We had to get up at 2am. I wasn’t able to sleep AT ALL. Oh well, I can sleep on the plane. Our taxi arrives at 2:30 as we need 4 hours before our 6:30 flight … sounds like overkill to me. Fortunately, we have a Priority Pass lounge card so at least we can relax in comfortable chairs and grab a bite to eat. Speaking Spanish was really fun and people really...
Today we have a full city tour of Lima. We are excited to see some new sights. Our first stop is a trendy coffee shop called Terruá. I don’t drink coffee, but I will try to enjoy it. César told us about the V60 filter. It creates turbulence that oxidates the coffee to give it a great balance of aroma and flavor. It was invented by the Japanese. When the coffee...
We left Cusco by plane. See the glaciers. They are rapidly disappearing due to climate change. By evening, we were back in Lima. We had dinner with Kati in a restaurant that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. That was a real treat since we live that same distance from the Atlantic Ocean and will be going home soon. We walked around Lima as it was a beautiful night. We...
Today we have another cooking class. We always start with a trip to the market. These are dried fish roe. Kati says that they don’t have much of a taste but add a little of a boba feel to a dish. Perú has many types of corn. These giant breads are the size of a chair cushion. They are made daily by the whole town about thirty minutes away. Everyone has a huge...
This morning the city had an earthquake drill which made me ask what are we to do? If you are in a building, stay under a door jamb. If not, go outside and stand in a circle. I am not sure why that is safer!?! The emergency personnel are involved as well. The Swat Team?? I wanted to buy an alpaca sweater. The fibers are hollow so that they are warm when warmth is...
You may have heard of The Seven Wonders of the World. Well, today, there are The New Seven Wonders of the World … and Machu Picchu is one of them. When the Inca King arrived, he chose this place for his kingly residence because it had water, a quarry, wood, and a magnificent view. The stone steps that we were hiking up to get to Machu Picchu were very high...
Today we took a train through the cloud forest to Aquas Calientes. This is the closest town to Machu Picchu. A native tribe gives us a sendoff with dining and dancing. I got caught up in the action. In the cloud forest, bromeliads thrive here as do orchids and begonias. The beautiful national bird of Perú with a weird name lives here: Cock of the Rock. While on the...
Our local guide today is Adelky. The driver, Carlos, told me that he is the best. It turns out that he was the tourism instructor for Kati, our G-Adventures guide, when she was getting her degree at the National University of Cusco. First we left Cusco and drove through The Sacred Valley. This is the fertile region between the Andean Mountain Range. The Rocky...
Qosqo is the ancient name of Cusco and sounds more like Costco. Cuzco has many monikers. Cusco is considered the center or navel of the Inca Empire. Or it could be called the Rome of South America. Or go by the name of the oldest still inhabited city in South America. NEWSFLASH: USA and Canada are taught that there are seven continents and South America, Central...
We checked into an unusual room in Arequipa. It was right outside the rooftop bar. It was weird to open the door and see a group sharing a drink together. I didn’t take a picture of them that night but I took a picture in the morning. In Arequipa they have tremors often. Older people would say that a tremor means a change in the weather. But who can say when...