Some photos of Cusco

Across the street from our hotel is an Internet cafe that has a faster computer with Windows XP on it, so finally I can upload some photos. I haven´t done much today, so I´ll just explain in photos where I´ve been.

Here is a photo of the Andes as our plane was landing in Cusco. If you scroll down this page to my earlier post, you can see the sun about to break over the horizon above the clouds.

Okay, I just realized that this Internet connection is so terribly slow, I can´t upload a lot of photos, or I´ll be here all day. I´ll upload a couple more and try again with another Internet connection later.

Today when we arrived we went to our hotel. While simple by American standards, it´s pretty good by Peruvian standards. Click on the link to see what it´s like. I´m on the second floor, and my window overlooks the courtyard.

Once we checked in and drank some coca tea, we walked to the central market. I´ve got lots of great photos of handmade crafts, sacks full of beans, indigenous people selling their wares, all kinds of butchered meat (I know you´re dying to see that), wheels of local cheese, flowers for sale, and much more.

Afterward we went to the Plaza de Armas where there was a parade/protest. Different groups were there for different reasons, and it was completely peaceful. Many traditionally dressed indigineous people were there, and I got some great photos of that, too.

Next we went to eat some lunch. I kept it simple with Sopa Inka, a soup made with a little beef, beans, and a grain that is local, all in a vegetable soup base. It really hit the spot. We drank more water and coca tea (which offsets any altitude sickness), and then we walked around town a little more.

I´m not feeling the effects of altitude sickness, I don´t think. I´m fatigued. I went back to the hotel, took a hot shower and tried to sleep a little, but it was difficult. I decided to get up and come here to blog instead of trying to sleep some more. Hopefully I´ll be exhausted tonight, and maybe I´ll take an Ambien, just to push me over the edge.

There are lots of great souvenir items around here, so please let me know if you´d like an alpaca sweater or scarf, a hand-woven bag, a knick-knack, etc. Everything is really cheap. I´ll have room in my bag on the way home, and I´ll be passing back through Cusco.