Cusco

Hello again, thanks to Gina and Alvin for reminding me that it was time for a Chile update! The last three weeks or so have been quite a whirlwind. My parents arrived in Santiago on Wednesday, September 9th and on Thursday, September 10th, I had two papers due in addition to a 50-70 minute presentation on a 140 page book for my environmental economics class. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to get on the plane to Peru on Friday morning. From Santiago, we flew to Lima and then from Lima to Cusco. When filling in our customs papers for Peru, my dad asked me what I wrote down for my occupation. I told him "student" and asked what he wrote to which he naturally replied "astronaut", showing me his customs card. Laughs ensued between my mom, dad and I especially when my mom said that when the Peruvian police stopped and questioned him, she and I would walk away and pretend not to know Astronaut Steven White. While the pilot was attempting to land in Cusco, he could not get a visual of the runway and told us that he would circle for 15 minutes and if a visual could not be confirmed, we would return to Lima. Luckily, we landed on the second attempt.

Cusco primarily serves as a tourist destination on the road to Machu Picchu. Filled with artensian craft markets (which all the look the same after awhile), Peruvians dressed in native clothing charging tourists to take pictures with them and aggressive street peddlers demanding that you look at their drawings/necklaces/take a card for their masaje or massage business. Located at approximately 11,000 feet (according to my trusty friend Wikipedia), it took a little time to adjust to the drastic change in altitude. Coca tea made with coca leaves is the natural remedy promoted by the Peruvians to deal with the altitude so we drank the tea and for the most part avoided major altitude induced headaches. Our second day in Cusco, we toured the ruins around the city and some of the museums. 

The museum Qoricancha showcased the excellent craftsmanship of the Incas. The seams in between these rock blocks are practically nonexistent, not even a sheet of paper could slip in between them!

The Cathedral of Cusco....I am not really a fan because it was high way robbery to get into this Catholic Church and our guide told us that only 8% of the proceeds go to education in Cusco meanwhile 30% goes to the Church.

The view from the Museo de Sitio de Quricancha

Next we traveled to the Saqsayhuamán ruins which are considered to be pre-Incan ruins. 

At the ruins of Tambomachay, our guide told us that some legends say this is the Fountain of Youth. And here is Steve filling up his Nalgene with Fountain of Youth water.

Unlike Santiago, Cusco was filled with Mexican food restaurants so I was a happy camper in this city.

Words of the day: No me gustaría un masaje=I would not like a massage,  plata=money, las ruinas=the ruins, astronauta=astronaut