Cusco (or Cuzco in Spanish and Qospo in Quechua) is located in southeastern Peru in the Andes mountains. The altitude of the city is around 11,200 feet, which was obvious almost immediately as I walked around the city the first few days.
Historically, Cusco was the capital of the ancient Inca empire. Accordingly, the Inca influence is evident throughout all parts of the city. Many buildings have foundations that are the original stones of Inca buildings that have survived even severe earthquakes.
Pizarro was one of the first Spaniards to enter Cusco in the 1500's. As a result of this Spanish influence, the city is now an interesting mix of indigenous and Christian traditions. Christian churches are on every corner (although if you look close enough, you will notice the Quechua influence even embedded in the golden alters in the form of corn, figures of the pacha mama, etc.).
(Unfortunately for us) July is the coldest month in Cusco. Although it normally reaches about 70 degrees during the day, the temperature usually plummets to freezing at night.
We have been very busy during our time here. Besides the usual 12 hours of Spanish lessons every week, we also go to a boys orphanage every week day. The orphanage is located on the outskirts of the city, and we have to take a bus (more like a large van) for about 45 minutes to reach our destination. Once at the orphanage, we usually help the kids with their homework and then play with them after they are finished. There are about 20 kids in total at the orphanage ranging in ages from 2 to 15. Even though it is technically a boys orphanage, there are also a handful of girls. The kids are great and very well-behaved. There is one boy at the house who is autistic. Although he has apparently made progress in the past year, he still can often be found with his head down sitting on the couch.
The kids have very little. They wear the same clothes almost every day and they don’t have many toys. Accordingly, we have been bringing the children things occasionally (including socks, toilet paper, food, supplies for school, etc.). It’s what little we can do for them.
Some other highlights of our time here include our trip to Machu Picchu and our trip to the sacred valley (a day trip in which we visited several ancient Inca ruins). We were also lucky enough to have been here during the 100th anniversary of Machu Picchu, which was the first weekend that we were here. They set up a huge stage in the main plaza (The Plaza de Armas), had concerts all night, fireworks, and people dancing in traditional outfits. There was also a live feed to the celebration on Machu Picchu to which only the most important people (i.e. the president, government officials, etc.) were invited.
I ate alpaca. It was actually amazing. Sam and I both agreed that it is better than steak.
I also took a salsa lessons with this guy named Franschesco. Apparently he’s the “best” salsa dancer in Cusco. I’ll take it.
This Sunday we head to lake Titicaca (the largest, highest lake in the world where we will be spending one night in a hostel, and one night in the house of an indigenous family).
Also... here's a picture of my highlighter-green room... and our amazing house dog Pocho.
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