We took an evening flight back to Lima and from there took a taxi to our hostel/hotel. Lima is a tough town....really rough around the edges for sure. It is also HUGE. It has about 15 million in the metro and surrounding area (the 16th most populous city in the world) and is 1/3 of the total Peruvian population. The smog created from the over 7000 factories of textiles, clothing, food, chemicals, and fish as well as a very tropical physical geography made for a really dreamy, surreal type of feeling while there. Not our favorite place on the trip....but interesting.
Early the next morning we got up and headed back to the airport to catch a 55 minute flight into the Andes mountains to Cuzco, Peru (pop.: 300,000 people) and Imperial City of the Incas. Cuzco lies in Southeastern Peru at an altitude of 10,991 feet above sea level...which officially is now the highest altitude town we've spent time in (Leadville, co - you are now #2). It was built by the Incas and served as the capital of the vast Inca Empire that reached from Quito, Ecuador to Northern Chile. A hilarious urban planning fact is that it was originally built in the shape of a puma, which was a sacred animal for the Incas. In 2006, Cuzco was found to have the highest ultraviolet light level on the planet...which, after being burnt with 70 block on, believe 100%. It is a beautiful town with very traditional markets and streets. Most of the streets are lined with stone and have colorful and ornate doors to the businesses and homes. There are a lot of tourists in Cuzco but it is also a very traditional town. Many of the women wear giant layers of clothing with long sock/stockings, have large bolo hats on and all have long braids. We wandered around, having the entire day, exploring. Dogs are everywhere...everywhere...on every corner. I started to notice that they all are some of the cutest dogs I've ever seen! they have happy faces with short legs and were extremely well behaved. We found lunch at small pizza joint and enjoyed as a street musician played a sweet song in Spanish, on guitar, as we ate. The main Plaza de Armas (the "heart" of the puma shaped city) is stunning with it's giant catholic churches and central gardens. We sat on a Juliet type balcony at a 2nd story pub and had a couple beers while people watching. Really, really relaxing. After taking in the thin air and enjoying the afternoon we headed back to our hotel to prepare for the trek to Aguas Calientes and the famed, Machu Picchu.
Early the next morning we got up and headed back to the airport to catch a 55 minute flight into the Andes mountains to Cuzco, Peru (pop.: 300,000 people) and Imperial City of the Incas. Cuzco lies in Southeastern Peru at an altitude of 10,991 feet above sea level...which officially is now the highest altitude town we've spent time in (Leadville, co - you are now #2). It was built by the Incas and served as the capital of the vast Inca Empire that reached from Quito, Ecuador to Northern Chile. A hilarious urban planning fact is that it was originally built in the shape of a puma, which was a sacred animal for the Incas. In 2006, Cuzco was found to have the highest ultraviolet light level on the planet...which, after being burnt with 70 block on, believe 100%. It is a beautiful town with very traditional markets and streets. Most of the streets are lined with stone and have colorful and ornate doors to the businesses and homes. There are a lot of tourists in Cuzco but it is also a very traditional town. Many of the women wear giant layers of clothing with long sock/stockings, have large bolo hats on and all have long braids. We wandered around, having the entire day, exploring. Dogs are everywhere...everywhere...on every corner. I started to notice that they all are some of the cutest dogs I've ever seen! they have happy faces with short legs and were extremely well behaved. We found lunch at small pizza joint and enjoyed as a street musician played a sweet song in Spanish, on guitar, as we ate. The main Plaza de Armas (the "heart" of the puma shaped city) is stunning with it's giant catholic churches and central gardens. We sat on a Juliet type balcony at a 2nd story pub and had a couple beers while people watching. Really, really relaxing. After taking in the thin air and enjoying the afternoon we headed back to our hotel to prepare for the trek to Aguas Calientes and the famed, Machu Picchu.
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