Déjà Perú

Greg’s group has left Cusco for the next stage of their adventure. Amy’s group is staying in Cusco for one more day. Amy’s group had a walking tour of the city. The first two hours were a repeat of sites that Greg and Amy saw on their own. Mostly the Mercado de San Pedro and the Plaza de Armas. The market was still interesting. We sampled some pan dulce (sweet bread). We learned that the market is bigger because of tourism and that the outdoor vendors were temporary for the Independence Day celebrations.

We stopped for a coffee break at Florencia y Fortunata café. The coffee was wonderful. Amy ordered an alfajor, a South American sweet that she learned about from her Argentinian coworkers a long time ago. This one was pistachio with a lemon curd filling. It was amazing!

Then we hiked up a steep hill to get to a nice viewpoint. The streets are very narrow and cars drive by quickly, so pedestrians need to be cautious. We then walked downhill to the San Blas neighborhood, which is the artist area of Cusco. The walkways were beautiful with plants on the walls. There were a lot of cafes and artist shops to peruse. There was another market, which had fresh foods. Daniel told us that the prices have gone up since many of the housing units have become Airbnbs.

There is an aquaduct that was built by some wealthy families to bring water to their homes.

We walked past an ancient Incan wall - not surprising - there are many around town. But this one has 11 corners with just one piece of stone. As with all the stones, it has no mortar and you can’t fit even a piece of paper in between the stones. The construction is especially considering that they didn’t have modern tools or measurements.

The walk ended with another amazing meal. We stopped at Nuna for a three course meal. Amy had a chicken noodle soup, lomo saltado (a Peruvian grilled beef dish) with the most amazing mashed sweet potatoes, and a banana and quinoa bread for dessert.

The restaurant was very close to the Museo Inka, a highly regarded museum of Incan history and culture. Amy managed to convince one person from the group to join her. Photos were prohibited, but the museum was well curated. There were items from pre-Inca through to almost modern times. They had many religious items as well as household goods from over the centuries. There were several intricate weaved items too. They had a room with skulls and another with mummies, while playing pan flute music in the background.

There is a group meeting for dinner tonight, but there is little stomach room left!