Day 3 - Cusco

Itinerary

Day in Cusco to Acclimatize to Altitude, Breakfast @ 8:30 AM, Leave for Shopping with Chef @ 10:00 AM, Cooking Class concludes @ 1:15 PM, Briefing with Alpaca Trekking Outfitter @ 2:00 PM, Gear & Equipment Check @ 3:00-4:00 PM, Free Time, Rest & Relax, Final Packing for Trek, Dinner in town at Campo @ 6:30 PM

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Day 3 Journal Entry ~ Becca Garber

The sun was out and so were we on our second day in beautiful Cusco! 

After a leisurely breakfast, two chefs named Dario and Edwin met us in the lobby. Time for market shopping for our cooking class! 

We took a short bus ride through Cusco to a large covered market to shop for our lunch ingredients. What a place. One of the first stalls we walked by sold dried llama jerky and all the parts of a pig, including the intact head. Dario and Edwin offered us samples of local bread, cheeses, and chocolates, and Edwin burst with joy as he showed us the potato section of the market. “I love my country! I love potatoes!!” Peru has over 4,000 varieties of potatoes.

After shopping around the market, we headed back to the hotel for our cooking class. First up: pisco sours! Our bartenders invited us behind the hotel bar to shake up some magic for the group. ¡Salud! Afterwards we headed to the hotel kitchen to create two delicious local dishes: ceviche and lomo saltado (beef stir fry). Both were delicious, and we’ll do our best to recreate them at home for our families. Fingers crossed! 

Next up: trek orientation and gear check. Javi will be our guide on the Lares Trek for the next three days, and he is warm, funny, and experienced. We’ll be in good hands. He looked over each of our gear individually, so we should have all we need and plenty to share.

Renee poured into all of us with some guided time in the Word. As dinner approached, Melissa and Tina—our fearless leaders—sensed our exhaustion and nerves and offered that anyone who wanted to could stay home and get room service instead of going out to dinner. Thank you, Beyond Adventures! Just the rest that we needed.

We can’t wait to start our trek to Machu Picchu tomorrow!

-Becca Garber