Mercado, Montanas and Mucho Aguas

What a past couple of amazing days! The weekend started off on Friday with some shopping and a little party with other volunteers followed by our incredible trip to ancient ruins which we just returned from at 2 am this morning. There is much to write about so bear with me in this long entry. Pictures are up on facebook and I will try to get some on here when I figure it out.

Friday- The Market: San Pedro and Fiesta

After lunch some of the housemates and I decided to go check out a local market near downtown. It would have been a vegetarian’s nightmare (like my best friend Kristi who recently took meat out of her diet). There was row after row of dead carcuses lying out on tables with no sense of cleanliness whatsoever. The flies were rampant and the smell was unbearable by the end of our time there. There were full pigs, pig heads, full chickens, chicken feet, turkeys, frogs, beef slabs, etc. Nothing was on ice and no one wore gloves and it was one of the most disgusting sites of my life, but of course I took many pictures. There were other areas with fresh produce however that looked slightly appetizing and bag after bag of rice, grains, and corn. I would never eat anything from the markets for fear of how it is washed and maintained, but there were some exotic looking fruits and the corn kernels were larger than I’ve ever seen that some volunteers take a risk with. There were other shops as well in the enormous market that was busy with locals and tourists that sold clothing and little souvenir type things. Sweaters are a big deal here and almost every vendor will try to sell you one, wool or alpaca. After we had enough of the stench and the hagglers the others walked to Spanish class and I went to my placement at Colibri. Friday was the last day for the Israel couple so the kids sang them a Peruvian song and gave them a small present. We got a new volunteer also named Ani who is from NYC but goes to school at the other USC in CA. She speaks Spanish very well and we practice with each other and the kids. After work I went shopping with Mario and got some great deals on more gifts for the family that I am very excited to bring home for them!

Friday night we went to one of the Maximo Nivel staff’s bars in San Blas which is an adorable little area also near downtown. The bar was small but it was jam packed with volunteers from all over the world so it was fun to meet people from places I never have before. After, that we went dancing at a place called Mama Africa where I made friends with a stray dog… yes I know it is the animal lover in me that can’t walk away from the thousands of homeless dogs that fill this country but they are so cute and I feel so bad for them. I bought him some bread and held him even though he was filthy and matted. Sometimes I wonder why I am not studying to do something in the future with animals because my friends at home and even my new ones here think I am crazy when I pet the most random things on the street. I hate to see all the starving dogs, but the starving kids in Colibri and all over Peru are more important of course.

Saturday: Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo

We had to be downtown Cusco at 8:45 am on Saturday morning to get our bus to begin our weekend journey northeast. There was another Canadian girl named Lionel on our bus but the rest seemed to speak only Spanish. As we drove out of town down and around the windy mountain roads we passed Saqsayhuaman (literally pronounced sexy woman,) another old ruin close to the ancient Inca capital city of Cusco. The drive was absolutely stunning and I can’t even put into words the sights that I saw through my bus window. Mountains galore, some with snow on the top because of the high altitude, country sides scattered with livestock, Peruvian people in the small villages in their indigenous multi-colored clothes, rivers with rapids, and much more that only a visit to this glorious country would allow you to understand. We stopped along the way at a small market where some alpacas and their owner were waiting for tourists to pay to have their picture taken. Of course as soon as I saw them I ran off the bus and didn’t even care about the market and spent all twenty minutes there with the animals. Alpacas and llamas are part of the camel family so while I was taking a picture one of them spit in my ear. How sanitary right?! I excused him and decided it was okay as long as he let me take him for a ride around the parking lot. The owner said however that he doesn’t ride his alpacas because they are not strong enough, so sorry Kristi, I think it is impossible for the million dollar picture to happen… I know, I was devastated too. Next to them were a family with one lamb and I paid to take a picture with them as well. The people here will do anything for a quick buck even if it means subjecting their children or themselves to utter embarrassment. It was devastating to see a mother standing there all day with her two young daughters in tow dressed in full Inca clothing in the grueling sun just hoping that some tourist like me will be a loser enough to pay for a picture with a dumb lamb. The exploitation occurs in the city as well when mothers make their children work on the streets to sell gum, candy, food, water, etc. until all hours of the night. That is what Colibri is for: to take those children out of that negative environment that is doing them absolutely no good and put them into an environment with adults who care about them and won’t use them to make some money. We got back on the bus and continued to the bigger ruins.

When we arrived in the Sacred Valley we were greeted yet again by vendors trying to sell the same things but at much higher prices due to be isolation they live in away from the city. Our tour guide walked us through the ruins and explained the history of each section. One part that was especially interesting to me was in one of the houses there was an indent in the wall where mummified people would be placed in order for the Condor (their national bird) to come down and eat the insides and then take them to the sky to be closer to the Gods. The Incas believed that the Condors would carry the spirits to the Gods and so they would offer the dead to them in hope that they would take them to Heaven. There were also small inserts in the ground where the Incas bred guinea pigs, called Cuy, to eat. Our guide said that today there are still over 200 Andean villages living high in the Andes of Peru that speak only the indigenous language of Quechua and live in a traditional manner. We stopped for some lunch next in Urubamba, another small village on the way northeast.

The next stop on our journey was the city of Ollanta where the other ruins were located. We happened to arrive on a good weekend because it was the first day of a three day festival that only occurs in that village and one other. There were people dressed in colorful costumes, adorned with masks and flutes dancing down the streets and there was music all throughout the city. We walked up the second ruins which were much higher; 242 stairs to be exact. My asthma was okay at this point and I was not feeling any altitude sickness at all, just getting a bit sore from all the stairs. This ruin, Ollantaytambo, featured the same terraces built to prevent flooding and at the top there was a large stone used as a calendar by the Incas by looking at the shadows from the sun and moon. At the bottom was an area of fountains and one in particular that the people were required to bathe in for purity before going to the big cities like Pisac or Cusco. We had to walk from there to another bus station what took us to the Inca rail run by Peru Rail trains. We drove again through very curvy roads right near the edge and in the dark at this point so it made me a little nervous, but it was nothing compared to what I was about to experience the next day. There were random houses along the way and I could not comprehend how those people possibly lived like that: in such poverty and despair. They were so far from any major city and sometimes even small villages and their homes were usually small areas surrounded by brick and a cheap roof overhead. I felt such isolation for them and I wondered how they educated their children, got food and clean water, got health care, etc. or if they simply just don’t. I wonder if they simply just live off the land and hope to get by. The train left the next small city we were brought to around 7:45 pm but by that time we all felt like it should’ve been midnight. We were so exhausted from a long day of walking and being under the sun that as soon as our bums hit the seats, we were out. The ride to the small city under Machu Pichu called Aguas Calientes (meaning hot water due to its hot water springs) is supposed to be beautiful, but due to it already being dark out we could not see a thing. The ride took about an hour and a half and it felt like I had been transported into a whole new world when I walked off the train. There were enormous mountains all around us and a beautiful river flowing through the new city we were in. We were met by a staff member of our hostel who walked us to where we would stay for the night. The city was full of restaurants offering all day happy hour and pizza and hostels due to it being the dropping point for Machu Pichu, a tourist attraction for people all over the world. The hostel was pretty nice for a hotel. The girls slept in a room all the way upstairs while the boys were right near the lobby. We spoke with our guide before bed who told us the plans for the following day at Machu Pichu and we got to bed right away knowing it would be another long day ahead.

Saturday: THE BIG DAY!

We got to the bus stop at 4:45 am in order to get the 5:30 bus so we could be one of the 400 allowed to go up Waynapichu. Waynapichu is the highest mountain in Machu Pichu (if you have seen pictures, it is the large one in back) and there are two time slots of 7 am and 10 am that only allow 200 people for each to preserve the small rugged trail. Machu Pichu is another site that cannot be described. Walking in through the gate and first seeing the amazing view was breathtaking. I didn’t even get out my camera for a good 4 minutes because I just stood there in awe at how beautiful everything was and how lucky I was to be seeing it in real life. We got our stamps that permitted us on the 7 am hike and after a few pictures with the sun rising behind the ruins we headed for our trek up the giant mountain. The walk up took us about an hour and I needed to stop quite often because my breathing was giving me trouble. The increasing altitude as we climbed, along with my asthma, along with probably not being in the best shape that I could be, made for a very difficult climb to the top. I did not want to give up though and it really helped to have the encouragement of my new friends pushing me to continue because I knew, and we all knew, it would be worth it once we got there. The steps were very narrow and steep and not every set had a railing or rope. At some points we had to use the rocks to hold on to knowing that we didn’t have on any harnesses and one slip up could mean a fall to death. I tried not to look down too much because it was a straight drop into a valley and it scared me to think that we were on such unstable and old architecture. I huffed and puffed and at one point almost cried because I was so tired and winded from walking but I made it to the top and was glowing with excitement when I did. It was such an accomplishment that I never thought I could do and I am so proud of myself for pushing through it and making it up there. When we arrived there were many others who were hanging around and taking pictures and resting from the long hike. The view was unbelievable. I felt like I was in a movie when I peered out over the edges and saw Machu Pichu now look like a tiny little figure in the distance. Pictures, pictures and more pictures were taken because I want to let everyone know that I really did it! It was a wonderful experience and one that I will never forget and definitely never let anyone else forget because it was such a hard and tiring hike. We thought the way back down would be easier, but for 2 of the housemates who are afraid of heights, it was worse going down. You had to watch your feet at all times to make sure they were placed perfectly on each step or you could risk slipping and falling off the edge. We made it back down in about 45 minutes and wanted to fall to the ground because our legs were shaking with fatigue.

We headed out of the gate for some overpriced lunch and relaxed for probably an hour and I stretched out all my muscles and joints so they would not tighten up on me. After “lunch” (it was only about 11 am by the end but it felt like 6 at night) we went back in to explore MP and take some pictures of the roaming llamas and such. More remarkably built ancient homes caught my eye and I loved looking at how elaborate they had been even back so long ago. There was an immense water streaming system throughout the whole ancient city as well that I could not believe they were able to think up and realize how to make work with no education and little tools.

We headed back to Aguas Calientes, about a twenty minute drive down the mountain, around 2 pm and decided to go in the hot springs to heal our achey bodies. None of us brought our bathing suits so we went in clothes from the previous day. The water felt great and helped relieve some of the pain and soreness of our bodies, but the view of European men in their Speedos brought a new pain and soreness to my eyes. We tried to bathe in the showers there since we had to check out of our hostel, but the water smelled and was dirty, so even after using soap we still didn’t feel very clean. We got dressed and headed out for dinner where something very funny happened that had everyone around us starring. There were two restaurants side by side and both wanted us to eat there so they were yelling back and forth what they would give us if we went to their restaurant for dinner: “free nachos!” “free beer!” “meals only 20 soles!” “free Pisco Sours!” It went on and on for several minutes until we finally decided on the one that offered all of that combined. Xian ordered alpaca since meals were so cheap and I tried some. It was very good and tasted sort of like a mixture between steak and lamb. I had a great chicken dinner with rice and took them up on their free Cusquena beer offer. The beer is similar to a Bud Light and is popular all over Peru. After dinner we still had 3 hours to kill until our train left so we walked around Aguas a little more and then settled in at a coffee/internet café for a couple hours to chat with some other travelers waiting for thir 9:45 train. There was Sam from San Luis Obisbo, CA and two younger girls from Canada we had met on Friday at the volunteer party. Our whole ride home last night was just awful not only because of the bumpy roads and terrible drivers, but also because I started to get sick. It began with a sore throat that I thought might just be from breathing heavily on the mountain and taking in the dirty and less oxygenated air, but as the night progressed and we went from train to bus to bus I got steadily worse to where I am right now: laying in bed with a cough, headache, sore throat and stuffy nose. I might just be worn out from the weekend, but I am sipping lemon tea from Totti and I have taken medicine in hopes of a speedy recovery for our tasting of Cuy tomorrow night and rafting on Wednesday. Wish me luck and until then, hasta luego and adios amigos!

-Hillary-