We are the Captains of our Hostel. I Think We've Been There Longer than Some of the Employees!

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Last night I went out to dinner with Raquel. Brett wasn’t hungry so he stayed back at the hostel and they were having Pub Quiz night which is essentially trivia night here. Raquel and I walked down the way from our hostel to try and eat at this place that Carl recommended to us however it was closed. We decided to walk closer to the Plaza de Armas and try and find a place to eat since it was a little later than normal for the Cusquenans. It was raining lightly as we walked up the nearly deserted streets and we were accosted by Maître D's that wanted our business. We settled on a restaurant that had a menu for 8 soles and we got a soup, a main course and then a drink. We noticed immediately the eclectic nature of the restaurant. It was covered with old paintings that looked vaguely 17th Spanish and the chairs looked like they came from a hotel banquet room and the table cloths were traditional Inca pattern. Once we got over the mishmash of culture shock that was our restaurant we made our way to a table that was on one of the three little balconies that overlooked the street. It was covered by an awning so we didn’t get wet and it was a very picturesque setting for dinner. Brett joked that it was romantic and perhaps it was a little bit but there wasn’t any romance in the air, Raquel and I are just amigos. We ate our dinner and talked about her time in Colombia and how hard it was to leave her boyfriend there after three years, I talked about my girlfriends past and we came to the conclusion that matters of the heart are never easy no matter what language you speak or what country you’re in. I had a small steak and potatoes and vegetables and Raquel had pasta with chicken and tomato and onion. Dinner was pretty good for such a cheap price. It was raining much harder on our walk back to the hostel and we hurried home. When we arrived we found Brett and Carl and some others celebrating their win of the Pub Quiz drinking the prize, a bottle of Rum. We sat down and smoked some cigarettes and had a few rum and cokes and we were all talking and having fun. As the night was winding down, the manager of the hostel, a large black woman, and another guy who played the guitar did a small duet of a Spanish song called Soladito Marinero and it was very beautiful. We all shut up and listened and it turns out that it is Raquel’s favorite song. I retired to bed shortly after. This morning Brett went rafting but I didn’t go because I wanted to shore up my legs and make sure I am good for the Inca Trail on Sunday. He said he the trip was him and some crazy weird Americans and some nasty Israeli girls that just kept coughing and smoking the whole time. Knar Knar bro. Brett left early around 8 am and i got up shortly thereafter. Raquel wanted to know if I wanted to have breakfast so we dined in the hostel on the usual bread and jam that they provide every day but today I had an apple since we went to the grocery store the day before. I didn’t eat a lot because I don’t usually get down on a big breakfast and not to mention the fact that I have had bread and jam for pretty much every breakfast here in Peru. I called Mayra and we talked for a little bit, there is a tsunami warning in Lima because of the earthquake in Japan and she was trying to figure out if she needed to go somewhere else to safety. I told her I thought it would be alright however she should probably figure that out. She was happy that I called her and told me as much. After the call I got my shit together and Raquel and I went out on the town to book her Inca Trail trip for tomorrow and also she wanted to go to the top of the mountain where Brett and I had been before to check out the view of Cusco. She finally got her trip booked after numerous visits to different agencies but she wasn’t super happy because she couldn’t book the full Inca trail on part of it. Oh well though at least it’s something. After that we walked up the hill and many sets of stairs to the top so she could see the view which even for me after seeing it about four times now is still breathtaking. We walked down some steps we hadn’t come up and found ourselves in a different part of the city that I hadn’t seen before. A lady selling handmade belts accosted me and she got me because I saw one what I couldn’t live without and since I didn’t have a belt it worked out ok. I haggled her down from 10 soles to 7 soles so I was pleased. It was a bit more rural if you could say that and we were the only gringos around that is for sure. We kept walking down because logically that is where we needed to go and we finally came out at a giant open air market that had everything from meat and fish to canes and deodorant. It was filled with so many smells that were foreign to me and so many people that looked like they meant business and knew what they wanted. Not only did they sell raw food there but there were also little booths that sold cooked food, like fast food for people on the go. I told Raquel that I would never eat there because who knows how the food is prepared or if it is prepared in a way that would be healthy for me to eat! The market was basically a giant flea market that also sold food. We made our way back into the neighborhood where our hostel was located and I picked up a water bottle because I lost mine like an idiot in the Fort Lauderdale airport. After we got back to the hostel we settled some things and I ate lunch which was dinner from two nights ago and then she wanted to try a vegetarian restaurant that was just around the corner so I accompanied her. She ate and we talked about our families and the differences between our two families but yet again the similarities between them also. It was an enjoyable conversation though my mind was getting tired from talking all the Spanish and I started to make a few mistakes here and there. We walked from the restaurant towards the cathedral and had a cigarette on the bench in the park outside of the cathedral. We wanted to go in but it cost 10 soles and I didn’t want to pay that so we kept walking to the natural history museum of Cusco. It was very small and basically contained nothing but stuffed animals and various insects from the region, it wasn’t all that bad though and for 2 soles I figured it was something to do, like Raquel said, we have to see at least one museum while in Cusco! After that it started to rain again and we headed back to the hostel, where I am now, in bed typing this up. Some dudes from California just arrived into the hostel so we were bs'ing about America and what not. Not sure what we’re doing tonight but I am sure it will be something fun since its Friday after all. We ended up getting some burgers for dinner from a little burger stand down the street and they were delicious. They put French fries, sliced hot dogs, lettuce, tomato, and spicy sauce as well as mayo and mustard and ketchup on the burger, it was 2.50 soles which isn’t even a dollar US so I was pretty pleased with that meal since it was good and filled me up. After we ate we watched some tsunami coverage on the internet and it was just devastating. I couldn’t believe that was going down and we didn’t even really know about it! After some news coverage we met up with Carl and Raquel and Joey who is from Omaha, NE and we went to Mama Africa for some two for one drink specials. We had rum and cokes since they were two for 12 soles which is a hell of a deal even though I don’t really care for rum all that much. Raquel went back to the hostel after a while because she was leaving early today for Macchu Picchu and we said our goodbyes. We took leave of Mama Africa and went to Inka Team again which was just as clubbed out as before. I was dancing with some girls and the one of them ended up passing out and having to be carried out of the bar by the bouncer and put into a taxi cab!! Hahahah Brett and I were just at a loss viewing this whole scene go down since that is the second girl we have seen fall asleep drunk in the bar. That would not fly in the US however exceptions have been made at certain weddings in Ohio. We got back here around 330a and passed right out.

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Comments

[Matt Cam]

hahaha
hahahahaha certain weddings in Ohio bro that is ridiculous.

[whitney]

i REALLY hope julia reads this entry :) hahahaha loves you

[anonymous]

buenas loco!! qué bueno que guardes todos los recuerdos y gracias por traérmelos a mí! cuándo nos vemos? yo estoy en santiago a puntito de irme a Valparaiso y de ahí ... ARGENTINA!! BESOSSSSSSSSSSSSSS