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Published: October 15th 2005
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After a 10 hour truck journey we arrived in Cusco at 1am.
As Ella had been to Cusco only a week before she was appointed tour guide which meant we only did the Inca highlights and the best bars.
After spending the day catching up on emails, laundry and seeing a few sights, including the weekly Sunday parade around the town square it was time to hit the town for our first night out in Cusco.
Our group were all going out for roast dinner, but we were in need of something a little more stylish so Ella took me, Shona and Helen to the Witches Garden - one of the best restaurants in Cusco.
After a couple of bottles of top chilean vino we went off to Mythology to meet up with the rest of the group and from there things got messy. Dancing on the bar, tops off (not ours!), dirty dancing etc... We rounded of the evening in style with a burger from a dodgy stand outside our hotel and I spent the next day trying to hand wash ketchup out of my white cardigan.
Ellas week in Cusco.
Well
Maria, Amy & Alex
The first day in Cusco and lunch at The Muse by the time I got to Cusco for the second time I was wipped out. I felt like I´d been travelling for several months but it was only just over 1 month!?....who said travelling was relaxing? ha ha
As I´d already seen the amazing Macchu Picchu I decided to live like a local for a week in Cusco. I discovered there were many streets and areas that I hadn´t seen before and I was desperate to learn Spanish. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to chill, read my books write my journal (oops I hadn´t written in it since I left Venezuela) and catch up on some much needed sleep. The reverse is probably true!
I enrolled on a Spanish Course at Amigos in Cusco www.spanishcusco.com It was a non profit run school so all the money raised went back to educating some of the kids in the local community. For many it was there only chance to get a proper meal and an opportunity to learn. They were so enthusiastic about learning and everytime they saw a gringo they were keen to try out their English.
I had four hours of classes a
Alex, Ella, Shona & Helen our first night n Cusco at Macondo
This place was voted (by Helen & Shona) to have the best loos in Cusco. To get the full effect you really have to go in with candle (no electricity here) ha ha day and about 2 hours of homework - intense!...So much for chilling!!?? I had two teachers Maria for conversation and Giovanna for grammer we had such fun. Maria was obsessed about Mick Jagger so I had to talk about him in Spanish!!!?? Ha Ha and Giovanna taught me all the new Spainsh phrases, words and verbs. There were lots of beginner mistakes that she found hysterical especially when I said I was easy amongst many other funny things...I´ll never make the same mistake again though!
So my first day I ended up in a real local place for a late lunch called "Paddys"!!?? ha ha. Yummy food and and I met the barman called Ben who was a very funny guy and told me all the places to go....After this lunch we bumped into each other at most bars, clubs, Cusco is not that big. I also met a really interesting American guy, who didn´t much like Americans!? He had been travelling for the past seven years and using Cusco as his base. He had some great stories to tell about his travels through Colombia and his charity work. He was the one that told me about the local
Just before all the clothes came off!
Our first night in Mythology was one that we and the locals will never forget!...don´t worry Steph..I wont put the pics up here ha ha market way out of the main square and under the huge arch. Since Alex had left for her epic journey to Macchu Picchu I didn´t have a clue what the time was (she was the only one with a watch) and I was always running around Cusco not really sure if I was late or early!!??......
Anyway after a bit of a walk I found myself out in the middle of no where and in a huge market where only the locals shop. I was eyed with interest as the only gringo in the place. I wondered around and for the first time understood how poor these people were. The food that was for sale and what they ate here most people in England would not feed their animals. You see the elderly sitting on the floor eating raw potatoes (Peru has 2000 different varieties) and there is a stench of urine!...
I couldn´t find a place that sold watched so I asked a boy who was wearing one. His mother thought I wanted his watch and told the boy to take it off and give it to me for 10 soles!!!??...I managed to explain that I didn´t
want his watch I wanted my own one so the boy took me to the stand where I bought I lovely black digital watch with date and time for 3 soles (about 49p)!!! Very proud of my new purchase I left the market and went back to the square.
Over the following days I met some great people in The Muse a really chilled cafe in Cusco (probably one of my favourite places along with Witches Garden). I met Jorg a guy from Germany who is studying in Hamburg who also loved chilling and hanging out at The Muse. We then met Jonny (Jonny works at The Muse and is from Lima) and all his mates - Barbi, Miguel, etc a fantastic bunch of gay guys we had so much fun in Mama Africas! Jonny is really Mr JT he has the moves down to a T and for a guy who speaks no English he knows nearly all the words to every Justin Timberlake song!
The other major event of the week was that Lisa and I got our Gael Garcia addiction (i´m still not over it - watch motorcycle diaries). Its one of my fav movies
and Lisa had never seen it so we went along to a movie night in someone´s lounge!?....We sat down along with 8 other respectable people and decided that we couldn´t possibly watch a movie without wine so Lisa ran down to see her friend and secured a bottle of Chile´s best...(and no we didn´t share it! ha ha) The following morning was spent on the internet at the Gael Garcia website checking out all his pics and movies....we are determined to see Bad Education before the end of the tour. Lisa and I wanted to plaster the truck with pics of Gael but the boys aren´t that keen! We might have to compromise and have one side with Eva Mendes on!!!!???
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