Welcome to Peru

Went a little out of order in bringing myself all the way to Arequipa. There was more to Cusco than just horrible people at my hostal.


For one thing, Cusco itself is one of the most over-touristed places I have been. It seems to exist entirely for the tourist industry, anchored by its proximity to Machu Picchu. The number of tour companies is so overwhelming that it is next to impossible to decide which company to use. Some are much better than others but the whole business is so incestuous that they are all related in some way. It may not have more tourists than other places but the tourists are crammed into the center of the city, more or less. Nobody really owns cars so there are seemingly millions of taxis. The taxis are another story altogether. It's one of those places where you cannot walk ten feet without someone trying to sell you a tour, a trinket, a massage (every two feet), a pack of smokes, drugs, a meal, a sweater, a hat with ear flaps, or a photo with a pet llama. Just about everyone, it seems, is trying to rip you off. I think the people are both jaded by the presence of all the tourists and their perceived (and real) money and simply poor. Everyone is fighting over the same dollar or euro and there are just too many of them doing the same thing and selling the same thing with nothing to differentiate one from the other. I will give them a break there. It's tough to make a living, like everywhere I have been. I'm glad I'm not hawking tours all day on the corner or asking 500 people if they want a massage to get one taker. That being said, I still don't like being seen as a walking wallet. But nobody in that town has any interest in knowing anything about you. Everything is a sales opportunity.



A little story about the sales opportunity. Part of it was a great experience, part of it was a royal rip off. I walked up to the ruins just above town my second day in Cusco. It's a pretty good hike up the stairs above San Blas. San Blas is built into the hillside and is made of winding, steep, stone steps. When I got to the top, this guy with a backpack jumped down from the wall and approached me. Of course I thought he wanted to sell me something or perhaps rob me but he asked me if I had a boleto touristico or tourist ticket to get in. I said no and he explained to me that I could get in free after 5:30. I told him that I was just going to climb the hill to the giant Jesus statue (being the big Jesus freak that I am). He blesses me every day. Oh wait, he's dead. Anyway, the guy introduces himself as Armando and walks with me up the trail to see our boy JC. Cool guy, takes some photos of me and asks me if I wanted to go drink Chicha with him. I agreed and walked down this maze of steep dirt trails (the real Cusco) past the shacks and houses and several vicious dogs that we pelted with rocks until we came to a building with a low roof and a door that we had to duck under to walk through. Seated at long tables along the walls were mostly men 50 and older drinking a yellow liquid with both hands from large glasses. We were in a "Chicharia," or Chicha house. Chicha is liquor made by the Incas that is brewed by women who chew corn, spit it into an urn, ferment it, and add water. These men come and drink Chicha every day for three or four hours. I met several of his uncles and his father and cousins and we drank Chicha for several hours. We walked back to town, I fell down the trail (twice) and I thought it was a really cool, very unique experience. Which it was - I have not met anyone (Peruvian or otherwise) who has ever been to a Chicharia. Armando mentioned to me that they had horses and told me he could take me on a tour for 45 soles, which sounded cheap. I said that I would go the next day. Here comes the rip off/sales opportunity. I showed up to ride the next day and the price was 90 soles (I had to rent his horse, from his cousin, who is his neighbor and owns the horse). Oh, ok. Paid it, wondering if they would actually give me my 10 soles change. The horse was good, the equipment was terrible and I couldn't even put my feet in the stirrups, and most of the ride was on the road. The ride was half as long as it was supposed to be, on a different route than promised, and cost twice as much. We ended up going to the school where his girlfriend was the cook and she made us some delicious trout. The best I have ever had. During this time, his cousin stopped by because he worked for a bike tour company and I had mentioned that I was interested in a bike tour and Armando was telling me that I could live in the apartment above his house for free as long as I wanted. We walked back to my hostal as he and his cousin were both trying to steer me into their offers. His cousin visited me several more times in the coming days. Armando offered me the free place to stay a few more times but I knew it was only because I was a potential source of income. I honestly thought the guy had some good intentions but it was really just the first of many experiences that made me think everyone in Peru wanted my money, whether they obtained it honestly or not. I never got my 10 soles change.

Trying to get caught up on Peru and need to keep posting in parts. It´s part laziness, part disorganization, part sketchy internet access, part being sick twice, and part just being busy traveling and doing what goes along with that.