Peru: Inkarri Hostal

As mentioned, I recently took a trip to Peru, visiting the Amazon area, Cusco, and Machu Picchu/Aguas Calientes… follow along as I show you everything I ate on my amazing trip!

After the brief 40 minute flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco, we girls hopped in a cab to Inkarri Hostal.  We were both excited for a real hotel room, a real shower, and way less bugs than in the Amazon – and hopefully, no night visitors (we’d had a few creatures visiting us at Tambo) – plus we were meeting our boyfriends there, who were joining us to head to Machu Picchu.  As soon as we’d arrived – slightly late from our delayed flight – the concierge asked if we’d like some coca tea.  Yes, made from the same plant that can be processed to make cocaine, this tea, brewed from fresh leaves, is meant to help with altitude sickness.  Cusco is about 11,000 feet above sea level, and many people experience headaches, lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, nose bleeds, and general sickness when they first arrive.  Thankfully, though all of us (save BF) experienced altitude sickness, it was very mild, the worst symptom being short of breath as we walked the gently sloping streets of Cusco. 

(The tea is also available as help-yourself whenever you’d like during your stay at Inkarri.)

Our hotel, which was $45(room) + $3(heater) a night (and yes, you want that heater, because the weather here is ridiculous), came with breakfast in the mornings.  The rooms held up to 3 single beds, which was incredibly dirt cheap, but we opted for two rooms anyway.  Breakfast mostly consisted of a glass of fresh orange juice, coffee and/or tea, and a bowl of what tasted like Smacks (the one with the frog), a spoonful of yogurt, and cut up chunks of fresh papaya.  Pretty tasty – thankfully, their ‘granola’ was uneven, since my first bowl had shreds of coconut in it, so I grabbed BF’s bowl which had none.  I thought this was tasty. 

The server came around afterwards to ask us if we wanted scrambled or fried; my fried eggs always came runny yolk (the way I like it!) and the scrambled looked super dry.  Who knows.  A basket of bread on the table, some butter and some interesting fruit spread completed breakfast.  Gourmet it wasn’t, but it suited as fuel to start the day of sightseeing.  Hell, for $45/night, I really couldn’t complain.

A note about the weather in Cusco: early mornings were freezing.  Fleece, hoodie, long sleeve T, long pants.  Walking around helped a little bit and then at some point, the sun would start beating down on you and you were hot.  Then the wind would start blowing and you were cold again.  It was very uncomfortable for someone like me – I’m pretty sensitive to temperature changes – and at one point, HB had a fever from the constant changes.  Packing for Cusco had we known this would have been a nightmare; since we didn’t know, packing was still a nightmare and we packed improperly.  Argh. 

Here’s a little bonus: one of the days we were in Cusco, we took a tour to a few of the ruins directly around the city.  We were stopped at some massive traffic on a two lane “highway” and “street” vendors (literally, they walked the street, trying to sell you stuff) started knocking on the window to sell us snacks and stuff.  One of them was selling chicharrones – pork rinds, essentially – with some dried/roasted maiz in the bottom (huge kernels of corn, not just corn) for 1 sol.  The exchange rate was 2.70-2.80 so about 30-40c, and the pork rinds were pretty fluffy, not greasy, not oily, just crisp porky goodness.  I would have liked a little more salt, but the cheapness of the snack really blew my mind.  Nommm! 

As for Inkarri Hostal, it was pleasant enough though it was on a super narrow street that made it impossible to walk next to your friend.  At those prices, though, I feel comfortable recommending it to anyone who wants a place to stay for a few days while in Cusco.  Plus, you’re right around the corner from the ultimate find… but more on that in a future post 😉