Walking with Incas

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dear amigos, third world bolivia did not offer reliable transportation to see the amish in the jungle, and an atm in la paz stole about 267 dollars (bank history says cash dispensed, however in reality atm gave message like ¨can not dispense this amount¨), and a blackout for no apparent reason for half of one day in the capital city (not a small town in the countryside), and remnant stomach problems from the previous bolivian city i stayed in, all convinced me to get the hell out of there quick. i am now in hauraz, peru, which is a base for exploring some very pretty snow capped mountains.

one day while i was hiking up a very old road with rock walls on each side, and moss and grass and trees growing between the cracks of rocks, and natives in native dress speaking indian languages driving sheep and pigs up to higher pastures, i realized that this nearly identical scene has probably been repeating itself in the same place, every day, for the last few hundred years. there is nothing closer traveling back in time than places like this. another day, on a different hike, the road passed through 3 towns each getting more and more primitive- we´re talking one street with a few buildings surrounded by farmland. the last spanishized town had an uneven grass plaza with white buildings and a church surrounding the plaza, many of the buildings bending and wharping the foundations to fit the uneven and sinking ground. and then further up, the road becomes a path, the same used 1000´s of years ago leading to an ancient city about 3 days away walking. i only went part of the way, and ran into a village of wigwam like houses made out of grass, and people living in them. one sheep herder i talked with let me look inside one of the houses, and showed me some of the crops that they grow and live off of. they are completey self sufficient.

the final hike i went on consisted of walking through avalley surrounded by snow capped mountains. eventually, i hiked up the side and through a pass that led to a blue lake fed by the glaciers above. very impressive scenery.

one more day here, then i´m off to lima to meet amber and start the whirlwind tour of southern peru.

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Comments

[Dan]

ATM + dynamite
Jon, I sent you your new card with dynamite and instructions. Make sure you completely blow up any atm after use regardless of error message or cash withdraw.

[matt]

illicit goods
jon it's matt from penn. i'm just tuning into your travels now, but please mail me approx 10 kg of coca leaves and 2 dozes sticks of dynamite. i'll explain later.