“This is hard.
This is hard.
This altitude sickness is no joke y’all.”
On our journey to Machu Picchu, we wanted to start our adventure in Cusco City, which
is a really stark mix of historic Incan remains and Spanish colonial architecture.
It ended up being a really awesome way to get introduced to Peruvian culture and history.
Now to get to Cusco, we first had to fly into Lima and then we caught a flight from Lima
to Cusco.
And you’re going to want to get a window seat here because the views are amazing.
After getting off the plane, we hopped into a cab to head over to our hotel.
The taxi driver gave us our very 1st opportunity of many to practice our Spanish.
“I’m trying to work on my Spanish.
Uh…que or cual es tu lugar favorite en Cusco?”
“Lugar favorito?
En Cusco?"
"Si!"
Ok, so obviously my Spanish was a little rusty, but the locals in Peru usually understood
what we were trying to say and they always appreciated that we at least put in an effort
to speak their language.
The ride to the hotel was very scenic.
We wanted to stay somewhere that was close to the Plaza de Armas, Cusco’s main plaza,
which was a central location to all the places we wanted to explore on foot.
So we picked the Palacio Manco Capac, a hotel that was only like a 10 to 15 minute walk
from the plaza.
“Hey guys, just checked into my hotel at the Palacio Manco Capac.
And they brought us some Peruvian tea, so cheers!”
But no less than half an hour after arriving, I got hit with the infamous Peruvian altitude
sickness.
“So the altitude here in Cusco is super high so the hotel gave me an oxygen mask to
help prevent me from getting too dizzy.”
Right after that incident, I learned how to prevent and cure altitude sickness, which
was to simply drink coca tea the every day.
So one other really cool thing about the hotel is there was a llama and alpaca right outside
our window!
They even let us feed them.
Apparently they really love flowers.
“He’s like oh wait, no flowers.
No more flowers.
They don’t want the stem.”
After settling in, we headed out to get something to eat.
We arrived at Quinta, a wonderful restaurant that wound up being a VERY authentic local
eatery.
In fact, we were the only foreigners in the entire place.
While my friends decided to partake in some meat dishes, I challenged myself to go vegetarian
this entire trip, and Peru was such a great place to do so.
Thanks to its diverse climates, they have a fantastic assortment of yummy fruits, veggies,
and grains.
Now later on in the evening, we got to see Cusco light up the night sky.
“We’re walking back to our hotel from the Plaza de Armas.
And it’s quite the hike, but it’s really worth it.
Look at that view, it’s so pretty.
But you gotta watch out for that altitude sickness because it’s no joke.
Almost reminds me of Hollywood Hills.
It’s gorgeous!”
The next day we set out to do a full day of exploring, so we hit the cobblestone streets
and made our way over to our first stop: San Pedro Market.
Visiting markets is one of my favorite ways to get a better understanding of a city’s
local culture.
We mostly saw Peruvians there, so it gave us like a really authentic look into how people
interact with one another and the kinds of things they like to shop for.
I sat down and ordered some freshly squeezed juice and practiced my Spanish on two friendly
Peruvian sisters.
“These are our friends that we met.
Cheers!
Or salud?
Salud!
Jugos frescas.
Did I say it right?”
Next we made our way over to the Qorikancha Musem.
Now of course, you can only film outside the museum and not inside, but I can tell you
that this is where I learned some really heavy stuff about the history of the Incas.
It gave me more insight into just how tragic the destruction of the Inca Empire was.
Now right around the corner from the museum is the Center for Traditional Textiles.
I walked through the museum and I learned all about the history of Peruvian textiles
and how they are still traditionally made in modern times.
“It has this amazing exhibition that celebrates the traditional textiles of the Cusco region
and of course the people who wear and make them.
And you can also see women weaving textiles right in front of you.
It’s so cool.”
I walked into the little shop right next to the museum where the women were weaving some
fabric and then I bought this little cross-body bag that caught my eye.
It felt really good knowing I was buying a product straight from the source.
For lunch, we went to PachaPapa.
The food was good, but it was so overpriced and touristy in comparison to Quinta Eulalia.
But if you’re looking for a place to meet other travelers and expats, then hey, this
restaurant might be a good spot for you.
Our last museum stop for the day was Museo Inka.
Now overall, I’m happy we went to these museums before exploring some of the archeological
sites further down the line in our journey, because it gave us some context into what
we were seeing, and you'll see those hotspots in the next couple of videos.
After leaving the museum, we went our separate ways and I set off to do some solo exploring.
I walked around and I took some time to appreciate just how amazing the city was.
Everywhere I walked, every alleyway I ducked into, every cobblestone path I took, there
was always something beautiful to just stop and admire.
I ended my evening by ducking into the first restaurant I saw that caught my eye.
"So I just ducked into the cutest little restaurant called the Kusikuy Restaurante and I have
the entire place to myself.
And I ordered a Peruvian Pisco Sour.
So good."
Although I was the only person in Kusikuy Restaurante, they turned on some Peruvian
music, they dimmed the main lighting, and they turned on some really pretty flashing
red lights in the background.
The guy who worked there only spoke Spanish so it gave me yet another opportunity to work
on MY Spanish.
He told me which dishes were vegetarian and he gave me all his recommendations.
Oh and that Peruvian Pisco Sour I ordered was just amazing.
"That's so good.
And it definitely is sour.
So when they say Pisco 'Sour' they mean it."
On the next episode, we leave Cusco City and head to the Sacred Valley.
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