I last left you in Peru, just after paragliding over the sacred valley near Cusco. It is an interesting town… yet incredibly full of tourists, which counterintuitively made it more difficult to meet people. Usually, if you see another little gaggle of tourists somewhere, you can walk up to them and easily kick off a chat… no problem. But Cusco was so full of tourists that it would be like doing that with random strangers at home… awkwaaaard. So I wandered around on my own and tried to decide what to do for fun, solo.

Rafting, it turned out, was the answer. I signed up for a 3 day trip on the Apurimac River. A source of the Amazon, it cuts the 3rd deepest canyon in the world - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon! Our adventure would take us through sections that are just under Class V (meaning it was pretty big and burrrrly). So.Much.Fun. Our group consisted of two “people rafts”, one raft with supplies, and two guide 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. Mark Twain would have loved it.

After rafting, I decided it was high time to see some ruins. After all, that’s what most people go there for. First, I visited Ollantaytambo, which was a good precursor to Machu Pichu and had its own amazing stone structures. It is quite different to MP – open and arid, vs the latter’s dense greenery. I visited the park alone (there’s a surprise), not in a tour group, and am glad I did even though I’m sure I missed out on some very interesting historical commentary. The nice part about not having a guide is you can run off the beaten path a bit. I ended up scrambling up a steep hill (a good warm-up for the Incan Stairmaster of Machu Pichu), far above all the tourists, and sat on the top of its mountain. At peace in the wind by a cross, enjoying a delicate sunset, I tried 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 popular tourist attractions can be “talked up” too much and result in disappointment. The Egyptian Pyramids come to mind… bit of a letdown (while they are quite amazing, just wasn’t quite what I expected). I braced myself for crowded… blah. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed at all with the park. (yay) But I was not impressed with the people managing the entrance! (boo) They were quite irritable people.

The story: I woke up at 4am, ran up the trail (there were advantages to having been hiking for days in the Andes), and arrived at the gate panting and covered in sweat, just before sunrise. That was my goal. I expected to buy my ticket at the door, get in and settle into a good spot, and watch the sun’s show. 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  purchase a ticket through a tour group, even though they technically could have sold me one at the door (and nothing in my guidebook had said I otherwise, I should note).  

I was crushed. There was no way I put the visit off to the next day – I was due to leave. Not to mention, the “tourist train” to Machu Pichu is prohibitively expensive. Just as I was in a sheer moment of despair, yielding to tears frustration, 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 would have missed Machu Pichu entirely! It gave me hope that there are still truly kind people in the world. It was an act of altruism, that. The guide knew he wouldn’t (and didn’t) gain anything from helping me out – I didn’t even get his name. But, it made such a difference for me and gave me a memory I will cherish forever.

I ended up having a fantastic time, wandering in and out of the ruins and following 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 very nice day in the end.

Recommendations for Machu Picchu:

• Buy your ticket in Cusco or Aguas Calientes (the small town just before the park). I am not one to usually advise this, but it will save you gate frustration. 
• Get up early and walk up. Use your legs, the Inca did! The bus not only ruins the experience, but the gash of the Hiram Bingham Highway on the hill is terrible. Don’t contribute to it unless you are unable to walk.
• Get to the park as early as you can. It’s all about sunrise.
• If you enjoy walking, get your name on the list for Huayna Picchu. When I was there they only let about 300 people per day on the mountain. By the time you get there, I’m sure it will be different. Find out what the deal is and make sure to get up there. It’s a great hike, and the ruins on the other side are serene and interesting.

Finally, I saw the Independence Day celebrations in Cusco, headed to Lima for one last hoorah with my new amigos there, 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 hard shock of returning to “real life.” The time flew by, and before I knew it I was among English speakers again. (The language really does sound hard and a bit nasally after a while of not hearing it, btw).

Now I’m settling down in the UK, going back to some sort of “real life” even though I’m still far 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 Northwest USA. I don’t even know what to be shocked by with “culture shock” anymore as I’ve been “shocked” in so many different ways the past year. I’d say now it must be general 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 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! :)