We're in Cusco! Part 1

Hi everyone! I am typing this new blog from my apartment in Cusco :)

Our last day in Lima was spent at Caritas Felices, where we got the opportunity to give the girls the money we had raised for them. It was so incredible to be able to present them with the money that all of our friends and family had donated from the United States!

We got to spend some more time with them afterward, which involved a fun volleyball game, playing with their little kitten, and watching a performance that some locals had prepard for them, with silly games and music. It was so sad having to leave, and knowing we wouldn't be able to return and visit them again, but they let us know many times, that the doors would always be open to us and that this was our home too, very sweet!

Sunday we woke up early and headed to the airport, my suitcases had been skilled packed to each weigh under 50 lbs, only to find out that the Peruvian airline we were flying with only permitted about a quarter of that weight, so I got rather large fee, it's not the US I guess! The flight was very short (less than 1 hour) and we were officially in Cusco!

The air didn't effect me right away, but I did notice it was slightly harder to breathe. It certainly effected some more than other, I noticed when I was exited the plane that the flight attendants were rushing an oxygen tank and mask to someone on board. We were met by our new USIL ambassadors, and transported to our new home, the USIL Casa de Don Ignacio. The lower part of the housing is a hotel, but we are living in the upper apartment parts. Our apartment is very nice and spacious, and we still get houskeeping :) another perk is that we finally have a fridge in our room, and we have access to the kitchen downstairs when we want to cook ourselves dinner. We also get free breakfast again, and they make us eggs here! One thing we have yet to adjust to is the lack of any hot water in our bathrooms. The shock of the icy cold water certainly wakes you up in the morning though!

We got the rest of the day after we arrived to adjust to the altitude - none of us got sick, just easily out of breath and very sleepy! The next morning we went in search of groceries to stock up in our new fridge, and wow, it is very different from the US, and very different even from Lima. We can't even find peanut butter here! In most grocery stores, they don't have any cheese (VERY different from the US), or lunch meat, so it's very hard to find anything to make a quick meal with. The really like cereal here, so I was able to find some Trix :) and they really like yogurt drinks here. So shopping for groceries has been a bit of a challenge for us, I'm sure we will adapt though!

Later Monday evening, we started part 1 of our city tour. It started off in the main square, Plaza de Armas, which was very crowed!

We went to the beautiful cathedral there first. Pictures inside were phrobited, so unfortunately I don't have any to share. Next, we went to the Temple of the Sun (there seem to be many sites named "Temple of the Sun" so if you see me mention it again, it's probably not the same place) and got to see the amazing Inca stone design. Our tour guide taught us the three S's that represent Inca stone walls: Simple, Solid, & Symetrical. The picture below shows how spot on the three S's are. Each window aligns perfect with the others.

On the way to our next stop, we drop throught the curvy mountians of Cusco, and got amazing views of the city!

The next historical site we visited was Sacsayhuaman. From a distance, and from pictures online, the stones seem large, but when you are there in person, it is astounding. The towering size of these stones is unbelievable, and they are all perfectly shaped like puzzle pieces to fit within one another.

Next, we went to the Caves of Qenqo, a site that was commonly used to mummify Inca citizens. It was very important to the Inca people that they were mummified before their burial, but this site in particular was reserved for Inca VIPs. We got to go inside the cave and see were each different process took place. And of course outside, there were breathtaking views, so we had to snap a group shot!

We visited a few more sites, one was a natural fountain that flowed from the ruins, where we snapped this picture of this native and her alpaca

Afterward, we stopped to take photos of yet another incredible view.

Lastly, we stopped at a local store that sells genuine alpaca, and they gave us a demonstration about how to tell the difference between authentic alpaca products and fake synthetic products. It was such a cute place, filled to the brim with lovely sweaters, gloves, scarves, etc. And they had some cute alpaca out front :)

We have a day to ourselves today, so we are headed off to the market to attempt grocery shopping again, but I will blog about yesterday's tour later tonight! Ciao!