All the Comforts of Home (and More) in Cusco! Staying at La Casona

By Emily Guilmette, Kuoda Travel
Dear Kuoda Friends and Family,

One of our all-time favorite hotels in the entirety of South America is Inkaterra’s La Casona! I recently had the pleasure of spending an evening there and wanted to take this opportunity to tell you why it’s so special.

First, you come upon La Casona, tucked away in one of Cusco’s prettiest plazas, up the hill from the Plaza de Armas. Bounded by low blue-shuttered buildings and a dusty red colonial cathedral, you find yourself in an oasis of calm. In the distance – shadowy blue snow-capped peaks.

La Casona itself is snuggled unobtrusively into a corner of the plaza, quite close to the excellent Museum of Pre-Colombian Art. The hotel strives to make you feel as if you’re in a friend’s beautiful home (in fact, the building may have been one of the first Spanish constructions in Cusco) and so the entrance is unmarked. A knock at the tall, sumptuously carved wooden doors summons a wonderfully polite doorman.

Once inside, you’ll note that the very exclusive 11 suites are arranged around a central courtyard. There is no lobby, rather, an entrance hall and an exquisite living room with chairs and couches you immediately want to sink into, book in hand. You’ll walk past the living room, the intimate dining room and into the courtyard and settle into your room. Check-in is conducted there, so you can settle and relax.

Room doors are tall, wooden and beautifully carved, opened with an old-fashioned iron key. The moment you enter, you are surrounded by understated elegance. Velveteen couches and armchairs in warm, earthy tones. Absolutely beautiful linens, wooden furniture and cabinets that exude Spanish flavor (without being overwhelming or overbearing) and a glorious stone fireplace! Floor to ceiling windows let you gaze out over Cusco and give each room a feeling of light and warmth. The bathrooms are thoroughly modern, with soft curved lines, clean stone and delicious wide shower-heads. Relax, slip on complimentary slippers and robe and settle into the warmth of the room. Perhaps in that moment, you’ll notice the original frescoes high on the wall.

While the rooms themselves are exquisite (I wanted to move in), personal service is the driving force of La Casona. Their staff works with Kuoda to better understand your needs and wants – so you may find yourself introduced to local cocktails or special choice cuisine, if that’s where your tastes lie. Perhaps you’ll be offered massages in the impeccable spa area. Whatever your needs, the staff is there to make you feel pampered and at home.

This dedication to personal service, along with one of the most beautiful facilities in Peru, makes La Casona one of our perpetual favorites and we encourage our guests to experience it themselves! Plus, they are run by the wonderful Inkaterra group, which was one of the first in Peru to commit to sustainable tourism. You can stay in their FABULOUS jungle facilities or their delightful Machu Picchu digs as well!

I hope you enjoy some of the photos from my stay here

.

Please, don’t hesitate to email me with questions about this fantastic hotel: emily@kuodatravel.com

Emily

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Peru’s Glorious Food Fest! Enjoying Mistura!

By Emily Guilmette, Kuoda Travel
Dear Kuoda Friends and Family,

While I know that gourmets have been savoring the world’s most fabulous foods since the dawn of time, I do think that the past few years (at least in the U.S.) have seen a particular renaissance of appreciation of great eats. There is more interest in local food, less processed food, traditional tastes and culinary innovations than ever. Perhaps economic tough times have made cooking and food even more of a comfort – and a relatively affordable adventure. We’re more and more open to foreign tastes and more and more interested in how others eat.

What’s wonderful is that this interest is growing worldwide! In Peru, food has always been a crucial cultural touchstone and the fabulously varied cuisine is increasingly recognized internationally. Four years ago, its greatest proponent – the talented celebrity chef, Gaston Acurio – decided it was time to celebrate Peru’s gastronomic riches. And so Mistura was born!

This gigantic food fest – in the center of Peru’s vibrant capital, Lima – brings together the country’s greatest chefs (both famous and under the radar), best produce, most fabulous breads and traditional regional treats. It attracts hundreds of thousands of people, both Peruvians and visitors.

I love Peruvian food – the variety, the sauces, the incredible creamy soups, the tangy spicy ceviche, the incomparable golden roasted chicken. For me, visiting the supermarket when I travel is terribly fun and grocery shopping in Cusco is a true thrill. So, I have to admit to being a bit disappointed when I wasn’t able to make it to Lima for this year’s Mistura.

Instead, our good friend (and foodie) in Lima, Chris, was able to take in the festivities for us so that we can all salivate and plan our trips for next September. Here’s what he told me about his exciting day:

“This is the first time I’ve been able to make it to Mistura and when I walked through the gates, I didn’t know where to begin – it’s IMMENSE! So I started in the area called the “big market” (Mistura is divided into different sections – the market, fine foods, traditional foods, etc.), which exhibits the best of what our soil, climate and human effort yields. There is so much variety – I saw at least 50 species of fruits, tubers and veggies that were completely new to me! And I got to taste them! For example, fruits from the jungle region – very juicy, exotic, some sweet, others acidic, others bittersweet, some with a touch of spiciness… Best of all were the native potatoes. I got to try varieties that are grown in such remote regions that they are only eaten by the farmers themselves because it’s too hard to bring them to a market.

In the portion of the market devoted to breads (Peru’s breads are INCREDIBLE), masters of flour were making with such ease breads of different tastes and shapes. They are truly artists!

I then moved on to a section of Mistura showcasing Peruvian grilled foods. First up – chicken and pork cylinder-style. This is an ingenious cooking method that allowed workers to cook in shops using materials at hand. Basically, a metal cylinder is stood up vertically and loaded with wood. The meat and potatoes cooked this way were simply spectacular: juicy with a unique smoky aroma!Next, it was time for wood-smoked pork, cooked on gigantic grills. The pork is rotated constantly in order for the meat to be cooked evenly – this is hard work, but the result is very good! I also found Pachamanca, originating from the Peruvian mountains, that consists of cooking meat and tubers buried in the ground. After approximately three hours, they’re ready to eat!

One of the plates in this section of Mistura that was quite interesting for me was the anticucho of Pota. Traditionally anticuchos (a street-food a bit like shish-kebab) is made of cow heart. Pota is like a gigantic calamari, and for those who like seafood, it is exquisite when grilled. People waited in very long lines to get this!

I then moved on to the jungle region, where I found some traditional plates known for their aphrodisiac power. For example, the Juanes and the Tacacho con Cecina! There were also fish native to jungle rivers (like the Paiche) that can measure as much as two meters in length.

Some of my favorite plates of the day included Kankach, which is a dish from Puno that consists of a tender mutton baked in a rustic mud oven and served with potatoes that have been frozen before being cooked, called Chuno. Another of the plates that agreed with me was the Chanfainita (lung) with ceviche and Papa Huancaina – a very Peruvian plate known also as “Seven Colors.” Another great dish was the Huatia, seasoned generously with Hierba Buena and served with potatoes and Oco, which is a kind of sweetish tuber. And, of course, there was cuy – or guinea pig – prepared in a wood-fired oven, which is actually quite delicious as long as your imagination doesn’t run wild!

When I’d eaten all I could, I visited the section devoted to Peruvian piscos and other drinks. I found the famous Pisco Sour, a potato sour (!!), the Machu Picchu (a layered drink with three colors – red, green and blue) and a wonderful tasting menu of diverse piscos.

It was then time to visit the zone of chocolatiers, where we found many types of chocolate, cacao beans, chocolate ice cream, chocolate drinks, hot chocolate, spicy chocolate and even chocolate sculptures! In the area devoted to sweets, I found picarones (a sweet potato fried doughnut accompanied by fig honey, membrillo and confectioners sugar), merengue and dulce de leche Suspira limenos, black corn jelly, arroz con leche and a very delicious sweet that is called frozen cheese, originating from the province of Arequipa.

I finished the feast with a variety of Peru’s excellent coffees!

In terms of logistics – the organizers of this mega-event try to not overlook any detail. The security inside and outside the festival was really good and the efficiency with which they serve you in each stand was fantastic.

My conclusions about the festival – I believe that Mistura is one of the best ideas that the great Peruvian chef, Gaston Acurio has had. It attracts not only the Peruvian public but also a large number of tourists from different countries who want to know a little about Peru. It’s a great place to realize that Peru isn’t just Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca or other fantastic tourist sites as you sample diverse dishes and watch Peruvians reliving their favorite memories as they taste a well-loved plate.”

Check out photos from the event here!

Many, many thanks to Chris and please email me at emily@kuodatravel.com if you have any questions about Mistura or Peruvian cuisine!

Best wishes to all!

Emily

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Peru’s White City: A Weekend in Arequipa

By Emily Guilmette, Kuoda Travel
Dear Kuoda Friends and Family,

A short while ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Peru’s “Ciudad Blanca!” My weekend in Arequipa was just lovely, and so I’d like to share my experience with you in the hope that you’ll be able to visit vicariously now and in reality soon!

The second largest city in Peru, Arequipa feels peaceful and genteel. The architecture is beautiful – low buildings of bare white stone or coated in colorful paint, primarily Spanish baroque in style, with local touches – the air is soft and the people are friendly. While there were pre-Incan and Incan settlements here before the Spanish arrived in 1540, there is little trace of them in the current city. As a result, you often feel more like you’re in Europe than in the Andes. Our President, Mery, noted that Arequipa is a wonderful place to sit, have a cup of coffee and relax, and I think this is a perfect summation of the ease you feel as you explore.

We arrived quite early on a beautiful Saturday morning. In fact, one of the more marvelous things about Arequipa is its climate – dry and sunny most of the year round, with cool nights in June, July and August. This meant that flowering vines splashed color and Spanish mystique in public squares and half-hidden courtyards as I strolled through the center of town, trying to decide whether I should wear my sunglasses or keep them off to take it all in.

Our first stop, before we even checked in to our little hotel, was the beautiful main plaza. Designated a UNESCO world-heritage site in 2000, Arequipa’s plaza is a colonial-era masterpiece, lined with arched colonades and bounded on one side by the cathedral with its refined facade and delicate spires reaching toward the sky. In the center of the plaza is a three-tiered fountain surrounded by palm trees.

As we had made our way there before nine in the morning, we had the pleasure of sitting in relative tranquility, listening to the splashing fountain and watching a dog gleefully chasing pigeons. The sun shone and the buildings sparkled.

This is because, of course, the primary building material in much of central Arequipa is a stone called sillar. White or rose, with a pearly sheen, this volcanic rock was used in the construction of many of the city’s buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. The color of the rock gives the city its nickname – “the white city.” Quite soft and easy to work, sillar allowed architects to execute incredible carvings and it takes paint pigment quite well, so painted buildings have a rich color.

As we sat and took it all in, the city seemed to come alive – children playing in the plaza, bikers kitted out in their spandex spinning through (the area around Arequipa is great for outdoor activity and it is a wonderful jumping-off point for exploring Colca Canyon), women selling candies from old-fashioned boxes slung around their necks. We enjoyed leisurely cups of coffee and then headed for our hotel.

A ten-minute stroll from the Plaza de Armas, Casa de Melgar’s sillar facade is undistinguished. But, once you pass through the front door, you enter a magical labyrinth. The hotel consists of one or two old mansions, laced together with low passageways, plant-filled courtyards and gardens. Our room was simply furnished, but boasted beautiful floor to ceiling windows that made me feel like a white-gowned owner of an old-time hacienda. This small hotel offers a wonderful value for the money and is well-situated for Arequipa’s primary attractions and best restaurants.

We devoted the rest of the day to a visit to the Santa Catalina Monastery. This was the highlight of the weekend for me! If you are close to Arequipa, you must, must go!

In the center of the city, covering several blocks, this monastery has provided cloistered sanctuary for nuns since 1579. In the 60s it was opened to the public and the remaining handful of nuns moved into a modern building hidden from visitors. The old structure is a sillar building with winding passageways, peaceful courtyards with beautiful plants and bare apartments where the nuns lived. It feels ancient, steeped in history and somehow magical. Entering is like finding the door to the secret garden or stepping through the looking glass. You feel calm fall over you as you pass under an arch carved with the word, “silencio.”

Called “a city within a city,” the convent has its streets and different architectural styles – the result of rebuilding after the city’s many earthquakes. Many of the nuns came from wealthy families, so while their apartments were extremely simple (rooms for themselves with one or two chairs, a wall niche with a bed, a simple table, crosses), they also brought beautiful china and textiles with them and, at one point, the convent housed more servants than actual nuns.

Walls in the convent are brightly painted, either in brick red, french blue or bright white, and climbing plants add charm. The enormous Misti Volcanoe rises in the distance. We wandered for hours before stopping in the excellent cafe for Inka Colas and passionfruit cake and making our way to the exit. The convent is also open during week nights and we’ve heard that, lit by candles, it is magical.

In the evening, we tested Gaston Acurio’s Arequipa branch of Chicha, where we enjoyed excellent drinks and some of Arequipa’s delicious crawfish (or camarone). This is a specialty of the region and I highly recommend sampling a chupe de camarones (a creamy-spicy soup with crawfish and rice) during your visit. A word to the wise: Arequipa is hopping on Saturday night! Make sure to have dinner reservations.

On Sunday, we woke bright and early and made our way to the Plaza de Armas, where we found the city in full-swing celebration of its patrimony! In 2011, Arequipa turned 471 this year, we were told! We threaded through dancers, paraders and revelers and arrived one block past the Plaza de Armas at the Catholic University’s Andean Sanctuary Museum.

This is the home of the ice-mummy, Juanita. Discovered on the top of Mount Ampato in 1995, Juanita was a noble Incan girl sacrificed between 1450 and 1480 in order to end a drought or famine. Her body, and those of two younger children, was offered to the Incan gods and buried on the mountain top. Due to the freezing conditions, Juanita remains in incredibly good condition with skin, hair and clothes intact. This small museum is wholly devoted to her life, death and discovery and is incredibly moving. For example, the cloak of an older man, probably her father, was buried with her and is on display. As are her shoes. And, Juanita herself is there, in a cooling case. The museum tour is about an hour and I highly, highly recommend it. For me it made the Incan past come to life, more than anything I have seen in the rest of Peru.

We spent our afternoon relaxing and strolling before visiting the lovely suburb of Yanahuara for a view of the Misti Volcanoe and then heading home, very satisfied, to Cusco!

I hope you enjoy my small photo album from the trip and please feel free to email me with any questions about travel in Arequipa (emily@kuodatravel.com).

Best wishes to all!
Emily

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Machu Picchu at 100: Expert Christopher Heaney Answers Our Questions About Hiram Bingham.

By Emily Guilmette, Kuoda Travel
Dear Kuoda Friends and Family,

On July 24, Peru marks 100 years since Hiram Bingham, a Yale professor sponsored by the National Geographic Society, came upon the vine-covered ruins. Bingham and his team, with the approval of the contemporary Peruvian government, cleared the site, excavated and presented Machu Picchu to the world in high romantic style (you can read Bingham´s original National Geographic piece about the discovery and browse his incredible photos here). They also brought thousands of artifacts home for study, thus initiating 100 years of conflict.

Since that long-ago July, Bingham has been heralded as a hero and reviled as a looter. He has become known as the “scientific discoverer” of Machu Picchu as it has become clear that other visitors, Peruvian and foreign, gazed on those ancient stones prior to his arrival. Peru has hotly demanded the artifacts and cooled off when other matters pressed the nation. Attitudes about cultural patrimony have dramatically shifted. Ideas about what Machu Picchu was have changed.

Most spectacularly, Peru sued Yale for the Machu Picchu artifacts and won a victory that brought the vast majority of them home to Cusco this year.

Today, thousands of people flock to Peru to marvel at what has become a new wonder of the world. They surely contemplate the Inca stones and consider the ancient lives that were lived there. And on the eve of the anniversary of Machu Picchu´s introduction to the world, it is fitting to consider the more recent history of this special place. It speaks to the complex patrimony of Peru and its complicated relationship with its indigenous past and present. It covers nation-building in South America and the tense relationship with the United States. And, it addresses modern questions about the ownership of culture.

To help us sort through some of this, I called in Christopher Heaney, who graciously offered to answer some questions about the discovery of Machu Picchu.

Chris is a scholar of Latin American history and has trained his detailed researcher´s eye on the conflict between Yale and Peru. His investigation, both in Cusco and at Yale, resulted in an incredibly compelling book – The Cradle of Gold – that offers the best explanation of how the conflict between the university and the country came about. You can find the book (highly recommended!) on Amazon, and you can read an excerpt and learn more about Chris here.

And now, without further ado, THE INTERVIEW!

Who was Hiram Bingham and how did he come to be searching for Machu Picchu in 1911?
“Hiram Bingham was an archaeologist from Yale University, in the United States. Born in 1875, he was a missionary’s son, righteous, driven, curious, and, according to many, rather superior in nature. Because teaching wasn’t exciting enough for him he began exploring in South America, retracing the footsteps of history. A chance visit to Choqquequirau, the Cradle of Gold, 1909, introduced him to Inca history and from then on he was hooked. What he was looking for in 1911, when he went searching, were the last cities of the Incas, where the last emperors tried to resist the Spanish conquest. Before he could make their acquaintance, however, he was lead to Machu Picchu.”

Are we accurate when we say Bingham “discovered” Machu Picchu?
“Bingham was hardly the first to make it to Machu Picchu. For one, it was a piece of property owned by Inca families long after the conquest. After independence, it grew a little more remote, but a series of landowners and Europeans likely made it there in the late nineteenth century. Moreover, it was certainly known and visited by residents of the region, many of them of indigenous descent, who wrote their names on its walls. And, of course, when Bingham was led to the site by an innkeeper from the Urubamba below, there were three indigenous families living and farming in the ruins. So Hiram Bingham hardly discovered the ruins – but as many Peruvians have noted since as early as 1912, he was the site’s “scientific discoverer,” promoting its study and fame in the outside world. He also deserves praise for following the trail of the Incas well past Machu Picchu to the true last cities of their emperors.”

How have the perceptions of what Bingham did in Peru changed over the years?
“When Bingham first announced the existence of Machu Picchu, Peruvians in Cusco and Lima celebrated his achievement. But they were also wary, worried that Bingham and his Yale Peruvian Expedition would come back and excavate, which they did, kicking off a century long dispute over the ownership of the artifacts of Machu Picchu. Hiram Bingham himself has gone through different phases of appreciation, but Peruvians today are clear-eyed about what he gave – a platform for Machu Picchu’s fame and study – and what he took away – the contents of nearly 170 pre-Columbian graves, among many other artifacts.”

How have perceptions of Machu Picchu changed since Bingham first published about it in National Geographic? What do we know now, that Bingham didn´t know then?
“Bingham believed that Machu Picchu was not only the birthplace of the Incas, but their grave as well, the last city where they went to die. We now know he was mistaken on both counts, perhaps enchanted by the possibility of such a good story. Instead, we know that Bingham himself reached the last cities of the Incas (Vilcabamba), further downriver, but discounted their importance because they weren’t as beautiful as Machu Picchu. We also know that Machu Picchu was likely built in the mid-15th century by the Inca emperor and architect Pachacutec, as a spiritual and royal retreat outside of Cusco, the Incas’ capital. It was also a key gateway to the eastern slopes of the Andes, rich in tropical produce. Research, however, is ongoing, and scholars are always coming up with new and interesting interpretations.”

How did Peru and Yale come to disagree over the ownership of the artifacts from Machu Picchu? And how was this disagreement resolved?
“The question hinged on whether Peru had only let the artifacts leave for Yale on the condition that they return someday. The archives show that they did, that Peru had had the foresight to claim the artifacts and call for Bingham and Yale to respect the claim. For nearly a century, Yale refused, until a public lawsuit and a savvy media campaign last October and November brought Yale back to the negotiating table. By the end of 1912, all of the artifacts that Hiram Bingham exported from Machu Picchu will go back to Peru.”

Why is it important for Peru and the world to mark the 100 years since this particular discovery of Machu Picchu?
“Because it is far more important than the story of a single explorer hacking through jungle to reach a lost city. Rather, it’s the story of how countless Peruvians and foreigners have come together over the last century to celebrate one of the great wonders of the world, make it known, study and protect it, and even sometimes fight over it. Machu Picchu is one of world’s great cultural and architectural treasures, awakening us to the beauty of indigenous culture and history, and demanding that we care for its future. The first century of Machu Picchu’s fame is over; the next century is about to begin, likely even more glorious than its last.”

Thanks so very much, Chris!

And to all of you, best wishes from Cusco!
Emily

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Peru’s Garden Paradise: Sol y Luna’s Sacred Valley Casitas

By Emily Guilmette, Kuoda Travel
Dear Kuoda Friends and Family,

I have found a secret garden in the Sacred Valley and you can visit too!

Simply wind your way up the hills surrounding Cusco, zip through the stunning high plateaus with vistas of distant icy mountains to the North of the city, and cruise through the warm valley town of Urubamba. At this point, you will find yourself at the gates to the Sol y Luna Lodge and Spa.


The initial idea for this lovely hotel was to create lodging that would allow visitors to enjoy vibrant gardens and the views of the steep surrounding mountains. It was to be a restful and pleasant sanctuary. And so the casitas were born!

Made of local building materials – stone, adobe, wood – these rustic little houses are unobtrusively nestled into the property. Each casita houses a beautifully executed hotel room, from the smaller round casitas to the larger more modern luxury casitas. Local art is incredibly important to Sol y Luna (in fact, their patronage has revived the regional colonial art of making paper flowers) and so each luxury casita’s design is unique, based on a wall mural. Mine was a vibrant green and purple expanse, representing “tuna,” a local cactus and fruit. The bedding is scrumptious and clean white, the bathroom a dream with a gigantic bathtub for luxuriating after a day’s activities, and the living rooms have soft leather couches and incredibly welcome fireplaces. Modern amenities like a flatscreen TV and an iPod and dock are tastefully integrated into the rustic-chic décor. All of the soaps and shampoos are from L’Occitane and I must say that I have never entered a sweeter smelling hotel room!



After passing through the small building that serves as the gateway to the property and the area for check-in, I strolled the pebbled path through rich greens with deep red and purple flowers to my casita. The most lovely reception awaited me: gentle music and local sweets! I settled in to enjoy my delicious welcome chocolates on the patio of my darling casita. Birds sang – there are many different species in this particular area of Peru – and the warm sun completely relaxed me. It was hard to leave my seat to explore Sol y Luna’s many fabulous offerings! But, explore I did…

For many travelers, the Sacred Valley is just a stop on the way to acclimatizing for Cusco and taking the train to Machu Picchu; but from horseback riding to rafting to luxurious spa treatments, this region of Peru has now deserves vacation time in and of itself. Sol y Luna offers a full range of resources to fully enjoy this special place.

First, there are the amenities of the hotel: an incredibly gourmet restaurant with one of the finest chefs in the area (and the friendliest serving staff I have encountered anywhere in Peru), a cocktail lounge for evenings, and a more rustic dining experience in the Wayra ranch. Then there is the absolutely beautiful spa with a jacuzzi, saunas and a wide range of massage and treatment options. In a warm building of wood and stained glass, the afternoon sunshine makes the treatment rooms colorful sanctuaries. There is a beautiful business center, a small boutique where you can purchase some of the art that decorates the casitas, a quiet outdoor pool, and this fall there will be a library and common room.


Then, there are the activities. There are cultural activities such as daily exhibitions of Peruvian dancing horses, theatrical events showcasing local legends and myths, dance performances, pottery workshops and textile demonstrations. Plus, there is the Wayra ranch, where you can enjoy a traditional barbecue and the lovely dining experience of a true Peruvian pachamanca (earth-cooked potatoes and meats).


Finally, in the past two years, Sol y Luna has focused intensely on sharing the fine culinary tradition of the Sacred Valley. From a fabulous chefs’ table and wine cellar, to a private dining room, to cooking demos and lessons to farm visits, there are a plethora of opportunities for the gourmet.

Complementing these offerings is impeccable service: hot water bottles in the early evening to warm the body and the bed, a roaring romantic fire, the world’s friendliest bartender, smiles and helpful information at every turn.

And so, I encourage you to sample the many pleasures of the Sacred Valley with Sol y Luna. It is one of the most relaxing hotels I have ever encountered. If you haven’t time for a longer stay, the restaurants and Wayra are open to anyone passing through Urubamba. You must enjoy!

Best wishes from Cusco!
Emily

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