We took a late afternoon flight and got to Lima around 7pm. Since we were taking another flight to Cusco in the morning, we stayed at a
hostel about 5 minutes away from the airport. It was nice and clean, but we discovered this style is not our cup of tea for sure. We did have a delicious beer (1 liter bottle) and went to bed early to have energy for the next day.
On Saturday we took the flight to Cusco and arrived around midday. We hired a taxi cab inside the airport (this is important) and were driven to our accommodation. Please please please hire the cab inside the airport!
Just by driving by we saw beautiful buildings and water sculptures we wanted to visit straight away!
Good thing we had a plan, that way we were able to fit these in :)
I had booked the best deal I could find that was near Plaza de Armas. It turned out to be this
tiny place right in Plaza de Armas, which made exploring the city a beauty - and for just $50 a night for the three of us it was perfect for our budget as well. It also had the softest beds and pillows EVER!
By the time we checked in and got settled we were starving, so we headed out to the local market which was about 5 blocks away. Walking down Cusco was just like a dream - including nursing baby llamas!
We finally arrived at the market and our lunch! We did a quick survey and found the food aisle, which was all chicken noodle soup stalls! It was so interesting to see 10 or 12 small stalls per side with 2 or 3 long benches each where you would just sit and the lady would serve up the soup, ask you if you wanted chicken or veggies and just stick her hand in the pot and fish them out for you. It sounds weird but the place was spotless and the people so welcoming. We sat down where my heart told me to and had the most delicious meal we've ever had, for about $3. I tend to get sick when I travel, something to do with the temperature changes, so the soup was truly heaven sent.
We finished our lunch and went for a look around in the market, it was divided in two very clear sections, the tourist trap and the local section, the latter being very similar to the markets here in Costa Rica. After a couple of hours just browsing (plus two alpaca jumpers) we needed to recharge, so we went to the juicing isle and again sat down where our heart told us. There we met the an amazing lady with a smile that I still remember. We asked for her recommendation and she prepared a very fresh fruit juice which had bananas, pinneaple, orange juice and I don't know what else, but it sure picked us up for the rest of the day.
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| Qorikancha |
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| Used to be covered in gold leaf! |
After the market we made our way down to Qorikancha, which used to be a convent that was built on top of an Inka pyramid. (Along the way we made sure to buy the Machu Picchu tickets as it's best to buy them in advanced.)
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| How?!? |
Inside the original Inka structure can be seen, with incredible (and unexplainable) craftsmanship. I'm a big junkie for the unexplainable and this truly hit the spot. You can see the blocks of perfectly cut stone, and in some cases with angles that even with the technology today could not be possible. It was really wonderful to see them up close.
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| Fam enjoying the setting |
The convent also has amazing grounds in the back, so be sure to check them out and grab a beautiful sunset there!
From here we went back to our hotel, completely funned out from all the walking and exploring - or so we thought. Out of sheer luck I happened to look inside one of the many doors leading to internal gardens, and lo and behold it was filled with llamas!! We approached them and a nice lady came up to us and told us to pet them and feed them for a voluntary contribution :O I died and went to llama heaven! Be sure to check this place out, it midways down Loreto street (alley) just off the Plaza de Armas. For a voluntary fee you can pet, feed and photograph the llamas as must as you want! We were regulars here on the following days :)
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On Saturday we took the flight to Cusco and arrived around midday. We hired a taxi cab inside the airport (this is important) and were driven to our accommodation. Please please please hire the cab inside the airport!
By the time we checked in and got settled we were starving, so we headed out to the local market which was about 5 blocks away. Walking down Cusco was just like a dream - including nursing baby llamas!
We finally arrived at the market and our lunch! We did a quick survey and found the food aisle, which was all chicken noodle soup stalls! It was so interesting to see 10 or 12 small stalls per side with 2 or 3 long benches each where you would just sit and the lady would serve up the soup, ask you if you wanted chicken or veggies and just stick her hand in the pot and fish them out for you. It sounds weird but the place was spotless and the people so welcoming. We sat down where my heart told me to and had the most delicious meal we've ever had, for about $3. I tend to get sick when I travel, something to do with the temperature changes, so the soup was truly heaven sent.
We finished our lunch and went for a look around in the market, it was divided in two very clear sections, the tourist trap and the local section, the latter being very similar to the markets here in Costa Rica. After a couple of hours just browsing (plus two alpaca jumpers) we needed to recharge, so we went to the juicing isle and again sat down where our heart told us. There we met the an amazing lady with a smile that I still remember. We asked for her recommendation and she prepared a very fresh fruit juice which had bananas, pinneaple, orange juice and I don't know what else, but it sure picked us up for the rest of the day.
From here we went back to our hotel, completely funned out from all the walking and exploring - or so we thought. Out of sheer luck I happened to look inside one of the many doors leading to internal gardens, and lo and behold it was filled with llamas!! We approached them and a nice lady came up to us and told us to pet them and feed them for a voluntary contribution :O I died and went to llama heaven! Be sure to check this place out, it midways down Loreto street (alley) just off the Plaza de Armas. For a voluntary fee you can pet, feed and photograph the llamas as must as you want! We were regulars here on the following days :)
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