It’s hard to breathe 11,000 ft above sea level. We had read about altitude sickness and the effects of being at such a high elevation, but never thought the effects would so strongly inhibit us from our everyday travels. Right as we stepped off the plane, we noticed we were having trouble getting lungfuls of air and it wasn’t because we were exposed to a breathtaking scenery of multiple vast mountains surrounding us. After walking up a simple ramp in the airport, we had to stop for breath. The first two days in Cusco, walking up a flight of steps or up a hill was demanding of us. It was alarming the first morning we woke up in Cusco to find that both of our lips had turned slightly blue.
Mate de Coca
Thank God for the coca leaf. The coca leaf has been used for many centuries by Andean natives to cure altitude sickness symptoms. It can be chewed or brewed into a tea. Many drug stores, small grocery stores, and herbal medicine stores sell the leaves and tea for very cheap. At first, Ben and I tried chewing them. It’s not actual chewing, it’s more of rolling up some leaves and putting them in your cheek while your saliva moistens them. It’s incredible how helpful these leaves were. Most restaurants sell coca tea, which tastes very similar to green tea. Whenever we felt the side effects of altitude sickness, these leaves helped us tremendously.
Our first day in Cusco, we decided to take it easy and acclimate to the high altitude, until we stumbled upon some steps that didn’t stop until we reached the top of a mountain with a famous statue called Christo Blanco. You would think after reading about resting the first few days in Cusco, we would have listened. However, curiosity got the best of us. Don’t get me wrong, we had to stop many, many times before reaching the top. It was definitely worth the hike though. From the top, we were able to see the city center of Cusco along with more mountains in the distance. Not only was it beautiful, but I swear after that hike, the altitude rarely affected us.
Cusco is an absolutely beautiful city and it may just be one of my favorites. It is over 3,000 years old, making it the oldest city in the Americas. With old, narrow cobblestone streets and intricate stone churches, it feels like I have stepped into a history book. There are plenty of plazas where vendors sell goods and food and are surrounded by restaurants and stores. These seem to be the most popular places to go in the city. This is the kind of city you can walk around and be amazed at what you see when you turn a corner. That is my favorite kind of city. Lima, I felt, lacked the history and architecture I was used to in Europe and wasn’t surprised by walking around.
People look different in the mountains compared to on the coast. Their skin is darker and they look more indigenous, representative of the Incas. They are also much shorter than Americans. It’s also common to see older women and some children wearing traditional style clothing. There are so many colorful ponchos, hats, and sweaters, I may just come home with a rainbow in my backpack! It’s amazing to see how different the culture is in Cusco compared to Lima.
I thought the food in Lima was good, well the food in Cusco is even better. If we spoke before I left for my trip, I’m sure you learned that guinea pig is a delicacy in Peru. I’m here to tell you that it is DELICIOUS! Now, I couldn’t bring myself to order the roasted guinea pig, but I had it wrapped in bacon with some vegetables and it was fantastic. I also tried some alpaca steak, which was good, but not as good as the guinea pig. Yesterday, we walked through Plaza de San Francisco and found the square full of street vendors preparing and selling roasted cuy (guinea pig), which inspired me to try it at a restaurant.
This weekend is the Festival of Sun, the most important festival in Cusco. Today there were thousands of people visiting from all over Peru and the world to witness a parade and the carrying of statues of saints to the Cusco Cathedral. I’ll write more about it tomorrow!
From Peru With Love 