Tag: Aguas Calientes

On Sunday morning, we woke up and made our way to the Cusco airport. It was less scary flying out of Cusco than flying in – so that was a relief!

We made it back to Lima around lunchtime. Gate 1 had organized a bus to pick us up to immediately bring us on a tour of Lima. The tour included a tour of the colonial section, the main plaza, and the San Francisco convent and catacombs.

It was primarily a walking tour – it was fun to see the hustle and bustle on a Sunday. Lots of families come in to go shopping and spend time together – and enjoy their Black Friday weekend sales!

The most interesting part of the tour was the convent and catacombs, which we couldn’t take ANY pictures of. But holy smokes – it was incredible to see the catacombs.

The catacombs were started in the 1500’s and still is used for important peoples in the brotherhood’s burials. It was created to withstand seismic movement (Peru is in the ring of fire), which is amazing they had that understanding 800 years ago! There are estimated to be 25,000 bodies buried down there.

The brotherhood opened the catacombs to the public in 1950. In order to open them, they had to move some of the skeletons to create more of a path. They were displayed in interesting ways – usually the skulls or the femurs (the strongest bones in the body).

Here are a few pictures from Google – we all wanted to respect the fact that this was a burial ground.

After the convent we made our way to the hotel. We got checked in and then headed to our farewell dinner. Some people had the whole next day to enjoy Lima, but unfortunately for myself and Andy we had a 1:00 AM flight. So we were on our way to the airport around 9:00 PM!

The flight home was smooth – and we absolutely loved Peru. We have a pretty lengthy bucket list, but we can already tell that we need another Peru trip to check more items off of it!

Accommodations:

Jose Antonio – Miraflores Lima

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The day after Machu Picchu was set out to be a more relaxing one. The day started with an optional walking tour of the town Aguas Calientes. As we started walking, it was raining – eventually coming to a stop entirely.

Aguas Calientes was a small town, but with the tourism industry picking up – it has grown into a more touristy town. (But still fun!) Our tour manager gave us an overview of what it’s like living in Peru and more history about the country itself.

Once the walking tour wrapped up, we went to a nearby restaurant for a Pisco Sour demonstration. The Pisco Sour is the national drink in Peru – you see these everywhere on the menu! A Pisco Sour is a refreshing cocktail that typically includes Pisco (a white grape brandy), fresh lime juice, simple syrup, ice, and egg white. It’s shaken to perfection, creating a frothy and zesty drink.

The bartender explained how to make the drink – and then asked for a few volunteers to bartend. Andy and I weren’t selected – but we were taking notes so we can make them at home!

Some people stayed at that restaurant for lunch, but I was really craving an empanada – so we started looking for another restaurant. Once we found one – we had a great view of the Main Street, which was fun to watch all the different people walk by.

When I had ordered my empanadas – I had asked how many came with the order. He said two – which was about what I was looking for. They are usually pretty small. Once he brought them out – we realized the mistake. They were huge!

I couldn’t finish – and Andy wasn’t much help. Another group from Gate 1 was in the restaurant so they took the second one off of our hands. But I couldn’t even finish the first one that I had started. I was just explaining that I hadn’t seen any homeless people that I could share the leftovers with, when this small (probably 5 or 6 years old?) boy came up and asked if he could have it.

No, he wasn’t homeless. But he was not throwing away his shot! We said yes, and he scooped that up and walked away ecstatic with his prize. Then the restaurant’s cat jumped up into my lap for some love.

We took the train back to the original train station – it was less lively this way. But we had a better view of the river. It was relaxing after the previous day’s activities. After we made it back – we still had a two hour bus ride to Cusco.

Our tour manager had organized a stop at a pottery shop – everything was super reasonable there. It was a cool experience – and we learned more about the style of pottery there. We all purchased a couple of authentic souvenirs, and we were on our way again.

We made it back to Cusco and just had a late dinner at the hotel and much needed rest.

Accommodations: Xima – Cusco Hotel

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