On our last night in Lima, we had delicious ceviche and discovered I am an AMAZING first time gambler (seriously, we won more than 100 dollars on tables that were mostly denominated in sols. At a 3 to 1 sols to dollars ratio, that´s impressive). A good showing, but we were all glad to leave Lima behind. While I am very grateful to the city for so effectively standing up to earthquake, it was so gray and rainy there the whole time. We were definitely ready for blue skies.
Which we got as soon as we arrived in Cusco! We were prepared to be impressed by even the faintest hint of sun after Lima, but Cusco really is objectively beautiful. It´s small but bustling, the people are beautiful and there are inspiring hints of Incan civilization hidden away in little corners of the city. Plus the children are beyond adorable. We all agree that this is the cutest population of children we have ever encountered. They´re so keenly aware of their own cuteness, that they charge you to take photos of them. It´s sort of uncomfortable just standing around taking photos of other people´s children in another country and then sheepishly handing them money, but we all eventually succumbed. Add to this the bevy of dogs playfully bounding through the street and lovely, warm days and you have my perfect vacation city.
Actually, you would have to add one more thing to make it my perfect city: oxygen. Cusco is at a high altitude and you really feel the lack of oxygen. All of us have little pinching headaches and I now pant with the effort required to climb a tiny hill. I feel like my lungs are being fed the atmospheric equivalent of the orphan gruel in Oliver Twist--just barely enough to keep them going. But we get better every day, and it certainly didn´t stop us from touring our little hearts out. On the first day we took a bus into the mountains above the city and saw lots of Incan ruins, including that giant stone panther that the Incans erected to tell other armies to not even bother. And seriously, if I were an invading army and I came up over a mountain only to discover that the civilization I was planning to invade had enough spare manpower to build a huge stone panther that can only be seen in its full glory from thousands of feet above? I´d retreat but quick. It was amazing and fully awe inspiring.
Cusco is also great because the people are really friendly. Once they get done trying to sell stuff to you, they´re happy to sit and chat about America and where you come from, what your life is like and how it compares to yours. My Spanish has gotten much, much better just from being here two days. Yesterday I talked to a twelve year old boy for a half an hour--I taught him how to advertise his shoeshine business in English and he gave me a refresher course on the past tense. When I see him in the street now we wave hello. Great city!
Tomorrow I leave for my four day trek up even greater heights. I am super excited and, yes, a little nervous. Let´s hope the Andes stay nice and calm and warmish for a while, because I don´t need capricious weather to add to my thin air woes.
2 comments:
Congratulations on your winnings. On a trip like this extra money must always be welcome. It must be hard to do without enough oxygen, sort of like having a bad asthma attack, I guess. I bet those kids are cute. Do the people wear a lot of traditional clothing? I know that it is very colorful, having seen pictures of it in National Geographic. Yes, that is how limited my knowledge is of Peru! How is the food? You don't say what you have been eating and I am curious about that. What are some of the typical dishes there?
Try Mate de Coca -- will take care of all you oxygen problems -- including the headache!! 3 cups/day should do. :)
Post a Comment