Cusco, Peru
16 July 2023
Lake Titicaca is probably most famous for its amazing name. It’s the reason I visited, but it turns out it is cool for other reasons as well. It’s a huge lake covering 3,200 square miles, sitting 12,500 feet above sea level on the border between southern Peru and western Bolivia. There are people who live on floating islands made from the abundant reeds growing in the shallows.
Day 1
- Twelve Angled Stone
- Plaza Mayor de Cuzco
The previous evening, I boarded the PeruHop bus at 9:30 pm in Puno. We drove through the night to arrive in Cusco at 5:00 am. Indi had departed from Sacramento at 3:20 pm the previous day and arrived in Lima at 7:30 am. From there, she flew to Cusco and arrived at 10:45 am.
Twelve Angled Stone
After meeting up and checking into our Airbnb, we walked to our first destination – the Twelve Angled Stone.
This was our first taste of the exquisite craftsmanship of Incan architecture. The stones are cut and placed so precisely that, after all this time, many stones still have perfect alignment with no gaps between stones. Famously, the gaps are so small, not even a piece of paper can fit between them.
Plaza Mayor de Cuzco
We walked to the Plaza Mayor de Cuzco. It felt like there were churches all over the city. Walking around, I was struck by how beautiful and ancient the city felt. Much of the architecture is colonial, some of it newer, but there were plenty of older Incan building remnants left.
We got some food at a restaurant with a view of the plaza. I ate a llama burger that was quite good. The restaurant Papacho’s has since closed down.
We were both beat from travel, so we called it early and returned to our dwelling to rest up for a big day on the morrow.
Day 2
- Incarail
- Aguas Calientes
- Machu Picchu
We had to get up very early to arrive at the Incarail office at 3:50 am. We got on a train at 4:20 am that took us to Aguas Calientes – the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu
We had to get up very early to arrive at the Incarail office at 3:50 am. We got on a bus that would take us to Aguas Calientes – the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu
We had to get up very early to arrive at the Incarail office at 3:50 am. We got on a bus that would take us to Aguas Calientes – the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu
We had to get up very early to arrive at the Incarail office at 3:50 am. We got on a bus that would take us to Aguas Calientes – the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Next time
On my next adventure, we go hikinh through the Amazon Rainforest.
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