Traveling with the world cruisers to Cusco, Peru to stage for our trip to Machu Picchu if we are able to go tomorrow. Lots of history and the mysteries of the Incans.
Morning Start and Flight
Had to wake up early to go get my passport stamped for entry into Peru around 6:30am. Thought about going back to sleep for an hour, but figured that was risky, so went upstairs to check the view, but found that there was a new sign there as well that was blocking some access to the top decks.
Went back and downloaded some videos for the trip and inspiration since we were going to Cusco and seeing more Incan sites. One of my favorite scenes from Emperor’s New Groove and love me some Yzma Kitty. Ready for the flight and trip.
Trip to airport was pretty uneventful, the “port” that we had was pretty remote, so we just drove through the desert to an airport, and there wasn’t much there at the airport. I’m not sure there was even anyone else there at the airport other than our cruisegoers. We were split up into (at least) 3 airplanes, but we ended up flying to Cusco pretty uneventfully. We were told that the way the trip was planned logistically, the groups were kept really small cause the buses in Cusco were smaller buses. Our group had 10 people in it. So the bus to the airport in Pisco was a huge bug for just 10 of us, and then several groups were combined for each plane.
The Tour
Cusco Town Square
First stop we made was at the historic main square (plaza de armas). We walked around and took in the sights real quick, before stopping to get lunch.
Lunch
Had a lovely lunch at a really nice restaurant. The mango and peach tea at the end was particularly delicious.
Cusco Cathedral
After lunch, we went to the Cusco Cathedral and had a lovely tour of the inside. Unfortunately, no pictures or videos allowed, but the images inside and the gold infused alters and decadence were a sight to see. Afterwards, we finished up at the square and moved on to our next stop.
Controversy
As we were leaving, a policewoman stopped the driver, and wouldn’t let us leave. The driver and guide proceeded to have a really rapid conversation with the police and kept saying that they had permits to be driving around the square. What was even more weird is that there were like 13 other buses that passed us and they didn’t care at all. After 20 minutes of conversation, our guide (very exasperatedly) told us to get out of the bus, and we got out and loaded a different bus to get to our next destination. As we got in, we had to move other people’s stuff, as it was a bus that had dropped off another group where we were going and then came back to get us.
Saqsaywaman
We proceeded to Saqsaywaman (one of the guides told us to NOT pronounce it as sexy woman, and that’s all I can hear now). Saqsaywaman is an UNESCO heritage site, so that’s another on the list that we’ve been to now. The Incan’s had these HUGE rocks that were cut to size (somehow) and are held together without mortar which is amazing.
The puzzle fan in me is fascinated by how they all fit together and how they were placed so expertly. Some of the buildings in the main square were made of stones that were pulled from saqsaywaman, so somehow they moved the stones that far as well into the town.
Really awesome place, but wished we had time to explore on our own so I could have hiked up to the top, but the guide wanted the group to stay together.
Alpacas
There was a fun herd of Alpacas at the site as well, and they were so cute just grazing and looking back at us.
Arrival at Hotel
After saqsaywaman, we finally got to the hotel and checked in to find our luggage delivered and very nice hotel (and also I got my Marriott points as an extra bonus). Had about an hour before dinner, so walked back to town square to check the Starbucks for a Cusco mug, but they were all sold out.
Dinner
Dinner was at a convent that they had everyone go to. It turned out that the group was so big that we were split up into two different convents, but the one that we had was super lovely. Had a great time taking in the views, and taking in the appetizers while waiting for the show to start.
The Show
The show started, and it was really interesting. Think it was a telling of the peruvian gods and maybe they’re history.
Dinner
Dinner was great. There was a live band playing the whole evening as well. One of the Directors of Royal Caribbean had flown out (on his birthday) to come and greet us, and delivered some unfortunate news that the peaceful protests that the guides and operators were doing over the privatization of Machu Picchu ticket sales was still going on, and they had blocked off the site, and we weren’t going to be able to go tomorrow.
He was super apologetic, but honestly, there’s nothing we can do about it, and whatever we see, we see. Also, power to the little people and if the protests are more successful with more eyeballs on it, that’s a small price to pay. We can always come back another time, and there’s plenty of other things to see around this area as well.
After Dinner
Dinner lasted for a really long time. We didn’t get back to the hotel till 10:30pm. Finished downloading some preliminary photos, then got ready for bed. Wasn’t entirely sure what time we needed to get up, since the guide told us to meet at 9am, but there were other people saying that we needed to get up at all sorts of times (up to 6am).
Vibe Check
5 parts joy
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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