DATE:
September 25, 2006
New Photo Albums
Rafting the Apurimac River, Peru
Machu Pichu, Peru
People-Watching in Cusco, Peru
Misc Peru
I last left you in Peru, just after paragliding over the sacred valley near Cusco. Cusco is an interesting town… it is incredibly full of tourists, so it actually became a bit difficult to meet people! Usually, if you see another little gaggle of tourists somewhere, you can walk up and join them easily, say hi, start chatting… no problem. But Cusco was so full of tourists, it’d be like doing that at home – just randomly sidling up to any random group and starting an unnecessary conversation… yeah, it would usually get you some fairly annoyed and confused looks at home. Or maybe people would just run away. In any case, it’s not generally a recommended social gesture. ;) So I wandered around on my own and tried to decide what to do for fun.
Rafting, it turned out, was the answer. I went on a 3 day trip down the 3rd deepest canyon in the world. The Apurimac river was just under Class V (meaning it was pretty big and burrrrly) and it was loads of fun! Our group consisted of two “people” rafts, one raft with supplies, and two kayaks. We camped on the beach alongside the river for two nights and stared up at the stars, swapped tales by the campfire, and woke up early in the morning to get back in the rafts and keep going. Very Tom Sawyeresque.
Falling into the Apurimac
After rafting, I decided it was high time I see some ruins. After all, that’s what most people were there for. First, I visited a town called Ollantaytambo, which was a good precursor to Machu Pichu. I visited them alone (there’s a theme…), not in a tour group, and I’m glad I did even though I’m sure I missed out on some very interesting commentary. I ended up scrambling up the steep hill where they were situated (a good warm-up for the Incan Stairmaster of Machu Pichu), far above all the tourists, and sat on the top in the wind by a cross for a while enjoying the peaceful sunset, trying to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago when that cross would have meant nothing to the local inhabitants.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Machu Pichu and tried not to get my hopes up. Like a good movie, certain places can be “talked up” too much. I braced myself for disappointment. In the end, I wasn’t – but I was not impressed with the people managing the door into the park! They were quite irritable people. I missed the sunrise, even after waking up at 4am and running up the trail, arriving panting and covered in sweat… because I was expecting to buy my ticket at the door (nothing in my guidebook said I should do otherwise). Turns out, they don’t like it when you do that and turned me away, back down to the town (a 4 hr round trip hike) to get a ticket there (usually through a tour group), even though they technically could have sold me one at the door. Let’s just say I would have liked to punch someone around that time…
Machu Pichu
Just as I was in a sheer moment of despair, however, a very kind tour guide took pity on me and allowed me to use one of his group’s tickets. I still don’t know what group he was with, or I would be shouting their names from the rooftops as a recommendation to go with them. If it weren’t for them, I may have missed Machu Pichu entirely! It gave me hope that there are still truly kind people in the world. They knew they wouldn’t and didn’t gain anything from helping me out, but it definitely changed my day. Hell, it changed my week. I ended up having a fantastic time, wandering in and out of the ruins and doing all the hiking paths available… I actually found quite a few lonely spots in the park, which is amazing. The main area was just overflowing with tourists… but a little hike away I found other ruins, forgotten by the masses. It was a nice day in the end.
Cave Ruin, Machu Pichu
Finally, I saw the Independence Day celebrations in Cusco and then had one last hoorah with all my new amigos in Lima and then it was back to Argentina for two weeks of catching up with friends, learning to Tango, shopping for work clothes and interview suits, and a bit of relaxation before the cold shock of returning to “real life.” The time flew by, and before I knew it I was among English speakers again. (The language really sounds hard and a bit nasally after a while of not hearing it, btw.)
Festivities in Cusco
Now I’m settling down in the UK, going back to some sort of “real life” even though I’m still away from home. I’m coming to here with my most recent culture being a Latin one, not an American one… so when things strike me as odd, I need to ask myself if it’s because I’m used to the laid back chaos of South America or the whatever-you-call-it of the USA. I don’t even know what to be shocked at with “culture shock” anymore as I’ve been “shocked” in so many different ways the past year! I’d say now it must be life shock, or something. I’m doing things like opening a bank account (this is resulting to be more difficult than getting a UK Highly Skilled Migrant Visa), finding a place to live, and getting a job. I’ve been here a month now and the only thing I have to show for it so far is a room in a house with three Irish guys, which (as I’m sure you can imagine) is great, but I still need a job to pay for it! Things are looking up in that department, however.
So I guess life is settling down for this little wanderer, for a time at least. I don’t intend to completely stop this adventure… now and then I might be able to take a some time off and skedaddle to Russia or something, who knows? That’s the great part about living in Europe! But in reality, my life now will be a bit more boring than it has been lately. Hey, I’m not complaining! It’s been a great year-and-then-some! :)
Cheers xx