Its been a bit over a week in Cusco and I am working hard to sum up my time here. This city is truly fantastic. Though it may be a tourist hub there are tons of museums, a fabulous market, lots of great squares, and wonderful shopping.
San Pedro Market is my favorite stop. As is well known I love to spend time is local market places. This market is very clean compared to its Asian counterparts. I have started my mornings with a freshly squeezed juice made of carrots, banana, orange, and Maca powder! If you want you can be so healthy in Peru. The rows are lines with Chia seeds, Quinoa in all colors, Maca, loads of chocolate, and setvia. There are fruits I have never heard of, such a noni, which is meant to cure cancer and help digestion. In the lower areas women sell all sorts of treats like Jello, cakes, hot coco, and cerviche. Additional booths have fresh fish eggs, seaweed, all types of other herbs, and of course... huge logs of sacred paulo santo that the hippies would dye to get there hands on for the alters!
The streets of Cusco are lined with both high end alpaca shops and vendors who sell lower quality alpaca hats, socks, sweaters, and scarfs. All the kinds of Peruvian gifts that anyone has ever dreamed of are here next to adorable cafes fulls of tasty treats and sweets (they do love there treats here especially ice cream).
I bought a 10 day tourist pass which gave me access to many museums around town as well as ruins in the Sacred Valley area. I spent a few days visiting these and exploring the winding streets. It was a great collection of exhibits that ranged between Incan history, Spanish colonialism, and modern Peruvian Art. On my day two friends I had met in Lima arrived and we packed our bags and set off on a self designed tour of the Sacred Valley that took us all the way to Machu Pichu and back!
*Something I have noticed is the disabled ramps in Cusco. There are on almost every corner and while there are many stairs to climb in this hilly city most streets have ramps. I am not saying it would be easy to get around seeing as it is cobble stone in most areas. However, all ramps are marked. They also seem better here than in some American towns. Just an observation...
San Pedro Market is my favorite stop. As is well known I love to spend time is local market places. This market is very clean compared to its Asian counterparts. I have started my mornings with a freshly squeezed juice made of carrots, banana, orange, and Maca powder! If you want you can be so healthy in Peru. The rows are lines with Chia seeds, Quinoa in all colors, Maca, loads of chocolate, and setvia. There are fruits I have never heard of, such a noni, which is meant to cure cancer and help digestion. In the lower areas women sell all sorts of treats like Jello, cakes, hot coco, and cerviche. Additional booths have fresh fish eggs, seaweed, all types of other herbs, and of course... huge logs of sacred paulo santo that the hippies would dye to get there hands on for the alters!
The streets of Cusco are lined with both high end alpaca shops and vendors who sell lower quality alpaca hats, socks, sweaters, and scarfs. All the kinds of Peruvian gifts that anyone has ever dreamed of are here next to adorable cafes fulls of tasty treats and sweets (they do love there treats here especially ice cream).
I bought a 10 day tourist pass which gave me access to many museums around town as well as ruins in the Sacred Valley area. I spent a few days visiting these and exploring the winding streets. It was a great collection of exhibits that ranged between Incan history, Spanish colonialism, and modern Peruvian Art. On my day two friends I had met in Lima arrived and we packed our bags and set off on a self designed tour of the Sacred Valley that took us all the way to Machu Pichu and back!
*Something I have noticed is the disabled ramps in Cusco. There are on almost every corner and while there are many stairs to climb in this hilly city most streets have ramps. I am not saying it would be easy to get around seeing as it is cobble stone in most areas. However, all ramps are marked. They also seem better here than in some American towns. Just an observation...
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