1:30 a.m. and our plane took off as scheduled. Slept a bit on the plane, but not much. Arrived on time in Lima, had to go through customs then get our flight for Cusco. Everything went smoothly and upon our arrival in Cusco, we were met by our Peru For Less tour coordinator, Kristina who accompanied us to the hotel Picoaga. On the way, the streets were filled with people who were protesting transportation rate hikes of 14%. Kristina called it a strike, but as far as we could tell it was a protest. She seemed a bit concerned about a general strike which would shut down all transportation, but was hopeful nothing would transpire as sometimes it works out that way.
Upon our arrival at the hotel we were greeted with coca tea to help with altitude sickness...it was very bland. We sat down with Kristina, reviewed our itinerary, and got her phone number in case we needed her. After checking in, we went to bed for naps as there was not much sleep on the plane last night. Up around 4 and went for a walk. Cusco is a very interesting city. Of course the altitude is a major factor as it sits around 9000' or higher. The architecture is very different - there are lots and lots of tiled roofs some wrought iron railings and a lot of town squares with trees, flowers and benches. Lots of people are selling tourist things on the street and we were approached many times by people selling everything from paintings to finger puppets to painted gourds and everything in between.
Traffic is crazy!!! Small cars and most all of them dented, scraped or missing parts. At one point there was a baby lamb loose on the street. Andean women and children in native dress were abundant and all had either llamas or the children had baby lambs or llamas inside fabric carriers. You could take their pictures for a price! Andean women and children carry large woven squares of fabric that they use to carry anything from children to animals to wares to sell on the streets.
We went back to the hotel for dinner and ate light as recommended because of the altitude. We had soup and split a sandwich. There was a fairly large group of Hands Across America mediical people who were finishing up a week long project with a banquet in the hotel dining room. We vicariously enjoyed their entertainment with local musicians. Then back to the room for bed. Thank goodness we have a couple of days scheduled here before going on to Macchu Pichu to get acclimated!!
Picture #1. Jerry being approached on the cathedral steps by one of the multitudes of street vendors.
Picture #2. Did I mention how steep the streets are?? We walked to this area known for its artists and we were huffing and puffing!
Picture #3. The Cathedral and part of the Plaza de Almas in front of it.
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