We left Arequipa...a lovely city, indeed...and traveled overnight to the city of Cusco, which is famous for being situated next to Machu Pichu.
Its a very touristy city, which makes walking down the street without being invited to try some business offer or other nearly impossible. However, it is a charming place, with a rich history and a stunning location. It was once the center of the Incan empire, and today there are still huge stone walls constructed in the Incan era.
We are staying with our friend Frank, who owns a travel agency here in town. He has been a great host, and has welcomed us into his home and his city. I´m looking forward to celebrating Christmas with his parents and sister.
We arrived at 6 am yesterday morning and had a very full day of getting to know the city. We absorbed the mountain sun in the main plaza, found a quaint cafe for capuccinos and tea, and ran into our friend, Miguel, from Lima. After settling into Franks house, we helped Frank´s buddy, Julio, celebrate his graduation from travel agent school. Julio´s family welcomed us with copious amounts of local beer, cumbia music, and laughter. We danced and got to know many of Julio´s friends late into the night.
Today we explored the non-tourist area of the city. Frank took us to a local cevecheria (this local spot supposedly serves better cevichi than can be found in the tourist section of town for half the price) for lunch. Then Lillian and I spent hours at the market getting Christmas decorations for our room. Later we took the bus back to the center of town and stumbled upon the best hot chocolate ever created.
