It was a long day of travel (late flights and missed flights) but we’re finally here. We were greeted at our hotel (el Balcon) with the traditional coca tea. We’re easily won over by this local custom, but it takes Kari a handful or so before she realizes she shouldn’t be eating the leaves, just sucking on them. But either way, they seem to help fight altitude sickness and offer a nice little burst of energy. Sorry friends in the U.S., I won’t be trying to bring any back for you to try. After a little nap to recover from the overnight flight, we venture to the main square in Cusco for an early dinner. This is an absolutely stunning city.
We decided to have a pretty regular first meal. We’ll save the guinea pig and alpaca for later. So we found a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the square (not hard) and settled in for some coca tea, soup (easy to digest in the altitude) and pasta. On our way back we chatted with a kid selling paintings in the square. He thinks Obama will be our next president; McCain is just for the old people. We loved getting his take, but really, we’re here to forget about the news.
The altitude isn’t killing us like we thought it might, but we do have lingering headaches. Hopefully a real night of sleep will cure all.