14-18.08.24

Or Cuzco, or Qusqu, or Qosqo, the latter of which a mayor tried to make official in the early 1990s and no one adhered to. However you spell it, and there is no official way, this is where we are for the next 3-4 days. However before that, allow me to carry on immediately from the night before in Aguas Calientes…

The following morning we were running perhaps 15 mins late for the 10am checkout and the weird bloke from the day before actually came and knocked out our door. Had it been 11am I would have understood but seriously, 15 minutes? Calm down. He wasn’t cross or anything, just oddly eager.

We left our bags in the storage, had breakfast, and wandered around Aguas Calientes, killing time until our train. I bought some postcards and stamps (which I still need to write) and looked at various tat whilst avoiding waiters trying to herd us into their restaurants saying annoying things like “this is the place you want to be” no thanks mate.

We got our bags, found my hat that Alex had left in the room (he’s been wearing it more than me) and spoke to the most adorable little abuelita who I think actually owned the place. If we had been speaking to her the say before the whole thing would have been a different experience. She liked his curly hair.

We went to the station entrance, cunningly concealed in the market, and waited for our train. It was relatively chaotic, but we managed to board our train no problem and set off. We were on the other side this time which had, on the whole, better views. We were going backwards though so I was very glad I had taken some more Dramamine! Honestly it’s fab.

Unfortunately, this train was hideously delayed about 30 minutes into the 3.5 hour journey. Something about the train ahead of us, but we came to quite a dramatic stop. There were some pretty annoying Americans (seems to be a theme…) playing a really loud card game for ages. We eventually got going again, moving at a snails pace. Thing is, all the subsequent trains were in a long trail behind us; most of it was single track. Still, banging views again.

We eventually got to Poroy, the last stop, at about 9pm, and got an Uber to our hostel. It was dark and cold and there were a very sad number of stray dogs on the way. Curiously, along with the obligatory rosary on his rearview mirror, this driver also had an enormous bird claw. I’m sure it was meant to be good luck, but I can’t see how blocking the view was a good idea…

We arrived at the hostel which was all in darkness, but someone came and let us in. we paid, she led us up to the room and we got ready for bed. The room was freezing! Luckily lots of thick wool blankets (albeit riddled with moths) to keep us warm in bed. The ceiling makes it feel like you’re inside a giant rib cage.

It also lacks, as many have done, basic amenities such as a safe, a fridge, and hot water. The bed is very comfy though!

Day 1

I woke early and decided to explore the local supermarket as it had transpired whilst we were on the train that I had lost my phone charging cable at some point before boarding; I had put it in the top of a side pocket of my backpack and in the repeated taking off and putting on it must have fallen out. It was a nice supermarket, perhaps on an Aldi sort of level.

We also decided to finally get a doctor’s appointment for Alex, who is still not 100%. We managed to get an appointment for 11am and walked there through a more residential area of Cusco. Incidentally, the high number of stray or semi-stray dogs in the city (some had coats and collars), meant that there was an extraordinary amount of dog poop in the roads and on pavements. The aroma of open sewer pervaded the air and you really really had to watch where you were walking.

The doctor experience was really good, on the whole. She had basic English but between that and my Spanish we were able to explain the problem. When it came to the section about any other ongoing illnesses or conditions such as asthma or eczema, she audibly gasped in the most Latin way possible when we explained about Alex’s kidney transplant. There was genuinely an “Ayayay!” Anyway after checking his meds list and other info, she ordered bloods and other such tests (I don’t need to detail what) and we waited just under an hour for the results. I had my money on campylobacter, Alex thought E. coli. Turns out, it was a parasite! Yummy. Something called Entamoeba Histolytica. Thankfully, it is just a one dose of medicine thing, but she warned us against ceviche (not that Alex had had any), salad, or anything that may have been washed in dirty water, which is one of the ways this charming little parasite travels. So bottled water and cooked veg only from now on! I’m sad to have been scared off ceviche.

We had lunch at a locals place called Samaritanos, where the set lunch of soup, mint tea and a big place of rice, sauce, potato and meat cost 6 soles… literally like £1.50 if that. Nice and filling and just what we needed as we hadn’t really eaten since 11:30am the day before, apart from some Pringles and a fruit and nut mix I got from the supermarket.

We then wandered around the historic centre and made our way back to the hostel where we chilled and read and wrote. We went to sleep pretty early, due to the cold.

Day 2

We woke early again, but then went back to sleep/dozed for a while. Possibly a little under the weather as I felt a bit peculiar! We then woke again, found a maggot in the bed (the blankets are riddled with clothes moths), both had record quick showers (bloody Baltic) and got ready to take our laundry to another Lavandería. This time there doesn’t seem to be any self service, so we’ve left it there and hoping for the best until we pick it up at 7pm. Fingers crossed.

We then went to a really nice cafe called Three Monkeys Coffee, and basically stayed there the rest of the afternoon, catching up on photo editing and football (Alex) and blog posts (me). We had a croissant with ham and cheese and pickles and it really hit the spot!

After a solid afternoon of admin we went back to our Baltic hostel room for a bit before heading out for dinner. We went to a place called Chull’s where the waiter initially tried to seat us outside but we were way too cold for any of that nonsense.

Once seated inside we ordered some drinks… I got a hot cocktail like a toddy which thawed me out a bit and Alex had, as he put it, one of the best Pisco Sours he had had so far. We ordered an unnecessary starter again (when will I learn?) of Alpaca skewers which were delightful. I then had Osobuco with a risotto and Alex ordered a Peruvian chicken dish which they definitely forgot about as when mine was delivered the waiter said “you wanted to share this too right?” Oops. It arrived eventually and was delicious which made up for it.

Obviously I started eating mine before taking the all important photo of it for posterity.

We then went and picked up our laundry and dropped it back at the hostel before heading out to a Dive Bar that Alex found called El Gato Negro. It was perfect. (NB I also later found out that my laundry was all there and my white items of clothing were the whitest they’ve ever been.)

A pisco sour and a large beer apiece later, with our hearts full of wonderful 70s and 80s pop and rock classics, we went home and to bed with the promise of returning the next and final night in Cusco.

Day 3

We woke up in good time, which was extra good because we had a day of choring ahead of us. Good? Good. Alex had been looking into potentially sending home some items of clothing that weren’t getting any use and taking up space in his rucksack, and seeing as Peru’s mail system far outstrips that of Colombia (apparently a national postage system is only a very recent installation) and Bolivia, where we are heading next.

But first, breakfast. On our way there there we experienced our first major experience of feeling like giant freaks. There was a group of elderly Chinese tourists taking pictures by walls. As we tried to get through the pack in single file, there was an audible gasp of “Ooh!” And excited pointing at Alex. Then I walked past to an even louder “OOH!” And much pointing and gesturing of height (like a weird salute from their heads towards mine). Took a lot of internal strength not to be rude. Alex missed the whole thing because he was so focused on trying to get past them.

Alex found a nice, healthy place that did pretentious brunchy items that I fully indulged in. I had a Chai Latte, Green Shakshuka and a mint lemonade. Such health. Alex said it looked like someone had put Shrek in a blender and served it to me in a skillet. He wasn’t wrong to be fair. It was indeed, a Shrekfast.

He had a far more normal looking breakfast although his “spiced coffee” did lean into the realms of pretension too so he wasn’t totally immune.

We then went in search of a few souvenirs before returning to the room to get our clothes for posting. All in all, the post office experience was better than I was expecting. Some women in a local shop helped us with the forms for only 6 soles and the whole process didn’t take too long… although Alex did find it alarming that he was required both to have a photo taken and a fingerprint scanned. Twice. To be honest I think she may have mucked up the form and had to start again… there was a lot of typing. I also posted some postcards into a postbox shaped like a lion’s mouth.

We then obtained more anti-parasite meds and snacks for our upcoming bus journey to Puno. I then dragged Alex to the Cusco Textile Museum which was a) free and b) fantastic. Very informative on indigenous textile practices and techniques and I learned lots!

We then headed to the main square to wander around, take some photos and dodge vendors selling jewellery, tours, paintings and, inexplicably, massages. Honestly the offers of massage were relentless. The first 20 really didn’t do it for me but honestly that 21st offer almost had me convinced.

We walked off the main drag a little up to an aqueduct and surrounding pretty areas.

After so much (not that much) walking, we felt it was time for more Pisco sours and found a cosy place in which to drink them. Thankfully no panpipes here… a general purpose Coldplay playlist provided some respite (for me at least… Alex is not a fan).

We then went for dinner at a place called A Mi Manera, which was fancier than we had anticipated. We had our first wine since being in South America (I know. Gasps in Spanish.) and there was even a little amuse-bouche before our mains. Alex had a ravioli dish that was his favourite thing he’s had in South America so far, and I had adobo which was soupier than I had anticipated but delicious nonetheless. We shared a dessert too!

We then headed back to the hostel to get packed (well, Alex. I packed in the morning.) and had fully intended to go back to El Gato Negro for a last couple of drinks… but as I write this now I am very much tucked up in bed. At 9:03pm. No ragratz. Night night!