Saturday, May 18, 2024
Last night we both slept fairly well, even at Cusco’s 11,000 feet in elevation. We woke up at about 7:30 am, showered in our 60 degree room (we have a heater and wood stove, neither were on), and went down for breakfast. Our hotel serves either eggs or pancakes plus a continental breakfast with cheese, yogurt, granola and fruit. We both ordered the pancakes, slathered with a sort of corn syrup honey, and had fruit, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit juice, coffee and coca tea. I hope there are no drug tests in our future!
After breakfast, we gathered our things in a backpack and set off to the Wayki Trek office to pay the remaining balance of our trek. We sat chatting with Carlos for quite a while about Peruvian history and things to see and do. By the time we left the office, it was nearly lunch time.
We consulted the book and a map and set off for a coffee and sandwich place. Before we got there, we entered a small plaza and stumbled across two women in traditional Andean dress holding a baby alpaca. The baby was so cute, and the women caught us looking, and before Nathan could mutter a No, gracias, he was holding that baby alpaca and posing for photos with the women. Honestly, the woman just shoved that baby into Nathan’s arms and there was probably not much he could have done about it. Not the kind of manufactured experience we were looking for, but after it was over we paid the woman the 20 soles ($5 bucks!) she asked for and I chuckled about the experience.
The book-recommended coffee and sandwich place was not there, so we found another place to sit and have sandwiches overlooking the little square.
After lunch we went to Museo Inka and walked room after room of Incan and pre-Incan art and artifacts.
The museum even had a small room of Inca mummies.
We left the museum at 2:30 and walked back to the Wayki Trek office. They forgot to give us $5 in change, and we forgot to ask if they had any duct tape to repair my bag. Lots of people keep duct tape in their first aid kits or taped to their hiking or ski poles, but sadly, we are not those people. Thankfully, Carlos had duct tape, so he wrapped some around a popsicle stick and we were off with our $5 in change.
We decided to walk to Palacio del Inca Roca to see the famous 12 angled Incan stone in the wall, which was sadly underwhelming, and see the stones on the back side of the palace that form the images of a puma and a serpent.
From the palace we walked to the Museo de Arte Precolombino and spent the remainder of the afternoon touring yet more rooms of old art and artifacts. I think we both enjoyed this museum a little bit more than the first.
It was about 5 pm and cooling off when we were done with the last museum, so we walked back to our hotel to change clothes and switch the backpack to items we’d need in the evening. We sat just long enough at the hotel to enjoy another cup of coca tea and a local orange. I say enjoy, but Nathan doesn’t like the smell of it, but does manage to drink it. I find nothing offensive about it, so who knows.
With warmer clothes on and bellies full of hot tea, we ventured out to La Merced, a church near today’s lunch stop. We wanted to see the Custodia, a solid gold container of communion wafers that’s encrusted with jewels and stands over 3 feet tall, but we didn’t find it, and I learned later it’s housed in the convent, which we did not go into. Perhaps another day.
From there, we strolled to find dinner and settled on a nice restaurant, Saqra’da, where alpaca was on the menu. I struggled with the idea of petting a baby alpaca in the morning and eating his dad at night, and in the end, I decided to be adventurous and try the alpaca. It was good, and similar to beef. I’m glad I tried it, but probably don’t need to eat it again. The best part of my dinner was the starter of pumpkin soup. Nathan, adventurous in his own right, had a pisco sour. I tasted it. It was good, but I cannot for the life of me get over the egg whites that are in it. Just like tartar, you live your whole life hearing don’t eat undercooked egg whites, and I just can’t get past it. A personal problem, I know.
The rest of his meal was a tender cut of beef served over risotto, which he really enjoyed.
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel, and Nathan sampled some local liqueurs in the lobby. We inquired about making a fire in our room’s stove and the gal at the front desk volunteered to help us. Probably a good idea. Nathan’s not the best indoor fire starter, he’s more advanced at smoke filled rooms.