This morning we rose well before the sun at 04:00 and hailed a taxi to Jorge Chavez international airport in Lima for our 1 hour flight to Cusco, former capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco is the ”jumping off” place for tourists heading to Machu Picchu so it’s a busy spot with beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture and wonderful Inca ruins. At 11, 154 feet above sea level, this is a place where many get altitude sickness. Fortunately we took precautions with medications to counter the effects of the altitude and we drank copious amounts of cocoa leaf tea to keep us going. After checking into the beautiful JW Marriott El Convento hotel, housed in a restored 16th-century convent in the heart of Cusco, we hired a car and driver to take us to the town of Pisac located 19 miles to the northeast to experience the Sunday market. Here villagers travel from around the region to hawk their wares and sell their fruits and vegetables. The market is a cacophony of sounds and it stimulates all the senses. We did our best to support the local economy and picked up some unique souvenirs before departing back to Cusco where we shopped for beautiful 100% baby alpaca sweaters and coats and explored the streets and alley ways. What a fantastic city. Finally, we wrapped up Mother’s Day by attending a class on how to make the perfect Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru. After sampling a half dozen different bottles of Pisco, we learned the secret recipe for the perfect Pisco Sour then downed our creation to cap off the perfect day.
Commentaires