8 to 13 March 2016
Cusco. End of my travels with Christian. Start of my travels with Lena, my sister. Last two weeks in South America.
I remember clearly the moment, when Lena told me she was pregnant. Christian and I had arrived very early probably before dawn at the coach station in Cusco and visited various cafes before being able to check in to our hostel. Once in the hostel, I refreshed myself and got back to my room to numerous missed calls from both my mum and Lena and a few messages asking to call Lena. I went into the empty community room to make the call, sensing the importance.
Wow, Lena expecting a child! It was not a complete surprise, she had told me that she and her boyfriend Juan Pablo had been thinking about it. Still, it was big and great news. The first child of the new Festerling generation! Amongst all the emotions in that moment, there was also relief that the pressure was off me now to give my parents a grandchild.
Lena was about six weeks pregnant, but still determined to travel to Peru to meet me and had approval from the doctor. However, our plans had to be amended: no trek to Machu Picchu (too strenuous with the altitude), no ayahuasca retreat (obviously), no visit to the Amazon jungle (too many tropical diseases including Zika). Instead we took the train and bus to Machu Picchu, spend a couple of days in Lima and a very relaxing week at the beach in Mancora, in the very north of Peru.
But first a few highlights from my Cusco days.
I covered some of the cultural sightseeing by going on a free walking tour with Christian on our first day and visiting the Saksaywaman complex the next day. Cusco is a fascinating place with its mixture of Inca remains and colonial architecture. Both tour guides (and also tour guides over the next days) were keen to emphasise how great everything Inca was and how terrible the Spaniards had been. I think it could be a bit more nuanced, surely the Incas had also been ruthless on their conquests? Both the Inca and the Spanish architecture is beautiful, although the Inca walls were better built to withstand the frequent earthquakes in the region. The big blocks of stones are perfectly cut and still standing 900 years later without mortar.
Cusco also offered a few culinary delights: Christian and I enjoyed a few lovely succulent meat dishes with a fresh tomato, onion and herb sauce served with rice in the local market. The price was negligible.
I had a nice light lunch with Lena in a café in one of the little streets up the hill. You can see the dish in the photos, but I can’t remember what it was.
There was also more ice cream…
Cusco is a heaven to buy cloths and local artefacts. There are so many cute shops with colourful handmade figurines, paintings, pottery, etc. My favourite was handwoven wall tapestry, full of rich colours and abstract shapes. I wish I could have bought one, but it was too expensive. I now also wish I had bought a few Alpaca wool cloths and accessories. The hand warmers we bought for mum look beautiful on her and are still wonderfully soft to touch.
Finally, the nightlife: on our last evening together before Christian headed north to Trujillo, a surf town, and Lena arrived in Cusco, we started off having a cocktail on the terrace in a chic bar, overlooking Cusco. We then found another bar with life music, Latin rock and salsa, people started to dance. I loved it. Finally I headed to the clubs until late whilst Christian went back to the hostel. Luckily I managed to get up in time to greet Lena at Cusco airport.
Christian – thanks so much for your travel company. It was amazing. Memories for a lifetime.
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