CUSCO, PERU - Machu Picchu - one of 7 wonders of the world - and this city offered so much more

THURS, NOV 20 – DAY 42 – LA PAZ, BOLIVIA TO CUSCO, PERU

I sit here – 7:40am with my coffee and oatmeal I brought from home, ready to type my recap.  My night was very scattered.  Jado was flying from Iguazu, Brazil to Cusco, Peru today.  We had discussed times and he said he will get up around 3am then call an uber and make his way to the airport.  I was almost asleep when I googled the distance from his hostel to the airport and noticed it was 45 minutes!  This meant he had a good chance of missing his flight.  So now I was wide awake.  I texted him but knew he was probably asleep so I set my alarm for 1:45am my time, 2:45 his time to call him as a wakeup call 15 min before his alarm.  Except I woke up early .. dealt with that .. took a while to fall back asleep. 

But this morning, he just took off from Sao Paulo to Lima, then one last flight to meet me in Cusco for dinner. 

My windows are WIDE open, I must enjoy one last morning with this view and fresh air. 

I am far behind.. it is now late Nov 25 and I am writing to catch up.  It is much more difficult when I’m not solo. 

Jado arrived in Cusco about 10 min before I did, crazy timing.  He was there to greet me as I walked out.  It was great to see him again. 

We ubered to our hostel close to Plaza De Armes.  We went for dinner, did a bit of shopping, dropped of for laundry service and went to sleep. 

Jorg flew to Regina to see her old Caronport friends for the weekend, so fun for her.

FRI NOV 21 – DAY 43 – CUSCO, PERU

We were up early for our 19 hour tour day to Machu Picchu.  We walked to our pick up point, bussed to our train, then trained in to Machu Picchu for our hike in. 

We met Victoria and Jade from France on the train, we had such a blast with them.  Played cards with them and told stories.  A most beautiful and fun train ride.

Macho Picchu was something to behold.  It was Jado’s dream to go there, I felt so happy to be able to take him there.  We thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.  We had a great guide to ourselves.  We took a lot of photos.  What a place. 

By the time we got home, we were done.. quick shower and bedtime!

SAT NOV 22 – DAY 44 – CUSCO, PERU

We headed out to another tour day.  We saw a lot of Sacred Valley.  Moray, and the salt mines.  It was incredible.  We were in a van full of people, but front seat was the only one available when I got on, so I got a great view.  And a view I don’t think I’ll ever forget.  The driving was magical.

Our first stop, they taught us all about their textiles.  How they make their own natural colors, it is incredible.  Nature really does provide every single thing we need! 

Then the Moray flats was a great education on their agriculture.  And then the salt mines.  How amazing.  And how they process it all organically, scoop it all by hand, put in bags, and people carry the 65kg bags on their back to the trucks that take them away.  Now this is the salt we want to be eating. 

We went to have a 2 hour meeting about getting a private driver to take us up to rainbow mountain before our flight tomorrow, figured that out.  Shopped a little.. then home to bed.

SUN NOV 23 – DAY 45 – CUSCO, PERU

Alarm went off at 2:30am.  We were picked up at 3am.  Headed to Rainbow Mountain in a private car with private guide, Kevin.  It was a 3 hour drive so we sort of slept on the way there. 

When we got there, we had hired private motorcycle drivers to take us to the top.  This meant we were the first to be at the top of rainbow mountain, and we literally had the mountain to ourselves!!  We took photos, we then climbed to the very top which is 5036 meters above sea level, I believe the highest I have ever been.  And hiking to the top .. it did take a minute as I was slower and out of breath.  Jado and Kevin took a run to the top.  It was absolutely stunning in every single direction.  We took photos with alpackas. 

We then came back down the mountain, and had an authentic alpacka lunch all together in the back of a tent – like the Peruvians do.  What an experience!   The alpacka was very tough to eat.

The drive home was something like I have never seen.  From numerous colors of soil, to rivers, to mountain tops, to villages, and everything in between.  It was breathtaking. 

We tried to find a place to try guinea pig, just a bite.. everyone eats it here. But they need you to buy a whole guinea pig or a half and it was far too much for us. 

So we were dropped to the airport, and flew to our last city together, Lima, Peru.

RECAP OF CUSCO, PERU

Cusco, you delivered!  Wow.  This was Jado’s #1 dream and this city delivered completely.  We leave fully wowed.  Thank you Cusco. I rate you 9/10.  I dare say I have not seen more beautiful drives in my life.  The landscape was hard to take in.  So diverse and beautiful.  Not a place I could live due to the high elevation giving me chronic sinus issues, but the beauty was out of this world.