Cusco Wandering & San Blas
Today, there was a transportation strike in several cities throughout the country, including Cusco. It was difficult to find out any information about what exactly that would mean. I saw people online saying their Sacred Valley tours were cancelled, and the people at the hotel said most public transportation would not be operating and many businesses would be closed, but there would be nothing to worry about. That’s basically exactly how it turned out. I started the day, after a quick breakfast, walking around the area near my hotel called San Blas. It’s described as a “bohemian” district with lots of murals and various kinds of artists selling their stuff. Last night, I pinned a bunch of places on Google Maps that I wanted to try to stop at, most of which are more touristy sights that people like to take photos of. Unfortunately, I didn’t get an early enough start, so it was hard to take many good photos without random people in them. I think I’ll plan to get up early tomorrow and hit some of these spots again to see if I can get some clean photos. In the meantime, I’ll post the good ones that I was able to get.
[Photos above: Various shots of the San Blas district and the view over Cusco from there.]
After leaving San Blas, I went back down toward the Plaza de Armas area to see what was going on with the intention of ending up at the San Pedro Mercado, which is a large outdoor market where people sell fruits and vegetables, among other things. On the way there it was very noticeable that there was much less traffic. I accidentally ran into one of the protests where people were marching and chanting, which was interesting to see. I don’t know all the details, but I think these protests revolve around discontent with the government (I read the president has a 2% approval rate) and how they are addressing organized crime targeting people who work in transportation industries and mining. This seems to be mostly problematic in the northern part of the country, about 1,000 miles NNW of where I’m at, and a few districts in Lima (nowhere near where I’ll be when I go there). Anyway, the protests were entirely peaceful, though they were loud with a lot of air horns. The police were hanging around the whole time, but they were laughing and joking with each other, so they didn’t seem concerned about anything happening. On that note, police are everywhere in the touristy areas here. Tourism is a huge deal in Cusco, and they seem to take that seriously. It all wrapped up in the late afternoon, and then it was back to business as usual.
[Photos above: A few shots of the street protest/strike. I liked the entrepreneurial guy rolling his cart along behind the crowd selling ice creams!]
After a very long walk to get there, the San Pedro Mercado was closed! There were lots of people selling fruit and vegetables on the street, and I really wanted to try some things, but I don’t think I will because I’m playing it safe with what I eat and drink before the hike. I started winding my way back toward the hotel, and two museums I planned to stop at were also closed. So, instead I grabbed some lunch. I stumbled into this place called Tejas y Piedras. I thought I would have two appetizers instead of a main, but they turned out to be much more food than expected. Still ate it all, though. I started with the Ensalada Qoricancha (salad with vegetables, avocados, and grilled mangoes with a passion fruit vinaigrette) followed by Carpaccio de Alpaca (very thin slices of Alpaca drizzled with balsamic vinegar). Both were excellent! After lunch, I was tired and it was getting warm, so I went back to the hotel to relax.
[Photos above: San Pedro Mercado closed for the strike; Fresh Chicken!; Santa Clara Arch]
I didn’t do much this evening. I went out around dusk for a walk and to grab some quick food. I had a big lunch, so I ate light for dinner. I’m turning in early so I can get up and hopefully beat some other photo seekers to some of these sights.
Have I mentioned the number of street dogs in the last few days? Most seem to be smart enough to move out of the way of cars, but some just lie in the middle of the street without care in the world. The drivers all slow down and honk for them to move, and they do. Anyway, here are some photos of some of the dogs I’ve run across in the last two days. The first one was really giving me the evil eye, and I wondered if he was going to let me pass. Seriously, look at him!
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