I grew really close with the Kusi Kay guys the last couple weeks. They became truer than any of the other friends I had made before, and it became apparent with how much they looked after me and treated me like I was part of their family. Hanging out with them was great because I got to eat some of the best food for cheap (around 6 soles each meal… $2, can’t beat that). One thing I’ll never forget is going to get breakfast in the Mercado San Pedro … me and the Peruvians, going and sitting at a booth with the same lady cooking us breakfast: coffee with a sandwich made with Peruvian bread, cheese and a fried egg. Mmmm… the lady thought it was so funny that it was this group of Peruvian guys and this white American girl. I love being the minority and being with them though…makes me feel like I’m really learning about the culture here.
The night before my mom arrived in Cuzco, I had a decently scary experience that shook me up pretty good. I was walking back to the boys’ place after dinner (which was pretty early) and I was walking with a backpack for the first time. I was bringing my laptop to their place so they could transfer music and photos to their USB’s. This was the first time my laptop has ever left my host family’s house (when I use the internet I normally just go to an internet café since my family doesn’t have internet). Anyways, we were walking down their street when a taxi pulled down the street and started going pretty fast. I stepped to the side of the street to get out of the way, but kept walking and the next thing I knew I was on the ground in the middle of the street. I thought I had been hit by the taxi because I honestly didn’t even know what had happened…but my friends that were walking behind me said that someone had reached out of the taxi and grabbed my backpack in hopes to rob me. When my backpack didn’t slip off, they let go and I fell into the street really hard. The guys tried to get the license plate of the taxi but it was going so fast that they couldn’t… I’m really surprised I didn’t break any bones. I landed completely on my right arm, and I couldn’t move my elbow and arm for a few days because the tendon was so sore, and the knee of my jeans got ripped from the impact. Luckily I still have my laptop, although the corner of it is cracked from the fall also. It was scary that someone would do that to me even with 3 other guys around me… I guess you just never know…
Tuesday, my mom arrived in Cuzco. Of course from the beginning it was pretty much a comedy act. I couldn’t find her hotel because I couldn’t remember the name of it, couldn’t open my email to get the name, and when I finally found her hotel, the person in reception told me that she had left to walk around to see the plaza. There was a festival going on so I decided to just wait for her in the hotel room. The woman at reception gave me the key and I went upstairs to take a short nap while I waited. About 30 minutes later, an old man walks into the room and sees me sleeping in HIS bed. The lady at reception had given me the wrong key…ahhh dios mio SO embarrassing! My mom was back at this point and was just laughing…oh god. We spent the day walking around Cuzco and I showed her some of my normal places that I go. That night we went and saw the Kusi Kay production to see my friends perform. Of course since most of the guys in the show know me, I was picked as the “guinea pig” for practically ALL of the audience participation parts of the show. One part of it I was pulled up on stage in front of everyone and had to be a bull. They tied a tail on me and everything, and the funniest part is I could see my friends backstage laughing at me as I was made a fool in front of the audience. It was funny though…the show was awesome, way better than the first time I saw it. My mom really enjoyed it too. Afterwards my mom took me out to dinner, and then I took her back to the hotel since she was too tired to go out to salsa.
On Wednesday, my mom and I went on a halfday tour of some of the nearby ruins of Cuzco. It was the first “touristy” thing I’ve done in Peru and I really didn’t like it. I’m so used to hanging out with the locals and doing things that sitting in a tour bus and listening to a guide really was boring for me. My mom seemed to like it though… that night she had a salsa lesson with my friend Franschesco, and then afterwards I took her to Inkateam to meet more of my friends and to dance more salsa. She had a blast, and even stayed and danced when they started playing club and hiphop music. She has really loosened up over the last year which is nice…everyone kept asking if she was my sister, and I know she loved the attention. Although by midnight she was definitely ready to hit the hay…
Thursday was the famous Inti Raymi festival of Cuzco. The lady that has been doing my laundry in Cuzco had invited my mom and I to join her family for a picnic and to watch the procession up at the inka ruins up in Sacyswoman. It was an awesome experience. We met at her house first thing in the morning, and then trekked up for almost 2 hours to the site. It was so steep leaving the city of Cuzco, especially carrying all the food, and helping with the kids. All together, it was my mom, my friend, her 3 daughters (all under the age of 10), her neice (8 month old baby), and her mother (70 years old). I’m not sure why we didn’t just take a cab but walking up there was part of the experience. I thought my mom was going to die hahah but it was a different cultural experience for her since we were the only tourists there. We sat on a rock/cliff to watch the festival, crunched in with so many people. We ate bbq chicken and potatoes with our hands, and tried to watch the procession of “the Inka”. We got back down to the city around 5pm, and by then we were completely exhausted by a long day walking up the mountain, and the sitting in the sun. But it was so worth it. I wouldn’t trade an experience like this for any tour…
Friday we left at 4:30am for Machu Picchu. We took a 2 hour bus to the train station, then an hour an a half train to Aguas Calientes. From there we got on another half hour bus to the base of Machu Picchu. It was incredible! We took a 2 ½ hour tour, and then had the rest of the day to wander around and just enjoy the beauty of the site.
Saturday morning we woke up at 4am to make it to the busstop at 4:30am so we could get into Waynu Piccu (the big mountain that is seen in the pictures of Macchu Picchu). They only let in 400 people per day, so we had to get there early. We were probably in the first 10 people to get let in to climb Waynu Picchu, and I took about 35-40 minutes to get up to the top. My mom was behind with another girl we had made friends with, and they had a bit more trouble because of the thin air (I’m more used to it from living in Cuzco). It was a tough climb for sure, but the views on the way up were very inspiring. When I got to the top there were only about 8 or 9 other people up there, and it felt like I was sitting on top of the world. I can’t even describe the feeling. I just sat up there and took it all in for about 2 hours…but the more people that arrived at the top, the less enchanting it was, but nevertheless was gorgeous. My mom was panicking about the height and worrying about us sitting on the cliffs, but it was definitely an adrenaline rush. After we came down the mountain, we walked back through Machu Picchu and then got lunch. Our train left at around 4pm to get back to Cuzco, but about an hour into the train ride, we had to switch trains because another train had been derailed in the train tracks. Dusk had already fallen, and we had to walk ¼ mile to the other train without any lights… I felt so bad for people with suitcases or people that had trouble walking…The people on the other train had to switch to our train too, so there were tons of people, confused, pissed, and cold trying to find their way to the opposite trains… what a disaster. Once we made it on the train station, the busses to Cuzco took FOREVER because people were doing construction on the roads. We finally got back at around 10pm…6 hours later, 3 hours extra of travel time. So frustrating, especially after being exhausted from hiking all day…but my mom and I managed to find humor in it, as always.
Now we are on our way to Puno, and Lake Titicaca. I can’t believe that in just a few short days I will be home…
We miss you here. Glad youre having a ton of exciting adventures down there and cant wait to see you again!
ReplyDeleteAll my love,
CK