AspiringNomad

Anna, Emily and I eventually escaped the strange world of Wolf Totem at about 5pm. Emily, unfortunately had a bad stomach during our last day in the Sacred valley which meant that we had to push back our plans to get to Puno. This meant that we all headed back to Cusco for another night.

There is an ongoing joke that it’s really hard to leave Cusco as there is so much to see and do here. We’ve heard stories of people who have been here for a month or more! Emily and I had spent a total of about two weeks in and around the area of Cusco and we wondered if we would ever get out! As we saw a man running down the street barefoot, clearly a traveller from Europe who had let his hair grow and hadn’t showered for a few years, we joked that we would soon become that man, aimlessly running round, trying to get out! Hysterically laughing at 3300m above sealevel is not easily done, and we all had to stop on the hill to catch our breath.

We all checked in to La Boheme, a lovely hostel in the San Blas area of Cusco. The San Blas area is made up of small pedestrianised streets on one of the hillsides up from the main plaza. Lots of restaurants, boutique hotels, shops and bars with amazing views of the city.

Once checked in, we headed just round the corner for something to eat. Emily headed off to bed and Anna and I continued in search of dessert. Maybe because it was a Sunday it was quite hard to find somewhere that could offer what we were looking for. After a few failed attempts we ended up in a strange little coffee shop with a hot chocolate and some shortbread.

The next morning we all checked out of La Boheme after devouring the all you can eat crepe breakfast that was included in the night stay! We decided that although we had been in Cusco for a long time, we hadn’t really done much of the touristy attractions in the city. So after having more food in a cafe called D’wasi (I had the vegetarian toasted sandwich). We got some cash out and went to the cathedral in the main square. 10 soles per person, we marvelled at the strange decor and paintings before climbing up to look out from the balcony at the top.

As I look out over the square and beyond, I find it hard not to fall in love with the way the city is nestled in the valley. The houses and shops spill out, up onto the side of the hills in the surrounding area, and the mountains continue on as far as the eye can see into the distance. The city itself is clean and well presented, and with the Salkantay Mountain, Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, Ausangate Mountain, the Sacred Valley and Sacsayhuaman (yes, it is pronounced ‘sexy woman’) you really could spend a long time here. I think back to all the incredible things I have done from my first day on the ATVs, to Halloween and seeing all my travel friends again, the jungle trek and the trip to strange Wolf Totem, Cusco has definitely been my favourite place so far on this trip.

We next headed to the inca museum. We thought we really should since we had been staying in Cusco, which is where it all started. Following our touristy afternoon, we decided to treat ourselves and headed to the cafe where I called home a few days ago (where you all said you could hear the music more than me).

We ordered a Pisco Sour because our new phrase is ‘¿por qué no?’ And to be quite honest I think I am addicted to the cocktail. We sat and chatted for a while about Anna’s wild love life (which is most entertaining, I will miss all her stories) and Emily and I planned a few things for the next leg of our trip.

At 7pm, we headed to a restaurant called Chicha. It was fairly fancy, but we decided as we hadn’t treated ourselves enough already and as it was our last meal with all three of us, we thought ¿por qué no?! As usual, we chatted a little longer than we should have done and it ended up being a bit of a mad rush to get to the bus station. Emily had somehow now contracted a weird rash on her face, neck and shoulders so we took a de tour to the pharmacy to get some anti histamines before going to the bus terminal. With just a few minutes to spare we boarded our bus to finally leave Cusco and head to Puno.

After an awful night sleep on the bus due to the dry air, high altitude and the fact I seem to have got a bit of a cold. We arrived in Puno at 6am. (2 hours over schedule). We headed straight to the hostel and requested an early check in. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us and we’ve now both caught up on a few hours sleep.

We plan to book our homestay through the hostel that we are in for tomorrow night on an island called Amantani on Lake Titicaca. We will get to experience the life of the indigenous people, eat their food, dance and spend a night on the islands made of straw.