All photos: author
Matador Trips editor Hal Amen takes a look back at a month spent in the tourist capital of Peru.
Days in the city: 30
Sick days: 1
Days it rained during the dry season: 8
“Inca massage” offers: at least 200
“Inca massage” offers accepted: 0
Times I changed my mind on whether I liked “Cuzco” or “Cusco” better: 2
Plates of delicious ceviche eaten: 6
Plates of non-delicious ceviche eaten: 0
Guinea pigs eaten: ½
2-for-1 pisco sours consumed: ummmm…?
Random parades seen in the Plaza de Armas: 12
Times I was called “amigo” by a stranger: 300+
Hours spent in Spanish classes: 60
Spanish gaffes despite hours spent in Spanish classes: Don’t wanna know
Times I was led to a fire extinguisher (extintor) shop when trying to buy an extension cord (extensor): 1
Taxis taken: 0
Times I turned down a taxi due to my friends’ getting taxi-kidnapped in Arequipa: 5
Pictures taken of the famous 12-angled Inca stone: 0
Pictures taken of people taking pictures of the famous 12-angled Inca stone: 1
Times I wished my hostel’s advertised wifi was actually wifi: 60
Times I considered moving to a different hostel: 60
Hours spent in Norton’s Tavern uploading Matador articles: nearly infinite
Excellent vistas of the city enjoyed from the heights of San Blas: 30
Giant pigs heads I gawked at at Mercado San Pedro: 5
Plates of ¼ chicken and fries ordered from the guy on Choquechaca: 3
Tamales picantes purchased from the incognito lady outside Gato’s Market: 10
Jogs up the Cuesta San Blas in a desperate attempt to get some exercise: 15
Oral advertisements heard for the “Psychedelic Times: Summer Edition”: 7
Times I was offered weed in San Blas: 3
Dogs seen doing it: 30
Community Connection
For more travel by the numbers, check out this Notebook archives page.
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22 Comments... join the discussion!
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Lovely image, no?
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Tim, I saw this comment in the window on the main page, and somehow I just knew it was from you.
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About the dogs: thirty pairs, or thirty individuals? I have to know.
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I’d say 30 incidents…a lot of the dogs were repeat offenders.
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I think there’s got to be some king of math problem to figure that out. 60 (dogs) – 60 x X = actual number of dogs seen humping.
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Can I assume you’re on the case, Kate?
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Just got back from Cusco (or is it Cuzco?) a couple months ago. This brings back lots of great memories! Thanks!
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Love the nighttime photo! What a fabulous urban space.
The pig’s head….not so much
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Oh, Norton’s. The only time I went there, they handed me a scratch-off ticket and I managed to win three free beers, which pretty much put an end to the day’s sightseeing.
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Their avocado and cheese sandwich is where it’s at. Free beer works too, though.
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The pig is smiling!
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That is a very wise-looking pig.
And I would do pretty much anything for one of those avocado and cheese sandwiches right about now.
Great piece!
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You’ll be back in the land of the sandwich before too long, right Michelle? Till then, enjoy some kimchi jjigae for me.
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I would happily do so, but I had a weird reaction to kimchi jigae Saturday! I turned red and blotchy and got a throbbing headache for about an hour. Not the first time I’ve eaten it, but the first time I had such a reaction.
How about some bibimbap? I’ll throw that down for ya!
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Make it dolsot and you’re on
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That is the only way to eat bibimbap, for sure.
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No one has asked what an Incan massage is. What’s an Incan massage?
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I never found out! Anyone?
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Haha. Loved it! That shot of the pig is classic
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before recorded history, thai travelers went to cuzco and taught them massages, nothing else, and then they left with no trace (the source’s credibility is solid). so an incan massage is very similar to a thai massage.
i assume hal might give you the details but def not in this public forumbut hal, you never mentioned how many times you drank for free using all the flyers they shove in your face at plaza de armas. OR how many times you were offered hanging dried out llama fetus in san pedro mercado, maybe that wasnt everyone
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wow that pig head I saw was shocking should I spect things like this in my peru tour??? I’m going with a peruvian agency http://totallyperu.com/ but I plan to explore as much as I can what do you guys think?
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