Lima to Cusco, Peru

The lack of sleep was starting to hit everyone. After another night of 4 or 5 hours of sleep (depending if you slept on the bus), sleep deprivation was starting to set in. We were ready for our flight to Cusco, barely. We boarded the bus and drove through Lima for the last time on the way to the airport.

We were glad that we could take our water and wear shoes through security, finally, an airport with common sense! We boarded our flight and took the short one-hour flight to Cusco. We landed and when walking off the plane, we were slammed by the elevation change. Lima was around sea level, and we suddenly were at 10,900 feet. My head was spinning, I couldn’t breathe, but I was here, Cusco.

We got our luggage and quickly headed to the hotel, where we had a hot cup of cocoa tea waiting for us. Some in our class went out on the town… and I just rested in the room. I am glad I did. Some members in our class lined up at the oxygen tank. Unfortunately, one of our members had to go to the hospital, and she ended up staying there overnight for observation.

We had a city tour later in the afternoon, and I was still totally exhausted. We walked around the Cathedral, and viewed the Incan ruins. The Spanish when they first came to this area tore down Incan sites and built their own cathedrals right on top of them. The Incan construction was earthquake proof- while the Spanish didn’t understand that concept. Spanish construction was crude and ugly, where the Incan construction was uniform and essentially perfect. The stories we heard were fascinating.

We toured the interior of the Cathedral, and then walked outside into the main gardens area with amazing views of the city. Our class broke down into smaller groups and did a little shopping. I worked on my bartering skills in Spanish and bought a few items.

We then met back at the hotel and went as a group to dinner. We ended up at a swank nightclub and had a presentation on Incan religion and language. The speaker explained how the Spanish conquistadors forced their religion upon the Incans and how over time the Catholic religion and the Incan religion melded together. Our group was exhausted and famished- the talk somewhat fell on deaf ears. Even one of our group leaders was in and out of sleep during the talk. Finally, we were seated at dinner. We stayed seated for quite some time before our appetizers came out. We were pleasantly surprised with the presentation and the flavors. Dinner was served, and although the portions were miniature, the flavor was intense. We waited a long time for dinner, and even one of the group leaders couldn’t wait any more and walked out. I of course stayed to the bitter end. Let’s just say it was the sweet end- the dessert of fruit ice cream and citrus slices was well worth the wait.