We woke up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight to Cusco. Most of the flights are in the morning, for tourists to be able to catch a train to Aquas Calientes, near Machu Picchu. Many people opt to stay a night in Cusco, to acclimate to the altitude. We were among the latter group, and were able to check in early to our hotel, the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco. Thankfully, we were there early, as we got to visit with the “house llama”, Panchita, a 5-month old baby llama that the staff allows the guests to pet and feed each morning. One of the cutest things we’ve ever seen. After “llama time” we grabbed some breakfast and then took a much needed nap. The combination of the altitude in Cusco (12,000 ft.) and the lack of sleep was really getting to both of us.
After our nap, we were ready to go explore a bit. A friend of ours who had been to Cusco recently, turned us on to a nearby restaurant, Ceviche Seafood Kitchen. The highlight of the menu, unsurprisingly, was the ceviche. Local river fish, served in a light broth of lime juice, local fruit puree and spices. Simply amazing! With full stomachs and the altitude sickness lessening, we decided to explore the town a bit. Once the main city of the Inca empire, the Spanish conquerors made their mark with several churches throughout the town square and surrounding area. We also hit the main museum, but didn’t spend a whole lot of time there. The style was really anything we liked, despite seeing quite a bit of good street art (even buying a couple of items in Lima the day before.)
The altitude was starting to get to us again, so we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the complimentary spa area. After a shower and a couple of pisco (local grape alcohol) drinks, we headed to dinner at another spot, Inkazuela, which had some great Yelp! reviews. While some of the patrons dined on local specialties, like guinea pig and alpaca, we stuck to more traditional (for our palate) food, getting some beef with potato puree and an excellent chicken coconut curry. The Asian food in Peru is very, very good. Lots of Asians, especially Chinese and Japanese emigrated here in the 1800s, so the food culture is very well established. After dinner, we grabbed a night cap at the Belmond Hotel, across the square. Beautiful architecture and a great lobby bar. Definitely somewhere to consider staying when we come back! Tomorrow is Machu Picchu, so it’s off to bed.