I am dealing with a rather slow wi-fi connection right now, so the pictures and videos from yesterday and today will have to be added later when I have time.
Yesterday I walked 20+ kilometers.
Today I walked 20+ kilometers.
Yesterday I was still dealing with a touch of altitude sickness. But I decided to venture out to see some of the ruins in the area anyway. There are four minor sites not far from where I am staying. The first, Sachsayhaman (pronounced Sexy Woman) was the most impressive. The other three were interesting but not exciting. I walked to all of them.
Afterwards, I ended up in the city, where I found some lunch for $2. Delicious soup and some chicken and rice. Soon discovered that the postage here is about 6 times the price of a postcard.
I really needed to relax because the headache from the altitude sickness was wearing on me. The rest of the day was spent in bed until it was time for dinner. Splurged on that, but I can't remember what it was already! I remember that I was disappointed to find that the "Nelson Mandela" dessert that I wanted (chocolate, cream, Brazil nuts, and rum) was sold out. I settled for the cheesecake. I guess I will survive.
Today was a big festival day in Cusco. But I decided not to stay for it. Hopped on a bus for an hour to Pisac. The ruins there are spectacular. Since part of this trip is to prove to myself that I can do it when it is time to walk up a big hill, I chose to do that instead of taking a taxi. The trip lasted about 2.5 hours one way. Only after I reached the top and headed back down did I discover that there was a shorter way for pedestrians. I was taking the highway that taxis take. Well, at the least the walk was less steep. And I got to walk through some real local villages. By the way, the altitude sickness appears to be gone. Knock on wood.
By midafternoon, I was starving, so in the town of Pisac, I found a nice restaurant that was recommended in the guidebook. I was disappointed to discover that the waitress was an American or something. She spoke perfect English, had blonde hair, was tall and albino white. The special was a delicious soup and choice of entree and dessert. For the entree I picked a salad of chicken and-- get this-- cold, previously cooked vegetables. Delicious, but I found for the first time in my adult life that the food placed in front of me was t.o.o. m.u.c.h.! I had to leave some to feed to the animals.
Today was a big market day in Pisac. The choices of things they have to buy here-- and the "encouragement" of the locals to buy-- are just too overwhelming for me. I skipped it and hopped on the bus back to the city. Y'know, I was reading a book on the way this morning, at least until we started down the valley to the final destination. But on the way back, I was not reading, and I was sitting next to the window, and I was looking out the window. Oh my! It was too much for me to handle. The bus driver was speeding through the curves, and the road was right up against the side of a cliff for a huge chunk of the time. I kept hoping that the driver did not suffer from a seizure. There would have been no saving us.
A big group of schoolkids got on the bus at some point. The young man sitting next to me was talking to the young lady across the aisle. I was so pleased to see that they were talking about mathematics. I tried my best not to notice what they were working on, but it appeared to be something 11th- and 12th-grade college-bound would kids would be working in the USA. These kids appeared to be about 14.
Remember the festival? A traffic jam began about 5 km outside of town. Apparently everyone from the entire region is in Cusco tonight. Some of the schoolkids got off the bus to walk. So I took my cue from them and hoofed it back to the hotel.
Exhausted.
I have a 4 a.m. wake-up call for tomorrow.
I will be taking a bus and then a train to Machu Picchu. I will be at the site from about 10 to 4, much longer than some, due to my happening-to-be-able-to get tickets just right. I'll be in bed by midnight.
My room here is amazing, but it has no view. I had to take the "last room" when I made my reservations, but there will be a new room opening up tomorrow. The hotel staff will be moving my stuff while I am gone. Excited.
-NB
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