Cusco: Week 7--City fun and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

After last week's challenging Salkantay Trek we were super impressed that the kids jumped right into school to stay "on track" as we only had five days before we set off on the Inca Trail. We all nursed our wounds, dealt with a cold that struck the entire family, and had a little fun in the city! We visited the Cusco Planetarium Monday night and got to see Saturn, Jupiter, and a few star clusters of the Milky Way in the telescopes, plus we learned about Southern Hemisphere constellations, the Inca's use of astronomy in daily life, and the dark constellations of the Milky Way that were used by the Incas. It was a really cool night! We also hit trivia night at the Sacred Valley Taproom for another solid 3rd place finish! 

The real fun began Thursday morning at 0500 as we loaded into a van with another couple and our guide, JD, and headed for KM82 outside of Ollantaytambo--the start of the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. After meeting up with our team of 11(!!) porters and the chef, we headed to check in. The Inca Trail is tightly controlled with a limited amount of people per day and can only be done with a guide, so everyone checks in at a ranger station with passports and heads through a visitor center to begin. And then, we were off!

¡Vamos!

Day 1: Cusco - KM82 - Llaqtapata - Wayllabamba Campsite. 12km hiked; 250m ascended.

An "easy" day! We were on the Inca Trail by 0830 and had a pretty easy first few hours of hiking. It was just an easy trail along the river and past many homes where ladies were selling drinks and snacks. About three hours in we passed by the impressive site of Llaqtapata before stopping for lunch. It was such a lazy day that we all napped on the grass for a bit after lunch before starting out for another little bit of hiking. We were at our campsite for the night by 1530 and had a lazy afternoon and evening getting to know our traveling companions, an awesome couple from northern Cali who serve the public as a nurse and a firefighter (and they were on their honeymoon!). We all got along really well from the start and we once again felt fortunate that we had such a great group to trek with.

Llaqtapata archaeological site and a nice, relaxing hike to our peaceful campsite.

Day 2: Wayllabamba - Pass Warmiwañuscca (Dead Woman's Pass, 4200m) - Pacaymayo Campsite. 9km hiked; 1200m ascended; 600m descended. One child questioning her love of family. Knees firmly reminding the old lady that she is, in fact, old.

After a 0500 wakeup we set out on the "challenging" day of the trek as we ascended to Dead Woman's Pass. Very early on I decided that hiking with someone who is intimately familiar with the fireman carry may be a good thing. We took it slow and took a lot of breaks. The weather was clear and sunny as we wove our way around the mountain and through some wooded areas. The altitude wasn't an issue, but the steep climb was definitely a challenge and Katreina was not a fan. But we made it! I'd also like to mention here that the Inca Trail, unlike the Salkantay, has A LOT of stairs on it. Short stairs, tall stairs, uneven stairs, narrow stairs, wide stairs, slippery stairs, stairs, stairs, STAIRS! My hell began about two minutes after the summit as we began our descent down an unending stretch of stairs. We somehow managed to make the journey down to the campsite in less than an hour and a half. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at our campsite with spectacular views, then I consumed a fistful of ibuprofen, took a cold shower, and we once again napped (or at least relaxed on our sleeping mats with a great view of the valley). Trent especially loved the napping action on this trek. The night sky was amazing at this camp and we talked, snacked, and ate with our group for a few hours before turning in.

Thankful for good weather and gorgeous views as we ascended to the highest point on the trek. It was a pretty difficult climb, but...

...we made it to Pass Warmiwañuscca (Dead Woman's Pass)! After a little break at the summit we began the steep descent to our campsite.

I loved this campsite. The views of the valley were just amazing.  While we were there, we got to chat with our team of porters (the youngest was 18!).

Day 3: Pacamayo - Runkuraqay - 2nd Pass (3900m) - Sayacmarca - Puyupatamarca - Intipata - Wiñaywayna. 15km hiked; 360m ascended; 1310m descended. Knees? What knees? 

Hands down, this was the best day of hiking of any of our treks in Peru so far (at least for Frank and I). Why? Well, it wasn't because it was easy or short, that's for sure. But the combo of great weather, amazing Inca sites, stunning scenery, mystical jungles, and great companions made it an epic day! We hiked from just after sunrise to just before sunset and despite the insane pain in my knees I couldn't complain. It was just that good. Today was the day to learn about the different shapes and purposes of the Inca sites, how they were constructed, and how they all were discovered. Sayacmarca stuck out as an amazing site, as did Wiñaywayna. The Inca's understanding of construction, farming, and the seasons, as well as their spiritual beliefs and obvious ability to do really physically hard work are on full display in all of their sites. It's just awe-inspiring. I won't even attempt to convey all that we learned from our guide, JD, here, but I think we all learned a lot and have a better understanding of the people of Peru and their heritage after this trip. Today was also a fun day as the chef made Fiona and Elijah a cake to celebrate their honeymoon (which is incredible considering he had two propane burners and maybe two hours to work with) and after dinner we celebrated our team of porters and the chef with a "tipping" ceremony. They all worked so hard so that this trek was comfortable and relaxing for us and really appreciated them! But then it was a short night of sleep...

We hiked up to Runkuraqay, then through the clouds to Sayacmarca where we learned about the Inca's ritual sacrifices that were carried out on the surrounding mountain peaks.

We continued through dense jungles to our lunch (and llama) stop before continuing to climb to Puyupatamarca. 

Trent tried out the porter's pack before we began our descent to our campsite. Along the way we stopped at the impressive farming terraces of Intipata.

Our campsite was adjacent to the Wiñaywayna site and we made a quick visit before sunset. The people who farmed Intipata lived here and used the area as an agricultural laboratory. Wiñaywayna means "Forever Young."

Day 4: Wiñaywayna - Intipunku - Machu Picchu - Aguas Calientes - Ollantaytambo - Cusco. 5km hiked; 250+m descended. Popping ibuprofen like candy.

After a 0330 wakeup and a quick breakfast, our porters were off to catch a train and we were seated at the checkpoint to begin the final two-hour hike to Machu Picchu. After checking in at the control station, we hiked to Intipunku, or the Sun Gate. We kept up a brisk pace as weather at Intipunku is really variable--the more time you have there, the better chance you have of seeing Machu Picchu from this magical viewpoint. Only a few parts (including a "Gringo Killer" that we actually enjoyed clambering up) were challenging and we made it up there in just over 45 minutes. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, having a snack and catching glimpses of the site here and there as the clouds came and went...it really does add to the mystery of the site! Then we decided to head on down the path to Machu Picchu! With this path we were able to get the "classic" view of the site that we didn't get on our last visit. It was very cool and really brought the trek to an end. The kids crushed it again! After taking photos from the viewpoint, we descended to the lower part of the city for a tour with JD. We covered some of the same areas as we did on our last visit, but this time had better questions to ask. It was super crowded, but we still got to enjoy it and this time we got to visit the Condor Temple which was really awesome. We closed out the day with a bus ride down the mountain, celebratory drinks with our group in Aguas Calientes, a very scenic train ride to Ollantaytambo, and a van ride back to our home in Cusco. 

Up and down many steps to arrive at the Sun Gate!

It wasn't very sunny at Intipunku (the Sun Gate), but we managed to catch glimpses of Machu Picchu as the clouds swirled through (but not easy to photograph!).

We did it! And we got a very different view of Machu Picchu from our previous visit. The site is seriously impressive.

We focused more on the details of the architecture on this visit, and got to visit the  Condor Temple, which features natural stones that look like the sacred condor.

Final thoughts: Which was better, the Salkantay or the Inca Trail? Well, that's really hard to say. They were just different. I liked the remoteness of the first 2.5 days of the Salkantay, but really loved the Inca site/jungle combo of the second half of the Inca Trail. Both boasted a ton of amazing scenery and flora, and both were challenging, and once again we had fabulous travel companions. We were treated to two different experiences at Machu Picchu as well--one was a cloudy, uncrowded, early morning while the other was an epic walk in under mid-morning blazing sun with large crowds. I'd take bits and pieces of each experience to make my true favorite, so just like when picking a favorite child, I just can't! 

I would definitely recommend our tour provider, Inca Trail Machu, and our fabulous guide, JD. Communication was great through the booking process, our inbrief was personal and convenient (at our home), our accommodations along the trail were cozy, the food was amazing (and very plentiful!), the small group was just wonderful (and looked less chaotic than the 15-pax groups we saw on the trail), and all of the transportation went really smoothly. It was another amazing, unforgettable experience for our family! 

~Jo, Nomadic Momma and (still) Denier of Major Knee Issues

Cusco: Week 6--The Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu!

There's really only one thing to talk about this week--the Salkantay Trek!

Many weeks ago we booked the classic Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, but after talking to some friends that had done the Salkantay Trail, we started to see if we could do it, too! Tickets to Machu Picchu were mostly sold out for the month of October, but we lucked into spots on a 5-day/4-night trek that would allow us not only to visit Machu Picchu, but also hike up Huchu'ypicchu Mountain while we were there. Well, this was the week for it! It was challenging, fun, educational, and awe-inspiring.

Day 1: Cusco - Soraypampa - Humantay Lake - Quiswarniyoc Camp. 6km hiked; 338m ascended; 250m descended.

We started the trip with a 0400 wake-up and boarded our van at 0500 in Cusco to head off to the start of the trek. We stopped for breakfast before starting the trek in Soraypampa. It was pretty chilly at the start, but walking uphill helped warm us up a bit. We were surrounded by beautiful mountains that were occasionally shrouded in clouds. But then, the rain started and it was very wet and cold! It was still raining when we arrived at Humantay Lake, but that didn't mar its beauty. Thankfully the rain stopped while we were there and we were able to dry out and warm up a bit. And of course, take photos! From the lake (at 4250m) we descended to our campsite at Quiswarniyoc and a much-appreciated lunch. This was our first meal cooked by our trail chef and it started off with an amazing mango ceviche--it was indicative of the great food we would enjoy along the trail! We spent the rest of the day resting and getting to know our tour companions. Our group of 13 folks (in groups of 4-2-2-2-3) originated from the USA, Canada, Peru, Holland, and the UK, and was led by a fantastic guide, Marco. The only downside to this campsite? We had to walk up a very steep hill (took me about 10 minutes) to get to the dining place and my legs were SHOT (actually, the "down" is just as bad for me). Soooo happy there was a toilet down by our huts! You had to scoop a pail of water out of a giant barrel to flush the toilets, but they were there! We enjoyed a very comfortable night with llamas walking by and stars glittering overhead. I loved it.

Humantay Lake is surrounded by mountains and fed by glaciers. It's beautiful!

Our first camp was very cozy and remote. We had great views of Salkantay when the clouds cleared and the night sky was stunning.

Day 2: Quiswarniyoc - Salkantay Pass - Chaullay - Camp. 22km hiked; 630m ascended; 1100m descended.

Touted as the most difficult day of the trek, this is the day we ascended to the highest point of the trail, the Salkantay Pass at 4630m. The mountains here made this day quite literally breathtaking, but the "Gringo Killer" to the pass didn't kill us! After a dry and sunny start to the day, clouds moved in so we didn't have great views from the pass, but we did make an offering to Pachamama and the Apus mountain god before descending in a cold rain to a lunch site. That part of the trek was super hard for me as my knees have been shot for ages, but add in the rain and cold and it was a bit miserable. Lunch was in a cold tent and though the staff tried hard, the food was cooled quickly by the wind. But our group was so great and we laughed through it as much as we could and pressed on to the campsite where the promise of hot showers, beers, and dry huts awaited us. It was actually kind of fun to wait in the queue for the showers while sipping cervezas with our traveling companions! We have "happy hour" each evening, too, which is actually hot drinks and popcorn before dinner, but it's also a great time to learn about each other. 

Our ascent to the Salkantay Pass was a challenge, especially as the weather changed, but it was still a great hike!

After our frigid descent and lunch, it finally dried out for our final few kilometers along the river to camp.

Day 3: Chaullay - Collpapampa - Playa Sahuayacco - Santa Teresa. 16km hiked; 1350m descended; knees gone.

This was supposed to be our "easy" day. We were continuing to descend and were really in the heart of the Andean jungle. Fruits and bromeliads dominated the landscape and our stops were punctuated with fresh fruits, fruit juices, avocado sandwiches...all the treats of the jungle! We even had a fun stop where Trent got to play fútbol (soccer) with other trekkers and executed a mean (but clean!) tackle on a guy that earned him a lot of praise from the European members of our group--he loved it! We ended our trek at a coffee producer where we learned all about the process from hand-picking the beans to having a cup of coffee. We even roasted and ground our own beans to try and it was amazing! We were supposed to be in tents that night, but apparently previous rains had left them in sad shape so the company put us in a hostel in Santa Teresa. The afternoon was "free" and we had the option to zipline and/or go to hot springs. Trent was going to zipline, but after hearing thunder he opted to just hit the hot springs. THAT was nice! It's a pretty touristy spot, but the water was warm and relaxing and there was a hot "shower" waterfall which was quite welcome since the hostel didn't have hot water. At the springs we also had a little "real" happy hour with shots and music and laughter...it was a great time and we got to know the three couples in our group even better. That night, however, was hell! Though we had nice beds, music pumped in the town until some ungodly late hour, then the street dogs barked like crazy for a few hours, and then the music started back up at about 0300 as the workers got going for the day. I don't think anyone in the group slept well, but we were back up at 0500 to continue on our way.

Waterfalls, river crossings, and LOTS of downhill this morning. But we had got to play and relax, too!

We roasted and made coffee, got real beds, and relaxed in the local hot spring. 

Day 4: Santa Teresa - Hidroeléctrica - Aquas Calientes. 19km hiked; 796m ascended; 810m descended. Spirits and knees needing help.

The day started with a three-hour climb on the Inca Trail. While the jungle was beautiful, it was hot, steep, buggy, and the nice pace we had enjoyed on Day 2 seemed to be gone and we were booking up the mountain. Katreina struggled a bit, flatly stating, "this is just so hard," and she wasn't wrong. Before we hit the summit there was a nice rest stop where we enjoyed a creamy avocado sandwich and some cat snuggles. At the summit, we splurged on a celebratory Powerade before starting the rapid descent. Right after the summit we stopped at the Inca ruins of Llactapata where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu and learned about the various "tambos" or resting places along the Inca Trail. From there, my hell really began. I had let out quite a few audible whimpers on Days 2 & 3, but on Day 4 tears involuntarily flowed a few times. I have a long, not terribly fun history with my knees and struggled trying to keep up with our group as we descended. Those "easy" parts are my absolute hell and a few times I started to wonder if avoiding knee surgery for years was really my best move. I adopted an awkward gate to try to keep my right leg from bending more than 20 degrees and scurried down the mountain. When we arrived at the lunch spot I could barely swing my leg over the bench to sit down. I've never felt so old and broken. Lunch was a good break, but we weren't done! We had about three more hours to hike on a gentle upslope to Agua Calientes. That was easier on the knees, but by now we were all dragging tired legs. Nonetheless, we tried to keep up a good pace as some of our group needed to queue for Machu Picchu tickets and we really wanted them to get them! We had some good stops along the way, included our best juice ice pops of the trek, but still drug ourselves into the little vibrant outpost of Agua Calientes. Only trails and a railroad lead into this pristine, paved town full of lights that boasts its own tourist bus fleet. It was so strange after days in the mountains and jungle! Our hostel room was cozy, but with everyone checking in at once we were stuck with ice-cold showers. But we made the best of it and Frank and I headed out for drinks before our final meal with the whole group. We all had different entry times to Machu Picchu the next day so this was our last meal together. It was a fabulous meal and great time with our new friends, but we had to turn in early as we had tickets for the first entry to site. Frank headed off to get us bus tickets as we had decided we'd enjoy the whole experience more if we didn't have to climb 400m at 0400. And I got a hot shower!

We hiked the Inca Trail for a bit--it was a challenging, hot, uphill hike and an excruciating downhill, but we had the support of jungle food and furry friends, and we got to see Machu Picchu in the distance!

The relatively flat hike from Hidroeléctrica to Agua Calientes is flanked by railroad tracks and the river with great mountain views. We had to say goodbye to our awesome trekking pals tonight!

Day 5: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Hidroeléctrica - Cusco. 10km hiked (plus around Machu Picchu and Huchu'ypicchu Mountain); 98m ascended; 213m descended; 8.5 hours bus ride to Cusco. Spirits great, knees meh, bug bites terrible.

What a day! We were up and at breakfast at 0430, in line for the bus at 0500, on the bus at 0530, and second in the queue to enter Machu Picchu at 0550. It was just our family and our guide, Marco, so we basically got a private tour. At 0600, our passports were scanned and we entered...and we amazingly got to see Machu Picchu with essentially no people on it. Wow...it's just immense. And for the first maybe 5 minutes it was clear, but then a cloud moved in and the view was obscured for a bit. We feel so fortunate to have seen it as we did. Marco sat with us for a bit and told us how the site was initially discovered by Hiram Bingham, the theories about what the site's purpose was, and why it was so intact and well-preserved after being abandoned for over 400 years. Our tickets had us on Circuit 4 and Marco led us through the Sun Temple, the House of the Inka, and the Sacred Stone before leaving us at the entrance to Huchu'ypicchu Mountain. From there, we were on our own! Huchu'ypicchu is the littlest mountain near the site and was perfect for our tired legs. While not the tallest of the surrounding mountains, it is the closest and we thought the views were absolutely fantastic! We descended and continued our circuit past the Temple of the Condor, the Water Mirrors, and the Temple of the 3 Windows. Three hours after we entered, we were through the circuit (we took our time!) and took the bus back to the trail. 

We got to see Machu Picchu before people and clouds moved in! We learned so much from our guide, Marco, and were sad to part ways with him.

The climb up Huchu'ypicchu was a little steep, but the views were worth it! This mountain is on the "other" side of Machu Picchu from where the usual "classic" view photos are taken and we absolutely loved it.

For this trek we opted for the cheap route, walking 10km back to Hidroeléctrica and then taking a super long bus ride to Cusco. This saved us $240 as a family and only required time and patience and a little more wear-and-tear on the joints. We took our time on the return hike, stopping to admire plants, birds, the river, the mountains, and a trailside empanada stand. We had time for a lazy lunch and a pre-road beer, which was probably a good thing! Once we finally got going on the bus (there was a half hour of sorting who all needed to be on the bus), our progress through the mountains was hampered by an insane amount of construction and one-way sections. I mean, we stopped and got out a few times! Some folks were pretty cranky, but we had plenty of snacks and knew what we had signed up for. Around 1900 we stopped for bathrooms and snacks (the guys scored roadside burgers) and we arrived back in Cusco at 2300 with swollen feet and ankles, sore legs, and lots of memories!

Final thoughts: I am so incredibly proud of my kids, not just for the physical effort they put forth with 80-ish kilometers of trekking up and down mountains through every type of weather, but also for their willingness to go with the flow, try new things and foods, and do it all with only a little bit of complaining. They were also super social in our group and would often be off on the trail or down the table from us having their own conversations with the other adults in our group. And our group was just awesome! We weren't the crazy partiers, but we had fun. They were all so sweet to our kids, and I'd like to think that we offered some words of encouragement to the younger folks who saw some things they liked in the lifestyle we've chosen. Interestingly, not a single member of our group was on a short vacation--all were traveling for weeks to months. I love that this is becoming more mainstream and loved hearing how each person was making it happen around jobs, school, and life. I think we all learned something from each other. 

I was happy with our tour provider, Machu Picchu Reservations. We went "budget" for this trip, but it didn't feel like it when we were on the trek. While the overall group at the inbrief was huge (like 50 people), we were split into smaller groups with guides and they managed to bed and feed all of us with only minor hiccups. The food was absolutely incredible except for maybe the first breakfast (which wasn't done by the company's trail chef) and there were so many yummy vegetarian options at each meal. They route went as briefed, changes were clearly communicated by our guide, our guide was knowledgable, and our guide worked super hard to keep everyone going and get everyone situated for Machu Picchu. All in all, it was a good experience for us!

This weekend is all about rest, recovery, laundry, and school as we heading back out, this time on the Inca Trail, on Thursday!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma and Denier of Major Knee Issues

Cusco: Week 2

Last Sunday afternoon was spent watching the local fútbol team win their championship game before the home crowd! It was so much fun and I love the we experienced a fútbol game in South America, even if it was for one of the smaller leagues. The crowd energy was great and we enjoyed spending the afternoon with one of our Spanish school classmates. 

¡Los ganadores!

However, the week certainly started off a little rough! Our home was without water most of Sunday and when we got it back Monday, the hot water wasn't working in the shower. Oh, and on Monday my cellphone was stolen while we were riding the bus to school. So Monday our super nice hosts installed a new shower head and we filed our first police report in a foreign country! Yay! We have also been struggling a bit to arrange some aspects of our stay here in Cusco which has only added to the stress.

Thankfully, Tuesday was better. I couldn't get easy translation help from my phone in class, but at least I'm in class with Katreina and she's a huge help. We decided to trek back into the city for an evening activity at our school, "Las frutas Peruanas." It was a really awesome evening where our teacher, Fanny, taught us all about where the fruits come from, what they are expected to taste like, how they are beneficial to the body, and how to pronounce their names correctly (I'm working on it!). We tried them as fruits, juices, and even one as a yogurt drink. We found a few new favorites, found one or two we would pass on, and had a really fun, educational, delicious night with our fellow classmates and instructors. 

What a great night! Granadilla, maracuya, and aguamanto were new, delicious finds!

We had a sort of routine Wednesday, but Thursday was full of all sorts of excitement! After school and a huge, delicious lunch with our host family, Frank and I returned to the police station with a location ping and a conversation we had with the guy that has my phone to see if they could do anything with it. Well...we ended up in the back of a police car, heading to the location of the last ping! The police pounded on a few doors and talked to some people...no luck, but holy cow, I can't imagine they would have brought us along in the U.S.! Then they basically provided us with a taxi service to a store we were headed to to buy a gift for our host mum! Again, would this happen in the U.S.? The store, a jardineria or plant store, was amazing and when we didn't see the perfect gift ready-made, we got some help from the shop keeper and she made our perfect gift in minutes! From there, we headed to a market ("mercado") to get Frank's sunglasses screw replaced. 45 minutes and at least a dozen different screws tried later, the glasses were back together and the lady told us "no cost." She would not take the equivalent of $1.25 (5 soles) and finally let us give her the equivalent of $0.75. The majority of the people here are simply amazing! 

Riding with the police before we got a nice gift made up for our host mum.

Friday we said goodbye to a few classmates that are moving on, Katreina and I shopped for sun protection and snacks for our weekend trip, as I reluctantly started shopping for a phone. We are thankful for our local Bodega that has all we need for a big dinner (including wine) for $11 and the nice big kitchen we've had for the past 2 weeks.

We have really loved meeting other students from around the world!

But Saturday...we went to Rainbow Mountain! Holy hell, the altitude (5036m at the top of the viewpoint!) about killed me, but it was so worth it! It was foggy as we hiked up the mountain (and there were a few snowflakes here and there!), but the fog cleared just as we got to the top and we had a spectacular view! It was actually very pretty as the fog rolled back in, too! We had time and a burst of energy so Frank and I opted for the additional trek to the Red Valley viewpoint while the kids took their time going back down the mountain. It was amazing! It may have even topped Rainbow Mountain for us. Our photos don't fully capture the amazing views (or how out-of-breath this 40-something asthmatic chick was), but it was a breathtaking experience and I'm so glad we went. We spent a little extra money and went with a tour company that picked us up at 0300 and got to the mountain super early and after seeing the massive crowds while we were on our way back down, we would absolutely say it was worth it. Their bus, meals, and guides were spectacular as well, so we would definitely recommend Rainbow Mountain Travels. 

La Montaña de Siete Colores and Valle Rojo...simply stunning!

I also rejoined the modern world Saturday with the purchase of a new phone. I would still love to get my old one back from the jerk that stole it (and who continues interesting techniques to try to get me to unlock it), but I need to move on.

And today, we moved! This is a bittersweet change for us as the move will drastically reduce the amount of time we will spend commuting to school, but will also move us out of a very big, comfortable home with a wonderful family. Our new place is different, but also very unique and I think we will love it! Our family has two rooms in a building that has been used as a hostel before but is now a family home. We are right in the heart of old Cusco, but it seems peaceful with bubbling garden features and the kids seem happy with their space. Our first meal with the host family (sisters!) was really yummy and relaxed and made me feel a little better about the move. Can't wait to see what our new weekly routine will be!

Maria and her family were wonderful hosts! We will miss them!

Our new place is also with a host family!

We also decided to go to “El Gran Circo de la Familia Madrigal,” a cirque-esque Encanto-themed show. It was in something like a school gymnasium but it was really good! The performers were daring and performed their stunts without any sort of safety gear. The real treat was seeing the local families out for a fun show! (Oh, and I guess I should mention the pre-show entertainment of me tripping and falling/rolling onto the road in front of traffic...pretty sure it's going to leave a bruise or two!) 

So many surprises in this cute show!

So we are ready to start week #3! Trent is moving "up" into Frank's Spanish class this week and we are very excited to see how our new routine works for everyone. And of course, we are making some plans for next weekend! 

~Jo, Nomadic Momma

Today's lesson...

...keep your dang phone under wraps!

Yep, my phone was lost or stolen today on the way to school. I'm an idiot, no need to remind me of all of the "how to protect your phone" tips that you have as I've already gone over them. Suffice to say, I'm pissed, but mostly at myself as the family's main photog. So...no photo with this post! Police have the serial number and we are keeping an eye on FB Marketplace. It's just stuff, so...moving on!

We had a few other bits of "meh" news about some of our travel plans today, too. But...WE HAVE WATER and WE HAVE HOT SHOWERS AGAIN! Our amazing host family replaced our instant-heat shower head today and three of us have verified that it works. And our host mum gave me a big hug when I clearly wasn't taking all of the hits well at lunch today. 

So, that's that. It's not all cocktails and beautiful views here, either, but we are making the best of it. (Sips wine.)

~Jo, Nomadic Momma y mujer muy distraída

Cusco: Week 1

Greetings from Cusco! We arrived here a week ago and have sort of found our rhythm.

For our 8-week stay in Cusco we are doing a homestay where we live and dine for two meals a day with a local host family. We have a pretty unique living situation as we sort of have our own apartment on the bottom floor of the family home, complete with three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and shower, and a washing machine (better than boat life!). En español...nuestro apartamento tiene tres dormitorios, una sala, una cocina, un baño y una ducha, y una lavador! Some things about homes in Cusco:

• They don't have heat. Our place gets really cold sometimes and we tend to pad around in coats and socks and wrap up in lots of wool blankets.
• The tap water isn't safe to drink. You must boil the water before drinking it (pretty easy with our setup). 
• There isn't hot water. You want to wash the dishes with hot water? You need to boil it. The shower? It's an instant-heat shower head that doesn't always heat consistently and you absolutely cannot touch it when the breaker for it is on and the water is flowing or you WILL get shocked (ask us how we know!).
• Speaking of water...you might not always have it. This weekend our neighborhood was short on water and it impacted Frank's shower and breakfast. 

But...we have great wifi and cable, plenty of room to do school, and a really sweet host family! The home is in the suburbs so we aren't right in the thick of touristy old Cusco (but our school is), but we are experiencing middle-class Peruvian life.

Our home is pretty great (albeit COLD!).

The weekdays start at 0650 with breakfast with out host mum and then we are off on a 35-40 minute commute via foot and public bus each way to Amauta Spanish School for four hours of class. School is legit and we are finding ourselves challenged and learning. We rush back for lunch with our host family at 1300 and after that the kids get to work on their "normal" school subjects. It's really a busy and exhausting time for us all, but we are adjusting our homeschool schedule to try to make it a little more fun for everyone. In the evenings we usually just head out into the surrounding neighborhood for dinner as it's pretty affordable to eat out (we spend $20-$40 US for amazing dinners with cocktails/beer and an app).

Our school is in the San Blas neighborhood in the heart of old Cusco and we all love our instructors. The busses to get there are usually crammed for at least half of the ride in and it can be an adventure to get on and off and pay!

Outside of school we've had a little fun, too! Our school hosted a welcome dinner Monday and a Lomo Saltado cooking class on Thursday so we went back into the city for both of those. While our crew is the oldest and youngest of the students this week, we have really enjoyed hanging out with our fellow students (Katreina even met a girl from France to chat with!). We started the weekend at the local mall as we wanted to see what suburban Peruvians do on a Friday night and we needed to get Trent a raincoat since his was somehow misplaced between the US and here. It was pretty much a normal mall experience--there were even some recognizable stores!

Welcome dinner and Lomo Saltado class with our schoolmates! Trent was one of the chefs!

Friday night in the 'burbs.

We decided to spend some time Saturday in the busy, touristy city center of Cusco. Wow, lots of folks trying to sell you stuff (like it's very hard to sit on a bench and just have a conversation), but it was also some fun people-watching and the architecture around the main Plaza de Armas is lovely. We toured the Museo Inka for some Incan history, had an awesome lunch in the San Blas neighborhood, walked through the local food market, and picked up our tickets for how we will leave Cusco in 7 weeks (more on that later!). Then we decided to walk all the way home (about an hour) via some new streets and we found more local markets, a weekend market in Tupac Amaru Square, and the soccer stadium that we will be going to later today for a game! 

Plaza de Armas and Museo Inka.

Walking through San Blas and Wanchaq areas.

We have been trying street food, experiencing lots of new dishes with our host family, and generally doing well. The next three weeks will be just like this one for the most part...school, school, a little afternoon/evening/weekend touristing, and hopefully a lot of learning and fun!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma