10 November 2019
We have made it to South America! It was a long flight of 13.5 hours to Santiago followed by an extended wait for our 3.5 hour flight to Lima. All up we were on the go for 28 hours from waking to putting our heads down in Lima. A long day.
Our first day in Peru was easy with a tour of the city and a walk along the Pacific 
foreshore. Lima is working hard to develop itself into a modern city that will become a gateway for international tourism. There are lots of reminders of its colonial past and its more ancient history including stepped pyramids made of mud bricks.
A flight from Lima to Cusco and we are now in the foothills of the Andes. When I say foothills we have just gone from sea level to 3200 metres. Everywhere there is information about altitude sickness and what you need to do to alleviate the symptoms of these altitudes.
The advice includes drinking lots of water and staying hydrated, eating chocolate covered coffee beans, drinking coco leaf tea, taking things easy and not rushing about. What nobody tells you is don’t open that bottle of aerated water you bought at sea level. Ignorance of this phenomenon and it will result in you wearing your water. This may have happened to me.
Peru is growing like the rest of the world and has a population of 30 mill. Cusco has grown in 40 years from 20,000 people to 500,000 people but still retains the look and feel of Peru.
From Cusco we ventured further into the countryside arriving at our hotel in the Sacred Valley. It is something beyond 5 stars surrounded by high mountains and amazing gardens. The bathroom is the size of many of the hotels rooms we have frequented.
We have travelled beyond the Sacred Valley through many villages and towns to climb the Inca ruins of Pisaq.
To date we have sampled the Peru cocktail pisco sour which are excellent. We have also eaten ceviche which is raw fish cured in citrus juice and tonight alpaca which is something between beef and lamb. Whilst it has been offered we have not tried guinea pig which is served on a skewer. Maybe there will be more opportunities to enjoy such local delicacies.
Tomorrow Machu Picchu.
A Traveller's Tale 