Travelfood

Not until after my trip to Peru I have understood how fortunate I am to having reached the destination Macchu Picchu. Many travel all the way to Peru, but their visit to the inka fortress is delayed or cancelled for different reasons. The flight to high-altitude Cuzco might be cancelled due to bad weather, the train trip from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes might be cancelled due to floods and the rise to Macchu Picchu might be difficult because of land slides. But I made it and the high-altitude sickness was not the only factor complicating breathing, but the place is so beautiful in its impossible location that it cannot be explained.

The train trip to Aguas Calientes along the Andes so that Urubamba River follows the train track is a beautiful experience. The major part of the train trip goes through wilderness, but from the train window you can also see small villages with locals dressed in inka clothing and with good luck you can see lamas in their fences as well. Cuzco is also interesting although its architecture is more Spanish than Inca. The cathedral by Plaza de las Armas is impressive. I stayed at the convent of Hotel El Rosal and the nuns did not seem to object the lodging of a single travelling man.

Peru offers lots of culinary delights. For those who want to taste something unique, there is grilled marsupilami (cuy), whose meat resembles of chicken, but also grilled alpacka/ lama is exotic despite its stringy meat. The tastiest Peruvian food was nevertheless ceviche (lime marinated trout) with corn. Other typical side orders were tapioca or potatoes in a yellow sauce. For a snack locals choose empanada pies. The pisco sour alcohol resembles of Italian limoncello, since it contains lime.

Peru is a true experience, which offers much more than the national treasure Macchu Picchu. Cuzco is more interesting than the capital Lima, but it is still the local people that made my Peruvian trip memorable. An old lady tried to say something important to me in a language I did not recognize and when she pointed at my backpack, I noticed that someone had cut it open with a knife in order to take my valuables. And all this while I was carrying the backpack! Despite this event I still remember best the friendliness of the old lady and not the dangerous theft and this maybe tells you something about the charm of Peru.

food, Latin America, Peru, travel, travel experiences