18th April- Cusco, Peru!

18th April- Cusco!

We were picked up straight after breakfast at 07:30 & whisked off to the airport. Our driver reminded me of my Uncle John, & Graeme spent the trip talking about football to him, via our guide who translated. Although talking about an air disaster wiping out the entire Allianza team, whilst on our way to the airport, probably wasn't the best idea!  Lima has 4 professional football teams- two of which are deadly rivals, Allianza & Universitario, whose stadium is bigger than the national stadium, holding a staggering 80,000.        I talked about the civil unrest across the country. We were told to expect a heavy police presence, particularly around the airports.  Apparently the female police in Peru are top of their game & the ones to be feared by any wrong doers. The government are currently in talks to bring the road blockades to an end. I couldn't help but think this has the potential to kick it all off again. We passed a demonstration yesterday & it didn't look like the end of anything to me. The people protesting are unhappy that their elected president has been jailed. This will not bring about another election, as the vice president automatically took over, and despite being from the same party, does not share the same views as her predecessor. The people had been promised a lot, including access to free education & more rights for workers,including the sharing of land from wealthy landowners to the workforce. This will now not happen. No wonder they aren't too happy. The media are playing a good game of negative press for the demonstrators, & their former "communist" leader, as you'd expect from the corporate world where money is power. To me it sounded like the demonstrators just want their kids to have a better life & opportunities than they did. I am very aware, however, that my views are probably different to the average tourists they get on these kinds of trip. Particularly with a private guide. 

Again, we were very well looked after & smoothly got through to departures. We were told what to expect as we acclimatise to the altitude in Cusco, and advised not to drink any alcohol for 24 hours, but to drink the free coca tea on offer at the hotel,but only until 7pm, as the high caffeine levels would interfere with sleep. It is necessary to aid digestion, we were told, as the digestive system slows down considerably at high altitude. We were advised to eat just light meals today (glad I didn't have that extra croissant I fancied at breakfast). The hotels in Cusco all have oxygen cylinders available for those in need of an extra boost, as often people struggle to get their breath as they acclimatise. Headaches are to be expected. Again, the similarities between these symptoms & ME/ CFS wasn't lost on me. I can't help but wonder if oxygen might help those symptoms? 

We were met at the airport by guide Edgar, who is a jolly & friendly man, with bags of personality & excellent English, despite being a native Quechua speaker. He told us that 60% of all residents in the city speak this ancient language, that dates to before the Spanish invasion & 100% speak this in the province's around the city. He is very proud of his heritage, despite also speaking Spanish. He ran through our schedule for the next few days and added me to his WhatsApp for contact.

Our hotel is Los Portales, and it is gorgeous. The room is much smaller, but has everything we need & the hotel has lovely sitting areas, and even a cosy library/ chill out space with free herbal teas available all day. It is very important to stay hydrated at high altitude. We tried the coca leaf tea & the mint tea. Both tasted good. Coca leaf is from the same plant as cocaine, so take it easy if you decide to try it. I've got to say, I didn't feel any different after drinking it, but hopefully it was doing me some good. We had the afternoon to ourselves to explore, so wandered around the pretty town, marveling at the scenery, gorgeous buildings and mountains behind. The streets were busy & the traffic constant. We passed a demonstration, who were mostly women, with posters & pictures of people who have been killed in the civil unrest. They are demanding the release of the former president from jail & refusing to follow his predecessor. We had been led to believe that those protesting were uneducated rural people, however, this did not appear to be the case. One man, who spoke excellent English, spoke to us and showed us a book he had written, in Spanish. His posters were in English & he was keen for the world to know the truth about the governmental corruption. 

Graeme gave a donation to the ladies for their political fund. He knows only too well that posters & leaflets are expensive, as he is involved in local politics at home. 

Cusco is a truly beautiful city, with quaint cobble streets & stunning architecture. Everything is clean & well kept ( some of the buildings look like a good gust of wind might blow them down, but you can see this is due to age more than anything else. There are plenty of souvenir shops & ladies dressed in traditional clothes selling everything from brightly coloured blankets, to silver jewelry and hand carved wooden objects. Men sell paintings on most street corners & you dare not sit still for too long or you have a gaggle of hawkers around you trying to make a sale. Everything about it is vibrant. The ornately decorated churches are beautiful and there's an abundance of restaurants & coffee shops. 

We chose to follow one of Edgar's recommendations for dinner & weren't disappointed. It opened to a cute little courtyard, with brightly coloured flowers and once up the stairs, we were greeted by a stunning vista of the main square. The food was excellent and Asian Fusion in style. Although we had been told to avoid alcohol for 24 hours, I couldn't resist a glass of wine & to watch the world go by below. Graeme had a Pisco cocktail. You only need one drink here- maybe it's the altitude, but it certainly goes to your head, so wise to take your time. I was tired after traveling, so we took a slow walk back to the hotel, soaking up the atmosphere. We have a half day city tour tomorrow, so looking forward to that. 

Speak soon,

Caroline