In Llama land there\u2019s a one-man band, who will toot his flute for you\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n ———“Float this!”———-<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0<\/em>Frank Sinatra\u2019s Come Fly With Me<\/em><\/strong> has been playing in my brain throughout my flight to \u2018Llama land\u2019. Frank may have \u2018floated\u2019 down to Peru<\/strong>, but I\u2019d hardly describe a cramped airline seat in the back of the plane, on a full flight, with turbulence over the Andes on a \u2018red eye\u2019 then sitting in the Lima airport waiting for our connecting flight to Cusco<\/strong>, as \u2018floating\u2019. We didn\u2019t see any one-man bands either, unless you count the guy sitting next to me on the plane who had beans for lunch. I’m thinking Frank traveled First Class. After 17 hours of travel and layover, our flight arrived in Cusco<\/strong> at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning. \u00a0Sleep-deprived, jet-lagged and disorientated, we half expect to get from the airport to our hotel on a flatbed truck filled with pigs and goats. We were wrong \u2013 the truck was filled with Llamas and chickens. Nah, just kidding, our Global Basecamp<\/strong> guide was there to greet us and rushed us off to\u00a0Hotel Midori<\/strong> in the heart of Cusco for a much-needed rest.<\/p>\n Cusco<\/p><\/div>\n We’d all been watching the weather Cusco\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>and Machu Picchu<\/strong> from home over the last 2-3 weeks and it showed nothing but rain nearly every day. I figured that could be a good thing, in that it\u2019s getting the rain out of its system before we get there; or it could be a bad thing in that it was a signal of an early start to the rainy season. We are in luck, our first day is clear, mild and in the mid-70s.<\/p>\n The Midori<\/strong>, is strategically located in the center of town, so after a little rest, we head out on foot to explore the city. But wait; did we forget something? Yes . . . air!!! The first thing we all noticed was that we couldn\u2019t breathe! After walking just a few feet on level ground, I was panting and puffing like a lizard on a hot rock. We were quickly reminded that Cusco is over 11,000 feet in elevation<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the \u2018two miles high city\u2019<\/strong>! In spite of its rare air, we managed to make our way through much of this We visited a number of museums and churches and saw some great examples of Inca stonework<\/strong> that, while the more \u2018modern\u2019 Spanish<\/strong> buildings crumbled to the ground during three major earthquakes<\/strong> in Cusco, the Inca foundations of mortar-less, tight fitting stone, survived them all with flying colors. This stonework is truly amazing; you couldn\u2019t get a razor blade in the space between these giant stones and they did it all with fairly primitive tools, or with the help of ancient aliens. Amazing!<\/p>\n It was only a matter of time before we found what I\u2019ve sought out in almost every city I\u2019ve visited . . . We opted for an early dinner at a nice, second story restaurant which over looked the main town square, where a band and group of young school children were celebrating something \u2013 it was a beautiful, but short evening, as we had been going fairly strong for the last 30 hours, and we needed our rest and our bodies to acclimate to this rarified air if we expected to hike the Inca Trail<\/strong> in two days. \u00a0As a matter of fact, I\u2019m getting winded just writing this, so time for a break.<\/p>\n Next: Outside of Cusco and Hitting the Trail<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow \u201cCome fly with me, let\u2019s float down to Peru In Llama land there\u2019s a one-man band, who will toot his flute for you\u201d \u00a0Frank Sinatra\u2019s Come Fly With Me has been playing in my brain throughout my … read more![\"llama2\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/llama2.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a>great city. A majority of the economy of this city is based on tourism and thus it is filled with many charming hotels, restaurants of every description, most serving local cuisine to include llama, guinea pig and a hundred varieties of potatoes. Being the jump off point for trips to Machu Picchu<\/strong>, there is also a lot of trekking outfitter stores and of course your requisite t-shirt shops and street vendors plying everything from alpaca sweaters<\/strong> to hand carved gourds. But the best part of Cusco<\/strong> is its people. As a group they are very friendly, hard working, nice looking and always seem to have smile on their face; they were sincerely a joy to be around.<\/p>\n<\/a>an Irish Pub<\/strong>. We stopped for lunch at Paddy\u2019s Irish Pub<\/strong>, which claims to be the highest Irish Pub in the world at 11,156 feet<\/strong>. Even though we had to climb a flight of stairs to get there (which was no easy task!), we enjoyed a great lunch and a cold one before we continued our tour of the city.<\/p>\n