Nuevo Ritmo

The sun has set on our time in Cusco. Hard to believe the first segment of our trip is over … I feel reminded to cherish every moment because this trip will be over before we know it!

Since I last wrote, Jay has gotten to enjoy some Cusco culture, including salsa lessons, eating dinner with my host family, trying local cuisine, and practicing Spanish with a native speaker. We had a great week together, and I am very happy to have Jay around now. Some highlights of the week included hikes to Rainbow Mountain and Sacsayhuaman. Rainbow Mountain lived up to the hype, it really is seven colors, but the most pleasant surprise was the add-on hike we did to the Red Valley. This area was absolutely spectacular. Rainbow Mountain is beautiful, but it is quite touristy. Red Valley on the other hand is absolutely stunning, and there was hardly anyone in sight besides our tour group. This was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen – sweeping landscapes of red and green, as far as the eye can see. We ended the week by hiking to Sacsayhuaman: an Incan archaeological site that remains just outside of Cusco. The Incans really knew what they were doing in terms of architecture. They created these rock formations as temples and communities, perfectly fitting together large boulders with no mortar at all. And they still stand to this day! The site was cool, but the views of the city from there were the best part. We also hiked up to the San Cristobal statue that is close to Sacsayhuaman. San Cristobal is a large white sculpture of Jesus that is perched high above the city. Enjoying the sweeping views of Cusco was a perfect way to spend one of our last days in town.

My next post will be all about Machu Picchu 🙂 but here I will mention that my host family offered to let Jay stay with them before and after the hike, which was so generous and worked out perfectly. I’m glad Jay got the opportunity to get to know them a bit more, and I was grateful for a few extra days with them. They are special people no doubt!