The grand plan was to sleep I, but after three mornings of waking up at 0400ish we were raring to go at 0730. It was definitely harder to breathe as we had returned to a higher altitude and decided that despite our long day(s) of hiking and traveling, neither of us had slept well. For the first time I got a good understanding of what it feels like to be an asthmatic.
After a quick pop in the shower (who could refuse a rain shower head) we headed outside where we were greeted by rain and a fairly miserable looking day. Breakfast was at a super cute place up the road and before we knew it, we were ready to tackle the day. The first stop was Qorikancha, which used to be one of the most powerful temples until Spanish built a church over top; it was pretty cool to see the two structures side by side.
As we were wandering around I thought I was getting hit hard with altitude sickness so we took it easy the rest of the afternoon (turns out i had some food poisoning). We made a quick stop to see the Cathdral before heading to the airport.
Checking in at the airport was complete chaos as there were hundreds of backpackers/tourists trying to get home, but at least we didn't have to go through customs until Lima.
A quick 90 minutes later we arrived back in Lima where the trip came to an end. Todd would be spending the night/day in Lima before heading back to Argentina and I would be hanging in the airport for several hours until my flight arrived (thankfully I was able to pass the six hours in a Starbucks with some good old fashioned free wi-fi).
After a solid 8+ hours of sleep, we climbed out of bed and set out to prepare Diego at the bus stop which would take us back up the mountain. There were no complaints here about transport as it would be a solid two hour hike straight up before we began to climb around the ruins. As we were packing up our stuff, I joked around that I thought I heard it rainingover the babbling brook. Turns out I was right because when we looked outside the window it was pouring.
As we ran through the rain drops to meet Diego, we grabbed a pair of ponchos to wear over our rain coats/packs. Thankfully our guide had gotten there early because by 0500 there was already quite a line going because the firstbusleaves at 0530 and the park opens at 0600.
As there did not seem to be any break in the weather we headed into the park for our tour.
The mist/clouds did give everything a cool look.
Once we had covered alone sited Diego bid us goodbye, gave us out train tickets for later that afternoon and turned us loose. Todd and I decided to grab some coffee and wait out the rain; no sense in getting totally soaked. After about an hour and a half things were down to a dull mist so we headed back in to take some pictures and explore.
For the first bit all we could see was fog, but soon enough the winds changed and we could see more than 20 feet in front of us. The architecture is incredible. None of the stones are held together with cement. Instead they are carved by hand to fit inside one another. If there was a rock in the way, it would be incorporated into the structure.
After grabbing some lunch we decided to hike up the trail to the sun gate. In all the excitement of yesterday we forgot to take some pictures and as we had a couple hours before our train we had some time to kill. Once we got to the top, we met a lady my grandmother's age who was completing the same hike we did yesterday. (Memere you still have a few more adventures in you)
As we got to chatting about the awe inspiring ruins of Machu Pichu, Todd had mentioned there might not be the same hype had the ruins not been found in such a remote and beautiful part of the world. Would people flock to the ruins in the same droves if they were outside some more of a mainstream city? My guess is no, but we will never know.
The alarm clocks started sounding at 0400 and before we knew it we were dressed, packed and poured into a cab. One of the joys of traveling with Todd is his Spanish fluency. Customs was a breeze and all I had to do was smile and handover my thumb print. During our short layover in Lima we decided it would behoove of us to get a guide book. On the flight into Cusco, Todd read aloud and I took some good mental notes.
Once we hopped off the plane we could definitely tell we were at a higher altitude (11,200 feet). Todd negotiated a price for a cab and we were off. A friend of ours from college got us a great deal at the JW Marriott. The hotel was at one time a convent which has now been converted into the hotel. As soon as we walked in we were given cups of Coca tea which is supposed to help with altitude sickness (both of us had the dull headache at this point).
Once we dropped our bags we wandered around the main square, got a tour of one of the churches and then it was off to Sacsayhuamán which was at one time the capital of the Inka Empire.
By the time we wrapped up the sun had set and the temperature had dropped. Our guide recommended that we grab an early dinner (6:30ish compared to the 10pm dinners in BA) to help with digestion. The restaurant recommendation came from Todd's coworker and it definitely did not disappoint; we also made sure to down as much coca tea as possible with the hopes it would help prep us for tomorrow.
The last thing on my list to see was the Ecological Reserve so we figured we would make a day of it. We wandered through the botanical gardens and took a similar path Todd takes to work each morning. After a quick breakfast, Todd headed into the office to take care of a few things and I hung out in the cafe to get caught upon some blogging (that is when the first round of things got posted).
We hopped onto the subway and headed back to the Pink House where we could walk through the port and make our way to the park. Despite it being winter, the weather was quite warm and we both quickly regretted not wearing shorts. There was not too much going on in the park; it did provide a good view of downtown.
While we could not find the two ponds in the park, we did get down to the water.
As we had an early morning tomorrow and still had to pack, we decided to cook dinner.
Nothing like a good carbo load to prep for our big hike!!
First stop of the day: La Boca. This area located right on the water was one place where a great number of immigrants first landed, mainly Italian. Not only is it known for its vibrant colors (people would paint their homes with left over boat paint), but also has a wide variety of street art and was THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE TANGO.
While it has become very touristy, we soaked it up.
The new bridge which represents two tango dancers
We had a casual four hour lunch while getting in some good people watching.
Grabbed some gelato and headed for home. We did see the pink house all lit up.
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