back at high elevation, and it is cold! It feels possibly colder than Puno, although it is at a lower elevation than Puno. A little rain at night, but not too much. The streets remind me of Granada, Spain. The sidewalks are barely wide enough for one person, the cobblestone roads are barely wide enough for a car. The houses have terracotta roofs, and it could be quaint, except for the obvious fact that it’s a tourist town. Meaning, people approach quite often selling you paintings, jewelry, alpaca hats and massages. They aren’t very pushy, which is nice. And it’s cute to see the llamas walking around with their owners, even if they are just doing it for photo money.
So far we’ve walked around the city, did a trolley tour, and saw a local soccer game versus Arequipa (and the crowd was pretty rowdy. people brought flares and drums and trumpets into the stadium with them. we didn’t witness any violence, and cusco won. when we made the first goal, a guy rushed the field to hug the player that made the goal, so that was neat. Sadly, no streakers.) Things obviously cost more here than the rest of Peru, but the food is good. We had breakfast at a place called Jack’s, aptly named. I think Jack would be pleased with the large portion sizes. Very yummy breakfasts!
We found the Cusqueña Beer Factory but were not allowed in. I guess the concept of factory tours isn’t really understood here. The guard told us it’s just a factory, but if we really wanted to go in, we’d have to gather a group of 10 people and give them a week’s notice…notice for what? I’m not sure.