These little chicha sucking candies I try thanks to my tour guide, capture the beverageโs flavor perfectly, and I decide to buy a few packs to bring home. Alas, the supermarket across the street from the JW doesnโt carry the brand Iโve come to like, so I take a fast walk around the town… and, forgetting to pace myself outside the oxygen-enriched propertyโs walls, I begin to feel a fainting spell come on.
Fortunately, I donโt pass out, because I stop walking for a few minutes, breathe in deeply, and slowly saunter back to the property (with the candy no less, found in a tiny convenience shop). Instead of coca leaf tea, I decide to opt for a tea made with the hotelโs Munฬa leaves instead. Munฬa, unlike coca, is shorter-acting and wonโt keep one awake at night even if consumed shortly before bed. It also reportedly boasts digestion and aphrodisiac benefits.
My condition warrants a visit to the Conventoโs 3,300-square-foot underground spa, situated down the hall from one of its architectural ruin sites, for a serious bit of decompression in its gorgeous aqua-blue relaxation pool. After the pool, I sweat a bit in the stream room and dry sauna, and eventually indulge in a treatment. One of the spaโs signature packages, โMagnificent Festival,โ is inspired by the Incasโ Capac Raymi, a religious celebration taking place during the winter solstice, and involves a diamond scrub, gold body wrap, deepcleansing facial, 50-minute massage, and a manicure/pedicure. The spa also offers specific menโs services.
Guest Reception
After all that pampering, it is time for some Peruvian cuisine. Over the past decade or so, Peru has arrived as a major foodie destination, and Iโm admittedly on a mission to try what some would regard as the hot dog of Andean Peru: cuy.
Cuy (guinea pig) is a staple of Andean cuisine and available in numerous iterations. From street food, sometimes bought and consumed on a stick (not glamorous), to restaurants where you can pick your guinea pig like a fish from a tank. Iโve elected the JW Marriottโs stunning Pirqua restaurant as the place to lose my cuy virginity.
Exemplifying the propertyโs concept, this venue is a juxtaposition of the ancient and the 21st-century (even the event spaces boast fantastic design that riffs on Inca culture and architecture). This is not a โbig roomโ style restaurant, either. Instead, Pirquaโs tables and sumptuous leather chairs are lined against a stone wall from the Augustin Convent on one side, with a glass-enclosed view of the ambrosial courtyard and surrounding arches to the other side. This is a fantastic, lovely arrangement and chock-full of atmosphere and style. The food, meanwhile, is modern Peruvian that puts the regionโs bounty of produce, which includes over 3,000 distinct types of potatoes, to delectable use through international techniques (six different potatoes were used in my starter course, a soup).
Organic, seasonal, and locavore are key words at Pirqua as wellโthe suppliers are carefully selected. The chef, Rely Alencastre, informed of my desire to try cuy at dinner, procured a guinea pig that had been raised on an all-organic diet, making it palatable to even the most stringent of Portland hipsters.
Spa Pool
After several courses, including a trout tiradito (a more delicate, saucy version of ceviche), the cuy arrived, lying flat with arms outstretched as if a superhero in flight, atop a bed of sliced potatoes, and brightly flavored pile of onions, peppers, cilantro, and citrus zest on its caramel- hued, crispy-skinned back.
My dining companions, whom also had never tried of cuy before, reacted with a mix of amusement, horror, and curiosity. With help from the chef, we carved up the cuy, which was actually very tastyโakin to dark chicken meatโ and was truly elevated with the onion-based condiment. While Iโm steering clear of the ready-to-eat cooked cuy I saw at Cuscoโs San Pedro market, whose vendor stored it in a large sack, Iโm definitely a fan. After dinner, it was time for a pisco sour in the Qespi Bar and its adjacent Nina Soncco Lounge.
While it was tempting to explore Cuscoโs electric nightlife scene, which includes a few LGBT and LGBT-friendly spots like cafeฬ/bar/restaurant Macondo (Cuesta San Blas 571. Tel: +51-84-236799. www.facebook.com/pages/macondo-cafe-concepto), a train ride to Machu Picchu, my final destination in Peru, awaits in the morning.
