Extremely long and tiring day. Woke up at 4:30 to catch the 6:30 flight to Cusco (note to self – use local spellings!). Short flight – about 1 hour; but over the Andes again – this is turning out to be an Andean odyssey. This time we had snow-capped mountains which were lush with greenery. Amazing how the Andes changes – from the bleak brilliance of Patagonia to the harsh central deserts to Peru; where they feed the Amazon and other river systems. Cusco is supposedly shaped like a condor – and this was very apparent when we looped into the city to land. At over 3500m; its ringed by mountains – and has a visible sense of history.
Landed at Cusco and into the clutches (Carlos from Arica could have done with one!) of Marlena – a tout masquerading as a tour guide. She suggested a hotel and promptly started packaging everything from day trips to Machu Picchu to even bus tickets. Decided to just give in – convenience seemed better than haggling over a few dollars. Checked into hotel and immediately left for a tour of the Sacred Valley (the area around Cusco). Took the mandatory photos of
Quechua women with kids wrapped in bundles behind them; Quechua women feeding llamas; Quechua women (with their odd hats) weaving yarn…Somehow Quechua men don’t look so photogenic! Went to see the Inka ruins in Pisac and Olliantambo – stiff, steep climbs and I realised I was in very bad shape.
Huffed, puffed but couldn’t blow the storehouses down. Impressive ruins but the lasting memory is of an excruciating cramp in my left leg – and faint dread at the prospect of Machu Picchu tomorrow. An interesting set of travel companions - and discover there's a fair few Argentines and Brazilians tramping around Peru. There was this cute Uni student from BA; Lourdes Galliano – who was studying Mass Comm and wanted to be a journalist. She spoke good English and was my interpreter. Then there was this Brazilian couple (he was in IT and she in Insurance – how boring!) and a couple of scrawny Argentine kids who’d just done the Inka trail and were full of themselves. And of course, this (semi-retired) American couple – she kept talking incessantly (she called me a "trooper" after I staggered up to the top of Olliantambo - I could have killed her for that) and he was the weedy, suffering types. Notice Argies and Brazzies tend to speak more English than Chilenos or Peruvians. They also tend to be more European in their looks (blonde/blue) compared to Chilenos and Peruvians. Limped back to the hotel; had a shower and climbed into bed – another early start tomorrow.
Extremely long and tiring day. Woke up at 4:30 to catch the 6:30 flight to Cusco (note to self – use local spellings!). Short flight – about 1 hour; but over the Andes again – this is turning out to be an Andean odyssey. This time we had snow-capped mountains which were lush with greenery. Amazing how the Andes changes – from the bleak brilliance of Patagonia to the harsh central deserts to Peru; where they feed the Amazon and other river systems. Cusco is supposedly shaped like a condor – and this was very apparent when we looped into the city to land. At over 3500m; its ringed by mountains – and has a visible sense of history.
Landed at Cusco and into the clutches (Carlos from Arica could have done with one!) of Marlena – a tout masquerading as a tour guide. She suggested a hotel and promptly started packaging everything from day trips to Machu Picchu to even bus tickets. Decided to just give in – convenience seemed better than haggling over a few dollars. Checked into hotel and immediately left for a tour of the Sacred Valley (the area around Cusco). Took the mandatory photos of 
Quechua women with kids wrapped in bundles behind them; Quechua women feeding llamas; Quechua women (with their odd hats) weaving yarn…Somehow Quechua men don’t look so photogenic! Went to see the Inka ruins in Pisac and Olliantambo – stiff, steep climbs and I realised I was in very bad shape. 
Huffed, puffed but couldn’t blow the storehouses down. Impressive ruins but the lasting memory is of an excruciating cramp in my left leg – and faint dread at the prospect of Machu Picchu tomorrow. An interesting set of travel companions - and discover there's a fair few Argentines and Brazilians tramping around Peru. There was this cute Uni student from BA; Lourdes Galliano – who was studying Mass Comm and wanted to be a journalist. She spoke good English and was my interpreter. Then there was this Brazilian couple (he was in IT and she in Insurance – how boring!) and a couple of scrawny Argentine kids who’d just done the Inka trail and were full of themselves. And of course, this (semi-retired) American couple – she kept talking incessantly (she called me a "trooper" after I staggered up to the top of Olliantambo - I could have killed her for that) and he was the weedy, suffering types. Notice Argies and Brazzies tend to speak more English than Chilenos or Peruvians. They also tend to be more European in their looks (blonde/blue) compared to Chilenos and Peruvians. Limped back to the hotel; had a shower and climbed into bed – another early start tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment