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3 - Cusco, Peru
August
23, 2003
Buenos noches amigos y amigas!
Tonight I email you from the former glorious capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco. This city ranks amongst the greatest cities in all the world. With an incredible plaza, churches, archetecture, culture, and nightlife Not to mention resting high in the Andes at a breathtaking( figuratively and literally!) 3400 meters. This town is equally loved by locals and tourist alike.
But let´s go back to Huaraz where I last finished. I was pretty exhausted after the Santa Cruz trek and the few cervasas and pisco sours for a night cap. But at least my mind was much more lucid and I felt that I had boken out of my altitude stupor.. Enough so that I realized that I was looking pretty scruffy and could have been mistaken for a sascwatch or a crazy mountain man, so it was time to go get a mop chop. I asked Nelly where a Gringo could get his pello curtar(ed). She sent me across town after I took care of some laundry odds and ends. Vicki didn´t speak a lick of English but she gave me the best 5 soles (about $2) hair cuts and straight razor shave this Gringo has ever had. That was probably the most exciting thing of the day besides the all-day parade that was on the main drag. Apparantly, they have a parade every Sunday to celebrate the schools and the military. There were your token Military types in full brass get-ups along with tons of school kids in their uniforms and a few llamas(which I haven´t hardly seen any) for the tourists. I guess I have become dissensitized to seeing a bunch of polcia and military in bullet-proof vests and toting fully loaded machine guns.
That afternoon I tried to shoot a little hoop with the locals and the altitude really did not help to bring my A-game. Coincidently, James (the British bloke) was in the same room that I was crashing in and we decided to hit the Red Breast again for some super cheap quarted chickens with papas fritas (french fries) and ensalada for only 6 soles ($1.75). Ummm, finger-licken! So I guess this is a good spot to talk about Peruvian food. This won´t take long, there´s really not much to it. They basically fry up chicken or beef and slap it on some papa fritas. Sometimes for a little variety, they change things up with some rice and chilis. The two specialities would be cuy (guinea pig) and ceviche (marinated raw fish) which I may never have the pleasure. I´ll keep you posted.
The next morning James
and I grabbed some desayuno (breakfast) with the topic of converstation being
our third dorm-mate: the weird, scarey, and doesn´t hardly speak any
English german guy, whom makes very odd noised late at night and has a propensity
to stare at you for extended periods of time. Namely, for an entire thirty
minutes while I sorted thru my laundry, CREEPY! The plan of the day was to
work out a return bus back to Lima in order to catch a flight to Cusco to
avoid an incredibly long 30 hour bus ride. It´s times like these that
seperate the true budget travelers from ones that understand the economics
of sanity and safety. You meet all
sorts of backpackers down here. Everybody is here for different reasons. Some
are here to see the sights, some are here to go mountain climbing, some are
here just to get f**ked up, and then there are the REAL BUDGET Backpackers.
These are the ones that while I am living modestly off of $30 a day, they
are willing to endure all sorts of tortorous things-fleabag hostels, cheap
street food that doesn´t agree with your digestive tract, and most disturbing-
long overnight busrides, to make a go at $15 a day. There have been reports
of bandits stopping the night buses from Huaraz and robbing everyone on board.
. You want to talk about chosing between the evils. On one hand if I took
the day bus to Lima that means I would have to stay in Lima another night
bc planes to Cusco only go in the morning. And on the other hand you have
a night bus that have been known to fall over cliffs bc the driver fell asleep
or the posiblity of being robbed at gunpoint by banditos. So of course Ï
did what any self-respecting backpacker would do-so against my better judgement,
I bought a ticket for Tues night´s bus. I only was going to have 2 more
days in Huaraz. I spent much of the day in the
garden hammock practiciing my Spanish with a German girl that spoke four languages
fluently.
Monday night would prove to be the most energetic to date. James and I started with some descent Chinese food while watching a old rerun of the A-team in spanish (the Magnificos, in Spanish). It´s amazing how MR T´s "I pitty the fool" sounds pretty much the same in English or Spanish. We made our way back to the hostel for some more cervezas and a few games of chess. We asked Juan, Nelly´s son, if he wanted to go out for a few drinks. Peruvians rarely don´t take up the opportunity to fiesta. It was a riot. We started off at Extreme bar and consumed mucho cervazas and pisco sours. Then James and Juan dragged me to the Tambo Club. It was a pretty cool scene, and we went out and cut some rug with some local chicas to Sublime and Madona. Just happened to run into Candy, the local that went out with the other British guy, Matt. Now she was apparantly on the hunt for James, and a few other Bridgaras (peruvians that go for Gringos) came up to see what was up. I think we finally got back around 330 am?
I had aranged for a 930 am tour that was going up to Pasoruri Glacier at 5240m. I was still hurting from the previous night, but soldiered onto the bus. On the way up we stopped by some llamas and a super blue thermal spring. We also checked out the Puya Raymondi phaelic plant that grows straight up in the air to an impressive 12m and can only be found at certain elevations. The hike up to the glacier was pretty tough and the altitude was killing me. This middle class Peruvian, Jose, struck up a conversation with me over some coca leaves to help endur the hike. He had lived in the States and pretty much knew what was going on. I told him that I sold electronics and we got into this huge discussion that segued to the metaphysical meaning of life. Jost also talked about how many people in the States operate out of fear. I know that might offend some of you, I am sorry-but it´s the truth. I am going to break out my pervebial soapbox now. He nailed it on the head how many Americans believe that the rest of the world is so dangerous. Statiscally speaking, there are more murders and crimes in the States per capita, than anywhere in the developed and much of the developing world. We agreed on a lot of stuff about the States. Don´t get me wrong. I am proud to be an American and don´t want to live anywhere else, but that doesn´t mean I can´t be critical of my own country. Also he brought up how Americans work too much and don´t travel enough. Another reality is that Europe, Australia, NZ, and most of the rest of the developed world gets at least 1 entire month of vacation while Americans are lucky to get 2 weeks. Hey, there is nothing more respectable than a strong work ethic, but haven´t you heard, "all work and no play makes Joe Americano a muy dull chico!" Another thing that probably keeps us from traveling nearly as much as the rest of the world is the media. How tv news pumps sensationalism and fear into your living room. My book¨"Why People Hate America" touched on alot of these issues. He gave me his e-mail and told me to look him up in Lima. The glacier was amazing. There were a few ice climbers on the face and it was easy enough to walk onto it.
Upon my return to Huaraz, I said my goodbyes ot Nelly and the family-they were awesome! I caught a taxi to the bus station where I ran into a couple from Spain that were also on the day tour. The night bus was comfortable enough and played "A Beautiful Mind." This cute Peruvian college student named Maria tried to talk to me a little before she crashed on my shoulder. I did not get a wink of sleep that night.
We arrived in Lima at the early hour of 5 AM. I negotiated a taxi ride to the airport for 20 soles. And wouldn´t you know it, about four mintutes later, the fricken taxi broke down in the middle of nowhere. My energetic driver proceeded to hop outside the stationwagon and yelled some profanities in Spanish. He insisted he could get the taxi going. After about 6 times of looking under the hood and pushing the car for about 100 meters-with the Gringo inside it mind you, he finally got another taxi to get behind us and get this- push the damn car for at least 2 miles to the nearest gas station, with several turns and traffic lights in between. I though I was going to die a horrible Lima traffic death- the kind that happens everyday and never gets reported. Even after alll that the taxi still wouldn´t start so he negotiated with another cab, the remainding fair. I got to the airport about 3 hour before my flight and walked around endlessly trying to find where I checked in. My bloody ticket had the wrong airline on it, so Talbot with no sleep, was a little confused. Somehow after being sent on several wild goose chases with no one able to explain what was up, I saw a german couple with the same ticket and followed their lead. You can always count on Germans cutting to the chase. Finally got on the flight in a deathmarch type mode. I felt like the walking dead. Probably the worst thing one could do wihen you are feeling weezy and are about to throw up is get on a plane.
The fight to Cusco was incredible, with Andian peaks everywhere, I got lucky and picked the right window seat. The takeoff was miserable. I clamored in the front seat pockets to find those barf bags that are always there, but you never need them. THIS TIME I FRICKEN NEEDED ONE!!! To no avail, I then asked the flight attendants for about 4 cups of Coke to try and settle my stomach. It helped. We landed and I caught a taxi straightaway to the hostel. Juan (in Huaraz) insisted on making reservations for me at the Hostal Rebalosa. It promised of hot showers (siempre caliente) and great views of the plaza. Let´s just say it really delivered on one of its promises. It probably has the best view of the plaza. It´s location was on this impossible steep pedestrian street that everytime you go back, you are well out of breath. But for 20 soles a night for a single bedroom, whom am I to complain. I asked the hostess for a Grande coke. I still fealt like I was going to collapse. And sure enough, as soon as I closed the door to my room, I bellyflopped on the bed and slept for almost 20 hours. It must have been the combination of no sleep and that horrible burger I so foolishly consumed on the bus down. I got up one time to got to the bathroom and noticed it was already 3am so I returned to my hibernation.
Finally on Thurs,
I arrose a new Man! I even went on the patio to grab some desayuno. While
waiting for breakfast, I couldn´t help but notice that I was surrounded
by the Third Reich. German couples on every side. No problem, normally, but
I don´t know if you have had the experience of hearing 4 very loud conversations
in German. It is a little unsettlling. I made my way over to South American
Explorers to research companies for the Inca Trail. You can no longer go to
Manchu Pichu with out a guide. I guess that Peru realized what a resource
and a cash cow they have and they better max it out. Anyway I read a few reports
and met this Canadian girl who lives in Cusco and got enough info to pick
out the Company. SAS Travel is owned by a Australian lady who has been doing
the Inca Trail for 11years. I decided it would be worth the extra dinero to
go with a reputable tour group and pay about $20 more for the comfort. It
costs about $235 for 4 nights/5
days to trek the trail with a free day at Aguas Caliente hostel to go back
if you missed anything at Manchu Pichu itself. I went to two other agencies
to compare and they didn´t include the extra day for about the same
price so I booked with SAS, unfortunately it would be until wed the 27th.
There is alot worse places than Cusco to kill a week! I saw something about
the Inca Trail clean up project at S American Explorers so I returned out
of curiousity. Apparantly, SAE is organizing the 1st trail cleanup in about
20 years for with the trail is in dire need, sometime in Oct. I wasn´t
going to be around , but I always like to here about environmental issues,
and do what i can. They were also having a raffle to raise $. I was feeling
lucky and knew it was a good cause so I pitched in . I won 1st prize- a whitewater
raflting trip on class 3 river. I NEVER WIN ANYTHING! I guess it was time
that my luck change a little bit.
I finished off the
1st of my days in Cusco at the Todas Pollo- grubbing on the 1/4 chicken, salad,
and papas fritas deal for 7 soles-thank yoiu. Arriving out of breath at the
hostal, I went up to the patio and admired the view and chatted with this
Brittish gal before crashing. Great 1st day in Cusco! Tommorrow I am heading
up to do my a Inca Trail trek so I get back with everyone in a few dias, ehh.
Happy Trails,
Talbot