We arrived in Peru late on Friday night and spent the evening in Lima before catching an early flight to Cusco on Saturday morning. Our time in Lima was short-lived, but I did receive quite the warm welcome from some pretty awesome folks.
Welcome signs and everything!? Aw, shucks. Thanks guys!
Okay, so those people had no idea who I was, but we got a kick out of my pretend welcome committee. One person everyone at the airport did seem to know was a young man who was on our flight. When he walked into the area where everyone’s loved ones were waiting, he was swarmed by a ton of screaming young girls. Apparently we flew with quite the celebrity and didn’t even know it!
Our time in Lima was rather brief and, after a delicious breakfast, we headed back to the airport to catch a morning flight to Cusco.
At breakfast, we all made sure to drink a couple of cups of coca tea, which is believed to help with altitude sickness.
It was quite hot.
Clearly.
After breakfast, we boarded a bus that took us to the airport. All of the logistics of our trip were arranged through the travel company we used, Samay Adventures. We have been so impressed with their attention to detail and I must give a big shout out to Dayanna!
Our flight to Cusco lasted about an hour and once we landed, we immediately headed into a bustling square for lunch at La Retama. (We also did a quick-change in the car and put on shorts because it was much warmer than we anticipated.)
We all agreed the ceviche was the star of the delicious lunch buffet.
After lunch, we met up with a small group of people for an afternoon tour of Cusco that began at a stunning cathedral that was built in 1560.
Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside, but we were able to snap some photos at our next destination, the temple of Qoricancha.
On the walk to Qoricancha, we were shocked to see alpacas and llamas in the street! As our tour around Cusco continued, we realized that they are everywhere in the city.
After you take a picture, the women or children guiding the alpacas or llamas immediately approach you asking for tips. We learned that little tidbit fast!
Our tour guide for the day did a great job highlighting the interesting aspects of Qoricancha, including the impressive design of the structure. The temple was once called Inti Kancha (Temple of the Sun) and was the most important temple in the Inca Empire.
The walls of the structure were built at an angle, so it would collapse outward instead of inward should an earthquake occur and cause it to fall down.
Everyone in our group made sure to snap pictures of the three perfectly chiseled windows that allowed you to look through to see visitors on the other side.
Can you see me and Ryan?
Peek-a-boo!
Our next stop took us to Saqsaywaman, which was easily my favorite destination of the day.
Our guide told us that the name Saqsaywaman was not the original name and evolved over time. He said that because of the way tourists pronounce Saqsaywaman, someday it may morph into the Sexy Woman ruins. Ha!
We didn’t have a ton of time at Saqsaywaman (I was really hoping to do the rock slides!), but we enjoyed listening to the stories our guide told as after he encouraged us to relax in the grass.
After a day on the move, hanging out in the plush green grass felt like heaven.
I was so impressed when I learned that the large stone walls were made of boulders that were precisely cut by the Incas and put together without mortar. They were placed together so tightly that, in many cases, a piece of paper cannot fit through the rocks.
Our next stop was a rather short one and too us to Q’enko, a temple dedicated to Mother Earth that was a center of celebrations and astronomical studies. It has numerous ceremonial carvings, holes and canals cut into the rock and includes an underground chamber.
For our final stop of the day, we explored Tambomachay (Water Temple), a site that was once used as a center of worship to the water. Right before we boarded the bus to Tambomachay, we we purchased choclo, the best corn I’ve ever tasted in my life. The kernels were giant!
It was sweet and incredibly addicting. We ended up buying more at Tambomachay!
Tambomachay was a beautiful place with water flowing from a sophisticated system of aqueducts and canals.
Our guide told us that the water coming from the stream is said to bring fertility and that many women drank from the water in hopes of having a child. It was the perfect final stop on our tour, especially since my mom and sister were hit with some serious altitude sickness on the bus ride back to our hotel. I felt awful for them!
Fortunately everyone woke up feeling 100 percent better and today was full of fun without any sickness. Thank goodness!
I hope to be back soon with a recap of our second day in Cusco. I hope you guys had a great weekend!
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This post has an alpaca in it. My weekend is now complete.
oh my gosh, just wait until you see the picture of an alpaca i took today. it was so fluffy that you couldn’t see its eyes. it was way too cute (and hilarious looking, really). it is now the background image on my laptop.
WANT
It looks like you’re having a great time! Those ruins would be an awesome sight to see! And my secret confession is that I have ALWAYS wanted an Alpaca! They are so adorable!!
I don’t know what to comment on first–the signs, or the llamas and alpacas, or the incredible buildings, or the gorgeous outdoor sights! Everything looks so amazing, and you’ve definitely put this on my list of places to which I want to travel one day!
P.S. I’m so excited for this alpaca picture.
maybe i should do an all-alpaca post w/ billions of alpaca pics. they are so fabulous.
Um…yes please. More alpacas are a necessity to human survival. WE NEED CUTENESS! Thanks for the gorgeous photos, Julie – gave me a mini-vacation!
Love all the pictures 🙂
Pretty sure I went on the same tour while I was there! I did a 4 day hike to Machu Picchu with my family and it was life changing! You will love to see that. There are tons of alpaca there, they said they are it’s natural landscapers eating the grass! Enjoy!
Peru looks awesome! It’s definetly on my top five to visit. I really want to do the Macchu Picchu trail before they close. Be safe and have fun!
Gosh, isn’t Cusco the most beautiful city?? Have y’all tried any pisco sours yet?
Looks like such an amazing trip already!! Who was the man on your flight? Any idea?
Sounds like you are having real fun. The coca tea for altitude sickness sounds great – does it really work?
Wow your trip looks AmAZING! I love all of these photos, it makes me feel like I am there with you, THANK YOU for that! llamas and alpacas are amazing! Love + Shine CourtStar
I find the nature and architecture really amazing! We have a good friend comming from Cusco and he always talks about the beauties that they have!
Enjoy your trip!
Ah This post brings back too many memories of when I did my Peru Adventure in 2010.
Try visit Moray ruins outside Cusco- totally unexpected and very impressive.
oh and try drink some of the aniseed tea, that was my favourite.
What a beautiful vacation! I had no idea Cusco had all this stuff to do and see! I officially want a llama! Do you know who the Julie was that everyone in Peru was so excited for?
Lol I laughed at those signs for you, what a very very funny coincidence 😀
Amazing! Goodness, I wish there were alpacas in America just roaming around like that
This really looks like an amazing trip and you’ve only just begun! I’ve never been to South America (I’ve actually never left the continent…) so the culture is so interesting to me!
Hi Julie, thanks for the pix, i love it.
I love your mint green “running”shoes, tell me more about them (brand, warmth, use, weight).
Enjoy Peru –
Thanks for the pictures Julie! I really admire how you take the time to put together thoughtful blog posts during your vacation(well, anytime really, but especially when your visiting such incredible places)! Enjoy your time there with your loved ones (and the good weather! I’ve seen nothing but snow for the past 2 weeks—no complaining—-just missin me some green)
I have always wanted to do the Macchu Picchu tour. Do have a great time in Peru and look forward to hearing all about it.
Place looks amazing! Can’t wait for more updates; hopefully everyone stays feeling in tip top form!
Looks amazing! And I love llamas haha.
It looks beautiful! I love learning about historical areas. My aunt climed The mountain last year, said the altitude got to be so bad that there were times you couldn’t take more than 5 steps without stopping. Her pictures from the journey are amazing.
Hi! I have followed your blog for quite some time now and was so excited to see you are in Cusco. I spent four months there and had the time of my life. I highly recommend that you and your family go to EL HADA, an ice cream shop in Cusco. It has the best ice cream and I dream about it every time the temperatures get warm in the states. The ice cream is “expensive” by Cusco standards, but costs what your average Baskin Robbins would. Really, go! I promise you will not regret it!
I LOVE CHOCLO!!! yum I am so jealous. I was just telling my hubby how much I missed it when yesterday!
Those pictures of Saqsaywaman look amazing! What beautiful scenery.
That corn looks super tasty, too. Now I am even more in the mood for Summer time! 😉
This is so cool – love reading about your adventures. Living vicariously – keep them coming and have fun!! 🙂 xo
I love corn on the cob I would be alll over that! This looks like such an adventure, glad your sister and mom are feeling better!
The pictures are gorgeous! Looks like a great time so far 🙂
If you go back to cusco, go for lunch/dinner/brunch at Jack’s cafe, its amazing. Hope you have a great time in Peru!
Oh my goodness! I hope I can end up vacationing there at some point. That looks absolutely beautiful and amazing. I remember learning about this all in high school but it didn’t even look as pretty as your pictures, and I bet in person is even better!
Julie,
You look so beautiful in these pictures! You are glowing! Happy to see you with you’re family!
what an awesome family vacation where you get explore an amazing place!
You pictures are fantastic! I had to comment when I saw the Peruvian corn – I’ve only ever had it at Sushi Samba locations but it is HUGE and so delicious – I look forward to it every time! Enjoy your trip!
Have you been to the sushi samba in Chicago?
That’s the ONLY one I haven’t been to! But NYC, Vegas and Miami’s location (writing how many I’ve been is actually a little pathetic) all had the corn so I imagine the Chicago one does too!
That welcome was awesome! What a fun moment for you when you arrived! LOVED reading about your travels. I have never been to this part of the world before. Can’t wait to get there myself. And to make those memories with all your family…even better! By the way, did you drink the water from the stream? 😉
Looks like you’re having an awesome trip so far! Those ruins must be amazing. It’s so incredible to me to see the crazy architectural things ancient cultures could do without today’s technology. So awesome!
I am a student at UConn and I’m learning all about this in my anthropology class, literally going over everything you saw as I’m reading your post
Great photos! You, your mom, and sis all look SO much alike, Julie!
Omg looks incredible!! Can’t wait for the next post!
Holy Moly! Looks like you have had quite an adveturous vacation already! Can’t wait to hear what else you did. If it is anything else like what you talked about above, I need to book a vacation there ASAP!
Looks like SO much fun already! I’m sending some “feel better” wishes to your mom and sister! When I traveled to Switzerland, I spent quite a lot of time feeling like complete poo. Not a way to enjoy vacations!
I studied abroad in Cusco in college! You have to go to Jack’s and get the banana carmel pancakes!!!
This is super random, but your dad kind of reminds me of Jimmy Iovine!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JimmyIovineMaryJBligeJan10_Cropped.jpg
Your trip looks great, hope you are having a good time!
Hope you’re having a great time in Peru! My husbands family is Peruvian, I hope you enjoy the food. My favorite dishes are papa a la huancaina, lomo Saltado, and Secco. Delicious!
Your mom’s hair looks so cute! I remembered that you posted about her new ‘do but I guess I forgot. It looks great!
Wow, I am so jealous!!! It looks beautiful down there. I have always wanted to go to South America and Mexico to check out the ruins. After seeing these pics, I will definitely make this a priority on my places to go sight seeing. Thank you, and enjoy your trip!!!!
Wow!!! What an incredible adventure! Peru is actually one of the places on the list of potential next vacation locations so I’m really excited to read about your experiences there! That buffet table looks incredible and wow… the ruins. Can’t wait to read more posts about your adventures in Peru!
Julie, Coca Tea helps with sickness because it has cocaine in it. lol My church mission trip was to Peru and when we arrived they gave us some coca tea but wouldn’t let the pregnant member with us drink any.
Is altitude sickness similar to motion sickness in that you get nauseous? Whatever the symptoms, it doesn’t sound fun at all. Glad they are feeling better now.
All of your pictures are incredible!! I really hope to be able to travel like this someday. It is definitely on my bucket list!!
This post made me sooo excited for my upcoming trip to Peru this December! I am a little afraid of the altitude change though.. I hope that tea helps when I go!
Agh, your photos are making me jealous! I spent a year down in S. America, including large bit in Peru. The ruins in that part of the continent continue to amaze me– and it looks like you had perfect weather, too 🙂