Traveleena: Mary Had a Little Llama...

Yesterday we spent the day exploring colorful Cuzco, with a few rest stops along the way to catch our breath (literally...holy altitude!). The people here are so beautiful - warm caramel skin, rosy cheeks, big smiles and huge hearts. Example: when our cute old driver picked us up from the Poroy train station, I sat in the back of the car and he turned around and handed me "una rosa for senorita" - a beautiful Peruvian rose he had no doubt picked while waiting for us at the station. It was such a sweet and unnecessary gesture, and yet it spoke volumes of the kindness and beauty of the Cuzquenos people.

We started the day with breakfast overlooking Plaza de Armas, which is the central square that was once the political center of the Inca Empire. Plaza de Armas has a number of charming restaurants and shops on two levels around the square, which surround La Catedral. You will see a few flags waving here - the Peruvian flag as well as a rainbow flag (looks shockingly similar to the pride flag) called the Tahuantinsuyo which represents the four quarters of the Inca Empire. We then made our way to Mercado San Pedro, which gave us a peak at how the locals carry about their day to day life, selling their wares in booths. This place had everything from sneakers to Barbie dolls to underwear, all amidst the sale of fruits, herbs, quail eggs, corn and potatoes. Then we walked to the San Blas area, which is the artisan quarter full of showrooms of local art, paintings, ceramics, and other crafts. You will see women walking here in their traditional clothing with llamas, and as our hotel concierge described it, it is "bery nice". We stopped in at a few cool art galleries to take a look at the local art and it was, in fact, bery nice.

I really love the feel of this place, and maybe it is just because of the grandeur of the mountains. I think this is the unifying theme when I look back to the places that I loved best. Imran thinks I was a Sherpa in my past life and that he probably lived somewhere in a cave. LOL!

The weather here feels like a typical Calgary spring day in May. It started off sunny, then it started raining with a sunny sky, then the sky got cloudy and it stopped raining, then it got sunny again and started hailing. Thankfully our hotel was in a central location so we were able to stop in when the hail started and grab some coca tea. We have been sipping on coca tea a few times a day here and I think it has really helped with the altitude! Our hotel has a little coca tea station, with steeped tea as well as leaves that you can chew on if you desire.

We spent the rest of the day eating a wonderful Peruvian meal and rejuvenating in a ritualistic Andean spa retreat. Cuzco was truly a great experience and I do wish we had a bit more time to explore the ruins around Cuzco and do a little more exploration of the Sacred Valley. But alas the time to come home is near - 2 days in Lima and then we are back!