Coca leaves and coca tea for altitude, and visiting some amazing Inca sites

Before going to Cusco we were advised by a number of friends who had been there to take it easy about altitude. Don't drink the night before, relax for one day in the hotel, drink coca tea... all good advice that helped us to adapt to the altitude. And in fact as soon as we landed in Cusco we felt it: one set of stairs had us puffing! We arrived at the hotel and the first thing they did was to offer us a coca tea. It tastes really nice, like a mild green tea. In the lobby there were also coca leaves to chew, and oxygen bottles, just in case. We didn't need those, but every time I went to the lobby I could see newly arrived guests relaxing on the sofas with a coca tea, all a little wary and slow. FYI, coca leaves and tea are legal in Peru, just don't take them back to your own country! Coca helps with altitude, but most importantly remember to take it slowly, just look at the elevations below!

Taypikala Hotel Cusco

Cusco: elevation 3,399 m high, the old part of the city has lots of ups and down streets which can make you tired. Just rest in the hotel for the first day and sleep a lot, eat light meals (there are excellent quinoa soups in Cusco) and plan to visit the city on your second day!

Saksaywaman: elevation 3,701, an Inca fortess in the outskirts of Cusco, easy to reach by taxi, but as it is even higher that Cusco make sure that you have adjusted to the altitude first, and then you can have fun (look at Max sliding!)! From Saksaywaman (which means 'satisfied falcon' and not 'sexy woman')  you can look down to Cusco city! 

Pisac: the city (Colonial Pisac) is 2972 m high, but the ruins (Inca Pisac) are a bit higher. The Inca terraces are incredible, and the irrigation system too; this is another "must see"! 

The Sacred Valley, you can see the Andes from here, and the Urubamba river (which feeds into the Amazon river). I am not sure how high we were (we just stopped on the side of the road to take photos) but we were told by our guide that we were over 3,800 m. high.

Ollantaytambo: elevation 2,792 m. Fortunately we 'went down' a bit here, because this archeological site needs quite a bit of going up steps! We had to take it a little at the time to cover all the terraces and get to the top, but after Machu Picchu this was possibly my favourite site.

And of course there is Machu Picchu, elevation 2,430 (so considerably lower than other sites, but harder to reach). This place is so special that I have another post here with all the photos, in case you are interested. Everything was so beautiful that I think I left a piece of my heart in Peru.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © 

Lima, the gourmet capital of South America, and it never rains!

When we arrived in lima the sky was grey and the air humid. I asked the taxi driver if it was going to rain and he told me that it never rains in Lima. "Never?" I asked again, "Never!" he replied. Wondering if my Spanish was failing me, over the next two days I kept asking everyone I met the same question: at the hotel, the tour guide, the friends we meet for dinner... 

Apparently it doesn't rain in Lima, but its position and proximity to the Ocean means that the air is always humid, and in fact the trees were green, while hibiscus and other tropical looking flower bushes appeared in full bloom.

The historic city centre is quite grand and with a mix of styles, also due to various reconstructions after earthquakes (the Cathedral - top left, being the best example, with the original Colonial facade and then two neoclassic bell towers on the sides. 

I was also impressed with the Archbishop’s Palace in the Plaza Mayor (bottom right in the photo collage above), designed by the Polish Peruvian architect Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski. This and other stone and marble building have incredible wooden balconies attached, quite a contrast. But the best surprise in the square is the fountain. We took a tour of the central city with a guide and she told us that on July 28 (Peru Independence Day) instead of water the fountain has Pisco! No rain and Pisco from fountains? 

We were not allowed to take photos of this, but the most intriguing site we visited in the city centre was St Francis Monastery and the Catacombs. The catacombs are full of bones and skulls, quite a sight! 

The centre was great to visit, but to stay we choose Miraflores, a district that used to be the sea resort of Lima, and it is now one of its suburbs. Safe and residential, Miraflores has parks and beaches that on the weekends are full of surfers and paragliders. Some of the small houses are really cute, although it is quite a sight seeing all the security fences around them.

Our hotel was the Hilton, brand new and a real treat, never mind that the sky was mostly grey and hazy, we enjoyed the infinity pool on the 11th floor, and all the little sweet treats that were in our room and in the executive lounge. 

And talking about treats: I have to tell you that Peru surprised me with its cuisine. I was told that it was good, but it even exceeded my expectations: definitely the best of all the countries I have visited in South America. We ate well in Cusco, and we ate well in Lima. Our friends took us to La Bonbonniere, one of the many cafe/restaurants that are based in Larcomar, Miraflores' fancy terraced shopping centre with great ocean views. It was too dark to take photos of the food, but I had to include the Pisco Sour photo, the obligatory drink if you visit Peru.

Anyway, we liked La Bonbonniere so much that Arantxa and I went back the day after (we really wanted to see what it looked like in daylight, especially the decor and sea view), but not for a Pisco this time: for a Peruvian hot chocolate. Smooth and aromatized with vanilla, cinnamon and cloves, hot chocolate is definitely another "must try" in Peru :-). I am sure that I will try a few more Peruvian recipes in the next few months!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © 

Peru through Arantxa's lens

Cusco

Saksaywaman, outside Cusco and at 3,701 m high

Inca terraces

This is an interesting image for a vegetarian blog, but some of you may be interested in seeing it: roasted Guinea pigs, a delicacy in Peru, where they are raised just like any other farm animal, i.e. for food.

Machu Picchu

Photos  by Arantxa Zecchini Dowling ©

Beautiful textiles of Peru, alpacas, and the cochineal (E120) Color

Can you see the white stuff on the cactus? And the black stuff in the bowl with the red wool ball? That is cochineal, or natural colour E120 (also known as carmine, and found in lots of red and pink food). Yes it is an insect, I have seen the dried ones before when I was studying textile arts at University, but never the 'live' insects. But before I get into this, a little intro to natural dyes.

We were all impressed by the beautiful clothes we saw in Peru, and since I studied natural dyes myself I was most interested in learning how traditional clothes are made. The most prized wool is baby alpaca, followed by alpaca and then sheep.

Natural dyes come mostly from plants (so cochineal is a bit of an exception) and look at the varieties! I was impressed by the black corn dye, I didn't know it existed!

The wool is washed with a natural soap (a grated root - it looked like yucca, which the women also use to wash their hair and keep them black).

The cochineal insects are crushed and a the red-purple dye extracted. Adding lemon juice makes the colour a brighter pink-orange. Dried insects are powered to make the dye, including the one in most pink and red food. I try to make sure that I read the labels because I like to avoid cochineal (E120), and prefer to eat "vegetable" dyes :-).

The wool is hand spun.

And then woven.

Meeting the alpacas (and other alpaca/lama cross beauties...)

And meeting their carers

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © (except the one of me, which is Peter's)