Peru 2019: Cusco
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| View of Cusco from our bedroom window. The city, which sits in the heart of the country and the mountains, is the jumping-off point for all trips to Machu Picchu. |
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019
We've arrived in Cusco, elevation 3,399 metres.
The taxi ride from the airport was entertaining. First, as we exited and were confronted by the usual swarm of aggressive taxi drivers, Shane decided to turn the tables, suggesting "What if I just call out 'Taxi!'?" He did just that, and instantly an enthusiastic little man with quick reflexes zoomed around the rest of the throng faster than Speedy Gonzalez to take us and our bags to his car.
We're quite sure he overcharged us, but he was friendly and informative, pointing out interesting landmarks along the ride. As the radio played Andean flute music we drove through dusty streets lined with vendors selling sacks of potatoes (Peru is home of the potato, of which they say there are more than 4,000 varieties), soft drinks (Inca Cola, anyone?), artisanal wears (alpaca hats, llama-themed T-shirts, silver jewellery …), hunks of (unrefrigerated) meat and so much more. Shane (between Instagram selfies) said he felt like he was in a movie, and I must admit I felt that way too.
There are so many stray dogs in the streets of this city. Just now, all the neighbouring canines were howling in unison in response to a bus with noisy brakes.
We're staying at a kind of B&B – an apartment, really – about a kilometre from the Plaza de Armas. It's wonderful: kitchen, living room, bathroom and three bedrooms for 100 Soles, or about $40 CAD. It is spotlessly clean and there is hot water and wifi. Our place is on the third floor with a great view of the city and mountains beyond. Clearly the building (like most of the buildings) doesn't adhere to strict construction codes, as the window ledges are not even hip height, so when you open the windows up, if you leaned over just a bit too far you could easily plummet to your death. It's disconcerting for fear-of-heights sufferers like me. Every time any one of us opens a window I feel it in the pit of my stomach and the roots of my teeth as the open space pulls and beckons. … The Inca Trail will challenge me in so many ways! Anyway, there's a rooftop terrace here – one more floor up – that has equally low walls and lots of little metal rods sticking out of the floor to trip on along the way. Even the staircase railing leaves lots of gaps you could easily fall through during your ascent.
But the hosts are super-friendly and attentive and it's really very authentic Peru in all its chaotic charm.
Now we're waiting for Karina, our smiling hostess, to bring us lunch – which will be Wolf's and my first meal in 24 hours. Wish us luck.
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| Just a few of the many, many street dogs of Cusco. |
After lunch (I gave in and had tuna as I really, really needed some protein) we went to sightsee and shop in and around the Plaza de Armas, spending too much money, of course.
Then we took "El Batman" back to our apartment. I love taking public transit when I travel, especially bouncy little buses playing Latin music. And it's really a bonus when the buses are named things like Batman, Pegaso (Pegasus) and Correcaminos (Roadrunner).It's hard to get over how many dogs – so many though not all of them homeless – are in the streets.
Meanwhile, my stomach is holding up, but Wolf's less so. Adventurous Shane, whose guts are apparently made of steel, wants to go out and eat cuy for dinner. That's Spanish for Guinea pig, a well-known Peruvian delicacy.
I am not the least bit tempted.
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Well, our dinner ranged from disappointing to outright horrifying.
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| Something for everyone on this menu. |
Mia ordered a vegetarian spaghetti dish, I got rice, eggs and fried banana, Wolf selected his favourite, lomo saltado (beef and tomato stir-fry with potatoes and rice) and Shane ordered his cuy, the most expensive dish on the menu (about 60 Soles, or $24 CAD). It was ceremoniously the last dish to arrive, and when it did our reactions ranged from taken aback to shocked and disgusted.
It was not "cuy chactado," the dish you see on most menus, but "cuy al horno" or oven-baked Guinea pig. And it looked more like insta-incinerated Guinea pig, the blackened creature still in one piece, standing on all fours on the plate complete with head, eyes and teeth. It felt like a scene from some campy horror movie, making me feel a little sick and bringing at least one tear to Mia's eye (though she denies this).
After turning the face away from me at my insistence, Shane tried to dig in, but found he could barely cut or bite through the leathery skin. Even Wolf (who has never tried cuy in his life) was grossed out. We finally asked the waitress to take the thing away and cut it up for us, and when Shane finally got to taste a morsel or two he found what little meat there was not very tasty at all. Meanwhile, the rest of our dishes were mediocre at best and we had lost our appetites anyway watching Shane try to hack away at an animal we keep as a pet at home.
Luckily, though, it was not an omen of meals to come.
Where we stayed: Departamentos Santa Ana Barrio Tradicional
Next: Inca Trail Day One
Previously:
Arequipa welcomes our stomachs
Airports and arrival
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