Respite in Huancayo

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I summoned the detirmination to leave Qosqo (in reality, it was simply time, and not too difficult), and head somewhere with slightly less of a tourist infrastructure. That is right, I am in Huancayo. Never heard of it? Not suprising... it is much less of a tourist city than Qosqo (by far) or Lima. Heard of it? Maybe because it was one of the centers of Sendero Luminoso (look this up if you do not know what it is). Or, perhaps in conjunction with the variety of market towns in the region. However, the absence of super fancy colonial architecture or profound Incan ruins make it a little less of a hotspot for foreigners.
Anyway, although there is a ¨road¨ more direct from Qosqo to Huancayo, it is shabby and what could be a 8 hour bus trip turns into a two day, for the sake of safety. Such is Andean travel. I bade farewell to my host mother, and left for the bus terminal. We departed from Qosqo at 9 in the evening, and thus began the most frigid bus ride of my life. By this I mean, in addition to the menacing curves and haphazard passing of semi trucks in the night, there was numbing cold and layers of ice on the windors. Brrrr. And I had on tons of clothes and warm shoes! A tip: is not a bad idea to bring one´s sleeping bag on board for overnight mountain travel. I met a delightful Portuguese couple, who are, (lo and behold) medical students! How is it that the majority of European youth I seem to encounter is studying to be doctors? Privelege to travel, methinks? In reality, maybe I am simply lucky.
Well, we arrived to a slightly warmer dawn in Arequipa (the ¨white city¨), waited for the next bus, which was, of course, quite late. I was happy to see that the Peruvian couple from the previous bus, who had a really cute two year old, were sitting close to me on this bus as well. Well, the bus to Lima from Arequipa is just long. Long and dry, and very hot when the climate feels like it. I felt smart for getting a seat in the very front, so that I could see where the bus was going through a gigantic windshield rather than zipping glimpses as we wound around and around. So, from the absolutely desolate and dry mountains of Arequipa to the equally desolate dunes of the south coast of Peru, I got a proper view. And many interesting conversations. One of my favorite things about long-distance travel in Peru is that not everyone has a direct ticket, and they are more or less hopping on busses to get to their final destinations. So, I got to share company with a sweet old abuelita (who spoke Quechua and not Spanish) and with whom I shared tons of little bananas and olives, a middle aged woman who squeeled with me and held my hand as our bus swerved precariously on cliff-side roads (it is a long way down into the Pacific Ocean), and finally Ever, a kind physics student at a university in Lima, who taught me a little bit of past tense and attempted to bond with me over American pop music. There was also the baggage guy on the bus, who offered to find me a hostal room in Lima. It was later that he said this was under the condition would share it. Ew!
Thank goodness for Ever, because we all landed in Lima at about 11:30 at night in a bus terminal in quite a sketchy area of Lima. He and I caught a collectivo to a less sketchy neighborhood (however, it´s still Lima), and even helped me find a hostal. All in all, a very polite and gentlemanly guy. I forgot that in Peru having a wife and kids does not exempt men from getting all up in my personal space, and I had to lay down the line when he tred to turn the causal kiss on the cheek into something else. It´s all something to smile about now, but I had more than enough of guys presuming my interest in them for one day!
I slept well in Lima, considering the pollution (Light, air, and noise), and was off in the morning to get to the ¨economical¨ bus station to Huancayo. The taxi driver explained that the areas we were heading through were some of the more sketchy in Lima, and I don´t doubt it. Rough glares, ginormous heaps of trash, nervous policemen. The trash is scoured by tons of people, and especially little girls. In the states, I dumpster for political reasons or even fun, but never for necessity. Straight up privelege.
Well, I got to the bus station and took a S10 bus to Huancayo (that is less than $4, for about an 8 hour ride). From what I can tell from experience, there is not a difference between these cheaper busses and the toursit ones, which cost 5 to 10 times more. However, I have now been informed that drivers on cheep busses often maintain the vehicles to a lesser degree (and in the Andes, breaks are important!) and may take speed due to their unreasonable work hours. More expensive busses are apparently more legitimate (suprise suprise), but all of the bus companies crash from time to time, it is just reality up here. Not mine! I got to Huancayo safe and sound, and found a cozy hostal (my cheapest so far in Peru). Huancayo was a little harsh for my system at first. There is not a grand Plaza de Armas with which to orient myself, nor is the city tucked into a valley. The Plaza is centralized, but there are just tons of streets sprawling out as far as the eye can see, and most look fairly identitical. I haven´t gotten lost yet, but I also haven´t wandered too far at night. In addition, there happens to be much more whistling, staring, and catcalling in my direction than any other city so far. Not hard to ignore, just annoying, for I am modestly dressed and speak as politely as I can. I guess it´s more obvious here than in Qosqo that I am a white girl. Anyway, I spent my first day or two simply exploring, and today I got to meet up with Anna (of former ALG fame)! She is doing great, and it was wonderful to have a long, fluent conversation with a friend. Anna and a friend are helping me find a homestay, Spanish tutor, and volunteer projects, which I imagine should begin around tomorrow. It´s good to be in a Peruvian (not toursit) city, and working on language.
I had planned to go from Qosqo to Pucallpa for a homestay with Shipibo embroiderers, but this didn´t work out quite as planned. I am taking time to concentrate on language, and after Huancayo I may go to the Rainforest (before the rainy season!), or I may take up several weavers in the Sacred Valley on their offers of homestays and apprenticeships.
As I was talking with Anna today, I realized the proufundity in that I have had nearly no health problems so far. a couple of blisters, a teeny cold, a scrape or two, and a little bit of hardship with the altitude in Qosqo at first, but nothing severe. My body has, for the most part, maintained it´s typical rhythm, and I haven´t even had a fever or been sick in my guts. Yay! It was as I was refelecting this that I realized this is probably due to the anti-malarials that I have been taking, in anticipation of visiting the rainforest. So, even for the slightly enhanced photosensitivity, I haven´t had the typical issues with food or water that most travelers do. And all along I thought I was being so careful, purefying and boiling my water and such. But I have been brushing my teeth with tap water and (as much as I´d like to) I can´t resist the green salads that come with meals here, even though the veggies are rarely washed in purefied water. I hope all of you are healthy and happy, as well!
I realize that this entry has a ton of information about busses and my health, and other less-than-thrilling topics, but I felt like it was time to catch up.
So, with tons of salsa music and Andean sunshine, chau!
Susannah

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