14/04/2011
When my flight arrived in Lima, I went though the dreaded wait for my luggage. I saw the same bags coming round again and was convinced mine had been left in Bogotá but then it miraculously appeared.
Phew.
I was walking through to departures when, like an oasis in the desert, I saw a Starbucks! I almost cried with happiness.
I went in and got chatting to the barista (Felix) and explained how I work in Starbucks in England. He gave me some syrup to try which is exclusive to Peru called Al-something.
He then insisted on giving me my drink for free! It was such a nice gesture and at 3am, really was apreciated.
I then had a short flight to Cusco and finally arrived at 6:30am. It´s worth saying at this point that during my flights and waits at airports, I probably had a combined hour and a half of sleep.
A taxi took me to my hostel and though it was 7:30am and the room was booked for the evening, they let me in. I unpacked my stuff and crashed for a little bit.
The room is decent - it has a TV with cable and four beds (it´s a dorm) which are all free so I have plenty of space. All for $9 per night. Not bad.
Cusco is a lovely city, described as ´tranquil´ by my taxi driver.
It is set against an amazing backdrop of the Andes - can´t wait to take some photos. It´s also, at 350m above sea level, 1000m higher than Machu Picchu and apparently it takes people a little time to adjust to the altitude.
Around lunchtime I went for a walk to find an internet cafe to Skype Amy, and found one after about fifteen minutes. We talked for over an hour which was awesome, and I was even able to use a webcam and microphone from the cafe. It also only cost 2.50soles which is around $0.80 for two hours!
I then took a little walk around Cusco and immediately found the indoor market. It´s essentially dozens of the same stall selling knitted hats, socks, bags, gloves, jumpers and some nice jewellery as well.
As a white person, I got hassled by almost every vendor which was sweet but a little annoying.
One particularly nice lady had some awesome stuff and I very nearly bought a knitted Alpaca jumper, hat, gloves and bag for 80soles, reduced from 120 thanks to my indecision, but I bottled it.
I can always go back.
I then went for lunch or rather was pulled in by a lady. I had an Alpaca steak which was absolutely delicious though I do like Alpacas so I felt a bit bad.
I looked round a few more stalls in the afternoon and then went back to the Hostel for a lie down.
Woke up at 7pm and decided I needed some food so found a cheap little burger joint where I got a chicken sandwich and lemonade for peanuts.
I then walked around a bit, half hoping to bump into some gringos and go for a drink with them, and saw a place advertising discounted Pisco Sours.
These are drinks with a legendary status - they´re a fruity liquor called Pisco mixed with lemon, egg white and some more stuff. It was absolutely delicious and I can tell I´d like the Pisco neat, it has a lovely taste to it.
I walked and got an ice cream and then retired back to my hostel, where I am now sitting at the computer.
It may have taken a while but I´m now in Cusco, and the second half of my trip has now truly begun.
JG
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