This is a year of temporary homes for me.

Traveling the Andes, bouncing between volunteer placements and Spanish courses, I seem to be staying in cities just long enough to love them before tearing myself away.

In late April, I ended three months in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and wrote in my personal travel blog about aspects of the city I'll miss.

Next, it was on to Cuzco, Peru, where I spent a month. Yesterday I bid farewell to that home as well.

A month may not sound like a long time, but it was long enough that when I was visiting my favorite coffeeshops, restaurants, and bars for the final time, when the early morning bus pulled away from the station and the city slowly turned to Altiplano countryside, I felt the same bittersweetness that chokes me up whenever I have to leave a place I've come to think of as home.

I know the feeling won't last (in fact, I think it's already gone), so I'd better take the time now to document what it is about Cuzco that made it special to me:

1. Norton's

With the best free wi-fi in the city and a chill daytime atmosphere, Norton's Pub was my office most afternoons. I'd saunter in after my morning Spanish class, greet the team of waiters who were always happy to see me, order a coffee and an avocado and cheese sandwich, and get a productive 4–6 hours of work in.

Right on the corner of the Plaza de Armas, the views weren't bad either.

2. Cuesta San Blas

For most of the month, I stayed at a hostel in San Blas, up a steep hill from the plaza. I always enjoyed huffing it up the narrow, cobblestoned street as quickly as I could—partly for the exercise, partly to show up the panting tourists fresh off the boat.

3. San Blas Spanish School

Not the most organized or polished Spanish school I've attended, but the teachers were all down-to-earth and a lot of fun. It helped that they were around my age, too. Having constant contact with local Cuzqueños made the city seem more like home.

4. Yoga class

Attending a regular yoga class had the same effect, adding to my local routine.

5. Colonial grandeur

From the church-heavy main plaza to the narrow streets and courtyard houses that radiate out from it, central Cuzco is a beautiful place. Yes, it's full of tourists and people constantly in your face trying get a piece of the tourists, but if you can get beyond that and simply take in your surroundings, there are few cities I've seen that can compete with Cuzco's elegance.