Note: For more info and photos of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, which Mark and I visited before, check out this post and this one.
(As always, click on or hover over photos to read their captions.)
Cusco
After our two-week adventure in Arequipa and Colca Canyon, Mark, Maya, and I returned to the tourist mecca of Cusco. We slept the first night for free on the edge of town to walk to the grocery store and stock up, and to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Teryaki.
Shrimp poke bowl at Teryaki
The following morning, the three of us walked to and through the two areas we had booked Airbnbs, to get a feel for them. We stumbled across a “market” along a busy street, where locals were selling puppies. It put a bad taste in our mouths. There are so many stray dogs that need help and a good home, yet, just like in the western world, people would rather buy animals than rescue them.
After our reconnaissance, we relocated higher up, to the Quinta Lala campground, where we met our American friends Heather and Rodney. The idea was to relax for one week, catch up on much needed sleep, and prepare for the visit of my cousin, Griet, and her husband, Wim, on November 20th. Of course, that didn’t happen.
Mark was hired by our friends to install their new Starlink system and did his freelance job other times and I received translation project after translation project, leaving little time for fun and rest. Whenever we had a moment, we enjoyed the company of Heather and Rodney.
Homecooked dinner with Rodney and Heather at Quinta Lala
They had brought parts for us from the US, among which a new laptop, so we focused on fixing and installing a few things in – and on – Bella and getting Mark’s computer ready for use. It was all time consuming.
We also had to make sure Maya received enough exercise, did laundry by hand to save some money, met up with a Canadian friend (tour guide and climber Marie, who surprised us with maple syrup and maple butter), cleaned the interior of the car and camper, and walked into town a couple of times, taking a cab back up the hill. All the while, we needed to consider daily downpours, as the rainy season in Peru had started in earnest.
