Our Amazing Peruvian Adventure: Cusco Part Two-sco!

We had a great first day in Cusco (read part 1 here) without any symptoms of altitude sickness (Cusco is at an elevation of 11,000 feet) yet. When we awoke, I had a whisper of a headache but I took a few ibuprofen and downed several bottles of water before we headed to the hotel buffet breakfast that was as spectacular as it had been in Lima (though I did not snap any pics, darn it!). Day two, we had coffee and mimosas, early morning and altitude be damned. If I am at a breakfast with mimosas included, I’m getting a mimosa every time.

Arturo, our guide, met us in the lobby and we walked to the van where Victor, our driver, was waiting. Victor drove us up and out of the city as we headed for the surrounding area called the Sacred Valley. Stretching from the village of Pisac to the town of Ollantaytambo, following the course of the Urubamba River, the fertile soil of the Sacred Valley was a major food source for the Inca Empire. The valley is dotted with unique, preserved Inca ruins and lush, terraced farmland.

We started at Ollantaytambo and worked our way back to Pisac over the course of the day. Ollantaytambo was an Inca fortress with large, finely crafted stone walls with narrow stairs connecting the terraces. After climbing the first set of steps and becoming surprisingly winded, I jokingly (but not really jokingly) mentioned my trepidation in climbing Machu Picchu Mountain, which was on our itinerary in a couple of days. Arturo brushed off my comment and said it would be fine and Machu Picchu is only at 8,000 feet of elevation (with the peak of the mountain being at 10,000) Oh, OK, sure. Easy peasy.

After Ollantaytambo, we stopped for lunch at a the charming Hacienda Huayoccari restaurant. We were presented with three choices of soup, appetizer, main, and dessert. Phil and I started the meal with a very stout pisco sour. Then we both chose a soup that Arturo recommended. They called it cream-corn soup (crema de maiz to be exact), though there was no cream or any dairy that I could detect other than the bits of cheese that topped it. It was delicious and cilantro-y and one of the best darn soups I have ever had. Next, I had another version of the causa, a layered, cold dish of golden potatoes, avocado, and trout, that I’d had the day before during our surprising tasting. Phil also had a layered salad of avocado, mango, potato, and lettuce that was served with a bright tasting citrus-cilantro dressing.

For our mains, I had the chicharron (pork that is boiled and then fried). We were still trying to eat relatively light, but chicharron is a very popular Peruvian dish and I happen to be a big fan of pork, so por qué no? We had found, sadly, that we were not able to eat very much in the high altitude. We assumed the slowed digestion due to the high altitude dampened our appetites as well. As people who love to eat and try new things, it was kind of a bummer. The chicharron was served with boiled potatoes, a tamale that surprised me by being sweet with raisins in the middle, and some lima beans with corn that were rather aldente for my liking. While the plate was not the most attractive (lots of beige), it was pretty tasty. Phil had a beef filet served over quinoa risotto. Quinoa is one of the main crops of Peru along with their delicious 4,000 varieties of potatoes.

For dessert I had a kind of stewed fruit that tasted like apples, but had the seeds of a tomato. This would not be the last time we saw a dessert tomato, so maybe that’s what it was. I was so full from the meal, the small bite of fruit was just enough. I failed to snap a pic of Phil’s dessert and now neither of us can remember what he had. All in all, the meal was quite tasty in a pleasing setting.

After lunch, we drove to the Pisac archaeological ruins. The ruins consisted of large, terraced farming (in the photos below, each tier of the terrace is about 6-7 feet high), housing, and religious temples. It was a beautiful but extremely windy day up on the side of the mountain, with dust blowing into our eyes and ears with semi-regularity. Lucky for us, not only was Arturo very knowledgeable about Inca history, but he’s also a pretty good photographer. Having traveled just the two of us so often, it felt a little strange to have someone offering to snap our photos every time we stopped to take a picture. We were able to get so many pictures together as opposed to our usual, selfies only situation:

After leaving the ruins, we walked through the town of Pisac for a bit, checking out the little shops and street vendors. We were pretty pooped from all of our walking during the day and not really in a shopping mood, so we didn’t stay for too long. I did manage to pick up a lovely pair of silver earrings that caught my eye, so the trip wasn’t a total bust.

We returned to the hotel in the early evening and relaxed a bit before heading out. We walked around the main town square, sitting a while on the steps near the cathedral for a before moving on.

We were, unfortunately, still full from lunch, so didn’t feel like going to dinner, but we didn’t want to call it a night quite yet. We decided to grab a drink and Paddy’s caught our eye.

We enjoyed a couple of beers at Paddy’s, sharing some papas fritas and watching old music videos from the 1980’s that were playing on the television. No sign of the Irish owners, but the two Peruvian women working the bar were very nice and gave me a good opportunity to practice my Spanish. I am more comfortable practicing when the other person does not speak English because I have no choice but to communicate in Spanish and I feel less self conscious about my own ability. This is silly, but it seems to be the case. I know, I need to get over myself. No one cares and they are usually all too happy to help someone practice. Anyway beer, chips, and some 80’s hits were a nice way to wind down from a long day.

We strolled back to the hotel, a short walk from Paddy’s. The courtyard of Monestario, our hotel and former monastery dating back to the 1600’s, was even more enchanting in the evening. We ended the night with a cocktail in the bar, excited for the next morning’s train ride to Machu Picchu!

Next up: The Hiram Bingham Train and arriving at Machu Picchu!