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Published: August 1st 2008
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After a somewhat torturous 18 hour bus ride from La Paz, we arrived in Cusco, Peru after midnight, tired and grumpy. We were even grumpier when the taxi driver ripped us off, charging 20 soles instead of the 5 soles it should have cost, but your options are limited after midnight when you are tired in a strange City. The bus ride was meant to be a direct bus, but ended up being three buses from different companies that regressed in quality each time. Obviously the first company just bought the cheapest crappiest tickets it could for the connecting buses it wasn't bothering to run. I do not know what the Bolivian concept of direct is, but it does not align with my own understanding. None of the buses had toilets, and when I asked the driver to stop, he did so on the side of the road about ten minutes after I had asked, called out Baño, but then the bus just started moving again before I could even stand up. Guess he changed his mind. I was in agony by the time the bus stopped at the Lake where we thankfully had to get out anyway to cross on
a separate ferry to the bus. I was ready to pee in the middle of the plaza. Luckily I did not have to. The second bus was super small and Jonno pretty much had his knees in the next persons back, plus, the seats were all broken, so you had no choice BUT to lie on top of the person behind you. Even though you had no choice, this did not stop everyone hating everyone else for lying ontop of or kneeing them. The last bus was the same, plus it had to keep stopping every half an hour to put water in its leaking radiator, making the driver then speed dangerously to try and make up lost time. It still took about two hours more than it should have. I have winged before about Greyhound, but they are comparatively good. Well.. maybe on par atleast with Bolivian and Peruvian buses.
I then spent the first two days between my bed and the bathroom with my second south American stomach bug, discovering that throats were really NOT designed to handle food coming the other way. Luckily, the bathroom was very close to the bedroom and the plumbing worked just
fine.
Cusco is a beautiful and history drenched City, though incredibly touristy, ode to Machu Pichu. The lonely Planet says that the Incas and Spaniards have both had turns ruling the City, but now it was well and truly at the hands of tourists, which is well put. Though sometimes I wonder who is serving who, when everyone is so out to get your money. Every shop within a few blocks of the central plaza is devoted to tourism in some form, and ever shop has hawkers out the front trying to lure you in. There is an abundance of people offering massages. Maybe they think that people need this after doing the Inca trail to Machu Pichu, but to have someone every few meters offer you a massage becomes repetitive to say the least. If you can handle this, Cusco is still beautiful. Cobbled narrow streets and paths, original Inca stone work, Spanish Colonial style mansions and churches. There are impressive Inca ruins within walking distance of the town, and lots of pubs and bars...
We met up with some old pals of Jono´s from Canberra, James and Kate, and used this as an excuse to well
Ruley and Jono
What do you do when you fly in to Cusco dealing with jet lag and altitude? Go to the bar! and truly throw our budget out the window, pisco ing and dining ourselves like the true ruling class!
In between nursing a hangover and gaining another, we also went to as many ruins, churches and museums as we could handle. I learnt some interesting things. I had already noticed that Peruvians and Bolivians today, seem to follow their own slant on Christianity, which is combined with a certain amount of Inca and pre Inca spirituality. I just assumed this was of their own making recently, but it seems to have been introduced intentionally by the Spaniards when they colonised South America. Not only did they build their churches on Inca sacred sites, using Inca shaped stones and statues, but they incorporated some gods into new patron Saints. The thought was that, by incorporating Inca spirituality with Christianity, they would harness the power of both and have a better chance at ruling the public. I thought that was interesting.
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Clare (OE)
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Hey, i've been meaning to say...we recently took out a sub to National Geographic, and last month there was a big article on the political situation in Bolivia (and lots of good pics) and this month there is a pic of the Road of Death from La Paz. So I've been thinking of you folks a lot!