We arrived in Cusco around 9:10am, to what was an amazingly small airport. We collected our backpacks and went outside where we saw the taxi driver we arranged through our hotel waiting with a ‘John Genter’ sign. The driver did not speak English, but drove safely and was nice.  He took us straight to our hotel, Hatun Quilla, for 25 soles.

We checked into our room immediately, as our booking had started the night before. We payed the equivalent of $22 per night for three nights in soles (we got this rate via Booking.com – the rate listed onsite and on their website is higher) and were shown to our room. It was exactly as expected, and perfect for us. The extra throw blanket was a nice touch. They even brought coca tea to our room soon after check-in. We laid down to take a nap until noon, in hopes this would help our bodies adjust to the altitude. There was a rooster, as well as some dogs, near our hotel so ear plugs are necessary for quality sleep.

We woke up, and went to Mr. Soup (Saphy 448, just a few blocks from Plaza de Armas) for lunch.  We both had the 10 soles soup pf the day, which was like an egg drop soup with vegetables.  It was quick, well- presented, and tasty.  Mr. Soup is a comfortable place with friendly staff, good decorations, and free wifi. They are closed on Mondays, and are open for lunch and dinner other days (but closed for a gap in between).

We then attempted to find Llama Path for our 2pm city tour.  However, Katie had neglected to write down the address and attempted to locate it based upon memory.  This failed pretty badly, and we ended up wandering around for a good bit of time.  Meanwhile, the altitude was really starting to affect JT.  JT eventually saw a computer in a North Face store, and convinced them to look up Llama Path for us.  However, once we got to Llama Path (long after our tour left), we found they were only open from 4pm-8pm. So, we went to Mega supermarket to buy some Powerade and soda before heading back to the hotel.  Once at the hotel, we slept for 3 hours because the altitude was really getting to us.

We awoke around 6pm, both feeling somewhat better. We went to Llama Path where we paid the rest of our tour fees for hiking the Inca Trail and got information about the Sacred Valley tour the next day. Then we went back to Mr. Soup for dinner. This time, Katie had pumpkin soup and JT had tomato soup. Both were excellent, and cost 14 soles each.

Then we walked back to the hotel, where we are blogging. Soon we’ll shower and go to bed.