Above: Cusco, Peru
The last few days were spent getting from point to point to point - specifically from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Lima, Peru on a 4-hour TACA flight and straight onwards to Cusco, Peru on a 20-hour Cruz del Sur bus. For 143 soles (~US$51 - this versus paying ~US$350 for an air ticket Lima-Cusco), I was willing to put up with the long bus journey and although I was mentally strong, I did not realize until later how physically taxing it was on my body.
The bus was a double-decker with the sleeper seat beds (read: better comfort class) on the first level and the standard reclining seats on the second level. At 11:00 AM when I arrived at the Cruz del Sur bus station in Lima to buy a ticket, only a few seats (on the second level) were left for the 5:30 PM departure the same day.
The bus ride was a whole new experience for me. Not only was a blanket provided, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a simple dinner would also be served on board. They also showed many movies but watching them in a somewhat claustrophobic environment made me nauseous so I went to sleep instead. Midway in the journey, I suddenly felt very nauseous and my head was banging - thanks to the very windy road and speedy ascent. I was almost on the verge of barfing but thank God I was able to focus my mind elsewhere and sleep the malaise feeling away - albeit temporarily.
Above left: The dinner - quite like airline food
Arriving in Cusco 20 hours later, I was somewhat dazed but still managed to find a great value hotel smacked right near Plaza de Armas - the focal point of Cusco. I decided to base 6 nights here at Hostal El Truinfo - what a great change to have a clean room to myself with cable TV, wireless internet, and a clean bathroom with reliable hot shower. The little things we take for granted at home now magnified into importance after an awakening of weeks of staying at hostels and sharing bathrooms and bedrooms with other travelers. For those reasons I was willing to pay US$25 a night at Hostal El Truinfo.
After a tiring flight-bus ordeal, I was knocked out on arrival and slept most of Tuesday and awoke somewhat refreshed Wednesday. I read that it takes 1-2 days to acclimatise to the high elevation. Cusco's 3,600 m (11,811 ft) altitude was definitely felt head on - I still have minor symptoms of high altitude sickness like headaches and a nausea feeling. Taking it easy on Wednesday to acclimatise, I didn't do much except for a few casual walks around Cusco. I also took some time to research on what I wanted to do for the rest of my time here in Cusco before my 4D/3N Inca trail hike next Monday - which by the way I'm very excited about!
A couple of early impressions on Peru: 1) Compared to natives in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, Peruvians for the most part are ahead in terms of their ability to converse relatively well in English. Although I find this useful for communication, it's hard for me to practice Espanol when English is automatically spoken. 2) The other interesting thing I noticed was that the USD is preferred here (for major purchases) to the Peruvian soles - a main reason for this I gather is the prevalence of counterfeit soles in Peru. There was a TV news report recently on a police sting on a counterfeit operation in Lima - whether this was a real bust or a deal made up between the police and the main counterfeiters remains to be seen. Still, this highlights the drama behind the lack of confidence in the people's Peruvian soles.
Above: The Cathedral in Cusco @ Plaza de Armas
Above left: First course - soup and salad; Above right: Second course - meat with rice. This 2-course lunch (with drink included) cost a mere 6 soles or ~US$2.15
Above right: Let's see how many people we can fit in the van??? No kidding, the van was jam-packed with locals!
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