Cusco to the Jungle

Week 7 Cusco

Day 1

B: Cereal, Yoghurt, Toast with sausage, Paw Paw and Passionfruit Juice, Cocoa Tea and decent coffee.

Peruvian Cheese

On route to Cusco, we stopped at a roadside stall where for sale was servings of roasted whole spiced lamb, with roast potatoes, only had a sample, but it was very tasty, and purchased a slab of Peruvian cheese, which we shared and ate over the next couple of days.
L: Peru cheese and tomato of fresh wheat bread, rating 7.0.

A Peruvian Favourite Dish - Lomo Saltado

D: Creole soup, Lomo Saltado (beef with onion and tomato) with rice and chips and fresh made lemonade, rating 7.5.

Day 2 Cusco

B: Cereal, Yoghurt, Toast with sausage, Paw Paw and Passionfruit Juice, Cocoa Tea and decent coffee.

Cocoa Tea with Herbs



Duck - Peruvian Style

L: Peru cheese, tomato and cracker biscuits, rating 7.0.

D: Finally went to a restaurant that sold duck called Nuna Raymi, not done oriental style, but Peruvian style, which was marinated in, stout (black beer), corn beer, various spices and coriander. It was served bone free, with savoury rice and sweet potato chips, and was a very tasty alternative to my usual preference, rating 8.0.

Day 3 Cusco – Sacred Valley and Ollyantaytambo

B: Cereal, Yoghurt, Toast with sausage, Paw Paw and Passionfruit Juice, Cocoa Tea and decent coffee. On route we stopped at a local bakery and sampled fresh from the oven, Empanadas, tomato and basil and savoury with onion, herbs and spices and a cup of cocoa tea, rating 7.5

Also, adjacent to the bakery was a Cuy (Guinea Pig) Palace - left. They are treated very special. 

Buffet Lunch Desserts

L:  Another Peruvian buffet lunch, cost about $10 aus, and it had all the usual range plus a decent desert bar, which included, passionfruit cheesecake, chocolate brownies, cream and banana cake, rice pudding, and fresh fruit, best buffet to date, rating 8.5.

Nachos at Ollantaytambo

D: Because of the big lunch, we shared a Nachos Supreme at a restaurant called the 'Blue Puppy', which was very tasty, rating 7.5. 

Roaming dogs were 'Bluing' outside the restaurant when we left - hence the name.

Day 4 Ollyantaytambo and Machu Pichu town.

B: Bread rolls with jam, fresh fruit juice, scrambled eggs and decent coffee. 

L: Machu Pichu village, where visited a local restaurant, and ate spaghetti bolognaise, Lizzie had a pizza, both dishes were very plain, rating 6.5.

D: Tried flavourless, Lentil and ham soup, lizzie had ham, Andean cheese and avocado costini (bread roll) with chips, this was the most disappointing and overpriced meal of Peru to date, somewhat appropriately the service matched the ordinary meal, rating 3.0.

Day 5 after a 4.30 am wakeup call and a 30 minute perilous bus ride visited the magnificent Machu Pichu site.

B: Bread rolls with butter and jam, yoghurt, cocoa tea and decent coffee.

L: Returned from Machu Pichu and bought a large 12 inch ham and salad roll, which was premade  and just ok, rating 6.0.

D: Returned to Cusco after a 1hr 45m train trip and a 2 hour bus trip, we decided to risk it and try a nearby Chinese restaurant, where we tried, deep fried won tons, chicken chow mien and sweet and sour pork, we were not too disappointed, lizzie even commented it reminded her of the Sandgate Chinese (may be feeling a bit homesick?), rating 7.5.

Day 6 Cusco

B: At Cuso Plaza hotel, where happy Manuel (not), ran proceedings, we were there for 5 breakfasts and he didn’t manage a smile once, but the fare was bread rolls, toast (they had a toaster of sorts) with sausage, fresh fruit juices (paw paw and passionfruit), yoghurt and decent coffee and a range of teas (incl cocoa tea)

L: We visited the Inca museum which was great, and Inca Markets in Cusco to do some shopping and on the way back stopped at a little bakery, where we tried a beef empanada ( a bit like a pastie) and lizzie had the vegetable version, we also tried their caramel pastry horn, overall quite tasty, rating 7.0.

TJ enjoying the 'Huge" Burger
 at Los Perros Lounge - Bar

D: Last night in Cusco, and we visited a very retro lounge bar for dinner, even had aussie sports  news (rugby league believe it or not, even mentioned Greg Inglis playing well against the sharks, which made lizzie  happy) stories on the wall. The menu was very western, and aimed at pleasing tourists. I tried the “giant” hamburger, one of our group asked if the burger came with fries, and the reply was you won’t need fries, a very true statement.

The burger was huge and it tasted great, lizzie sampled the smell of india chicken curry, which also got the thumbs up, even had frosty cold el grande (big ass) Cusquena beers, a fine last dinner in the Andes, rating 8.5.

More Cusquenas

Day 7 Cusco to the Jungle

B: Bread rolls, toast, I even got Manuel to cook me scrambled eggs, with sausage, fresh fruit juices (paw paw and passionfruit), yoghurt and decent coffee and a range of teas.

Lunch Dilly Bag with Puerton Maladonato
 Signature Design

L: After a flight and the customary time consuming airport routine, arriving in Puerto Maradonato and a bus ride and finally onto a long boat with seating for 20, on the Tambopata river, we got served lunch, jungle style, individual dilly bags, consisting of chicken nuggets, cassava chips, vegetables and rice, and a couple of bananas, for food on the run (well it was water actually) rating 7.5.

D: Arrived at Tambopata ecolodge, after a 2 hour boat trip, where we were served chicken and vegetable soup, followed by pork chops, rice, cassava chips and salad and concluded with a tasty passionfruit mousse, rating 8.0.

Hercules (not his real name) chopping
 fresh Brazil Nuts

Breakfast at Tambopata Eco Lodge