Cusco overlook

Sunset over New England

Zoe and I have started our adventure, a nine-day trip to Peru with several others from our town and the organization Generations Humanitarian.  Turns out that getting 13 people from New Hampshire to Peru is quite an accomplishment.  We knew it would be a very long day, but didn’t know quite how long.  We were split over two flights from Boston to New York, and the five of us on my flight were trying to make the best of a 3+ hour layover by planning for a nice sit-down dinner at JFK.

Sunrise over the Andes

Alas, it was not to be.  Somehow (we still don’t know how), in getting from our arrival terminal to departure, we managed to go through security and thus found ourselves back on the wrong side.  Zoe’s friend Caroline is traveling without her parents, and they’d told us she’d need to get a boarding pass at the gate — so that meant we had to wait in the long checkin line since she couldn’t get through security.  (It was very lucky we’d realized at the 11th hour that we needed a special form signed by Caroline’s parents, or the day would have gone much, much worse.)  Back to security again — only to have them refuse to accept the boarding passes that Zoe and I had printed off at home because they had the wrong airline on them (our two flights were on different airlines).  This time the line was even longer.  By the time we actually go to our gate, we were lucky to have a few minutes to buy cold, soggy sandwiches.  (Turns out we even could have held off on that, since Latam Airlines unaccountably decided to serve dinner after we’d taken off — at 1 am.  We decided to pass.)

Caroline is skeptical of the giant corn kernels

After a third flight from Lima to Cusco, we had finally arrived.  We’ve been hydrating like crazy to avoid the effects of the 11,000+ foot altitude, and in Cusco started chewing coca leaves, the local remedy.  The weather is beautiful — sunny and around 70.  Our first stop was a restaurant with huge plate-glass windows looking down on the city.  Our trip leader Van set us up with a six-course meal of foods that are traditional here, and it was so much fun to try all the different courses.  Among other things, our meal included coca tea, a plate of giant corn kernels (I mean GIANT) with some kind of cheese, a soup, and a crazy, but surprisingly good, kind of purple juice

Alpaca! The entree reminded us of the $7 Galapagos dinners we enjoyed so much. I don’t want to break it to Bob that our six-course meal here only cost $7.50.

made from some kind of fermented corn juice, pineapple, and cinnamon (chicha morada).  Zoe and I bravely elected to try the alpaca steaks, and they were amazingly good — tender and flavorful.

After that we hopped back on our bus to travel from Cusco to the Sacred Valley.  It’s at a slightly lower altitude to help us adjust, but in order to get there we had to cross a pass at 13,400 feet.  (Our trip’s leader, Van, told us that planes are required to use oxygen at 13,000.)  There were amazing views around every corner and green peaks rising sharply on all sides.  All the

Sacred Valley

mountainsides, however steep, seem to be covered with vertical lines — a remnant of the agricultural terraces built by the Inca.

We made another stop at the semi-famous market at Pisac, where we found amazing woolens and textiles.  We picked up some great bargains, though after a while Zoe and I had to go into hiding, exhausted from the hard sells and our weak attempts at bargaining.  At the end Van took us to a shop where they had original pottery from the Incas and before — available for $60 or less.  (No, I am not going to attempt to bring that home in my suitcase.)

Pisac Market. Zoe is sporting her new alpaca sweater.

We were all grateful to eventually get back to our hotel, exhausted and desperate for showers.  We’re staying at an old monastery in Urumbamba in the Sacred Valley.  We couldn’t see much when we arrived after dark, but I’m guessing it’s beautiful.

Our options for dinner turned out to be a mile-long walk into town or the hotel’s fancy restaurant — so Zoe, Caroline and I unanimously opted for room service and an early bedtime (and the best and most-needed shower in the history of the world).  Tomorrow we start our volunteer service at the Anta girls’ home.