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Location: Cuzco
Author: Grace Location: Cuzco-Urubamba After last night’s birthday festivities, the group was officially ready to head out of Cuzco, some more than others (me). On our journey, we visited a llama/alpaca/everything-in-between-farm, which was great fun, although the alpacas were rather aggressive in their pursuit of the grass medley we’d procured. Eventually, after managing to tear everyone away from the obvious glory that is a llama farm, we continued traveling on to our next site. The ruins were stunning and a true pleasure to behold. To imagine that thousands of years prior, people had carried out their everyday lives on what we now consider to be something of a marvel is so cool. We all came to the conclusion that it must’ve been aliens! After observing the ruins thoroughly, we had two options: travel back down to the market by bus, or by foot. I’m proud to say, I chose the walk, and I’m glad I did so. The views were breathtaking.
Contrary to Cuzco, the mountains were very green and lush. We ended up beating the bus to the market and we all (minus the lazy bus riders) got a chance to look around. After eating a buffet-style lunch, it was on to the next adventure: bike riding. It was up to us and our tired little legs to get to the next town. At first, I was intimidated by the length of the journey but as we went along things got more and more beautiful. We also ran into quite an array of farm animals on the road. Lots of pigs and cows and sheep tied to trees and allowed to drink from the river that flowed alongside the road. It made for an interesting ride. When we finally reached the town, we hopped back on the bus and rode for about an hour to our hostel. As we got closer and closer, we all began to feel anxious and hopeful that our accommodations would be up to par. And holy cow, were they ever. Hidden away in this rather unfortunate, shabby looking town, was this lovely little cottage that exceeded all expectations. It had just the right amount of comfort and down-homey-ness while still managing to maintain a somewhat modern and urban vibe. I wish we were staying longer, but oh well! On to new adventures! It was a truly exceptional day.