Today is Saturday and yesterday was our last opportunity to soak up the amazing architecture, culture and history of the lovely city of Cusco. Daughter Gill knew I would love it there and she was absolutely right. (She usually is but don’t tell her I said that). Early in the morning I wandered over from our hotel down the narrow streets that were originally set out by the Incas generations ago and sat in the Plaza Major in Cusco on the stone steps where millions of footsteps over time have smoothed out the granite, sipping on my Starbucks tea. My only irritation was the frequent visits by sellers of everything from ice cream to alpaca scarves, to paintings. Seems like I stood out as a tourist. Damn blue eyes and pale skin.
Yes, for the first time in South America I broke down and visited a North American franchise. I’ve been really adventurous in trying the delicious local food and food preparations. This is the only Starbucks I have seen, and it was very discreetly tucked away in the courtyard in the corner of the square. Once inside I could have been in a Starbucks in any of the stores in North America. I was looking for a decent cup of tea but alas I’ve discovered it’s the taste of the leche (milk) that I’m not crazy about, not so much the tea. The only noticeable North American franchise in much of my travels here has been KFC who were also prominent in Africa. Not sure how they manage that. There was a MacDonald’s on the square as well, but it was equally as discreet, thankfully, and not busy at all.
The school children, somewhat older yesterday than the day before, were there again, with a military marching band, doing some sort of drill while their proud parents watched on. At one point, the whole square was standing almost at attention and singing what I think might have been the national anthem as the Peruvian flag was raised on the square along side the Cusco flag. It was pretty moving, whatever song it was. I lallygagged around, rather thrilled to have some downtime on my own before our 11 am departure from our hotel in Cusco. I wanted to savour a few more moments of the history and culture of this great city built by the Incas and literally built on by the Spanish before Peru’s independence in 1821.
The wall in the picture below is right around the corner from our hotel and is considered one of the best examples of Incan building techniques. No lasers for measuring and cutting back then.
I wandered back through the historic part of the city to our hotel just as it was time to grab our suitcases and head down our narrow little street on to a major thoroughfare to wait for our private bus that would take us to the airport. We cleared through the traffic, check in and security process in good time and the flight was on time.
We arrived into Lima just as rush hour was on. Oh.my.goodness. I don’t think I could drive here. The drivers are crazy, driving with equal pressure on the gas pedal and horn. Traffics signals, lights and lanes seem to be merely suggestions. And as pedestrians, you just have to go for it and hope for the best.
We arrived safely at our hotel, my least favourite one on the tour, in the Miraflores district of Lima, about 30 – 45 minutes from the airport. We last stayed over night in this hotel on our way through to Cusco and you may recall that we didn’t arrive until very late and then had to be up at some ungodly hour to catch our flight that was subsequently delayed 2 hours. This time the hotel didn’t seem as dour as the previous time, but it’s definitely tired and in need of a re-do. But the neighbourhood it is in, Miraflores, is spectacular. Our guide said it was one of the most affluent in Lima and you can tell. I am so sorry I didn’t have even one day there to wander. It’s alive with people walking and jogging, playing and eating on patios along the pedestrian walkway in the middle of the main avenue with lots of restaurants and shops, music and entertainment. The avenue makes it’s way down to the Pacific and the beaches there within a 20 minute walk or so. Next time.
Our last dinner together as a group was last night and our CEO, Katy, chose a fabulous restaurant with an outdoor patio right in the heart of the action for us to enjoy. Its specialty is ceviche and although we’d mostly been warned by our travel docs not to eat ceviche, many of us threw caution to the wind and ordered it last night. We also had the drink specialty, you got it, Pisco Sours. They were potent but (or possibly because) we really enjoyed them. Hopefully the alcohol killed any potential bugs. The Mom and daughter from Calgary, Janice and Erin, were travelling together to celebrate Janice’s birthday and Katy organized a Black Forest Birthday Cake for Janice which she shared with all of us. It was a lovely way to end the tour. Some of us had been together for the Ecuador and Peru tours (14 days) and others for just for the Peru portion (8 days).
On our walk back to the hotel last night we were able to enjoy the nightlife (if you can call 8:30 pm night life) including some dancing in nearby JFK Park (yes, The JFK)
Our senses were alive with the sounds, smells and sounds of Peruvians at play. Once back in the lobby of the hotel, it was hugs all around as we said goodbye to the group of people with whom we had enjoyed our shared experiences over the past couple of weeks. Like any trip when the itinerary is as packed as this one was, it seemed like we’d been together for months. It’s always an interesting study in human nature to be in a group travelling together. Like-minded people tend to migrate towards each other, but this group stayed pretty cohesive throughout our travels, looking out for each other and sharing knowledge, experience and the odd sip or taste of each other’s meal choices. I spent a lot of my time with Cara, from Salem, Oregon as we shared similar interests and somewhat the same west coast life experiences. But I enjoyed the company of many of our fellow travellers.
Peru was a wonderful experience, right up there near the top of my favourites list, although I think because of the diversity of our tour in Ecuador I would put it higher on the list. No maybe Machu Picchu trumped diversity. Hard to say. Of course, each had their strengths and special moments.
I’m currently on my flight from Lima to Quito after a hair raising taxi ride to the airport, which included the crunching of my driver’s rear right bumper by another taxi behind as he tried to sneak into another lane. My driver jumped out to check the damage but the other taxi was long gone. Check in, customs, security and boarding went without a hitch other than the usual 3 gate changes that seem to be a compulsory part of air travel in Peru.
Tonight I’ll meet up with the group for my next adventure, the Galapagos. I’m staying at a different hotel in Quito than previously, and this one is closer to the Old Town and Artisan market, so I may get out and about some this afternoon. Unfortunately I’ve picked up a cold, and Janice if you’re reading this, I’m not blaming you. With the rigorous schedule we’ve been keeping, along with the lack of sleep and dealing with altitude, it was almost inevitable that I would pick up a bug. I just hope it doesn’t play havoc with my ability to enjoy the snorkelling that is to come in this next phase of my trip.
My postings will be rather erratic in the next 10 days as we move in and out of wifi range. I’ll try and keep up my posts though so when we hit an area with wifi that I can fire them off.
With that, I’ve timed it rather nicely, our flight is in final descent so off I go to get ready for the next transfer from airport to hotel.
Lois' Adventures 