Cusco, The Imperial City

Farewell, big city life. After almost two weeks of exploring and enjoying Lima, we've finally set our sights on and arrived in a new destination: Cusco. While getting up at 4AM to catch a flight is not my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this relatively short flight because of the absolutely incredible view of the Andes that I received. I was lucky enough to have placed my camera into my carry-on bag, so I was able to take some great pictures of the unbelievable sight.

Before the plane even landed, I could tell that Cusco would be a beautiful place, and I was right. Once we got settled down in the Rey Antares Mystic Hotel, the first thing we did was sip on coca tea due to the high altitude (approx. 11,000 feet) of Cusco: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cusco. Coca tea contains properties which help to alleviate altitude sickness for travelers to the Andes region. Notably, one cup of coca tea is enough to cause a positive drug test for cocaine, and coca tea is illegal in the United States unless it is decocainized: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_tea. After I added sugar to it, the coca tea actually tasted fairly decent.

After drinking some tea and doing a little unpacking, I took a quick nap before heading out with the group to the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, which was great. Based on all of the dancing, lights, stores, clubs (like Mama Africa), and people of all different nationalities, I could tell that Cusco has an amazing nightlife experience. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant at the behest of Dr. Brown, which I was skeptical about at first but which later turned out to be quite delicious.

Overall I had a great day and I can't wait to start exploring Cusco tomorrow and seeing what all it has to offer me both academically and personally.