Rafting and Inti Raymi

I apologize for not writing in such a long time but the past week has been very busy here in Cusco and then with travels! In this entry I will catch you all up on my rafting experience, riding the Combi for the first time (the tiny bus that the locals use,) the two new roommates we got, going to the Coca museum with Claire and the huge festivals last Wednesday and Thursday in Cusco.

The strike finally ended and we were able to go rafting last Saturday. Brendon, Chantal, Brittany and I left around 8:45 in the morning with about 45 other tourists around our age to go out to the Urubamba River. It took about an hour to get there but the drive was beautiful. We drove through the mountains and the villages we passed by were quaint with small shack homes and abundant livestock in the fields surrounding.

We arrived at the base camp where we changed into our bathing suits, got our gear which was a wet suit, rain jacket, life vest and helmet, and left our stuff in lockers. We got back on the bus to continue to wear we would put our rafts in to start from. When we arrived they gave us all a paddle and explained the commands our guide would give us: forward, back, stop, inside (where we all sit in the raft), left and right. Our guide was from Brazil and the only English he knew were those commands so it was good that I spoke Spanish along with the one other guy from Montreal that came along on our raft.

We started down the river, which was in a beautiful valley, and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day to be rafting because even though the water was extremely cold, we had the hot sun to keep us warm. Our guide was a little nuts and whenever we went over rapids he would jump up and down like a spider monkey.

The rapids were only a level 3 since it is dry season here and the water is so low, but they were still fun and gave us some scare a couple times. The paddling wasn't hard at all since the water was so low so I was happy about that because I am not very good when it comes to steering and paddling. Also, since it is dry season there were a couple times where we had to get out of the boat and walk along the shore because the water was not high enough to cover certain rocks and we couldn’t go past them. I did not like this part at all because we were barefoot and the rocks were very slippery and not easy to walk on at all.

At one point on the 3 hour journey down the river, we got to a point where we could get out and swim. Our guide took this opportunity to flip our raft so we didn’t have the option and we all ended up going for a swim. The water was freezing but it was fun to be in the water. There was a big rock that we could go up to jump off of as well so Chantal, Brendon and I went up and did cannonballs into the river from it. The rapids started to carry me away afterward and I couldn’t swim hard enough back to the raft against them so my guide paddled over and stuck out the paddle for me to grab on to luckily.

We got back to base camp where they had a sauna to warm us up. Afterward we had some tasty lunch and then headed back to Cusco where I took a quick nap and then got ready for the International Party I talked about earlier.

I rode the Combi for the first time with Julia to the party because we waited forever and could not get a taxi. It only costs 60 cents so it is much cheaper than a taxi, but after riding it I would prefer to stick to taxis for the rest of my time here. They are these little white vans that are meant to hold probably 15 people maximum, but they cram about 40-50 in them. We sat in the back for a ride that in taxi takes 10 minutes yet in this with all the back alley stops took 25 and I felt extremely claustrophobic. It smelled, it was dirty and I swear some old man was sitting on my lap.

On Sunday we got two new housemates, one of which is my new roommate. They came together, both from Ole Miss (University of Mississippi). My roommate’s name is Brittany and then Bryant is in the room upstairs. Bryant will be in his first year of med school in the fall and Brittany is applying right now. They are both doing medical placement here at clinics in Cusco for 6 weeks. They have really strong southern accents which are adorable and Brittany calls everyone ma'am and sir. Her mom kept a lock of her hair back home in MS with her in case anything were to happen to Brittany so she would have her DNA! This was very funny but extremely smart too. I really like them both and we have all bonded very quickly and I will be sad to leave them in a week and a half.

Claire got back in town on Monday from her trip to Bolivia and so we met up and went to the Coca Museum together. It was only S5 for students. It featured 3 rooms with different walls explaining each part of the plant from its growth to its controversy. They worshiped a Coca Queen in the past that brought good fortune to the coca fields for them to grow. Coca can grow as a flower or a leaf and is threatened by moths that like to eat it. It grows mainly in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. People have been chewing the leaf for centuries to help with altitude sickness and to help stimulate the body to work longer hours; it is like the super caffeine. Doctors like Sigmund Freud did studies and actually support the use of coca for many health benefits not only physically but mentally. As far as making it into cocaine, there was a sign with the step by step process of how they change the leaves into the deadly drug. However, there are officials in South America that support the making of cocaine in their countries because they say it helps the economy grow and it is an essential part of the history of their nation. There was a room in the museum about addiction that had posters of Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse and then a mannequin of a dead man lying on a bed with a syringe next to him. Unfortunately, I cannot bring anything with coca in it back to the states, but in the coca store of the museum they had anything you could imagine made with coca from tea to alcohol to candy and gum.

Wednesday was the Day of Cusco and yet again the plaza was closed off for more parades and dancing. I did not have work as well as the rest of the city because this was a day to celebrate being Cusqueno and go out with friends and family and enjoy the day.

Thursday was Inti Raymi which is a huge festival here that celebrates the Sun God. They had a parade that started at 8 in the morning on Avenida Sol and continued all the way up to the ruins at Saqsayhuman where the ceremony was held. We did not go because tickets were $100 but from what I hear it was all in Quechua and was very boring anyways. There was a priest that talked for awhile and then they did a fake llama sacrifice to the Sun God. The Plaza was shut down for this day as well and no one had work because of the holiday. Brittany, Bryant and I went out later in the day to take some pictures of the decorations in the Plaza. We had lunch out and Brittany and I had great pepper alpaca tenderloin. We happened to see part of the parade of men dressed in what looked like Indian tribal costumes run by around 4 pm when we were on our way back home to pack for our long weekend trip.

I had to say goodbye to Brendon and Chantal because they would be leaving before I get back from my trip and it was very sad and I actually started crying! They told me I was welcome to come visit them in Saskatchewan whenever I want. Check out my next entries to read all about my trip to Puno and Lake Titicaca. Adios!

-Hillary-