Daily Differences pt. 1

First of all, I am LOVING life in Peru. Everyday is a new adventure. Getting to know a foreign city is really fun and exciting, so I decided to keep running list of daily differences I notice between Peruvian life and life in the states.

(In San Blas)

1. WATER. There are multiple issues with the water here in Cusco. First, in order to preserve water in the city, they shut it completely off every night. (Apparently they refill the general water supply all day until 6pm, when they do it for the last time). Then, it basically just runs out, whenever. Usually this happens anywhere from 9-11pm. What does this mean for us? Well no showering, flushing, cooking, or anything else water related past 9.....interesting, but surprisingly im pretty used to it already.





TAMBOMACHAY OR BATHS OF THE INCA
(Apparently the Incas had it figured out)


2. NO WATER. Last weekend the water went off in our half of the city at 3pm on Friday with no sign of coming back on. We had some drinking water, but that was it. It ended up being off until Sunday mid-day, but only for 2 hours. Of course I was napping and missed the water and my opportunity for a shower. I felt really gross. So I stole a large pitcher of warmish water (freshly boiled) from the kitchen and attempted to shower myself with it. Turned out to be rather successful and actually preferable to the cold showers I take 50% of the time.





3. NIGHT LIFE. As with every city that is not in the U.S. there are little to no rules/laws when comes to going out. Here in Cusco, there are plenty of "Discos" and bars to go to. Usually we go out around 11:30, 12, or sometimes 1. This means that the clubs stay open until about 5 or 6am. Another thing is that the "bouncers/promoters" basically fight for you to come to their clubs and pelt you with free drink tickets. Most of the clubs are in the picturesque square- Plaza de Armas or up in the hills of San Blas. The ones WE have been frequenting are Mythology, The Lek, and IncaTeam.





4. TAXIS. There are VERY few people with cars in Cusco. Pretty much every car on the street is a little tiny one with a Taxi sign on it. Each taxi ride is 3 soles wherever you go (= approx. 1$), and you don't have to tip. They honk CONSTANTLY, whether they are picking you up, telling you to get out of the way, or nearly crashing into another as they frantically switch lanes and weave in and out of traffic.



5. PLATA ($$$). So the currency in Peru is the Peruvian Nuevo Sol, more commonly just called "soles" (soul-es). The conversion rate is approximately 3 to 1. There is a lot more importance put on coins here since there are 2 sol coins and 5 sol coins so I'm always trying to get change.

Okay that's all i can think of in this moment, i will write more later!!