To Cuzco

Day 3, to Cuzco

I have not had much sleep – my roommate M___  is sick with some stomach bug, and has been up and down all night. I grab a bite to eat at the hotel breakfast buffet – fresh fruit, rolls, juice.  The coffee is terrible.  They have ham and cheese, some sort of cereals, but I pass on those.  Our group meets downstairs, and we drive to the airport. 

Through domestic security, then downstairs to wait.  This is the waiting spot for the planes where you get in a little bus and they drive you to the plane, and you walk up the stairs to board.  We have an hour-plus wait, so we watch people.  But first we look for my sick roommate.  No one has seen her since we went through security.  We check all the bathrooms, wander around a little upstairs, then more downstairs.  I find her in the front row of the waiting place, doubled over in the seat and resting.  She is not visible from anywhere in the room.  We are all happy to see her – she has not been lost, she knew where she was.

There are Earthquake security zone signs on the giant supports in the airport waiting room – will one hit while we are here?

They announce our flight, we line up, walk outside, and the smell hits us – the worst sort of death smell you can image.  Obviously there are many dead and rotting animals close by.  We all start to gag it is so overwhelming.  I feel really sorry for M__.  Short drive to the plane, more horrendous odor, then we are boarded, and don’t wait long to take off (thank goodness).  The flight is not bad, except for the landing.  Cuzco is in a small valley, so we have to drop down in a tight turn to land on the one runway.  I keep telling myself the pilot is experienced, he has done this before.  We make it.

Out into the sunshine, thin air, hawkers, vendors, ads for Coca Cola and Internet.  The bus arrives and we drive into town to our hotel.  We check in, meet with the group, then  Arturo our guide leads us to Jack’s, where we have to wait outside – it is packed.  Food was worth the wait – sandwiches, burgers, fries, beer.  Afterwards we wander around town for 4 hours, shopping, taking pictures, trying to cope with the altitude. Back to the hotel for dinner and an early evening.

Day 2, Lima

Day 2, in Lima
We are here on an “extra” day, and there is a sight-seeing tour in the afternoon. In the morning a group meeting, then a little walking around the area on our own. I go with some folks to the nearby mall. It’s very upscale, with views of the Pacific Ocean, although this morning it’s hard to see as it is very foggy. The cold Humboldt Current sweeps up the west coast of South America, and when the warm air hits it – fog. We wander through a small park, and buy water at a small store. Then back to the hotel. We go out again, back to the mall, for lunch. There is a typical food court there, but open air, overlooking the ocean. The fog has burned off, and what a view. I eat a sandwich with Asado de Res. It’s good.
Back to the hotel – its time for the city tour. There are not many really old buildings in Lima, because of the earthquakes, especially the one in 1746, which leveled everything that was here. It was a long time before it was rebuilt. Originally the Inca and rich Spaniards live further upriver from the coast, and farmed this land. Because the city is a desert, they used the water from the 3 rivers to irrigate their fields. Over time the city moved towards the coast.
The architecture of many buildings is Moorish/European, and its especially noticeable in the monastery. Of course I couldn’t take pictures there…. We did a lot of walking around town, and then headed back to the hotel, cleaned up, and walked to dinner. I had scallops, salad and a potato dish. The scallops were delicious, the salad great, and the potato pasta ok. Being on the coast Lima is famous for ceviche and other seafood. I didn’t eat any ceviche, but it looked yummy. Walk back to the hotel and crash. We fly out early in the am.

Professional Development

Day 1, we fly to Lima
I am riding to Houston with 3 women whom I don’t know very well. Over the course of the 3 hour car ride that changes, as we talk about whatever comes to mind – teaching, husbands/men, traveling – but not necessarily in that order. More of the group meets us at the airport, we eat some lunch, wait some more, and finally board the plane.
We are scheduled to depart at 3:55. We take off at 5:10. Apparently there is trouble with passengers. Two men sit in business class but they have economy tickets. They refuse to move, so they and then their luggage are removed from the plane. Then there is a woman and her 12ish year old son who want to sit in the emergency exit row because there is more leg room. He is too young to sit there, their tickets sit them elsewhere, and finally after they are threatened with removal they go back to their original seats. And we take off.
After 6+ uneventful hours of flying, in which I can’t see anything out the window because I am in the middle (albeit on the aisle), we land in Lima, Peru. The bus meets us, it’s hot and humid – like Houston – outside, and we drive 40 minutes to Miraflores, one of the rich areas. Our hotel is not a rich one, but it has a bathroom with a toilet (you still have to put the paper in the trashcan) and Internet. We sleep.