Preparing for Machu Picchu

Hello everyone,

I'm in Cusco, Peru, and doing just fine.

After leaving Lima, I went by bus to Ica and stayed in the nearby oasis Huacachina. I actually wasn't very fond of that place either. It was a tourist bubble, put in place so people could go sandboarding - no other reason. So that's what I did. It was alright, nothing to write home to mom about (ironically, here I am). Riding around in the buggy was actually the best part.

I did have a cool experience going to a church service in Ica afterwards though at an Evangelical church called El Shaddai. I understood very little of the sermon, but enjoyed the worship. People here are really passionate about God in a way that not a lot of people back home are. The best part, though, was that afterwards I ended up going to a birthday party of one of the members of the church, named Clarissa. We played some really goofy games that I'd never seen before, and it was really fun. Once again, I see that my most memorable experiences are the ones that I share with other people. Solitude can be valuable too, and I really appreciated it when I was in the jungle. But in general, I'm a people person.

Now, there are a few things that I'm having to cut out of my trip. The first is the flight over the Nazca lines that would have come next. The lines themselves are fascinating, but the flights I decided (and have heard) just aren't worth it. The second is Lake Titicaca. It's a fairly nice looking lake, but everything I've heard about the native people living on the islands there (a major attraction of the lake) speaks to me of a culture that lost it's heritage to tourism, which really turns me off. Apparently this people--isolated from the rest of the world, and beating to the beat of their own drum--also sing songs to you in English when you visit them. How delightful. Really, I don't blame them, they're making a living for themselves like everybody else. It just bothers me a bit, and I need to make time for some of the genuinely interesting places to come.

So instead of going to Nazca, I embarked Monday on a 16-hour bus ride for Cusco. I didn't think it would be so bad, since I'd done one of the same length when I'd gone to Tarapoto. It was though. It was nothing but bad curvy roads, and I couldn't sleep and felt sick the whole time. Once we arrived, however, Cusco was quite a sight to see. It was like looking out into a great big bowl, laid out with a mass of well-crafted mud-brick houses and a vast network of narrow brick streets. Just when I was starting to think that all cities looked the same, there was Cusco. There's no shortage of tourism here, but really the place is pretty cool anyways (I'm putting up a few photos that I took from walking around the town).

And I can't be totally down on the tourism industry, because I'm really quite excited about my plans for a Machu Picchu trek tomorrow. I'll be going with a group of people I met in the bustling hostel that I'm staying in (160 bed hostel), and taking 4 days. One of these days will be downhill mountain biking, the following two will be hiking to Aguas Calientes - a town right next to the ruins, and the last one will be spent visiting Machu Picchu and then taking the train back. The group besides myself, are made up of 5 people from Ireland, 1 from England, 2 from Canada, and 1 other from the US. Should be pretty sweet.

I would like to mention that I was introduced to Irish food here by my new friends, and I think it's my kind of stuff! I had my first taste of shepherd's pie, which is basically just a massive pile of beef, potatoes, cheese, and corn. Oh yeah. Also, I've never had so many people ask my if I wanted a massage in my entire life than I have walking through Cusco. They even try to convince you that you want one after you tell them you don't. Really guys, I'm alright. I'm golden.

Stay tuned for an update after the trek. :)

Cheers,
Stephen