Lima / Cusco

Arrived in Lima after a very long day of travelling with a 1 1/2 hour delay in Houston due to bad weather. The Hotel in Lima was located in the district of Miraflores, one of the better areas of the City. The hotel is an old converted mansion in the Spanish colonial style. The City is very modern and clean and has 9 million people. Apparently they had a cholera epidemic in 1997 and are now keeping everything very clean.

We were picked up by our driver, Jose Casanova!!! A wonderful man who took us around to many of the sites in Lima . We visited the cathedral which houses numerous very beautiful and ornate christian artifacts, such as alters, paintings and creches. Also housed the remains of Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror of the Incas.....he is not well liked in this country to say the least.

Also visited the Indian markets, which are full of woven garments, paintings, jewellery, etc. Silver jewellery here is very cheap and exceptional....does Claire need more jewellery!!!

Watched the changing of the guards outside the Presidential Palace in downtown Lima. While walking downtown in Miraflores after dinner, stopped to enjoy a Peruvian band playing .....locals got up and danced along with the local music....great to see the locals enjoying themselves.

So far, have tried goat stew, ceviche (marinated raw seafood) and pisco sour (a white brandy based drink with lime, sugar and egg whites = national drink, very strong). We have yet to try Cuy (guinea pig) -Squeaky, a previous family pet comes to mind!!

Flew to Cusco today, which was a 1 hour flight, mostly over the Andes and the pilot came in very close to the peaks - some of which were covered in snow. During the flight, we were served a snack and coca tea made from coca leaves, which can also be chewed. This tea helps with altitude acclimatization. So far seems to be working, although we certainly felt the altitude (11,000 feet). This city of 350,000 was the original capital of Peru during the Inca empire. The city is very hilly with narrow cobbled streets, and lots of character. Many indiginous people selling their handicrafts, including alpaca garments, paintings and weavings. It is a little cool here, about 20 during the day but dropping steadily with nightfall. Will spend tomorrow touring the town, then off for our 2 day Inca Trail trek on Tuesday morning.

Pictures

1) Cathedral in Lima

2) Claire with driver Jose

3) Changing of the guard

4) Robin at hostal in Cusco

5) Cusco street