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16/6/06- 26/6/06
arrived at 5am and were kicked out of the bus, after been told that it would be Ok to sleep in the bus till a sane hour as it can be dangerous to wander around in the dark. stepping outside (with Elliot, Rachel, Helen, Nick), we got hounded by 5 people to stay at their hostel! do these people sleep! made our own way to Loki hostel. perched high on the hills and demanding spectacular views over the historic city of Cuzco. damn steps that lead up to it though! me and steps have not yet acquired a supportive bond!
Loki is a cool hostel, filled with young people, great atmosphere, friendly staff. They make dinners each night. have an awesome hangout area, and you always find others there watching world cup with you. The interior is something out of a spanish movie, or a place that Zorro would live in. classic spanish exterior, vibrant colours of white and deep pink/red. It was their first year opening birthday and celebrated with an awesome dinner. everyone just chilled back in the bar as one guy played guitar in aduet with a violonist working at our hostel. The vibe
Plaza De Armes
parades and dances each day in the lead up for Inti Raymi festival was mellowed and special as everyone joined in the singing of so many memorable and classic songs that become part of the repetoire of any backpacker´s memory!
walked around the town- the town is stunning. old colonial style buildings, with beautiful mountain backdrops. its not surprising that the Incas set up home here among this lush atmosphere. admittedly, tourism has destroyed the place- everywhere you go, you find restaurants with tourist menus, tourist shops selling little souvenirs with cuzco written on them. but you feel inspired when you get away from these areas, and walk around the cobbled streets and find the little side shops with locals selling groceries or flowers, or walk through the park seeing men sitting and chatting.
The city is alive at the moment because of the upcoming Inti Raymi festival. everyday there are dances through the streets, and when there is no dancing, there is concerts held in the main square- Plaza de Armes.
the party scene is fantastic- Mama Africa, Mama America, Mythology, Uptown. our weekend ended up buying local vodka and drinking it before going out. when you get out there, they make you feel like a celebrity- foreigners
admittedly get special treatment and are hounded by numerous touters who draw you into their bar/club with offer of free drinks. so the night can easily end up quite cheap as you go from bar to bar in pursuit of that next free drink. one negative aspect of this scene is the persistent offer of "Charlie". coccaine! everywhere you go, it is offered, and easily accesable. the bathrooms are often held up because of people doing "lines' in the bathroom!
after huge night after another, i finally decided to do something touristy- so having had one hour sleep, i dragged helen and another girl in the dorm and we headed to the Inca sites inthe sacred Valley. Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. The bus ride was one of the highlights. the mountains possesed a spirit that was just undescribable. lush green mountainsides filled with terraces that once produced vegetatio that sustained this great empire.
Pisac, had numerous sites, all retaining alot of their foundation, but weathered away over the years. Topping the terraces is the site´s ceremonial centre, with an Intihuatana (or hitching post of the sun). It was an important cosmological site, offering means of undestranding the seasonal
partyin in Mama America
Clockwise: Elliot (canada), Shereen (melbourne, Aus), Mario, Claudio (UK), Eddie (Sydney, Aus), random Peruvian girl! and universal changes around them. It still perplexes archaeologists how this culture managed to obtain the huge boulders of rock from the surrounding mountains and use them in building this site. Pisac was also home for one of the most famous markets in and around CUsco. undercover shops filled with amazing cultural items and important replicas of the Incas. given only 45inutes by the tour, meant that an eventual return was guaranteed. ended up buying so much, that i had to send a package back home....10kg in total since leaving BA!! hope they receive it back home!
OLLantaytambo- was just impressive. The main inca complex lay atop a cliff with steep terraces guarding it. It was not only a fort, but also a temple to the incas. there was imagemry found everywhere- in the surrounding mountain lay an image of a god (profile face, carrying something on his back... reallly cool!)
I Have decided that The Inca trail is one of those must do classic trails...and as it is booked out for the next 2 months, i am going to move on and come back for the challenge! so instead i will have to be content with seeing
more smaller inca sites. so i grabbed 6 others in the hostel, and we ventured by horseback through the different local sites- Tambo Machay, Quenqo, Puca Pucara...im afraid of horse, but even i was begging my horse to go faster! damn trained horses!!
Each day, there would be parades and festivals in the main square, culminating in the Intiyami festival on the 24th June. The city was alight each day, and festive everywhere you go. Inti Raymi was the annual tradition where the locals would reinact the Inca sun .........................., representing the winter solstice. Saturday finally came, having woken up 7am to get there early to secure seats at Sacsayhuaman (pronounced sexy Woman! no joke!), we found alot of others had the same idea! There were tourist seats in stands around the site that were selling at $US 80+ each, so we did as the locals, and staked our spot on the free ´seats´on the rocks overhanging the site- definitely a better and more memorable view. the rocks were absolutely packed with tourists and locals! The stage held in the ancient Inca site of Sacsayhuaman. The procession leading up from the main centre of town, made it all the
way up to the site.
Colourful costumes and elaborate designs and imagery preoccupied the makeshift stage. Music echoed throughout, and different groups from the period danced around. The Inca king ceremoniously entered and was the main character in the play, which lead to a Llama sacrifice, where the heart and intestines were pulled out and presented as offerings...we werent entirely sure that they were fake!
That night culminated in a mad rush to get angel wings, as the event of the month neared- The ¨Fallen Angel¨ party held at the restaurant with the same name. it seemed our hostel made the effort to dress up, as we were warned at the door when buying ticket- that if the drag queens don´t like your wings, you can´t get in! Destined to be a huge party, you can imagine my fear when the lady we paid to make our wings had only half finished mine! it was bare black cardboard that just flopped around with no shape. Luckily i had no problems getting in! once inside, the atmosphere was electric. colourful walls, huge angel figure central to the dancefloor, everyone with wings, tables made of a bath-tub filled with fish,
and covered with a piece of glass. The place was something out of a gay playboys appartment. Locals and tourists packed the place. you had to keep your eyes protected out of fear of being pocked by a passer-bys wing tips. The music was electronica- i loved it! at 2am, one of the girls from our hostel played a violin duet with the DJ- it rocked! but as usual, ended our night in the familiar arms of mama africa- cheesy music, but good!
Recovering Sunday, watched the Australia vs Italy match! That foul should not have been called! Italians are such actors! i have no doubt that they have been trained by arnold schwarzeneger in the art of facking a fall! You could even see the Italian´s smile as he made the fall! but good on you Australia for giving them a great and fair game!
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