Out and Back in Peru

The Red Tiled Roofs of Cusco

A View from the balcony, Hostal El Balcon, July 2, 2004

Photo Gallery

Day 1-To Lima

July 1, 2004

Day 3-Cusco

July 3, 2004

Day 4-Pisac

July 4, 2004

Day 5-MP Trek

July 5, 2004

Day 6-MP Trek

July 6, 2004

Day 7-MP Trek

July 7, 2004

Day 8-Machu Picchu, Aquas Calientes

July 8, 2004

Day 9-Ollantaytambo

July 9, 2004

Day 10- Cusco

July 10, 2004

Day 11-12-Cusco, Lima, Home

July 11-12, 2004

Resource Review

Day 2 - July 2, 2004

Lima to Cusco, In and Around Cusco

Four am finally arrived and the Jorge Chavez International Airport was once again bustling, check-in time for all 5:45 am flights to Cusco.  We retrieved our luggage and hurried through check-in and to the gate.  Chaos ruled in the gate area as six Cusco flights on three different airlines prepared to board 100's of passengers.  The PA system blared a continuous stream of flight information in Spanish and broken English.  Mentally fatigued from being up all night, we struggled to sort through the announcements that pertained to us.

It was still quite dark and rainy outside as we watched several buses load, leave the gate and return with their passengers.  Didn't take long to figure out that low clouds hanging over Cusco had delayed all flights. We waited for 15-20 minutes and again watched as buses reloaded and left. Finally our bus loaded, unloaded and reloaded and we boarded our plane, Taca Airlines.  What a great plane...nice, roomy, clean, friendly.  Did we mention roomy?  Peruvian airlines have not yet taken the seat configuration chart out of the US plane design manual.  Since most Peruvians are shorter than their US counterparts, we can only guess that comfort and service still mean something in Peru.

Our flight lasted about 45 minutes and we stayed glued to our window the entire time.  Mountain tops peaked above the heavy cloud cover below us.  The sight was quite spectacular!  By the time we arrived in Cusco, the rain was coming down in buckets.  Isn't this suppose to be the dry season??!

We were unprepared for the Cusco airport.  As we deplaned, we heard loud tapping on the glass window above us. We looked up to see masses of people pressed against the glass.  Many were holding signs...hey a sign with our name!  Martin, our transport driver was waiting to take us to our hotel.

Luggage pickup, a two carousel affair, was small and crowded.  A Peruvian band played loud native music as much for a tip as a welcome to Cusco.  Manned booths for trekking services, hotels, restaurants, and taxis lined the walls.  We jostled our way to the appropriate carousel and waited.  The atmosphere was carnival like and the sound level deafening.  All in all, a bit overwhelming for three people who were on their 26th hour without sleep.

Finally our bags were in hand and, after some issues with Beverly misplacing the luggage check tags (needed to get out of security), we were in our taxi and on the way to the hostal.  We quickly discovered that Cusco taxi drivers are related to New York taxi drivers...nothing is scared including potholes, people, cars and animals.  And, like their brethren in the Big Apple, Cusco taxi drivers honk the horn at absolutely everything!  We would have used the New York technique of "heads down, do not look out the front window" but we were too fascinated by the city unfolding before us. Cusco, the city of red tiled roofs.

Our Street, Tambo de Montero

Our taxi pulled to a stop in front of a set of double doors about halfway down a narrow, cobblestone street.  Martin jumped out, rang a discrete bell and the heavy doors popped open revealing a small lobby.  The time was 8:30 am and we were at the Hostal El Balcon.

Our rooms were not quite ready so we were ushered through the beautiful courtyard and seated at an outdoor table protected from the still falling rain by a red tiled roof.  Immediately cups of hot mate de coca tea were thrust in our hands.  Coca tea is

brewed from coca leaves and said to alleviate altitude sickness.  I took one sip and started pouring in sugar while John toughed it out.  We gulped several cups and decided the tea was quite good after all. Martin and someone from the hotel staff discussed  with us our plans for Cusco and Pisac. We reserved a van for Sunday to visit the ruins above Cusco and the Pisac Sunday market.   We continued to sip tea

for almost an hour until our rooms were ready.  

were ready.

The rooms were very basic but comfortable.  John and I were on the 2nd floor balcony level with a great view of the city, while Barbara was located on the courtyard level.  Our rooms had white adobe and stone walls, hardwood floors, a bed, a couple of small tables, a small closet-dressing area and a terra cotta tiled bathroom with sink, toilet and shower. We decided to lay down for about 45 minutes to read and relax.  Two hours later we woke up.

Our most important task for the day was to find SAS Travel and pay for our trek to Machu Picchu.  We met Barbara in the front lobby and headed to the Plaza de Armas, center of Cusco and home to SAS. It was still raining lightly.                                                                    

El Balcon, looking toward the Lobby

Along the way, we noticed many small shops and travel agencies lined the roads offering treks to Machu Picchu, Manu, Nasca and other exotic places.  We quickly located our agency and went inside.

SAS was busy but we were helped immediately. Several months ago we emailed SAS to request a 3:00 pm train from Aquas Calientes to Ollantaytambo (a $20.00 additional charge to the 5:45 am ticket included in the trek price).  Just two weeks prior to the trip we emailed that we wanted to change back to the early morning train.  Both times our emails were met with a gracious "no problem."  But, when we started talking to the representative (who we later learned was the owner), all of a sudden it was a problem.  He wanted to charge us a 10% fee for the change. He was not speaking much English and we were lost in Spanish.  We noticed a light skinned, light haired English speaking guy standing behind the owner but he did not step in to help us. This caused some frustration on my part.

Then, for reasons we did not understand at the time, we were loaded into a van and driven away.  Our stop turned out to be the train station.  Our driver waited outside while we were ushered in by an agent of the railway (military looking uniform with pants tucked in his boots). Our passports were taken away, inspected and we were shuffled between several people who never spoke to us, just looked at us. Someone finally handed us a fistful of money and we were escorted back outside, loaded in the van and dropped off at SAS.  Very clandestine feeling. As it turns out, only the ticket holder can exchange the ticket and receive cash.  We handed the money back to our SAS representative and the 10% charge was apparently dropped.

Back on the Plaza, we were ready for our first real look around. Seems like we were on the street for about two seconds before we were approached by our first street seller.  From that moment on, we were never left alone.  Street sellers pushed us to buy everything from postcards to guide services.  This was a novelty in the beginning but quickly wore thin.  John always gave a very stern "no." I was more hesitant but usually said no while Barbara tried to make a friend out of most every seller that approached.  Needless to say, this kept a steady stream of hopefuls following along.  We quickly dubbed her the "piped piper of the street people." (Note: I ended up buying a watercolor, 5 postcards and a carved gourd on the street.  I am pleased with all three purchases.)

The other aggravation that plagued us in Cusco was the menu hawkers.  Almost every restaurant had one and their job was to approach people (tourists)  on the street and entice them into a specific establishment. "Look at my menu, eat here, nice balcony, nice fireplace, free pisco sours."  Oh my!  When surrounded by several menu hawkers, it became difficult to move!

By late afternoon we stumbled into what became our favorite restaurant, CICCIOLINA Bodega-Tapas-Restuarante (Triunfo St. #393, Second Floor, open 11 a.m. until late in the evening, everyday).  Yummy!  For 66.50/soles for three (or $19.00 US total) we had incredible herbed spice tea (with lime, mint, clove and cinnamon) and delicious tapas. Yes, expensive for Cusco but worth it!  A Norah Jones CD played softly in the background and the atmosphere was elegantly casual. We decided to eat here again before leaving Peru.

We walked around window shopping, strolling in and out of stores that interested us.  By 5:00 pm it was almost dark so we returned to our hotel, tired but not quite ready for bed. The three of us stopped in the dining room for a cup of hot mate de coca tea and the opportunity to discuss our day. The hotel chef came through the dining area and we talked her into preparing a bowl of vegetable soup and bread for us. (We later learned that she cooked for the staff every night)  The vegetables were different from traditional US veggie soup and the soup base was green instead of tomato red.  Excellent soup and just enough to warm our chilled and weary bones.  Back in our rooms by 7:00 pm, we were sound asleep by 8:00 pm.