Cusco, Peru in words and some pictures
November 29 - December 1
Day 30-33
The Andes are magical and Cusco is the capital of that magic. My flight landed in the city and I took a taxi from the airport to my hostel, Supertramp, located on a hill overlooking the city. At a certain point, the road for cars ended and I had to put on my backpack and climb up the stairs. Completely out of breath from the trek at this altitude (3,400 meters above the sea level), I greeted the receptionist with my name and handed over my passport. The guy checking me in helped me with my bag up to the room and showed me to a bottom-bunk bed.
The next morning I set out on a mission to buy a sim card, visit some museums, and get a good coffee. After getting the sim card, I immediately called my Mom to complain about the woes of solo traveling, feeling drained, and the challenge of making transient friends and having to start over every new place. She shared with me a story. When she was my age traveling in Nepal, she had call home to complain about the woes of solo traveling. Her Mum told her that while although she may feel sad, she is in Nepal, so she needs to get over herself and get on enjoying the adventure.
Ok, Mom. Point taken.
After the phone call, I continued on looking for the Municipality Center where I could buy the Touris Ticket that gives access to all the heritage sights and museums. It was not where I was told it would be so I walked over the old town looking for it. I was lost, but I was lost in Cusco.
Old city Cusco reminded me of Rome or what I image a Spanish city looks like. Narrow cobble stone streets, a huge Plaza del Armas in the center, multiple large churches, or iglesias in Spanish. Foundations of an Incan city built over by the Conquistadors, history oozing from the crevices.
Eventually, I found the municipality center, bought my Tourist Ticket for 70 soles, and proceeded to a café for a much needed snack and reset. I ordered a yogurt parfait and a hot chocolate since it was the afternoon and seemed too late for coffee and started talking with a couple sitting at the table next to me. The couple, from Germany, started their trip in Brazil and heading South, West, then North, the opposite route to me. We exchanged our highlights. Then they asked me for tips on New York as they are a planning a trip there for next Christmas. Pouring out the secrets of my city to this couple was just what I needed to feel a renewed sense of excitement for my current trip. I’ve barely thought of New York since leaving and sharing nuggets of travel tips reminded me how the city I come from sparked my love of other cultures and my desire to travel. Energy now revived from conversation and food, I was ready for a museum!
On the opposite side of the Plaza was the Museo Inka. I entered and presented my Tourist Ticket. They didn’t except it here, of course, so I handed over cash instead. Sitting on a bench next the the ticket office was a man and a woman deep in conversation. I was eavesdropping and overheard words like “spirituality,” and “manifestation,” and thought that I’d like to be a part of the conversation, too.
“Hello, excuse me,” I interrupted. “Do you mind if I join your tour of the museum?” The man looked at the woman, implying it was her decision, and she nodded, so he nodded, then she turned to me with a huge smile and said, “of course!” And off we went.
I soon learned that Chris, the woman, visited Cusco for the first time eight years prior and was walking down the street when she was drawn into an alpaca clothing store, owned by Paul, the man. They met, instantly connected and became lifelong friends, seeing each other whenever Chris returns to the sacred city. Paul, a tourism and history scholar, studies beyond the common, Colonized history to learn and spread the Indigenous narratives. Today, he and Chris were visiting the Inka Museum, Paul taking Chris on a deep-dive into the history of the artifacts.
I was lucky to have stumbled into this pair. What started in this moment became two days of intimate lessons on the ancient civilizations of the region from Paul, furthering my awe and reverence for the Andean peoples and wetting my appetite for more historical exploration. Read more on what I learned from Paul here.
