First quick update

La Plaza de Armas in Cuzco

Rogue Alpaca

View of Urubamba from a nearby peak

Another view of Urubamba - yeah guys this is where I live

Brynne and I checking out the scenery - same peak

Hey folks - first time I've gotten to the internet but I wrote this post a couple days ago. Still alive!

I arrived in Cuzco Thursday morning at 7:35 sin problemas. I even got to sit next to an absolutely adorable baby on the flight and had my first Spanish conversation with a woman from Peru. We had to do an Olympian sprint through the Lima airport, most certainly giving los Peruanos more reasons to think Americans are all big dorks , but we made it on with a few minutes to spare. 

My time in Cuzco was just plain fun, partly because of any city I’ve ever visited, Cuzco is the liveliest. Everywhere you look there are kids running around, people selling food, clothing and pretty much anything else you could think of (there was one man near where I was staying that was selling only wine bottle openers and CDS) and other tourist-y types wandering around. At the center of the city es La Plaza de Armas which is a big square surrounded by restaurants and little shops. It is mostly populated by tourists, reflected pretty forcefully by the number of people selling paintings, postcards, scarves, even pictures with baby lambs and alpacas. But the more Cuzquenan part of town is outside of the square; all around the city there are roads swerving up the mountainside with houses perched precariously on the edges.  Things feel a lot more real up there.

All in all it was a really nice couple of days in a beautiful city. It’s not necessarily well-maintained, but there is something so charming about Cuzco’s chaos. And of course the food was fantastic, and I caved and bought an alpaca sweater (It’s SO FLUFFY!!!!!). But as much fun as Cuzco was, I have to say I am much happier now that I am in Urubamba and feeling more and more like a local every day

            Urubamba is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been to. The town is cozily nestled between enormous mountains that look too perfect to be real, and beyond that are snowcaps. I’ve gotten to hike up to one lower peak already, and the view from there was enough to take my breath away, if it hadn’t already been taken away by the lack of oxygen. The lack of oxygen is more of a factor than I thought it would be – after a few minutes up a trail you really do start wondering if your heart might bust out of your chest, and if you cross your legs for more than 30 seconds they will go numb. The locals are completely accustomed to it of course, which makes it even more embarrassing. Pero así es. In Urubamba, there are a lot of parks and plazas that are maintained por la municipal, and a lot of activity centers around them. I wish I could describe the town better but it’s just really hard to put everything into words. But I love this place. I love it more than any place I’ve ever been, and I’ve only been here for 3 days. Pues, I will write more eventually. Wish I could articulate what Uru is like, but it’s hard to describe someplace when it’s a totally different world. 

Hasta la proxima, Hannah.