Brisk atmosphere

There is something magical about the twilight atmosphere in the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. This is helped by the warm yellow light given off by the plaza lamps, which reflects from the blank slabs producing long shadows from the people strolling by. This yellow light in combination with the deep blue sky creates only part of the magic, also the icy cold, fresh mountain air that suddenly blows over the place as if from nowhere intensifies the whole atmosphere. When I was sitting on the square while the sun set my first day around half past five, it cooled down so suddenly that within a few minutes that I had to sprint to my pension, because I only had on a T-shirt and shorts. Particularly at night one notices that Cusco lies on a 3400m high mountain plateau and due to it’s proximity to the equator, the sun sets quickly, so without a warm sweater, you’re basically screwed at this time of day. Fortunately, at the guesthouse, I was greeted with a hot mate de coca, the typical tea made from coca leaves, which warmed me up immediately.

Cusco (Peru), July 2017