So, after a long day yesterday, I eventually went to bed at 11pm last night after finishing off the second part of yesterday’s blog.

Now, you’d think I would sleep for like 12 hours considering my lack of sleep the last couple nights but, as with every trip I go on, I was up bright and early at the ungodly hour of 4:30 this morning.

Turns out it gets damn cold here in Cusco overnight.   The temperature dropped to 4C and while I was bundled up in a heavy blanket, I still woke up pretty cold.

So, I got up, bundled myself up and tried to fall back asleep.

Yeah, that never works.

I ended up fiddling around on my phone for an hour and a half before finally dozing off back to sleep around 6am.

A few hours later I was finally up and ready to tackle the day.

A did that thing I said I wouldn’t do (sigh)

I told myself before I left for this trip that I wouldn’t race around anywhere especially today of all days.   Today was my day to take it easy and go at a leisurely pace.

The long travel day coupled with acclimating to the altitude warranted me just having a simple day of no rushing around.

I purposely planned to go on the 12:30 walking tour instead of the 10am one specifically for that reason.

The thing is I was up and about at 9am this morning which was something, honestly, I wasn’t expecting.   So, my mind being the way it is, was like “Huh, I’ve got time to catch that 10am tour.   Let’s go!”

And that’s what I did.

I put on my pants and jacket and headed out the door towards the meeting point 10 minutes away in the center of town.

When I got there I quickly realized that while pants and a jacket worked fine for yesterday late afternoon and evening, it was definately shorts and tshirt weather today.

And I forgot to put on suntan lotion.

And I forgot a hat for my poor little noggin.

What the hell was I thinking?

So, I decided to correct my mistake and reset by going back to the hostel.

Reset

I got back to the hostel, changed into my shorts, lathered myself in suntan lotion and grabbed the free hostel breakfast I had previously bypassed in favor of an earlier tour.

And I just relaxed.

I leisurely ate my ham, eggs, and cheese and eventually I headed back out the door a couple hours later to meet up with the 12:30 walking tour.

Free Walking Tour

All the walking tours (and there are many) originate at the Plaza de Armas which is the central area of each town here in Peru.

Naturally with the abundance of tourists congregating here, it brings out all the locals trying to sell their wares to you.

In a span of 10 minutes I was asked by multiple people if I wanted to buy art, take a photo with a llama, get a massage, and get my shoes shined.

With me being at the infancy of my trip I’m still in the smiling “No. Gracias.” phase but I’m sure this constant hassle with turn me sour within a few days.

Ah, the toils of being a tourist.

Anyway, as I was waiting for my guide to appear, I came across an older couple from Israel who were also waiting.

Turns out we were the only three people signed up for this tour.

As we were about to start the tour, we snagged a Polish father and son who were just randomly sitting on the steps by our meeting point.

So, the 5 of us took off on our tour.

The couple from Israel succumbed to the heat/altitude within half an hour and bowed out early from the tour so it was just me, the Polish father and son, and our travel guide Jose Martinez.

There was a heavy emphasis on the past Inka population and what they brought to the city both culturally and architecturally.

After walking around the city for a couple of hours we ended the tour at a little restaurant where the bartender did a pisco sour making demonstration.   On the house no less!

So, we each did I shot, tipped Jose, and I threw in an extra tip for our bartender just for good karma.

It was 2:30.

For all intents and purposes, my day was done as I had nothing else planned.

Like I said, today was always supposed to be an easy day just so I could get acclimated to the altitude here.

By the way, I’m totally acclimated.   No altitude sickness here (knock on wood).   I was prescribed and have been taking Diamox (Acetazolamide) for the last couple of days which is supposed to help.

So, anyway, the rest of the afternoon I just hung out at hostel typing up this first part of the blog.   Like these words you’re reading right now were typed in the afternoon.

Around 4:30 the skies opened up with a good ol fashioned thunderstorm but I didn’t care cause when I said I didn’t have any other plans for the day, I may have lied a little…

An 11 course Peruvian meal!

Yup.

11 courses!

Before I left I was asking in different online groups for recommendations for cheap tasting menus in Lima so I could have my traditional last night tasting menu dinner.

Unfortunately no one really had any suggestions for me because, frankly, Lima is a food mecca in the world of fine dining which means any time you look up “tasting menu in lima” you’ll get search results from only the high end Michelin star restaurants.

Now, while I don’t have a huge problem dropping one or two hundred on a last meal for myself, these prices were all coming out to the five to six hundred dollar range (without drinks).

Anyway, I digress…

While asking in the groups someone recommended SUYU restaurant here in Cusco and their 11 course tasting menu for only S/79 ($28).

So, that’s where I went tonight.

Here was the end result…

Yeah, so, that was a thing.

I ate 11 courses tonight and all is good with the world.

By 7pm I was all paid up and out the door.

I stopped by a nearby restaurant on my way back to the hostel to pick up a gluten free sandwich for lunch tomorrow as I’ll be on a train heading towards Aguas Calientes which is on the doorstep of Machu Picchu where I’ll be the day after.

So, that was the day.

Tomorrow is going to be another relatively easy day as I take the train and then just kind of wander the streets of the small town and of course the next day is the grand daddy of them all or as I like to call it – Machu Picchu day.

The adventure is just beginning…