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Published: December 22nd 2005
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This blog will be told more with pictures than words. Not because I'm tired of blogwriting, but because my entire week in Cuzco and on the Ican Trail was a visual experience.
Cuzco is the mecca of gringo travel. Fleeced backpackers stroll through congested narrow streets searching for this or that shop recommended by Lonely Planet. Restaurant hostesses with their menus in hand swoop down on them like vultures on a recently deceased animal. Its nearly impossible to walk in a straight line without someone jumping in front of you, selling you some kind of special tour or alpaca mittens. ¨Restaurant. Yes. Food. Yes. You eat here. Yes. Promise me. Especial for you!¨Its enough to make even the most experienced traveler freak out.
Despite this, the city is beautiful. Most of the building are built on Incan ruins. Open plazas with fountains are around every corner, and if you look hard enough you can find good cheap restuarants.
My second day in Cuzco I went on a tour of the Incan ruins outside of the city: Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero. It was your typical tour but well worth it. (See pics) The rest of my time in Cuzco I spent
talking to a cute bartender and watching English Soccer.
I had made reservations with a travel agency called Q'ente to do the Inca Trail. On the morning of the 8th I met up with my group. To my surprise, we were five in total. Three were from Columbus, Ohio, and the other from Ottawa, Canada. A brief character description:
Adam- this dude was hilarious. He recently graduated from Miami (OH) and turned twenty-three on the trail. He suffered from altitute sickness on and off but he didn't stop entertaining the group.
Ben- Adam's twenty-five year old brother. Ben is basically me (although is speaks Spanish way better than me). We actually knew each other from Ohio Soccer back in high school. Our lives our so similar its scary. I wouldn't be surprised if Ben and Adam were Heydts....of the illegitimate side of course.
Scott- Ben and Adam's father. He is a middle-aged man who, I suspect, is going through some kind of mid-live crisis. Enough said.
Nick- twenty-three year old Ottawan. He is an expert in any sport that is EXTREME!!!!! Seriously, at the age of 16 he became the youngest bungee master in the world. Nick taught us all
those meaningless Canadian phases. My favorite: Ya Jus Liv 'er an Giv 'er, eh.
For the five of us, all in good shape (even if crippled with altitude sickness), we had eleven porters to carry our equipment. It was the fanciest camping I've ever done. Once again, check out the pics.
The trail is beautiful. Even though 500 hikers start the trail everyday, you can spend hours hiking without seeing another soul. The trail has been very well maintained; I didn't see one piece of trash in four days. We had foggy weather, typical for this time of year, but it was comfortable for hiking, and the views were still spectacular. In total, the trail is 45 km and passes through some of the most scenic jungle and paramo I've ever seen.
During the hike we ran into some coquettish Peruvian girls who were instantly taken with Adam´s charm. He spoke very little Spanish, so each time we saw them, he simply said, ¨Bueno. Chiiiiicaas.¨They loved it. It was amazing. Unfortunately for him, he was suffering from soroche, or altitude sickness, and had what he aptly termed ¨frequent ass explosions.¨On the trail, he would have our guide hold up the
Chinchero
Girl doing her homework in the ruins of Chinchero rest of the groups while he ran into the woods. In the distance, you could hear the girls, ¨Adaammm. Adaamm.¨Our guide, completely aware of the flirting going on between them, would inform the girls that Adam was suffering from an ass explosion. Then, coming out the woods, with a goofy smile, Adam would greet the girls with ¨Bueno. Chicas.¨They loved it. Hilarious.
The last day we got up at 4:00am but the foggy weather delayed us one hour. At the sungate, where most hikers see the sunrise over Machu Pichu, I could barely see my hand in front of my face. By the time we reached the ruins, however, it had cleared up a bit. Needless to say, it was awesome.
I took the train back to Cuzco and caught a night bus to Bolivia.
That concludes my travels in Peru. An unforgetable yet expensive two weeks.
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Katie
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I'm liking the photos...
...as they serve to constantly remind us what a fine looking gentleman you are. Keep 'em coming, but try to avoid having your camera stolen in a National Lampoonesque situation. That advice was probably unnecessary, but I am unwilling to delete it.