escalas, miniscua, mangos grandes, altura
Well, I suppose that I should start with yesterday even though I´m really excited about everything that happened today. Yesterday we rented biciletas in Cuzco and rode for about three or four hours to three or four Inca ruins. The trip started up a really really tall hill which was really difficult given the altura(altitude) and our really heavy mountain bikes. I missed my grandpa´s carbon fiber bike he had been letting me borrow. In Cuzco it is impossible to go anywhere without being constantly harressed by people trying to sell things or asking for money so being on a bike was a nice change. I was shocked that I was able to make it for so many hours after being so tired from the altitude the day before. Of course, Laura was faster than me even though she was carrying the backpack. Laura is always carrying the backpack but I think that it is good for her. There were two local boys who were riding their bikes and we were a little faster than them even though they lived in Cuzco. That made me feel a little better but their seats were ridiculously low, no one here seems to know the proper height for a seat. When we returned the bike shop was closed and because it didn´t have a sign we couldn´t figure out where it was without the help of a nice lady. She let us put the bikes in her restaurant and we ended up eating there even though it was the most expensive meal of the trip. This is partly because we ate cuy(guinea pig) which was 35 soles(10 dollars). We figured that we would pay that much for food in the states so it was probably worth it for the experience of eating a small rodent with a claw still attached to the meat. It was alright though the white meat was a lot better than the dark meat.
Later that night we had a grand adventure trying to buy bus tickets. We were thinking about spending fourty hours on a bus and then decided it was a bad idea and now we are going to make a stop at Ica, about fourteen hours from Cuzco. After leaving the bus station we took a wrong turn and ended up on a big road, with railroad tracks, hungry dogs eating garbage, and not much else. We eventually realized we had gone the wrong way and saw that we needed to go up a flight of stairs to get back to the main road. All I have to say is that i´m glad my boots are waterproof because the stairs were like a tiny waterfall of urine with appropriate garbage on the sides. We emerged into a huge group of Peruvians haning out in what seemed to be where they really lived as opposed to the ridiculously touristy parts. No one tried to sell us anything. We were sold however by a huge lemon merigue pie in the window that was at least six or seven inches high. Things were so much cheaper a little off the main tourist area. When we saw whitewashed colonial buildings and stores with lots of cameras, film, batteries, and alpaca hats we realized we were back in touristville. A boy immediately approached us for money. In the non tourist area they sold many things from the united states like pirated dvds and adidas hats. The peruvians want things from america and the americans want things from Peru.
Today we woke up at dawn to take the train to Aguas Calientes or MacchuPicchu Pueblo. The train ride was slow but had great scenery and we went along side a river that I really wanted to kayak or raft down. It made me miss the rafting company days. Upon arrival in aguas calientes we were bombared once again by people trying to sell things at a slightly higher price than in Cuzco. We decided to escape the town almost immediately and headed for a hike up to the top of a mountain. This didn´t actually look like it would be possible to do because it was so steep but we figured we´d try. I was still a little worried about my rodilla(knee) but decided to go as far as I could. Going down stairs is so much harder so I was a little worried about ending up with 1000 feet of elevation gain and a really sore knee. After scrambling up a poorly maintained eroding dirt trail we reach a set of wooden ladders. It was weird to climb things without a harness and rope, but it seemed safe enough. I had to be careful to check that none of the wood rungs were rotting away. After making it up a hundred feet or so of ladders we emerged on a ridge line with a gorgeous view of mountains and big rivers on either sides. We continued up stone stairs that seemed like they would never end. I think it was more stairs than i´ve ever climbed in my life, i´m not sure why I thought it was a good idea after surgery. We met a nice man from Mexico who first told us that he was a gigolo and a drug deal before informing us he sold pharmecuticals to treat heart surgery. He started teaching us spanish words like miniscua(meniscus) and berrido(path).
His birthday was tomorrow and he wanted us to guess his age because we were math majors and should be good at things like that. Laura guessed 30 something and he was happy because he was 44. Laura peeled a mango for me that was twice the size of a normal one and we ate mango looking at a great view of macchu picchu, and far off snow capped volcanoes. It seemed pretty perfect except for the fact that I was going to have to walk down only really using one leg.
On the way down a bunch of people trying to go up the ladders were hassling me because I was slow only using one leg and it was impossible to pass people. I kind of wanted to pretend to be scared and hang out on the ladder for another five mintues because they kept ordering me to go faster even after I explained knee surgery.
All in all this path was what I wanted to do after so many days in cities full of people who wanted my money. Laura and I are looking forward to more time in the selva(jungle) and on the playa (beach) in the north.
Later that night we had a grand adventure trying to buy bus tickets. We were thinking about spending fourty hours on a bus and then decided it was a bad idea and now we are going to make a stop at Ica, about fourteen hours from Cuzco. After leaving the bus station we took a wrong turn and ended up on a big road, with railroad tracks, hungry dogs eating garbage, and not much else. We eventually realized we had gone the wrong way and saw that we needed to go up a flight of stairs to get back to the main road. All I have to say is that i´m glad my boots are waterproof because the stairs were like a tiny waterfall of urine with appropriate garbage on the sides. We emerged into a huge group of Peruvians haning out in what seemed to be where they really lived as opposed to the ridiculously touristy parts. No one tried to sell us anything. We were sold however by a huge lemon merigue pie in the window that was at least six or seven inches high. Things were so much cheaper a little off the main tourist area. When we saw whitewashed colonial buildings and stores with lots of cameras, film, batteries, and alpaca hats we realized we were back in touristville. A boy immediately approached us for money. In the non tourist area they sold many things from the united states like pirated dvds and adidas hats. The peruvians want things from america and the americans want things from Peru.
Today we woke up at dawn to take the train to Aguas Calientes or MacchuPicchu Pueblo. The train ride was slow but had great scenery and we went along side a river that I really wanted to kayak or raft down. It made me miss the rafting company days. Upon arrival in aguas calientes we were bombared once again by people trying to sell things at a slightly higher price than in Cuzco. We decided to escape the town almost immediately and headed for a hike up to the top of a mountain. This didn´t actually look like it would be possible to do because it was so steep but we figured we´d try. I was still a little worried about my rodilla(knee) but decided to go as far as I could. Going down stairs is so much harder so I was a little worried about ending up with 1000 feet of elevation gain and a really sore knee. After scrambling up a poorly maintained eroding dirt trail we reach a set of wooden ladders. It was weird to climb things without a harness and rope, but it seemed safe enough. I had to be careful to check that none of the wood rungs were rotting away. After making it up a hundred feet or so of ladders we emerged on a ridge line with a gorgeous view of mountains and big rivers on either sides. We continued up stone stairs that seemed like they would never end. I think it was more stairs than i´ve ever climbed in my life, i´m not sure why I thought it was a good idea after surgery. We met a nice man from Mexico who first told us that he was a gigolo and a drug deal before informing us he sold pharmecuticals to treat heart surgery. He started teaching us spanish words like miniscua(meniscus) and berrido(path).
His birthday was tomorrow and he wanted us to guess his age because we were math majors and should be good at things like that. Laura guessed 30 something and he was happy because he was 44. Laura peeled a mango for me that was twice the size of a normal one and we ate mango looking at a great view of macchu picchu, and far off snow capped volcanoes. It seemed pretty perfect except for the fact that I was going to have to walk down only really using one leg.
On the way down a bunch of people trying to go up the ladders were hassling me because I was slow only using one leg and it was impossible to pass people. I kind of wanted to pretend to be scared and hang out on the ladder for another five mintues because they kept ordering me to go faster even after I explained knee surgery.
All in all this path was what I wanted to do after so many days in cities full of people who wanted my money. Laura and I are looking forward to more time in the selva(jungle) and on the playa (beach) in the north.
posted by Cammie at 4:20 PM
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