woke up after just a few hours sleep to get ready to leave for cusco. had to repack my suitcase into a smaller one for this little side trip because of weight & size restrictions on domestic flights. either that or mom just wanted to make life difficult for me. not sure which.

so we flew into cusco, i slept the whole way & decided when i woke up that i’m not going to eat again until we get home because everything’s making me sick.

cusco is adorable. all green hills & cobble stone streets, people in traditional dress & kids carrying baby llamas around in slings. this is what people think of when they think of peru. we walked down to the main square & were approached every few seconds to buy little finger puppets or paintings of the city or hand-sewn dolls. we ended up leaving not too long after we got to the square because it was just too much. kids were swarming around us like bees on honey (stink on shit?) & we felt sick from the altitude. or the food. or the altitude and the food.

we stopped to pick up “soda v” crackers (like sweet saltines) & a soda to settle our stomachs & we’ve been napping all afternoon.

there’s no wireless internet at the hotel, just an old shared computer downstairs, so i’m writing these updates in word & then i’ll upload them once i get back to lima. i want to remember everything & i know i’ll forget little deteails if i don’t write them down every day.

i’m not entirely sure how i feel about cusco yet. i didn’t get the rush that i did driving into lima, but feeling constantly nauseated might be coloring my view of the city & it’s only been half a day. i’ve heard so many great things about this place, everyone can’t be wrong. tomorrow we’re taking the sacred valley tour & going to the market for souvenirs. maybe tomorrow i’ll fall in love with cusco the way that i fell in love with lima.