Adventuras en Peru - Cuzco Pt. 1

The 14-hour, overnight bus ride on windy roads over mountain passes that reached 12,000 feet and through canyons cut by Andean rivers that we took to reach Cuzco was a bit brutal, but at least I don’t suffer from motion sickness like Niki (three Dramamine got her through it without puking; a couple Peruvian women near us weren’t so lucky). The bus was full with mainly Peruvians going to Cuzco for Inti Raymi, the extremely picturesque city of 322,000’s most important festival honoring the sun and marking the winter solstice. Cuzco’s narrow cobblestone streets, red-tiled roofs, and colonial buildings make it a favorite of travelers. But that’s not all it has going for it. It didn’t take us long to find the party scene, both in the form of live music (Niki) and electronic (me, naturally). More about that later, but suffice it say we’ve made a lot of new friends and had a lot of late nights. ;-p

Cuzco’s appeal is slightly lessened by the fact that there are a lot of unpleasant smells lurking in the narrow streets, from urine (it’s hard to go without seeing at least one local pissing in a corner on any given night), dog & donkey poop, to even human feces. Niki & I walked out of our hostel one day to find a very messed up young Peruvian guy with his pants down, a pile of crap behind him, and piss streaming down the steps ahead of him. He was mumbling in Spanish, but instead of being drunk we think he may have tried Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant that is advertised as part of ceremonies in various shops around town. A part of indigenous culture down here, it has become commercialized in efforts to make a buck off travelers. Not to say that Cuzco, with it’s proximity to Machu Picchu, isn’t a spiritual center, but if you’re really going to experience Ayahuasca you’re better off finding the real deal in a remote location with a legitimate shaman, not by going into the nearest tourist agency that is advertising it with a sign.

We walked about a mile uphill to the Incan ruins of Sasqaywaman to sit on a hillside with thousands of Peruvians for Inti Raymi, which is a colorful pageant full of dance, song, and sacrifice -- yes, part of the program included the killing of a black llama, whose heart and entrails were offered up to the gods before the body was burnt. Given we’re at 11,000 feet, the trek up there wasn’t easy, but for some reason the steep incline up to our hostel in the artist’s neighborhood of San Blas seems harder -- every time! We haven’t had problems acclimatizing, though, except for feeling a bit off the first afternoon we were here. We’ll see if that lasts once we are on our trek and nearing 14,000+ feet!

Our hostel is great, run by a young Belgian guy and his Peruvian wife, along with a smattering of her relatives. Niki & I are staying in the room behind the reception area where the couple lived for a year and sleeping in the bed where they undoubtedly conceived their baby. Sharing body warmth is key during the night since the hostel has no heat and the temperatures get down into the 30s at night. The days are beautiful and sun-filled with highs in the upper 60s, but once the sun goes down -- by 5:30 since it’s winter -- it gets chilly quick. The hostel has a sunny courtyard and an adorable toddler named Mariella running around and giggling frequently. In our five days here so far we’ve become long-term residents of sorts, and her parents don’t mind her wandering into our room when the door is open. Today her and I hung out for about an hour, eating crackers, playing peek-a-boo (always a crowd pleaser), trying on Niki’s captain hat, and dancing to techno. Cuzco feels very comfortable and we’re in no rush to leave…