Caroline's Adventures in Peru: Cusco Trip Day 1: 23-hour bus ride and arrival

I was ever so grateful that Renzo's boss paid for first-class....but I had to pay my own fare. At least it was really comfy and easy to sleep because our seats turned into beds.

We took the same southern route to Ica and Nasca, so the route was desert for hours and hours. I fell asleep and woke up to the most incredible mountain scenery.

Even the rest stops were so beautiful they deserved photos.

This woman was cooking chicharrones and let me take her picture.

Rest stop #2.

This is our bus. We were on the bottom in first class, with a door separating us from the bathroom, a little quieter except for the engine right behind us, and less likely to vomit because we were closer to the ground and there were fewer people. Woo.

I gasped when I saw the snow-covered Andes peaks for the first time. Breathtaking.

My first view of Cusco...orange! :) This was about 22 hours after getting on the bus... I can't believe I stayed still for so long! I am really glad I got to see the countryside this way, but next time I am definitely shelling out the $60 extra to take a plane unless I want to kill time or read a book.

When we got to Cusco, we dropped off our stuff at Renzo's hotel, took much-needed bathroom breaks in a finally-clean bathroom, went out to dinner, and then the boys all went skateboarding. They were there for a skateboarding championship the next day, and I was lucky to be able to stay with them for free, although I didn't get my own bed. :/ While they went skateboarding, I walked around the area and ran into the Convent of Santo Domingo, which was built from the rocks of the Templo Mayor of the Incas. No one knows why the Spaniards didn't destroy the entire temple, which was perfectly constructed with rocks so well-shaped that they do not need cement between them. Check out the difference.

I saw some traditionally dancers in the street and watched their awesome demonstrations!