Loving Cusco (or is it Cuzco?..)

desertnomads — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:24:00 GMT

So, the first day in Cusco was a rough one. Cindy and I were both exhausted from all the traveling. Cindy ended up getting really sick the first day. It just hit all of a sudden and we were worried that we would have to take her to the doctor. Fortunately, we got some meds from a local pharmacy and when she woke up the next day she was fine.

The second day we were here we woke up to a phone call from my dad and uncle saying that they heard one of us was sick and asked if we were okay. We´ve truly been so blessed with all the help we´ve received here. My uncle knows a police officer here that has been showing us around town. Yesterday we did a small tour of the city with him and then went and saw some incan ruins.

Today we explored the city some more. Its such a beautiful city. Cobble stoned streets with beautiful Spanish styled buildings everywhere. Driving in the city is very scary though...I could never do it. There are no lanes...just an open road and your turn signal is your horn. Cars and buses get within inches of each other, but surprisingly never touch. There are people everywhere trying to sell you stuff - alpaca sweaters, hats, gloves, socks, etc. There are some beautiful hand made jewelry sold on the streets as well. Yesterday we were talking to a guy, Malki, when 5 cops came up to him. Apparently, you need a permit to sell stuff on the street. If you don´t have one then you get fined. Malki tried selling the neckalace to me up until the last second....saying that I should buy it so that he can use the money to pay the fine.

Tomorrow is our Machu picchu hike. We´re definitely nervous about it. Its a 5 day/4 night hike. July is Peru´s winter so the mornings and nights are going to be freezing cold. Its also a 38 mile hike. Ive never done a hike this long before. Ive also never camped out for 4 nights to continue hiking the next day. Whatever happens, its definitley going to be an exeperience. I can´t wait to reach Machu Picchu...this is something I´ve dreamt about doing for years now.

Alright, I´m tired..we´ve been walking around all day and have to be up at 4:15 tomorrow for the guides to pick us up!

We made it!!

desertnomads — Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:34:00 GMT

Its still hard to believe that we are here in Cusco, Peru. Cindy and I have been planning this trip for months and it has finally come to fruition.

The beginning of our trip definitely started off very crazy. We were scrambling to get everything done last minute and almost missed our flight to LA. From LA we had an 8,9 hour flight to Bogota, Columbia and then from there a 3,4 hour flight to Lima Peru. Once we landed in Lima we had to wait 2 hours before we could check in for our next flight to Cusco. At this point we were both physically and mentally exhausted. We boarded the plane to Cusco and immediately fell asleep. We woke up at an airport, which we assumed was Cusco and was told to wait in the main area and we were not allowed to leave...so Cindy and I fell asleep again. LOL it was until probably 30 mins later that we realized that we had landed at the wrong airport - we were in Arequipa. We had to do a landing there because there was too much fog in Cusco.

To be continued...the internet cafe is closing down. Adios mis amigos!´

Besos,

Rosa y Cindy

South America...and Sweden

Loving Cusco (or is it Cuzco?..)

We made it!!