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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...

A Peruvian Dinner

Our tour guide gave us several instructions for the first couple of days acclimating to Cusco's elevation.  Avoid physical exertion.  No alcohol.  Stay with safe foods.  She recommended the chicken soup and no seafood or red meat.

After five hours on the ground without eating, we sat down at Los Portales, a restaurant facing the Plaza Kusipata, and started breaking the rules.

Julia ordered trout soup, and I ordered seco de cordero (lamb in cilantro sauce).  To drink, I ordered a Cusquena Dorada, which was a malty pilsner that came in a 620 ml bottle. The entire meal, including tip, was $25.  Everything was delicious. The fruits and vegetables in Peru are more flavorful than the genetically-engineered stuff in the U.S., designed for maximum shelf life.  Our stomachs survived the adventurous meal.




Naughty rule-breakers

On the next morning, we would break the remaining rule and go for a rigorous hike.


Comments

Anonymous said…
Avoid physical exertion. OK. Stay safe with food. OK. No alcohol. Whoa, just a second there...
Bill said…
Not sure why says my comment as anonymous. Anyway, beer looks good.
John said…
The "anonymous comment" problem started showing up earlier this year. I think it has to do with google and it's tracking system. Today, I switched to "full comment page" instead of "embedded comment" page. We'll see if that makes any difference.

The basic local beer, Cusquena, was good and inexpensive. I would eventually discover that there were several varieties of Cusquena, including a "dark" beer, which had a bit more body. I'm sure that the guide was just looking out for our interests--making sure that we didn't drink alcohol to excess, which would not be good preparation for a difficult trek.

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