Macho Picchu - Galapagos - September 27, 2025

September 26, 2025

Gigi and Bearpaw left Lima this morning heading to Cusco.  The lines at the airport were insane and slow.  Luckily one of the National Geographic staff members had friends at the airport that could take care of us.  Once we got to the correct location it only took about ten minutes for the both of us to get our bag checked and boarding passes.  Unfortunately we were in boarding group four.  But alas, since we were over the age of 60 we got to board with group one.  Probably because it takes us old people longer to get on board and settled.  The down side was that probably over a third of the people on the flight were older, so it still took a few minutes. to get boarded, and even longer for everyone else to board as well.  And, of course our carry-on bags had to be gate checked as well.  We eventually caught up with our luggage at the Cusco airport, so no calamity.

Once out of the airport terminal we loaded onto three small busses for the trip through Cusco.  Cusco was in itself interesting.  I would not want to be the cable repairman in Cusco.  There were wires hanging everywhere.

Since today was Saturday their ‘roadside market’ was in full swing.  You could find nearly any type of locally grown fruits and vegetables.  Potatoes, oranges, bananas, watermelon, and many other delectables.  We even saw a ‘meat shop’ where their meats were hanging in front of the store.  We almost stopped at the next shop we saw (not really).  They were selling pork rinds and Guinea Pigs.  YUM!

After leaving Cusco we began our trek to Urubamba.  But before we got there we stopped for lunch.  We had several kinds of potatoes, some sweet potatoes, corn, a tortilla mixed with corn, potatoes, and other vegetables.  It was formed into a patty and then grilled.  Then as a surprise they brought out ‘Petunia the Guinea Pig’ (we named it).  It tasted like dark meat chicken.  There was not much meat on the bones, so you would have a lot of work to make a meal.  But it was pretty good anyway.  Here the Guinea Pig is meat, not pets.

After lunch we were treated to a demonstration of how the Peruvians make their textiles.  They use a little sheep’s wool, but the bulk of what is woven comes from the alpaca.  The alpaca wool is very soft.  And of course there were shops where we could purchase the pieces from the local women’s co-op.

If we brought home an alpaca do you think the kitties would mind?

Once everyone had finished shopping we headed to the hotel at Urubamba.  This is the view from our room.

Now it’s off to dinner and then finish up the evening.

Tomorrow will be another adventure.