In which I deploy the 0.25 of the 2.25 languages I speak...

Actually, Luis the cab driver upgraded the "dos y quarto" languages I claimed to speak to "dos y media", which was kind.  However, I'm actually kind of pleased with my ability to recall the Spanish I learned long ago and deploy/butcher it usefully.  For example, I communicated to Luis (at 12:30 am) that our flight to Cusco was scheduled for 8 am, asked him what time he thought we should leave for the airport, and contracted him to return at that time (5:30am).[1]  And just now, I admitted to the woman at the desk of our hotel that I cannot figure out how to open the (glass) bottles of water in our room, and requested instruction/assistance.  If that's not at least partial language competence, I don't know what is.[2] 

Anyway, as you may have gathered, blog friends, we have made it to Pisac.  That which I considered the least-likely-to-succeed portion of the trip - Lima to Cusco to Pisac - went so smoothly that I'm a little concerned about the other shoe dropping.  Admittedly, our 2 hour flight delay on the tarmac in Miami[3]  meant that we landed in Lima at 10:45 pm, got to the hotel at 12:45 am...you see where this is going.  It's kind of been a long day.

Sidenote: interestingly, the customs line in Lima is a literal random lottery.  You press a button, and if the sign lights up green, you go, and if it's red, you get searched.  I deeply appreciated the honesty.  And also that we were both Greened.

Observation: Jorge Chavez international airport is bustling all.  The.  Time.  It was bustling when we landed (at 11), it was bustling when we left (at 12:15), and it was bustling (like full-on daytime crowds at LGA bustling) when we got back at 6 am.  I said to Luis "do people sleep in Peru?"  He laughed and said, "No."[4]

The flight to Cusco left through the styrofoam-consistencied fog and clouds that apparently coat Lima year-round, right on time.  I can recommend StarPeru, the domestic airline we flew.  Jet engines and everything.  And oh, the view out the window!

The view out the window.

In Cusco, we met Raul (who will really merit his own post at some point, since he's pretty hilariously eccentric, though not in a bad/creepy way), our guide to the Sacred Valley, Machu Piccu, and Cusco.  While I admit that my first 12 hours here have considerably increased my belief that we could have navigated things alone pretty easily (my Spanish is better than I remember, and the Random Strangers so far have been incredibly nice and helpful), I am definitely appreciating the guide experience, and I couldn't have found a better hotel in Pisac if I'd looked myself.  I am also charmed by Raul's tendency to say "Oh, I am a donkey." when he says something he thinks is silly.

What we see when we step out of our hotel room.

Speaking of, Raul returns in 15 minutes, and so I must apply sunscreen and don the Adventure Hat.  Time for some terraces!  Well, lunch first.  And then terraces!  On which we will certainly report.
Conclusion: all in all, Emily has declared our first 12 hours in Peru to be significantly less stressful than our first 12 hours in Ireland, which isn't saying much but which I'm taking as a compliment anyway.

[1] I received bonus points for this smooth, albeit late-night, airport-hotel transfer.
[2]  I wouldn't give myself such credit if I hadn't been in Germany two months ago, ABJECTLY FAILING to say anything at all besides "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" *hopeful thumbs up*
[3] They don't take off during thunderstorms to protect the ground crew from lightning, which is irritatingly reasonable.
[4] This is good because it means our travel itinerary is ideally suited for authenticity.