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Hostal Marani, Cusco, Peru

Anyway, we had reservations at Hostal Marani in the San Blas neighborhood of Cusco, just 4 blocks off the Plaza de Armas (the main square). I had sent them an email telling them what time we expected to arrive. I knew that they had airport pick up (the airport is close in), but picking up someone at the Poroy train station was a little too much to expect. But sure enough, there was someone on the platform holding a sign with our names on it. Hooray. It was dark by this time, we had never been here before and didn’t know what kind of taxi situation Poroy had. I don’t like getting to a new destination after dark. We were relieved. And it was included in the ridiculously low price (1st transfer is free).

Propane delivery in Cusco Peru. We saw them all over town. Is it me, or does this not look safe?

On the ride in, we wondered about the switch to Poroy.  The route we drove, even in the dark, looked pretty dismal.  Just as I was thinking “could they have chosen a worse looking entry to Cusco?”, we came to the top of a crest and there was the entire city of Cusco lit up in the valley below us.  Wow.  Stunning. 

Hostal Marani has sort of a hippie feel to it. It’s a favorite of backpackers because of the price (We paid $35 US per night, light breakfast included, but we booked months ago. Check their website at http://www.hostalmarani.com/). It’s inside a walled courtyard with a large balcony/porch for the upper rooms, so it has a Mexican hacienda feel to it as well. They’re very friendly and will help you with all sorts of advice and activities. The rooms aren’t heated, but you can rent a heater. It does get cold here ( we’re here at the beginning of their winter), but we have a ton of blankets in our room, and we brought our thermals, and we aren’t in the room that much anyway, so we don’t need a heater.  You’ll have to decide for yourself how much comfort you want.  A lot of places here aren’t heated, though. You might check first when making a reservation someplace.

In Cusco, Peru.

There’s oxygen in the main room if anyone needs it. We’ve done fine with the altitude – except for tonight (our last night, which is a Sunday night). In fact, I’m writing this in the middle of the night because I can’t sleep. I feel fine, but when I lie down to go to sleep, I feel as if I’m not getting enough air. Oddly enough, I’m okay if I sit up or stand. So I’m reading and writing. The only other symptom we’ve had is that we’ve both had just the slightest headache. You know when you say, “I think I might be getting a headache”? Well, that’s how it is. Not an actual headache, but just the edge of one. Other than that, and tonight, we’ve really not had a problem. You can tell the air is thin if you’re going up a long hill (of which there are many here), but that’s about it. Maybe my problem tonight is that I did two things we haven’t done before and knew not to do, and that’s have a beer and a heavy meal late in the evening. They say to avoid alcohol until you’re acclimated, but I figured that after 4 nights over 8000 feet, and then a night with no problems in Cusco, that I was acclimated. Guess not. Or maybe it would have happened anyway. There’s a beer made here in Cusco and I wanted to try it. I guess I won’t get to the beer made out of corn (maize).  And it’s hard to get a small restaurant meal in the evening (I know, I know… I didn’t have to eat it all, but hey, it was good).

Overlooking Cusco, Peru.

There are a couple of ruins very close to Cusco that sounded interesting and that are on our Touristic Boleta, which means no extra charge to see them, so we asked at the desk Sunday morning about the best way to get to them (there are 5). He (Alex) suggested a taxi. Either we could walk down to the Plaza and negotiate a price, or we could use his taxi driver friend, who happened to be in the kitchen. He didn’t speak any English, but Sherry’s Spanish has just gotten better and better, so we went with Samuel. We liked him a lot. Funny, polite. He even acted as a guide on two of the sites, although that was not his specialty. He took over the camera, and for once we have travel photos with me in them, too. So for about US $10 an hour, we got a car, driver, guide and photographer. The tour took us about 3 hours.

Cristo Blanco overlooking Cusco Peru

The sites were interesting, though not on the scale of the other things we saw.  The first on our list, as well as the largest and most important, was Sacsayhuaman, which is pronounced just like it’s spelled.  Most tourists call it Sexy Woman.  The other sites were Q’enqo, Cusilluchayoc, Pucapucara and Tambomachay.  At one of them, high up on a ruin overlooking a typical Peruvian valley (that is to say – Awesome), we struck up a conversation with an octogenarian from Arequipa, Peru.  He was going strong, doing great.  We talked with him for about 10 minutes (in Spanish) and just really enjoyed his philosophy and outlook (which was keep learning and doing until you die).

Near Cusco, Peru

 Next: stumbling across the longest lasting parade (with the shortest route) we’ve ever seen.

In case you don’t know, this blog is attached to a website. You can go there to find all about Peru and all the places (and more) that we’re visiting by clicking on HOME above and then clicking on PERU in the navigation bar. Of course, the web site has much more than that. From learning Spanish to learning about all 21 Spanish speaking countries. Enjoy.