The altitude... in Cusco

After coming back from the Colca Canyon, we had a couple of hours to kill in Arequipa. Just enough time to reorganize our luggage and to go back in the old town for a stroll.


When it was time to catch the bus to Cusco, we decided to flag a taxi on the street. Not an easy task, especially when you're three travelers with huge backpacks. The tiny taxi that stopped for us didn't have a lot of free space. Have to say it, we were tight in there.

Taxi driver trick in Peru : it costs two soles to get into the bus station parking. The drivers will make you pay when he drops you there... and when he picks you there. Meaning he'll get four soles for going in... We just got down from the taxi outside of the parking, but I suspect he put it in the price anyway...

The way to Cusco was the roughest one since our driver thought he was from a Fast and furious movie. The three of us had given a little bit of loose in our seatbelts so we could move on our side during the night. When we encountered a bump in the road and jumped in the air, we all tightened our seatbelts at once.

Well and alive, we got to Cusco very early so we checked in our hostel. After a while, we went out to explore.

Cusco is a very touristic city. One is stopped every now and then to be offered a guided tour, a massage or some discounts in different restaurants. The word "no" is heard in all corners.


The city has a lot of hills, which tested our sore muscles pretty fast. Ouch! One step. Ouch! Another step. This is without talking about the altitude, which kept me out of breath most of the times.

We climbed up all the way to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced "sexy woman") just to decide it was too expensive for us. On our way, there was a very persistant man who wanted to clean and repair my shoes, saying it wouldn't be impossible to climb the Machu Picchu if I left them that way. Had to decline four or five times. Just know, Mister, that I might have a diffrent pair of shoes for the expedition on Machu Picchu.

We stopped on some sort of terrace to take pictures. Two women were trying to convince tourists to pay in exchange of a picture of them with their alpaca. While we were using the timer of our cameras to take a picture of the three of us, one of those women, talking to herself in a very weird way, stopped just between us and the cameras. We still have to figure out if she did it on purpose or if she had a couple of loose screws.

After that, we ended up at Jack's Cafe, an american restaurant with huge meals. There is almost always a line at the door to get in. We were lucky enough to get the last table before the line started to grow. For those who have a sweet tooth, the brownie is really something. Just saying!

Walking on different routes, visiting some cheaper ruins while almost falling asleep, hammered by the altitude, we finally went back to the hostel. We even decided to eat there because the food on the menu looked good.

Also, it was the Ladie's night with free shooters for girls... or those who dress like girls. Since we didn't need shooters, we went for beers... Still, we got free shooters. Wondering what it means...

In the end, we were really disciplined. It didn't take long, though, to discover it is not advised to eat chocolate (brownie) and drink alcohol (beer) when you're still not used to the altitude. I'm not the one saying it. It is proven. Headaches, agitated sleep and nausea were unavoidable.

Only cure : sleep and a lot of water. At least three litres a day.