After my early afternoon spin through Cusco's primary archeological sites, I dropped my gear at the hotel and headed out to meet with a potential partner. But I was semi-starving and had some time, so I ducked into the Centro Artesanal Cusco Paccha to check it out and see what I could rustle up.
It doesn't look particularly charming from the outside.
But inside it's full of colorful stalls selling all the various Peruvian souvenirs you could imagine. Plus some cool murals.
I wasn't here to shop, though. Was just aiming to find maybe a couple of empanadas para llevar, as that had been a fairly trustworthy grab-and-go staple so far in Peru. However as I was approaching this place and scanning the menu, the señora in charge spotted me and gave me her pitch.
No empanadas, but I tell you that simple ham, cheese, and aguacate sandwich plus some fried plantains with that spicy Peruvian answer to pico de gallo HIT THE SPOT. It was comfortable and delicious.
Felt good to sit for 5 minutes, watch the kids of the mercado run around playing, and enjoy a modest, tasty, and filling late lunch. Simple pleasures in life.
So if you find yourself in the mercado scanning the souvenirs, don't hesitate to stop for a quick bite at Restaurant Clave del Sabor 2. You won't regret it.
After a looong morning at Machu Picchu I cleaned up with a shower and headed out for what I was hoping would be a substantial and tasty meal to refuel. The night before I was strolling along Avenida Pachacutec (the main east/west street on the north side of the river, but not the one that runs right alongside the river) and thought it would be a nice place to eat / drink / people watch. So that's where I pointed myself. I was there around 2pm, which is maybe a tweener kind of time. Late for lunch, early for happy hour. So most places were quiet. I saw that the terraza at El Museo de la Papa was open and planted myself there, anticipating a pleasant lunch al fresco.
Service was not exactly friendly. I think my timing coincided with staff lunch, so I was intruding on their quiet/together time. But soon enough I had a refreshing lemonade in hand. (Side note: Peru knows how to make a good lemonade. Enjoyed many and multiple flavors during this trip).
(Note: deliberately did not crop out the lady wondering why I was getting the low POV on my lemonade shot).
Snapped a couple of shots of their attractive but empty interior while waiting for my food.
Maybe 10 minutes later, my burger arrived. Looked okay, not great. Maybe it's because I know how it tasted, but looking at it again now I can see it's overcooked. But those fries were pretty good with the house salsa.
Looking back at their menu, I see a handful of things that maybe would have turned out better.
Quesadillas. Burritos. Grilled Chicken. All sound better to me right now. But it shouldn't be too much to expect a nice, juicy burger, right? Disappointing. Maybe I just had bad luck or timing. If you want a drink on the terraza where you can people watch, perhaps with some light snacks, I'd say give El Museo de la Papa a try. If you want a good burger after hiking around Machu Picchu for 5 hours, maybe Mary's Burger would be the better choice.
Through a combination of walking around eyeballing places that looked interesting and verifying via Google Maps that any candidates had decent reviews, my colleague and I landed on Ponchos Peruvian Kitchen for an early dinner / very late lunch in Machu Picchu Pueblo. It turned out to be a very good call. Based on our experience they deserve their 4.8/5.0 rating.
You can find them on the north side of the river on the main north / south drag running through the town (Imperio de los Incas). It has a relatively small-ish interior, but it is sharp, well-lit, and comfortable. Floor to ceiling exterior glass wall lets in light and allows you to keep an eye on the outside action if you like.
Service was friendly and attentive. I forgot to snap pics of the menu, but luckily Isamarie Alma uploaded a couple in her google review, so I will borrow hers. They have a solid range of options, but for me the choice was clear: Choclo con Queso.
Was delicious. And while I was disappointed that they were out of the porter listed in their beer menu, the IPA was a fine acompaniment. I was very happy with my order.
My colleague is a more adventurous diner than I am (but then, most people are), and she went for the alpaca skewers.
If I'm being honest I wasn't paying close attention to her order, so I was a little surprised when the server came out and set them on fire.
Fun stuff. And for the record, they met with the approval of my foodie companion.
Toward the end of the meal this fella curled up at the feet of the couple dining next to us. Guessing it wasn't his first time there.
Incredibly, I am 99% certain I saw the same dog the next morning up outside the entrance to Machu Picchu.
To sum up: Ponchos Peruvian Kitchen is worth your time. Would recommend.
Usually when we head out to Michoacán on one of our pottery runs we stay at Casa Encantada. During this last trip, however, we came out a little closer to actual día de muertos dates, and Casa Encantada was already booked by the time I got around to reserve our accommodations. This gave us the opportunity to try a new(ish) place that opened across the street from Casa Encantada in the last 2 or 3 years I think: El Eden Boutique Hotel.
I have held off on trying it for a few reasons:
* We like Casa Encantada
* Casa Encantada is normally priced lower than El Eden
* The rooms didn't appear to have much in the way of ventilation
However, given the circumstances our hand was forced a bit, so we stayed with them for 3 nights, from 10/28 - 10/31. On the whole, our stay was fine. I do not have any complaints. But I would still look to stay at Casa Encantada first, when it's available.
My takes on the key elements of our stay, with an eye toward comparing them against our standard (Encantada):
Service / attention - very good.
Communications through Booking.com were good and quick. The man who greeted us upon arrival, Rafael, was very helpful in allowing me to use their load/unload only parking space for two full days. He also procured a fan for us to use in the room. Anything else we needed or wanted during our stay, Rafa and the rest of the staff were there for us. Service at Encantada is great, too, but I'll rate this aspect a tie.
Room quality.
Solid, with some relative strengths and weaknesses. Bed was pretty comfortable, a bit softer than what we're used to at Casa Encantada. Bathroom was spacious, but the water pressure in the shower was not great. Maybe 5/10. Ventilation was indeed a concern. We had a deluxe room and it had one small window that opened up onto the interior courtyard. It helped a little bit, but I cannot imagine it would be great during warmer weather. Rafa provided us with a medium size fan, which was good for us. But the property really should consider ceiling fans.
Oddly I did not snag any pics of the room itself. But you can check out their website or see them on Booking.com and get an idea of what they offer. Overall the slightly more comfortable bed at Eden does not in my mind outweigh the superior shower and ventilation at Encantada.
Breakfast
Our first breakfast was served in the small, homey dining room, which was nice and cozy.
The next day we ate in the common area between reception and the rooms, which is nice but also a little cool.
Food was tasty and service was warm. But Encantada's dedicated and spacious breakfast / kitchen setting offers a more pleasant overall experience. Also, we noticed they use Talavera serverware from Puebla, rather than the local pottery from Capula. Odd choice. I'd think they would support the local artisans rather than pay the premium to bring pieces in from Puebla.
Common areas / design.
Eden is smaller than Encantada, which has a couple of well-designed common areas / courtyards featuring plenty of plants and artwork, providing an open oasis-like feel. Eden's design is well-done, too, but by the nature of the property it is darker, more closed, and includes a lot of religious artwork and symbols (I didn't make that 'Eden' connection until seeing the pieces all around the hotel).
They put forward some great, creative work in decorating for the holiday. We witnessed the work in progress and saw the full picture come into focus during our stay.
Both Eden and Encantada offer elements of a traditional, colonial style property where clear attention is paid to the details. While I prefer the layout and aesthetic of Encantada, I'm sure others will have more appreciation for Eden.
The dates of our October visit to Pátzcuaro vary a bit each year. Our approach has evolved with time. We no longer aim to be in town for the peak of festivities, preferring to arrive early enough to miss the worst of the traffic, the heaviest crowds, and most jacked-up hotel prices, but close enough to the main event so that the artisans are all out on the plaza and the tianguis de comida are set up, too. This year it worked out well.
When stars do align we usually get at least one meal in the tianguis. Really depends on the timing of each day. Sometimes we're still in Capula around lunchtime, so we eat there. It also depends on the stands we see in the lineup, becuase they aren't all created equal. We are pretty basic, looking for tacos and quesadillas rather than platos principales. So we do a stroll up and down the line, which I'd guess has ~20 different stands all calling out to you with quick bullet points on their offering: tacos, quesadillas, que le damos? etc.
Eventually something calls out to us and we grab a seat. Though, that is another factor. Sometimes the places with open seats aren't the places we want to eat at, while the places with good-looking food options are fully jammed. Lot of variables need to come together for a good tianguis experience.
This year we spotted Tacos el Cuñadito Juve and decided to give them a try.
Glad we did. Really tasty food. And very friendly service. Wound up eating here 3 times over our 3-day visit. One light dinner and two lunches. For the light dinner we shared a burrito (1/2 chorizo, 1/2 bistec, when Adriana told us we didn't need to buy two -- how about that for some kindness and integrity; could have easily sold us two burritos). Next day for lunch we went with quesadillas and tacos.
Load them up with that pico de gallo and salsa cremosa de aguacate and you're livin'.
Adriana is the one in the orange shirt. She was all over the place. Calling out to the passerby. Directing diners to their seats, taking orders. And offering advice. She suggested we go see Panteon del Cristo (another post on that coming later).
And you see her as she catches Judy taking a behind the scenes video.
If you come through Pátzcuaro during another time of year when the tianguis are not active you can still visit them as they have a location that is on the way in/out of town. Looks like they are only open at night. But if you're feeling a little adventurous and want some tasty tacos, swing by and say hello to Adriana.
I had read and seen via a few different sources that Kalamaja was the 'cool' part of Tallinn to check out. So I investigated a bit. Turns out Kalamaja is a pretty large area that encompasses most of the near north/northwest area of Tallinn once you leave the boundaries of old town. This includes Balti Jaama Market and Telliskivi, which I checked out in my previous post. There are also some very distinct sections within Kalamaja. You can see in the map screenshot below that I had pinned a few things up north along the waterfront. Supposedly that was an up and coming / developing / cool area to check out. But what I really wound up digging was the central area, just a few blocks straight north / northeast from Balti Jaama.
I pointed my scooter toward the waterfront. Figured I'd head out to the furthest point first, then work my way back toward the ferry. Weather decided to act up and I was scooting through some drizzle, but it never really devolved into full on rain, so I guess I got a little lucky there. Anyway, what you see on your way out to this 'cool' area is that it is still a work in progress. Feels a bit remote from the downtown or even inner Kalamaja, though it is just a quick scooter or bike ride, which would be quite nice in better weather. But signs of the ongoing development were prominent.
You also see a few examples of very cool architecture and design. And I imagine if I were to come back for another visit 5 years down the road there would be more integrated services and shops to make it all feel a bit more complete.
This next one is Noblessneri valukoda, which based on the reviews seems like a solid family-friendly destination, perhpas especially on days when the weather isn't so great.
Given the current weather, I was the only dope outside.
During another visit or another season, stopping for a beverage at Brewklyn Craft Beer Cafe could be worthwhile. But not today. Now it was time to head back to see other parts of the Kalamaja district.
I pointed myself in the general east/southeast direction and found a scooter parking zone near what turned out to be Soo Uulits Tänavagurmee .
This would be a good a point as any to start meandering around the zone. And I was blown away by what I was seeing. Wow. Very cool vibes. Residential. Mix of achitectural styles in varying states of upkeep. Juxtaposition of traditional with hyper modern. Punctuated with super local retail/food outlets. Felt like a cool place to spend more time in. Like a week or two, not a couple of hours. Difficult to edit myself here with the photo inclusion because I found it all fascinating. I mean, check these out:
Spotted a sub division with an inviting entry and wandered in this direction a bit.
Eventually came out to this spot where in one direction you're facing homes that evince quintessential bucolic vibes.
But turnaround and there are those ultra current shipping-container-chic homes that you might order from Temu.
Wild.
Could not stop taking pictures as I continued on through this funky, funky neighborhood.
Thought I'd try one more pass through Balti Jaama on the way to the ferry, but it closes early on Sunday. Then this Lavazza vending machine appeared to me like a beacon.
I'd been out roaming for 5+ hours at this point in upper 40s, windy weather. A vending machine hot chocolate was just what the doctor ordered to warm me up somewhat before one last scoot to the ferry. (Btw, hot chocolate was 10/10, would recommend). Found a parking spot for the Bolt, and headed to the terminal.
Beautiful and comfortable place to await your departure.
Got sucked over to the store to see what they had.
Decided to bring the dogs a stuffed something. They enjoy a variety of soft things on which they can lounge at leisure. You can see Lucha below resting on a plush sandia that we picked up here in la CDMX somewhere. Mia is on a plush cat that we brought back from Poland.
So when I saw that the symbol / mascot of Tallink was a harp seal pup, I thought that would be a good addition to the collection. It was a bit too firm though. The anime strawberry was plush, but random af. I eventually found a little penguin (not pictured) that seemed more appropriate.
With that gift secured my time in Tallinn was done. Back on the boat to Helsinki.
