(3) Into the Wild

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I woke and surfed... And Surfed... Frustration evaporation!

The cool thing about Lima is that it is a huge city that lies right on the Ocean -angled well to get north and south swells. And as every surfer knows when you step into the raging Pacific Ocean: you step into wilderness. And leave that city!

The rest of the town is a concrete jungle overrun with traffic; dirty, gritty & dangerous. Beautiful in its innocent industriousness. But I decided that natural beauty- NATURE and fresh air beckoned.

That night I got on a plane to the mountains. Cuzco, the cradle of indigenous Peru.

SURFTRAVELTIP #3 - Choose the "road less traveled" = Go Into The Wild.

It was colder in Cuzco than the lowlands. I had to wear a jacket as it was near 18 centigrade at night.

My jab at the non-metric sytem: (Fahrenheit to Celsius: 18 x 9/5 + 32 = 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit...C'mon USA...0 Celsius is freezing 100 is boiling!)

This didn't divert me from having a jolly old time in this mystical age old mecca for the Inca civilizations . The old town that was once full of shamans and warriors, now brimmed with artisans, craftspeople and chefs.

Still thriving under the spirit of nature looming beneath the Andes mountain range; Cuzco was a special place.

The morning of May 9th, 2013 I breathed a deep breath of mountain air, had some Peruvian breakfast and left Cuzco to board a train for the Ancient city: Machu Pichu.

As the train descended deeper towards the Amazon rainforest it got warmer and wetter. I was descending into my zone. It was primal. I was discovering the animal within me. I was rewinding time. I felt lucky to have this experience and opportunity.

When I got to the town of Aguascalientes I walked around and mingled with fellow "touristas". I met an older couple from England who were, like me, going to visit Machu Pichu in the morning. They had been planning the trip for several years and finally had the time to getaway and do it. This was a pinnacle point in their relationship! Again I was reminded of my good fortune to be where I was in the world.

I woke at 5 in the morning to heavy rain. Pacing my hotel room like a Puma I looked out at the soaked darkness and pouted fearing that there was too much rain... No worries! At 7 the mist had cleared and the sun poked through. I took the bus up the hill and crossed into the land called Machu Pichu.

Immediately a buzz of old world jungle beauty surrounded me. I was energized.

There were llamas and the grass was green and the clouds were making mystery. I felt that it was a secret and sacred area for the indigenous South Americans. There were spirits in the land and in the air around us. We privileged few who had traveled to that place were able to witness what the earth was capable of and magnificent for.

The Incans lived off their crops. They were arm and arm with nature. They made love to eachother and grew the food. Nothing else. Nothing complicated.

Jealousy may have been the ruin of their world when the white man came with his greed and weapons upon a land so enveloped by peaceful ease.

Every stone I touched. Every breath I took. I felt like I was under a spell. In a world of Mystery and Power. I had finally found my adventure spirit.

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