Cusco, Peru
Cusco is an inland city in Peru that was founded around 1100, has a population of 430,000 people, is surrounded by mountains, and sits at over 11,000 feet. For us, it was a staging point for trips to the Sacred Valley (for via ferrata and zip lining) and Machu Picchua. My friend Mel and I twice did pre-breakfast runs of about three miles, and along with Matthew and Teresa, did a lot of walking to and from the places shown in the photos below.
In addition, we visited a couple museums exhibiting arts and artifacts, and took note of the number of people wearing apparel sporting a large Batman symbol. (We saw at least three. The caped, masked superhero seems to be popular everywhere in the world.) Mel, Teresa and I also tried eating alpaca and guinea pig on our last evening in Cusco.
Alpaca tasted slightly gamy and was very lean, whereas guinea pig seemed to have a lot of fat under its skin. Neither tasted like chicken. We all much preferred eating alpaca meat, although guinea pig wasn’t offensive to my taste buds either.
![Musicians in the Plaza Mayor del Cusco.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/images/c/cusco-nov-2018-001.jpg)
![Walking down an alley featuring Inca stonework.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-002.jpg)
![Teresa and Matthew by the Twelve Angle Stone in Cusco.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-003.jpg)
![Teresa doing a yoga pose on a table in the terrace of the Hotel Costa del Sol Ramada.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-004.jpg)
![A little dog peeking out the window in Cusco.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-005.jpg)
![Tile rooftops in Cusco.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-006.jpg)
![Walking towards the Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) in Cusco.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-007.jpg)
![A cave near the Temple of the Moon.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-008.jpg)
![A grassy path connecting the Temple of the Moon and Qenqo.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-009.jpg)
![Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-010.jpg)
![Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-011.jpg)
![The Qenqo forest.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-012.jpg)
![Mel standing on one leg in the Qenqo forest.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-013.jpg)
![Two llamas near the Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-014.jpg)
![Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-015.jpg)
![Mel and Teresa tasting alpaca and guinea pig.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-016.jpg)
![There's a hostel in Cusco that bears my name.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/c/cusco-nov-2018-017.jpg)