Day Three – Thursday:
Our flight Thursday morning was a LAN (merged with Tam, now called LATAM, it’s a Chilean based airline; booked through British Airways, 4.5k per ticket one way) 11:00am to Cusco. Being that the airport was basically across the street, we were able to stroll in about 9:15am and with a baby, there was never a moment we had to wait in line since passengers with children under two are considered preferential customers. In fact, everywhere (besides from Buenos Aires) people were obsessed with our baby (perhaps because he’s western looking, perhaps because he’s really cute ) and with absolute courtesy allowed us to skip every line. We brought an Uppababy Vista stroller with an infant car seat attachment to attach and detach to the stroller base. Bringing this heavyweight stroller was a hassle at times, but critical since there was a lot of walking along cobblestone street and one of those cheap lightweight strollers would make it impossible to move about. Otherwise, we brought a baby carrier and we took turns wearing him when we walked along more treacherous paths (nothing slightly dangerous mind you). Traveling with a baby can be limiting at times (eating schedule, bed time, challenging hikes, boating, and horseback riding) but we really enjoyed nonetheless. (And thank goodness my mother took my older two year old child for the two and half weeks to let us enjoy this amazing trip!).
The flight was pretty empty which is always significant because we were then allowed to bring the car seat part of the stroller aboard the plane and not have to hold the baby. Arriving in Cusco airport (which is a terribly neglected airport in poor state of disrepair – parenthetically, there is a new international airport being constructed in Chinchero which allow travelers to bypass Lima which is generally a nuisance stopover on the way to the Sacred Valley. Cusco is sure to remain an attraction without its airport; …it is amazing) we were picked up by our guide. Our first stop was Qurikancha which was the primary Incan Temple and subsequently a church or cathedral of sorts. It is now solely a museum and a visit there will both introduce you to the incredibly sophisticated stonework of the Incas as well as some of the locals dressed in their traditional garb who expect tips when you take a photographs with them. I would note that you get a much more authentic view of the locales culture and dress when you visit them in the Sacred Valley towns such as Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero.
Flight from Lima Airport
Qurikancha – Incan stonework finesse
Locals around Cusco – the lamb is for photo opps.
Note about Halacha & our trip:
1. Visiting old temples/churches – While churches which are in use are deemed to be forbidden to enter, I am under the impression that temples and churches which are now tourist sites are permitted to be visited. I asked my local orthodox Rabbi who permitted my visiting these no longer in service religious sites, and subsequently found that Rabbi Chaim Dovid Yisraeli (Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv) who permits this explicitly (שו"ת עשה לך רב ח"ד סימן נג). I wonder if anyone else has input on this issue….
2. Milk – In the U.S., I rely on the heter of chalav stam. However, this is based on government inspection policy of milk and I was uncertain whether the countries I was visiting the milk was permissible w/o a hechsher. Crucial for folks like me who need milk in their coffee.
The OU responded to me that they are unfamiliar with these countries so I emailed the local kosher agencies. In Panama, the Beneficiencia Israelita Beth-El & Sinagoga Beth El responded that I could not rely on the government inspection. In Peru, the website -
http://www.kosherperu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53 – lists some Leche (milk) companies which are fine. In Brazil, the BDK responded to me “Generally, plain milk, from big brands is ok. Nestle, danone, shefa, paulista, elege, parmalat, etc.”
I was wondering if anyone had more info on this in Panama and Argentina?
3. Question: Is Inka Cola in packaged in Peru Kosher? The Star K permits in when packaged in North America (
http://www.star-k.org/resource/list/RWSWUC19/Beverages) – what about in Peru?
The Inca Empire was relatively short lived (mid 15th & 16th century) but constructed fascinating buildings and agricultural systems which are amazing to visit and learn about. Cusco was the capital of the empire and there is a lasting legacy of the Incas, as well as the Spanish conquistadors, throughout the city. It is a magical city to walk around, with hippies, adventurers, and locales milling all around. There is a classic Spanish Main center plaza square and there were children in large groups practicing their folk dances and nice shops of alpaca wool and pubs.
The altitude is very high and some people get sick hanging around Cusco (I got lightheaded and nauseous myself). There are advertisements for some sort of pill to take, but I would recommend simply heading to the Sacred Valley below which has much lower altitude and only later visiting Cusco. As for the baby, our pediatrician noted that he would have an easier acclimating to the altitude than we would. I believe this was correct.
We left Cusco to the outskirts of the city to visit Saksaywaman which is this massive Incan temple/fort overlooking Cusco with great views of the city and surrounding landscape and the token llamas and alpacas grazing about. The stones are huge and architecture amazing – though anyone who has enjoyed the tunnel tours by the Kosel will not be impressed by the size of the stones, all the more so being the Herod had those walls constructed more than 1500 years before the Incan walls. The days was breezy and rainy, but we continued to Qenqo which is another Inca holy place but it can be skipped. To visit these and other Inca sites around the valley, one must purchase a pass (not cheap, about 150 Sol.). Some of the sites have their own small fee (Salt Mines) and Macchu Pichu is a whole different beast…
Saksaywaman
Views of Cusco from Saksaywaman – Shame it was a cloudy day
We then left to walk back around Cusco and have a dinner at the Chabad house which has both a meat and dairy restaurant (quite informal, we were the only customers in the courtyard while the Israelis played cards and joked around). This was truly the highlight of our day. Free spirited Israelis roamed the courtyard of the Chabad house and helped with the preparation of the food, while the Rabbi showed me how he makes his own cheeses. The Rabbi is a holy Jew doing great work for many of these wandering souls. The food was really really cheap and really really good. It is a shame we were not able to join again for more. And Mazel Tov to the Rabbi and his wife who just had a baby boy several weeks back!!
Scenes from around Plaza de Armas (main plaza) in Cusco
Chabad Courtyard/Restaurant/Social Gathering Place/ MATZAV!
Afterward, already late in the evening, we left Cusco for the Sacred Valley for our hotel in Urubamba. To be continued…
