Peru - Part 2

Upon arriving in Cuzco, I had arranged to meet up with my next-door neighbors from Greensboro who happened to be traveling the region as well. I was overjoyed to see familiar faces after the crazy bus ride, especially ones that remind me of home and my family. I didn’t get to see much of Cuzco that day as I went directly to the hotel but it was obvious that it’s a huge city with TONS of tourists and activity. We went to a traditional dance show that night and even got to go up on stage and dance as best we could (not very well ha). We then went to a delicious restaurant and I had my first taste of Peruvian food, lomo saltado, which is basically a bed of rice with meat, onions, peppers, and tomatoes with a serving of french fries on top – yummy! The next day it was off to plan my time in Cuzco and figure out how to get to Machu Picchu. That afternoon I ended up touring the city solo and had a great time getting lost among what seemed like thousands of narrow streets lined with original Inca walls (see photo)… no cement or mortar needed as they somehow made huge blocks of stone fit together perfectly. That afternoon I also toured the Coricancha which was the Inca’s sun temple, one of the most important Inca worship spaces. It’s now part convent, part museum and, like everywhere in Cuzco it seemed, you feel a little like you’re at the United Nations as you hear so many languages while touring.

The next day it was off to the Sacred Valley about an hour outside the city where after a full day of exploring I hoped to get a train to Machu Picchu as talk of the impending transit strike had me nervous. The views of terraced hillsides and of the fertile valley sandwiched in between majestic Andean peaks were just breathtaking and the strenuous hiking was definitely worth it. My favorite part of the day, however, was a visit to Chinchero where some local women explained how the Incas sheared and dyed the wool they used to make their beautiful and vibrant clothes, blankets, etc. The completely natural techniques are still used today and it was amazing to see how juice from a certain root can clean dirty wool in 20 seconds or how little bugs are crushed to make a red color used for dye and for lipstick. After a full day in the Sacred Valley, I ran to the train station to try to get a ticket to Machu Picchu for that afternoon as I knew that for two days the trains wouldn’t be running due to the nationwide transit strike…. I figured it would be better to get stuck up at one of the wonders of the world for a few days instead of staying in Cuzco – but too late! The couple in line in front of me got the last ticket! That meant trucking back with the tour group and spending Tuesday and Wednesday in the city. Needless to say, I got to know Cuzco REALLY well with so much time on my hands.

The most interesting happening in Cuzco over the two days was the huge protest against the government that took place at noon on Wednesday. For literally two hours thousands of Cuzqueñans marched into the main plaza protesting the President’s neglect of the country’s poorer campesinos. Each group had different chants and banners (ones of my favorites being “urgente, urgente nuevo presidente!”) but all with the same message: that the country’s quality of life is decreasing and that the poorer citizens aren’t given a chance to get ahead. And of course it was strange to see the thousands of tourists stuck in the city watching the protests as if they were an outdoor concert. Cuzco is certainly a city full of contrasts… see the photos of the protests below.

And finally, after a long wait, I finally made it to Machu Picchu!! Even though it was expensive and I had only one afternoon to see the entire site, it was so so so worth it! I really can’t describe how it felt to walk around an ancient Inca city that I’ve seen in pictures for my whole life… truly incredible. The train from Cuzco left at 7 am and we arrived at Machu Picchu around 11 am. We had a 2 hour tour of the site and then were free to roam around on our own until the train left at 5 pm. It was extremely crowded that day as everyone had been waiting in Cuzco for days until the transit strike was over and most people had to fly out of Peru the following day. But despite that, and the heat, it was a magical experience. The site of course looks exactly like it does in photos, but what’s missing from the photos is the perspective… a city situated between Andean peaks that seem to go on forever. I felt extremely tiny overlooking the site and can’t even imagine how anyone could have found it almost one hundred years ago. After a few hours of touring and exploring, I climbed to the highest point that I could reach and spent a good hour just taking it all in. You really feel insignificant sitting there surrounded by mountains, the Urubamba river, and the Inca ruins, and I felt truly lucky to be able to experience something that before I had only dreamed about.

By the time I arrived back in Cuzco I was dead tired and was more than ready to head back to Argentina the next day. This time I did half the trip flying instead of by bus because of some bus accidents that scared me, so I arrived back home in 15 hours instead of 40-something :) If anything, I’ve learned that in South America you really have to learn to go with the flow, but that once you do, it’s amazing!