Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Bees´ Knees

Ok, here we go again. to begin, i will use the saying of a good friend when i say that Machupicchu really is the bees´ knees. its the shit. its undescribable. photos dont say enough, video doesnt say enough, you have to go there to know.

My first few days in cusco were fun. i was staying at a party hostel that had a bar called The Horny Llama, so that probably says enough there. but just a tip, no matter who you are, i dont care what you weigh or how tall you are, dont drink 10 rum and cokes in an hour and a half, especially when the rum is cheaper than the coke, and that makes the drinks extra strong.

I left on my 4 day trek with no problems. 2 other americans were in the group as well, along with 2 danish girls, but one had her bag stolen (complete with passport, clothes, camera...you name it) at the bus station the morning we were supposed to leave, so they decided to rethink the plan. so,
Day 1:the two americans and i headed on our 4 hour bus ride with the guide through amazing scenery on some wild roads, but they were all paved. we then got off, hopped on our mountain bikes and started the ¨downhill¨ mountain biking portion of the trip. ¨downhill¨ really meant down a bumpy ass road that made my male parts hurt, along with my ass, back, arms, head, and my body in general. this part of the journey got some curses from me, and i was miserable enough after 2 hours of riding i was just about ready to make them take me back to cusco for a refund, but i stuck with it, and the coke i had at the hostel after the biking never tasted so good. *note: i brought 25 soles (peruvian currencey--3 soles=1 dollar) because i would have to buy water and a 10 sole entry to some hot springs. i didnt account for the fact that others would want to drink some beers and have a good time.*
Day 2: the danish girls joined us today, so we were a full group again. we headed off at 6:30am and walked a total of 22km that day. it started with easy road walking, then hard uphill, then the rest was 80% flat (words of the guide). we got to some hot springs an hour from our destination, and they were terrific. the hostel was nice as well, and while we were having dinner our guide gave us our options for the next day: walk 7 hours (19km) or take a bus 30 min and walk 3 hours. my only problem was i had 10 soles left, and the bus was 8, and i needed 5 for a bus back after my train on the fourth day (that was new news to me). we agreed i would borrow money from the americans, and that way i wasnt mooching beer the whole time as well.
Day 3: another early start, nice bus ride, and 3 hours of walking along train tracks, which is quite hard on your ankles. we got to aguas calientes (the town closest to machupicchu, and the most expensive and touristy town in all of peru, according to the guide), and had lunch. then we got some drinks in a bar and watched two movies. that night the guide told us he would not come to machupicchu with us, we would have a guide when we got there. he gave us a breakfast (banana, bread, oreos, juice) and we bought some snacks for lunch. i got 2 bananas and two lemon sweets, which was all i could afford.
Day 4: at 4:30 we left the next morning and climbed steps for an hour and a half. but machupicchu was amazing (once the cloudy mist of the morning cleared). after our guide, the americans and i climbed another mountain called hynapicchu (which means young mountain, machupicchu means old mountain). the view from the top was amazing, you would see 360 degrees and all of machupicchu below. that climb was another hour of steps as well. it was there we had thanksgiving breakfast, juice, oreos and a banana for me. we chilled out till about 1 and had thanksgiving lunch, bread, banana, oreos for me. then they left for their train, and i hung around for another few hours. the americans gave me 10 soles then, the bus from where the train would drop me off cost 5 soles (according to my guide) to get me to cusco. so i was drained when i got to aguas calientes, and got a coke and a water (which i hadnt had for 2 days...of hiking). that left me with 5 soles. when i got off the train at 8:30 the only buses going to cusco cost 10 soles. my genius self thought to jump on with another tour group on their bus, and act like i was with them all along. i got in line with the first one i saw, group lucy. it was 20 asian people, and 2 white people, not including me. great...the bus company asked the tour guide (who was busy and flustered) if i was part of the tour. he gave me a quick glance (i was sitting in the back with my hat pulled low, and asians behind me) and said yes. ok, so i got away with it, now i would have 5 soles for a cab when i got back to cusco. not yet--they did a thorough inspection of who was in what group, and i was found out. i offered to pay 5 soles to stand in the aisle for the 2 hour bus ride back but the ass-hole bus guy said no. so now im facing sleeping in the bushes and getting a bus or hitchhiking back the next day. i am running around the bus lot, asking everybody if i can go for 5 soles. finally one guy said i could sit in the back of his mini-bus (a bit bigger than a dodge caravan). i jumped on. the back means the space between the back of the back seat and the tailgate. it was actually quite nice, there were blankets on the floor and just enough room for me to stretch my legs out. we got back in 40 minutes, passing everybody else on the road, it was crazy. i was dropped off a block from my hostel, where i had my thanksgiving dinner (at 10pm) of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.

The next day was relaxing, and i left cusco happy. im now on lake titicaca, and i did an island tour today. it was pretty cool, many people live on floating islands that they made. its cool. im off to bolivia tomorrow, and still upset that i have to pay $100 for the visa, but whatever.

good lord, that was long. sorry. time to go eat some alpaca steak.

No comments: