Lima To Cusco

There may have been some pressure put on Steph and myself for not partying as hard as the boys. Don’t get me wrong, I party with the best of them. I can out drink most guys I know, I can captivate an entire dance floor and I have stayed up to see countless sunrises. But when I’m traveling, I like to take it easy. To me, there is nothing worse than not feeling well while traveling; unable to lay down and the motion of the vehicle adding to the nausea. Not only that, when I am in charge of a trip and am responsible for getting everybody there safe and happy, I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself which can really stress me out. For these reasons, I did not party hard the night before we left for Cusco. Both Steph and I made a good showing, but were in bed by 2.

The flight from Lima to Cusco was named the Death March by the boys who were in a considerable amount of pain after partying hard and not sleeping. I warned them sufficiently that not only were we flying, but we would be getting off the plane at a significantly different altitude which gives most people a headache without an already present hang over. But, boys will be boys.

Is it wrong to say I enjoyed their pain? Even in distress, the boys are light hearted and hilarious. They were the best travel companions because no matter what happened, they were in good spirits and not even a hang over could slow them down (even though sometimes I wish it would).

We didn’t have much time in Cusco, just the afternoon and night, then the trek started bright and early the next morning. Having already been to Cusco with my Parents, I had an idea of what would be the most appropriate for time there. I picked a hostel that was right in the main square of the colonial Plaza de Armas. We explored the square, the shopping and the restaurants and bars that were all within a stones throw. We ate guinea pig and alpaca and the group was able to check those off the “to do in peru” list.

Then what happened next became the standard for every night to come on our trip: Steph went back to the hostel to be alone and rest and the boys and I went out for a drink. After an hour or two and a drink or two, I went back to the hostel to assure myself enough sleep for the following days adventures and the boys stayed out, explored the city on their own, continued drinking and got no more than a handful of hours of sleep. I wish I had the stamina to do what the boys did on this trip. I can understand doing that one or two nights of a vacation, but they did it every night, including the days we were hiking and doing very strenuous amounts of work. Much to my surprise and delight, nobody got sick on our trip.