Peru Part 3: Cusco

Altitude sickness…no. Lack of sleep…yes! Chilling out for the day…absolutely yes! I’m getting the hang of these night bus travels, I think.

Cusco is a stunning little place with everything at one’s reach and I can see why some of the people ended up staying for an extended time or just move here because I’m thinking of doing it myself. There are just so much to offer and rich in culture and nature. Perhaps a stint out here for three to six months is in order for next year, combining Spanish classes with homestay in the city and the jungle (well, once I get my Spanish up to scratch).

The first part of my time in the city is to remedy the upset stomach from too much good food and get used to the altitude. The plan is to have some plain food to settle the tummy and I know exactly what I need to avoid, dairy. All those countless years of testing food came in handy after all. Fortunately, there was a Japanese restaurant round the corner from where I was staying that was just perfect for rice and miso, tummy was happy except when I had the delicious hot chocolate from Choco Museo and oh, the price I paid.

A walk up to Cristo Blanco seemed like a good idea to get the lungs working, so up I went. So many stairs!!! I made it up and that’s when I thought, ‘people in Cusco really like their stairs! seriously!!! (while panting like an old lady)‘. The view over the city made up for all the huffing and puffing, plus it’s a great way to get the heart pumping too.

Meeting up with Hilary was on the agenda next and thankfully she haven’t tried cuy yet, so we met up for dinner and caught up where we left off in Arequipa. She left for Puno while I was doing my Colca Canyon trek and arrived in Cusco a few days earlier to take Quechua classes. Nuna Raymi do know how to make delicious food and it was just the right place to try cuy without being freaked out with the whole presentation of the animal, which we both saw in the market towards the end of our trip.

While I was on my Salkantay trek, Hilary was on the Jungle trek for the same duration so that we can both be back to satisfy our obsession with chocolate making. Ok, obsession is a strong word but not when you see how much fun and how much chocolate we ate in the class. This is where the pictures will say more than the words I typed in.

The girl thought I was mad when I told her I was going out climbing the next day after I came back from the trek, while all she wanted to do was sleep in and take it easy. An opportunity like that are not to be missed and I was happy to have met Chino on the way back from the trek, where he was guiding a group on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Like Hilary, I had a good feeling about him and I’ve learnt to trust my instinct over the years. The crag was just on the outskirt of the city past Cristo Blanco and it was good to be out and climbing again. I was beaten by a 5b route and both of us was stuck on the crux…’I must return to complete this’ was what I had in mind, when we were leaving.

The rest of the time was spent chocolate making, walking around the city, shopping for no apparent reason (it’s Hilary’s influence, that girl is encourageable) and just hanging out. Visiting museums were on the agenda but somehow skipped to make way for other activities such as shopping, drinking hot chocolate and getting a tattoo, something inspired by the experience on the Salkantay trek.

Cusco, a city with character and all that I can ask for. The time I had there was just way too short and on the last day, I was already planning my return to the city and Peru. While on the bus to Puno, I realised I’ve left my heart in Cusco. The rest of this trip will be painful…