The mystical guitar of Estas Tonne was playing in the background, carrying me away on a daydream back to the lush green Andes Mountains surrounding Cusco. The intoxicating scent of Peruvian coffee filled the room from my favorite cup that has now been well-worn from traveling in my bag for years, as I sat down to write this past month’s article for International Living magazine.
It is now two years removed from my days living and wandering the streets of Cusco, yet I was recently contacted to write an article about my time living there, not as a tourist, but as a traveler who had settled into daily life in Cusco. I spent my days there for four slow-moving months.
This morning I write from a much different world, just an hour flight from Cusco in Lima. However, writing this article allowed me to reflect on my days in Cusco, reminded that Cusco is a place that never leaves you once you have deeply connected with it, and it is also a place that you never really leave.
Living in Cusco is not something I had ever planned.
As the hour strikes 6 p.m. on a cold, windy Monday evening, my balcony doors open to the Andean mountain range, and a crisp breeze moves through the room. The multicolored lights dancing across Cusco’s skyline are spectacular. From my studio, I have a clear view of the blue-lit Christmas tree in the nearby park. It is the week before Christmas in Cusco, Peru.
Cusco has taken me completely by surprise, in a way that is difficult to convey.
Most foreigners come to Cusco as tourists for a few days to a week, often on a pilgrimage to see Machu Picchu.
A couple of months ago, it was never in my plans to be here, much less to rent an apartment and settle into daily life. And yet, something seems to have drawn me here, to this deeply spiritual place.
A Place I Didn’t Expect
My original plan had been to stay in Cusco for the month of December before continuing on to Buenos Aires.
Now I find myself drawn to explore more of this sacred place and the surrounding valleys. Cusco may not immediately come to mind as a place to live as a foreigner, and yet, for me, it checked many of the boxes I was looking for in an environment perfectly suited to me.
What I began to discover was a daily rhythm that slowly emerged, one that felt like more than that of a tourist.
Walking the narrow cobblestone streets of Cusco has become part of my daily routine. The streets wind endlessly through the historic center, passing small markets, quiet plazas, and families going about their day. Vendors sit beside piles of fruit and vegetables, with colorful woven goods hanging from their stalls.
Life here moves at a very different rhythm,
Because of the discovery of Machu Picchu, Cusco is one of those beautiful and spiritual places on the planet that has now been overlaid with tourism. It is bizarre to see American chains like KFC and McDonald’s standing out of place amidst the Inca and Spanish architecture.
There are now fine dining restaurants and luxury hotels amidst masses of locals and indigenous people simply making their way through the day to survive.
Of all the places I have ever traveled, Cusco ranks among the lowest in average income and standard of living.
Every day on my walks through the cobblestone streets, I am confronted with what we in modern civilization would call poverty. Endless people line the streets selling colorful woven goods, fruits and vegetables, bracelets; some even sell their bodies for the price of a dinner out in America. Some simply beg.
Two dollars would get them a solid meal for the day.
And yet, as my friend put it, this is not poverty to them. It is, and always has been, their way of life.
I see more smiles and soul-filled eyes than I have ever seen in the offices of Corporate America. There is a sense of peace, contentment, and happiness among the people I have met.
I find myself comfortable among the people here, enjoying regular smiles with the ladies who make me fresh juice in the San Pedro Market, on a first-name basis with the girl at the nearby coffee shop, and becoming a regular customer of the local man who shines my shoes like an artist.
Each day, I appreciate the luxury of what I have and want to contribute in some small way to the people here.
My Unconventional Routine
As I write these words, I can hear a car passing through the neighborhood blasting “Tamales for Sale” over the loudspeaker.
My life here follows a rhythm that is somewhat unusual.
Teaching English in Japan during the early mornings and evenings while living on the other side of the world in Peru creates a very nontraditional work schedule for me. And yet, it complements my unconventional way of living quite nicely.
Most days, I am up very early, between 5 and 6 a.m., while most people are still sleeping. This happens naturally due to the early rising sun in Peru, so close to the equator.
I teach English to business executives in Japan for about three hours in the morning during their evenings. I then teach again in the evening, which is early morning in Japan.
By 10 a.m. on most days, I am sitting in a nearby café writing.
This leaves most of my days free to explore the culture I am in. While everyone is sleeping in Japan, I am exploring the other side of the world by day.
For me, it is a good rhythm of life. It allows me to move through the world as a conscious observer of everything around me, as if watching a movie.
It allows me to wander the cobblestone streets of Cusco and lose my sense of time in tiny cafés with very few people around. I observe people from every walk of life and every imaginable circumstance.
Living out of sync with the rhythm of the masses is like walking out of a movie theater into the sun and blue sky after being completely absorbed in the film.
It is like waking up from a dream.
Every day, I walk the streets of Cusco, often for miles around the historic city. It is there that I experience the full spectrum of humanity—from pure, authentic joy to the depths of human suffering.
For many local people, daily life centers around the San Pedro Market, located at the center of the city.
I discovered this exciting and chaotic hub of daily commerce within my first day or two in Cusco, and I have been drawn there on a weekly basis ever since.
This is where locals go for breakfast, lunch, vegetables, meats, soups, cheeses, fruits, guinea pigs, and almost anything else imaginable.
Hundreds of vendors fill the market from dawn until the sun sets late in the evening.
Upon arrival, there is an overwhelming assault on the senses—unfamiliar smells, sounds, and a bright mosaic of vivid colors from dozens of textile vendors and merchants.
My first encounter there was with one of the smiling ladies who makes fresh juices for less than a couple of dollars.
Over the months, rows of juice vendors now shout for me and smile as I walk by to get my business, but I remain loyal to my favorite.
Each visit, I buy a sweet tamale for about 15 cents before finding a seat among the locals for a plate of rice, vegetables, and fried eggs for less than $3.
Every visit feels like a new discovery.
Almost every day in Cusco, I discover something new.
Perhaps that is why this city has held my curiosity for more than three months, while most travelers stay only a week or two.
Each morning, I wake up with a sense of excitement about what the day might bring.
I have yet to wake up with the feeling that I need to go somewhere else.
Life here remains fresh, surprising, and endlessly interesting.
And perhaps that is the true gift of living in a place like Cusco: each day still feels like exploration.
So, as one begins to discover, Cusco can become much more than a tourist destination. It is a place where one can settle into a daily rhythm of life, with access to all of the necessities on a more basic and affordable level. Most people will only experience Cusco for a week or two, and yet there is so much more to discover.
Field Notes
How to Live a Meaningful Life in a Day
Spend a portion of time in childhood-some part of your day in wonder, curiosity and play
Spend a portion of the day in work or doing something productive or meaningful contribution
Spend a portion of the day in solitude
Spend a portion of the day in connection or community
Spend a portion of the day in retirement and reflection on how you lived a meaningful day
I always enjoy hearing reflections from readers, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments
Published Travel Articles
Enjoy published articles from my last five years of travel.
Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade — sometimes from a train in remote China, a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica, or a small cabin on a mountaintop in Boquete, Panama, Ciudad Colón, or Cusco, Peru.
On these pages, I share quiet observations of kindness and beauty gathered from my travels — simple moments that remind us of what really matters. My hope is that these reflections inspire you to pause, breathe, and listen for the call within you to explore the places that beckon your soul.
If you’d like to support this work, please consider becoming a regular subscriber — perhaps by foregoing the cost of a single cup of coffee and a pastry each month ($8) — and join me in continuing the journey.
