Cusco (Peru)

On 26.12. we flew from Lima to Cusco. The one-and-a-half-hour flight was quickly over, but when we arrived, we quickly realized that we were feeling a bit dizzy. I felt a bit wobbly on my feet. That must be because of the altitude, because Cusco is located in the mountains at 3500m above sea level. At the airport, there were also Coca leaves to chew on - one for free.

We took a taxi to our hostel, Cuscopackers, which was a bit up on the hill and had a great view over the town. The man from the hostel informed us that we should take it easy today, Coca leaves, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate were available 24 hours here. He said that we should take it easy, avoid exertion, and take some time to adjust. We might feel tired at first, quickly out of breath, and maybe have a headache. But Coca tea and Coca leaves should help against that. So we chewed and drank diligently before we went to dinner. In a small sweet restaurant, there was local food, with a drink, salad, and dessert for 2.50 Euros. And it tasted great too. There was a very sweet lemonade, rice with a fried egg, fries, and a baked banana. In addition, avocado-tomato salad. For dessert, a red gelatin pudding. The next day, we took a trip to the market. There were all kinds of souvenirs, lots of things with alpacas, and warm sweaters and blankets. I bought a headband and a sweater because it's not really warm here in Cusco. It's around 7 degrees at night and around 15 degrees during the day. We also tried to bargain a bit, but it's not that easy in Spanish. Well, but I thought 8 Euros for a sweater was quite alright. On the way back, we felt the altitude because we had to take a break on the stairs up the hill to the hostel. There, a Venezuelan guy played us a serenade on the guitar - of course for a tip. In the evening, we went to a vegetarian restaurant, there was soup and rice again, this time with vegetables and pieces of banana in it. Again for about 2 Euros. So super cheap. After stocking up on snacks at the supermarket (there are all sorts of Coca candies like Coca leaves with chocolate, Coca candies, Coca bars, etc.), we went to bed early because the next morning we had to leave at 5 am, on the 5-day Salkantay tour with a visit to Machu Picchu on the 5th day.