Over the course of two weeks, a couple definitions of “we” enjoyed Cuzco as our home base for our various adventures. Colin and I walked around and up to do some acclimating prior to our trek. We chilled for a few days recovering from the trek at the lovely Hostel Kurumi. We shamelessly savored a couple of meals at Jack’s, an allure for gringos of the American sort looking for tastes of home. On our first visit, I was rather exalted to find homemade hummus, while Colin channeled his inner 12-year-old indulging in french toast and a milkshake…for dinner.
After our return from Chinchero, we greeted our parents at Kurumi. Colin unfortunately was knocked out for a couple of days with a stomach bug, so he laid low while I introduced the ‘rents to both my empanada habit and my wandering style (“hey, that street looks nice, let’s go there”). After missing out on the cooking class I had tried for in Arequipa, we signed up for an evening one in Cuzco. Peruvian Cooking Classes took us on our a tour of San Pedro market and explained the way local people shop. Then we returned to the kitchen to prepare crema de choclo (corn soup), lomo saltado (traditional meat stir fry), arroz con leche (rice pudding), and chicha morada (beverage made from purple corn). The class was intimate and well done. It was all very hands on unlike how some cooking classes end up. Once we finished cooking, we enjoyed the meal together upstairs. While the dishes didn’t knock our sneakers off (as my mom likes to say), they were enjoyable and we had a fun time.
The main family adventure was going to the Sacred Valley for a few days. We rented a car and drove through Pisac and on to Ollantaytambo. In Pisac, we explored the market in town, had a quick lunch, then went off to see the Inca ruins. I, of course, wanted to walk and decided to meet the fam at the ruins. I didn’t quite realize what I got myself into and walked primarily uphill (a seemingly recurring theme), to reach the ruins that are more expansive than I’d imagined. I made guesses at a few forks on which direction to head and eventually found the parking lot, our rental car, and the fam shortly thereafter.
Ollantaytambo was well worth the visit. The town itself is over 700 years old, and not much has changed during that time. The streets are very narrow and not so prepared for cars, though we managed just fine. We visited the ruins where we opted to hire a local guide. Often hit or miss, our guide proved to be very knowledgeable and friendly. The whole experience felt much more personal as his pride and passion for his hometown was made evident by his energy and eagerness to teach us. At the end, he even gifted each of us a necklace with the Inca cross. That night we went for a somewhat celebratory dinner as it happened to be my birthday. We found what looked like a lively restaurant though we ended up being the only patrons. We had a few extra pisco sours and the waiter even brought me my own party-sized one in honor of the occasion. I don’t think I’ll ever have another birthday like it and was very lucky to have the whole family present in the Sacred Valley. The celebration was pretty wild as I only made it to bed by 9:30.
The next morning, mom and dad left bright and early for their day trip to Machu Picchu, while Colin and I drove the car back to Cuzco. Quite appropriately, Colin and I went for a final meal at Jack’s before Colin was on his way to the airport to head home. The parents and I followed suit the next morning but instead heading to Quito. More on our Ecuadorian adventures to come!
sf miga 