HOW TO SEE BRAZIL WITHOUT REALLY SEEING IT ...

IT IS POSSIBLE, especially if one travels from Madrid to Lima, Peru, via Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil and then straight onto the Lima connection!

I arrived here in Cusco on Tuesday at 1pm and my companions since then have been a virulent cold and an altitude headache! The getting here was something else as well!

I left the Hostel in Madrid at 7am in the morning (still dark and very cold at that time of the day). Found my way through the maze of the Madrid Underground System with two changes of trains, then took the Airport train connection, after which I had to take another bus to the new (and uncompleted) Terminal 4 where my flight was leaving from. Got there by 8am and it's huge!!! and this is only one terminal. Lord knows how big the other three are. I arrived at the check-in counter of Air Iberia with 4 hours to spare before my plane left. Only to be told that the flight had been overbooked and there wasn't a seat for me. Now you know how that made me feel - a tad on the far side of nervous! They directed me (along with at least 15 or so other people wanting the same flight) to go to the Customer Service counter. Having seen what happens at that counter on the TV show Airport, (I knew TV was good for something) I ran over there and was still on the end of a queue. The staff were really good and doing their best to accommodate us with alternative flights and/or a room for the night. My guardian angel was watching over me, because they found me an alternative flight to Lima leaving the same day (departing in 1 1/2 hours) and wait for it .......... flying via Sao Paulo, Brazil. Well, that's one way to see Brazil without really seeing it. They also rang my pre-booked 1 night accommodation with transfers in Lima, to let them know my new arrival time. (All done without any sign of impatience and they even spoke a lot more English than I've heard over here so far).
A lot of other people weren't so lucky because they only had a direct flight, whereas mine was an onward transfer flight. However I'll save the good part for the end of this instalment.
The flight took off at 11.10am and it was 13 hours before I arrived in Sao Paulo and my connecting flight to Lima was boarding as we were landing from Madrid. Those of us who were on the same flight were rushed from the plane into the International Transfer Lounge, through Customs and the X Ray machine procedure and out onto the Lan Peru Lima plane which left at 1.30am. There's something to be said for only having one piece of luggage - I don't think the checked-in luggage would have made it onto this plane.
This flight took 6 hours (arriving 7.30am following day) and I was truly grateful to see my name waving above the other signs outside in the public part of the terminal. In all, I had 4 hours of sleep at the hostel and then at 8am local time it all began again, in order to catch the plane up here to Cuzco.
Even with my ears popping and crackling like Kellogg’s corn flakes, I still enjoyed the hour's flight up and over the Andes mountains - absolutely wonderful. Have never in my life seen mountain ranges so high and stretching as far as one can see. The landing (apart from Kai Tak Airport Hong Kong at night), was the best one I've had. Because Cuzco is set into the bottom and sides of a valley and is surrounded by mountain ranges, the plane can't approach for landing in a straight direction. It comes spiraling down in a circle, with wing tip lifted high and all wing flaps working furiously to control descent speed. And the runway isn't as long as most, so the brakes are applied hard from first touchdown. I gave the pilots a helping hand by jamming my feet to the floorboards too!
The last hurdle to be overcome before I could lay my weary body down, was to drag myself from where the taxi left me (because he couldn't drive up the steps!) to my homestay accommodation. It seems there are steps everywhere in Cusco, because very little of this town is on flat land and I just happen to be staying in the nicest, oldest and highest part of Cuzco (San Blas), which has it's advantages and disadvantages.

I spent the first two days mostly sleeping and very little else. My homestay and family are great. The Blue House is built on several levels down the mountain side and I have a small room opening out onto a patio (all VERY RUSTIC). The view at any time of the day is wonderful. I sit for awhile before I go to bed and watch the lights twinkling in the valley floor whilst my teeth chatter away to me, and again at dawn to see the vague mountain shapes becoming solid and the street lights going out in haphazard small clusters.

Yesterday, I just had to find somewhere which sold a SOFT pillow. One of the family and I took a taxi to the local black-market so I could buy one. The locals seem to use flat, hard pillows and my neck has locked up in protest. I couldn't have slept another night with it. Funny isn't it, how such small things can become real luxuries in other parts of the world? The other thing is the powdered instant coffee used here. I know beggars can't be choosers, but I love my coffee, so went looking for and found several places close to home which cater for the tourists and provide good coffee. Now the only thing missing is my evening glass of wine. Which can’t happen for a few more days. Apparently, until one has acclimatised to the altitude up here, the rule is; no alcohol - because it increases the symptoms.

Unless you've been here yourself, you don't believe the debilitating effects of high altitude. The old saying is reversed here in Cuzco and becomes "what goes down, must come back up!" And when you're confronted by a multitude of stairs climbing ever upwards, the heart quails before them. By the time you've taken the first 10 steps, your heart is thumping so hard you can hear it in your ears and your leg muscles feel like they're empty. No wonder they have roughcast stone benches in a lot of the streets. Even the locals use them, although I suspect more to chat than to rest up.

Oh - and as for the aforementioned good news? Air Iberia also compensated me (what for? they found me another flight to get to Cuzco however much longer it took) and guess how much it was?
Euro 600 - yes it's unbelievable isn't it? It's the approx. equivalent of AUD$1,349.00. The Airline company must have paid out a packet, if they compensated all the other people for the same amount. And on top of that, they would have had to pay other Airlines to take the overflow passengers and hotels for overnight accommodation. No wonder some airline companies never seem to declare a profit.

Well I'm off to find the South American Explorers Clubrooms and get the low-down on all the local customs and info on volunteering opportunities, etc. Oh and I mustn't forget one of life's little luxuries - like where's the best place to buy some wine, because I'm sure I'll feel better by tomorrow!

---

---