I like to think of my time in Cuzco as a game of two halves, with a very long halftime. Rather than a tale of two cities, it’s a tale of the same city…twice. I arrived in Cuzco on the 25th of March. The 23 hours bus ride paired with the altitude made my arrival less than pleasant. I had been at sea level for almost the entirety of the last 7 weeks, except for a few days in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. Altitude sickness is no joke. The rapid ascent from sea level to 11,200 feet left me dizzy, tired, dehydrated, and with a terrible headache. Upon my arrival I said a quick hello to Jackie’s family before downing some coca tea (supposed to help with altitude sickness) and then doing some extreme napping for four hours. I awoke feeling, at least functional, and was ready to explore the city.
Cuzco was the capital city of the Incan Empire until the Spanish took it over in 1534. Though most of the architecture is Spanish, there is still a large tribute to the Incan civilization. The city has about 300,000 residents but receives close to 2 million visitors a year. Most of the people, like myself, make it a starting point for Machu Picchu. In 2010 heavy rains caused the site to close for 2 months which lost Cuzco between an estimated $200-$400 million in tourist revenue. Lucky for us that wasn’t the case, and we left the city for our four day trek.
The return to Cuzco was much appreciated, as it supplied me with the opportunity to sleep in and have a warm shower, two things I had been neglected for four days. Also, now fully adjusted to the altitude, I saw the city in a new light. The Plaza De Armas is massive and is the hub for most tourists. Surrounded by shops and restaurants (even a Starbucks and KFC) it also has a huge statue/fountain in the center and not one but TWO giant churches. Most hotels and hostels are within a few blocks of the plaza. A side note: Jack’s Café, about 2 blocks East, has the best BLT I have ever tasted. I made sure by eating 3 of them. I even found a pub that was showing the Final Four games.
My last two days in Cuzco were spent doing much of the same, eating. Because of so many tourists, Cuzco has just about every kind of food you could want. It had been a long while since I had indulged in decent Mexican food but I found my fix. My last full day I decided to walk to the bus station, roughly 3 km away, to get a ticket to Puno the next morning. Getting out of the tourist district I was able to see a brand new side of Cuzco. Like most South American cities it had small restaurants, bakeries, and general stores. It was also nice to not be hounded by someone trying to sell me something I had no use for (the guys that sell sunglasses are relentless).
I made it back with plenty of time to spare before the national championship. I was met at the pub by two Americans that were on the trekking group with me and we did our best to support Kansas. Luckily, the game coincided with happy hour, and the way it played out the drinks were much appreciated. The following morning I left Cuzco for the second time. This time with no return visit on the horizon.
I am going to be doing a lot of hopping around in the next few days so I'll try and keep the blog as up-to-date as possible.
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