Peru: Part 1 of 3 - Arrival in Lima and Cusco Reflections

Since I didn't think of writing a blog when I was prepping for Machu Picchu, I'll summarize my experience now. Just a caveat, I don't remember the daily details of the events from 2010 so I'll summarize what I can remember.

Part 1: LIMA & CUSCO

Preparation
I went to Peru in Sept. 2010. Machu Picchu had been calling me in my dreams for years. I'd NEVER done a hike more than 6-8 miles. In fact, I didn't even hike that much to prepare. I remember going to the gym and working the stair climber machine pretty vigorously. That's all I did to prepare :\

Outfitter
I went with Intrepid Travel, a reputable company based out of Australia. I booked my flight separately and saved a few bucks :) No visa was required to purchase before I arrived.

Pre-Trip Activity
I stayed with my friend's family in Lima, Peru for a couple of days before the trip to get the full peruvian experience. It was so amazing how hospitable they were.  The country is not the richest but the people are so generous! I was seriously blessed and so thankful to them. My friends sister drove me around and showed me Lima's downtown, Chinatown, and the beach.

I ate amazing home cooked Peruvian meals with the whole family every lunch and dinner. I practiced my very broken Spanish as much as I could. I think the effort was appreciated :)

Then it was time to meet up with the rest of the group in Lima and begin the adventures!


Unfortunately, my memory is a bit foggy of the day by day events and where we went each day so I'm going to highlight some of the photos, especially the food and cultural events!

First Trip Meal

CEVICHE! How could I not? It was first created in Peru! I paired it with some Pisco Sour, a native Peruvian drink. Let's just say the only thing I drank were water, Pisco Sours and Inka Colas. When in Peru, must drink as the Peruvians :)

Airport
Next: Flight from Lima to Cusco. FYI: This flight was included in my Intrepid purchase but the trip back from Cusco to Lima was not.

 As soon as you get off the plane, you can feel the thinness of the air. It's a tiny bit harder to breathe. The airport is already high up at what's considered high altitude at 10,860' (3,310 m). It's a small airport by standards so yes, there was no jetbridge. You're immediately welcomed into fresh thin air :)


COCA TEA
Now isn't this exciting to read about? I drank LOTS of coca tea. i mean LOTS of it. Did I get high? No. Apparently, you need thousands of pounds of coca leaves to make a little bit of cocaine. A few tea leaves won't make you fail the drug test.

If you're wondering about taste, I personally thought it tasted good. I did add raw sugar cane (whereas I don't normally add sugar to my green teas) as recommended by the locals.

Why do people drink it? The local natives say that it helps with the high altitude. Some people from our group even straight chewed the leaves. I don't think that helped that much. To be really frank, it was a cool experience to drink and eat totally legit coca tea leaf candy but I don't think it helped.

 Then we walked around Cusco. This is where I'm terrible at remembering historical details.Our guide was really really nice. She had terrible breathe but she was very informative and helpful. She stayed with us only in Cusco. The cool thing about Intrepid is that they employ local guides so they're utilizing their resources where they are already deployed (can you guess my profession?)

Here's a picture of our group.

Lunch in Cusco!

Before I arrived in Peru, the only dish I knew was Lomo Saltado. How awesome is it to have your steak and fries in one dish?

But then I discovered Aji De Gallina. It's sort of a curry dish (without the curry taste) with chicken and rice. It's so perfect for cold weather when you want comfort-ish food. I always order this now when I go to a Peruvian restaurant.

Perfect Rock Walls
Again, I will do you a service and request you go to history channel or the local library for more historical background on the Incas but what amazing stone artisans they were! There is not a gap between the stones on this wall. I will you a little trivia when we get to Machu Picchu.

Can you see the animal impression on the wall? I could back then, but looking at my own photo, I don't see it now even though there's a photo highlighting it :\

It's now time to say Buenas Noches to Cusco. Of we go to mountains manana!

Camera Info: I am definitely not a photographer, not even an amateur but my camera, the Canon S95 was the best! I was able to take this cool night shot. Well, back in 2010, it was the best.