cusco

first day
i arrived cusco at 6:30am after a 10 hour bus trip. no hostel. no map. no plan. i just knew i was not going to machu pichu, been there. right before leaving my hostel in arequipa, the awesome lady at the front desk gave me an address for a hostel, and that worked.
there is a free walking tour. walking, remember i just came from colca? well, this tour was 3 1/2 hours of walking, getting an idea of how to walk the city, getting free stuff and having people try to convince you to buy stuff. i sat in plaza regocijo for about an hour, waiting for the tour, coffee in hand, watching the people. the sun started to come out and there was some blue in the sky. thankfully, raining season does not mean that it rains every day. there was blue, and i was glad.

we were taken to learn about alpahaca and llama wool.


 we went to the chocolate museum. peru is one of the biggest exporter of cacao (supposedly a quechua word). we got to try some choco and some tea made up of the nip of the cacao seed. de.li.cious. :)

at the fine arts school i learned some inca history. about how both men and women were warriors. about how Mamahuca, a woman, kicked a priest on the chest, took out his lung with her bare hands, earned respect (or fear) for the incas and conquered cusco. badass and scary.

then we ate some causa. mashed potatoes, chicken, mayo, avocado,chile and an egg half. the women in Lima used to sell it for "the cause", hence the name. la causa was helping the bolivian and peruvian soldiers during the war against chile.

after the tour i kept walking around and ended up in barrio san blás, the artisans barrio, overlooks the city of cusco, where, appart from the view, i found some interesting fence protection. ;)

second day
i woke up early(ish) to visit the cathedral becuase people have told me how amazing it was, so despite being reluctant to visit churches, after 6months in europe, i went.  here is a picture of the outside, with me covering it... they didn't let me in because i didn't want to pay 25soles. no sir.

i spent the day visiting inca ruins ouside cusco (another post) and ended up back in town. i am amazed at how many people are out on the plazas and the streets. walking, playing, eating. people are out! on a thursday!!!

i had been trying to visit the san pedro market but both times i get there too late. so, this time I tried some anticuchos. pinchos (in puertorrican). instead of a bread, they have a potato on top! 2 soles = less than $1 for some little deliciousnessss.

third day
lazy day. i-just-want-to-chill day. but i am in cusco... and i have to do something.

so i tried, i went to the market to get some fruit and breakfast. i met lucy, older peruvian lady from the valley that thaught me what a granadilla is.

 it is like passion fruit, but sweeter. good stuff. we talked for like 20 minutes, lucy is my friend now. we talked about the pope quitting, the meteorite that didn´t kill us, peruvian celebrities gossip, her story, about her son and my own story.. i went back to talk to lucy three times . yes, she was my friend. :)  i was supposed to leave to puno on a night bus, so she gave me oranges and bannanas for the road. sweet lucy.

still hungry, i kept walking, looking for some breakfast... and either i was late or people eat chicken [especifically hen in this case] soup for breakfast. shady looking spot, but such a nice lady. whatever, i said to myself, it smells delicious and i am eating this. chicken soup, well made.

later i went to two museums, bought a book about peruvian socialism, walked in the rain, got lost around the city and found my wat back with no map, went back to talk to lucy and eat more 4soles goodness.

like i said, i was supposed to get on a bus to puno, and of course, i made some friends... and ended up missing my bus. fun stuff. ;) i ended up doing some more hiking and eating and sleeping, chill cusco. about three days later, i must say, it is what was supposed to happen. you will agree when i share what is going on.

i like this. the sharing with you. :)