Hello folks,
This is Carly blogging tonight (or Carolina as the Peruvians call me). So ….. after arriving back at the hostel from Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu at 1:00 AM, we began the day by sleeping in until 8:00 AM. Then, some of us went to eat all you can eat pancakes and breakfast food at the “Blue Llama”, which is a café, restaurant, and store all in one. I was not expecting anything great since the restaurant is right off of the main square in Pisac, but the pancakes were surprisingly amazing! They served them with honey. Then, we had a couple of hours to finish up some Christmas shopping, or shopping for ourselves, at the main market in Pisac. They set up the market in the main square and surrounding streets and on Sunday, it is extra large. There were both shopping and food stands and it was fun explore!
After spending lots of time shopping (as our group greatly enjoys), we were off to Cusco. We had two taxis especially for our group and had a great time dancing and singing to “Me Duele la Cabeza”, a catchy Peruvian tune, as well as some old American tunes. We arrived in Cusco and I instantly fell in love. The city was hoppin – people walking around and there were actually cars on the streets. The taxis dropped us off in a square and we then walked to another square (squares were very abundant). At the Plaza de Armas (the second square), the group ate at Bembos, the Peruvian McDonalds. It was awesome. From the outside, no one would know that it was fast food. I ordered a burger with sweet potatoes and some mystery sauce on it. Lots of the group members ate their burger with Ahi sauce, which seems to be literally everywhere in this country. I also had some Inca Kola, the bubble gum flavored soda that is also seen everywhere in the country. As you will shortly notice, the group likely gained 20 pounds today with the mass amount of food consumed throughout the day.
Next in our adventures, we walked to a wall that was made by the Incans. This was a rock wall with special rocks. In the middle of the wall sat a rock with 12 edges (supposedly famous). We touched the 12-edged rock though we were not supposed to J We were super sneaky. Then, the group split up …. I will briefly describe the rest of my time at Cusco.
Myself and three others went into a church off the Plaza de Armas. We were able to explore the inside of the church, which was unbelievably gorgeous. We then went to the basement and upstairs to explore more of the church. We were able to look out over the Plaza at the fountain and a cross-shaped stone. From here, we walked down the Ave. Sol (or something of that sort), a large street that was hoppin. It was cool to be in a city. We walked down the avenue for some time to an Incan Sun Temple. It was clear that it was a tourist attraction but I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to explore the grounds where this temple stood. Though most of the temple had been destroyed by the Spanish and an earthquake, some still stood. We viewed many paintings and learned a lot. The courtyard in the center was beautiful and when we walked outside, we had a great view of the city and the mountains, one of which read “Viva El Peru”. Then, we walked back to the Plaza de Armas to search for other members of our group. We walked through a walkway that was also built of stone to reach the Plaza.
Then, Diana and I went to “Jack’s Café”, which was packed. I had a homemade mint lemonade, the best lemonade of my life, and a super moist and delicious brownie with ice cream – more food! We then explored the streets of Cusco and found another square, many shops, and an interesting fountain placed next to a school. We shopped some more as we head back to the Plaza de Armas. We then heard many cars honking around the square and were thrilled to hear that Cusco had won some soccer football championship against Lima. The town was going crazy with excitement and people were gathering at the square to celebrate. Police were directing traffic. Unfortunately, it was time for our group to leave Cusco and head back to the hostel for dinner. We went back toward the square we arrived at and were able to walk down a street full of stores. We were able to see another church and the arch that led to this street, both of which were beautiful. As it was getting dark, the Cristo Blanco, the white Christ overlooking the city, was now lit up.
On the way back to Pisac, we listened to more “Me Duele la Cabeza”, which seem to be the only words I know to the song. We arrived to a special spaghetti dinner, which was giant and delicious. Many of us found that we had large bug bites from our trek at Machu Picchu (or as my family calls it, Michu Picchu). Ouch ….. they are a tad bit painful as I have many myself. The correct response to cure these is … “Just pee on it”.
Happy Birthday to Tony Minaglia, who turned 21 at approximately 6:15 AM today. The group celebrated his birthday with a special cake from Sofie’s, one of the few bakeries in town, and some Inca Kola.
To end the day, myself and some others explored the streets of Pisac with a night walk. We went into a store that sells pirated CDs and DVDs, many of which had interesting covers. They sell them for $1.00 a piece. We continued to explore, saw many kids with dynamite, a street vendor who was selling chicken and pasta, and a cool bike with a large storage area. We then arrived back to the hostel after an exhausting, but unforgettable and breathtaking, day.
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading.
Carly Jane Celebrezze
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