July 3rd-5th, 2016
I landed in Cusco on July 3rd and spent three nights in the city. I struggled a bit navigating the airports because the entirety of the airline staff assumed I spoke Spanish (which I really, really do not). I was surprised by how bare and dusty all the mountains were. I was warned about altitude sickness beforehand but felt great.Later that night it hit me like a truck. We’re talkin’ headache, runny nose, dry mouth, and nausea. It was difficult falling asleep and getting up in the morning. I would be too dehydrated to get out of bed to get water. The only thing that made it better was cocoa tea which I’d inhale in the morning during breakfast.
Our time in Cusco was mainly spent running errands for our upcoming trip down into the Amazon! Half the group bought matching purple and pink gum boots which would protect us from mud and snakes. We ate a ton of delicious food that was amazingly cheap. I tried my first Crisco Sour the last night there! Would not recommend drinking at high altitude- really doesn’t help much with the altitude sickness.
One day while exploring we discovered a churro stall in the street. High altitude supposedly slows down your metabolism quite a bit so none of us were hungry. We decided to come back later BUT when we returned the cart was gone and we were devastated. Determined to find churros, we ran around the entire city, dragging one of our TAs along, just trying to find a churro. And when we finally did it was soo worth it.
