Recovering in CuscoSep 28, 2009
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Iris had arranged a private bedroom with en-suite at the Priwa B&B on Calle Suecia off the Plaza de Armas for our first night after the Salkantay trip. She had expected that we would need somewhere nice to rest after our trek. It was amazing sleeping late and actually sleeping in a normal bed after the last few days spent in a tent and getting up early every morning.
The room was pretty nice with a large lovely bed. It was great with an en-suite - a luxury we’re not used to. After staying in tents and hostels, our standards have definitely dropped and we’re impressed by the simplest of modern conveniences. Unfortunately the room was somewhat cold - much like any other room in Peru.
Iris got up about an hour before me and actually managed to go to Loki hostel and fetch our bank cards and draw some money so that we could pay the room. We had forgotten to bring our bank cards on the trek, despite needing them on the first day back in Cusco. I’m not too keen on carrying any cards at all in South America due to the risk of robberies. Hence, they had been forgotten in the safety deposit box at the hostel and we needed to fetch them before checking out of the Priwa B&B.
We left the B&B sometime between nine and ten and managed to find a restaurant that did English Breakfast at the Plaza de Armas. The breakfast didn’t turn out to be English breakfast - rather Peruvian style English Breakfast. They had slightly misunderstood how to do the bacon and sausages. Anyway, it tasted pretty nice anyway and it came with some very nice juices. Iris had papaya juice and I had a banana and strawberry juice.
The restaurant was on the second floor of a building facing the cathedral. The sun shone in through the windows and it was fantastic. It was very nice having slept in a nice bed, being clean and eating a nice breakfast. Certainly something we hadn’t experienced for a few days.
After our breakfast we moved our stuff back to the Loki hostel where we stayed before. This time we had managed to book a private room with en-suite. Very nice indeed - but just like any other Peruvian room - it was cold. It felt a bit like being back at home when we got there. Weird feeling.
The rest of the afternoon we just relaxed and didn’t do anything particular. Iris and I spent a long time chatting with my dad. Iris also spent a long time chatting with Yat. Both of us slept for a bit. We did some facemasks. I managed to read 75 pages of George Orwell’s 1984. Fantastic way to spend an afternoon.
In the evening we went to a really good restaurant for dinner. It was located in the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (MAP) which we had visited before. The name of the restaurant was MAP Café and it had been in business for about six years. It is situated in a glass and steel box on the courtyard of a colonial building with a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. You got a really pretty view as you looked out the windows of the restaurant of the courtyard, the white walls, the balconies and the fountain which they had put live candles on.
We went there pretty early - slightly before six and were very lucky to get a table. It turned out to be very busy for being a Monday night. The restaurant is probably the main hangout for people wanting good food in Cusco.
The menu was first class. Nothing more and nothing less. Iris had some shrimps for starter, followed by guinea pig and finished off with some chocolate truffles with ice cream. I had a nice Peruvian stew for starter, Brazilian Tenderloin with mushrooms and potatoes for main and some sort of crème brulee for dessert. Very nice food. And I would never had expected such nice restaurants in Peru.
We headed back to the hostel shortly after eight and picked up out 9.5 kilos of laundry we had left earlier in the day with our usual laundry cum tour arranger. He was somewhat sad to see us leave and we got one of our business cards to give to friends. It is hillarious. He is apparently also a tour guide and his business card shows him topless standing in a pool of water holding a crocodile. We've never ever seen anything like this!
Shortly after nine we were fast asleep.
Marcus
