Machu Picchu

We arrived in Cuzco at 4 pm - the jump off city for Machu Picchu. We went to the office for the Inca Jungle Tour - a tour that last 4 days and avoids the traditional Inca Trail, which has become crowded with tourists as of late. After grabbing the essentials (a $3 backpack made out of alpaca, bug spray and a rain poncho) we headed out for a little pre-hike celebration. We had heard there was authentic live music at a peruvian bar, so Alberto & I headed out to enjoy the festivities. On the way in I saw a group and heard Spanish, English & French being spoken... so I naturally headed right over. We hung out with a big group mixed of locals and travelers from all over, splitting 1.5 litre bottles of beers until all of a sudden a fire was lit in the front of the room and out walked a shaman followed by 8 guys. The burning herbs in the front of the room took the crowd to a spiritual place, and prepared us for the music to come. The band rocked and the rhythm was too much, and so everyone took to dancing. We danced until midnight, when a local said it was time to hit up a club. We danced until 2:30 when we headed home to pack for the trip.

At 6:30, with a hearty 3 and 1/2 hours of sleep, we headed out. Our guide, Luis, is one of the most amazing and sincere people I have met in many years. He did not speak much English, and since I was the only one to speak fluent Spanish, we immediately formed a relationship. Luis and I spent a lot of time talking over the next 4 days. The first day was a short ride to the top of a mountain, where we mountain biked all the way down the other side. The group of 8 was originally to be accompanied by a small car, but 2 hours into the biking we came across a huge land slide that had taken out the road on the side of a mountain. We grabbed our bikes and climbed over the slide, leaving the bike and all civilization behind. Here the path turned to dirt and we biked another 6 hours straight into the darkness when we finally arrived at our first stop, Santa Maria.

The next morning we awoke at 6:30 again and began our hike. We hiked into the mountains and through valleys more breathtaking than anything I had ever seen. At times we walked along the side of a cliff following a 3 ft wide road carved into the side of the mountain hundreds of years ago by the Incas. This day we hiked another 8 hours, crossing the river on swaying bridges, and crossing one gap on a 4 planked car suspended from a cable where you had to pull yourself across using a rope strung up above. Finally we arrived at natural hot springs where we dove in. The site was astounding, with huge springs of differing temperature, and although they were natural the locals had built beautiful rock pools out of them. That night we were close to the small town of Santa Teresa, and so we slept well.

The 3rd day was the most grueling, once again waking up at 6:30 and hiking from 3,900 to 4,300 meters over the course of 4 hours. It was brutal but worth it as we finally came over the summit and ate at an old incan outpost overlooking machu picchu in the distance. The downhill hike took us over small streams, and in the distance poured a powerful waterfull. Anxious to reach it, I sprinted down the steep switchbacks carved into the mountain with 2 other ambitious travelers of our group. After 1 hour of full downhill sprint, we ran into a local doing work for the state who carried us to a natural bathing pool formed by the river. I immediately stripped and dove in, cooling down and washing off for 15 minutes before the rest of the group caught up. From there we hiked past the waterfall and down to a small town called Hidroelectrica where an old locomotive would take us the last hour into Aguas Calientes, the base town of Machu Picchu. We arrived practically dead, ate and slept for the following day.

On the 4th day we awoke at 4:30 to get to Machu Picchu early, because only 400 people a day are allowed to hike Wayna Picchu - a mountain that stands another 45 minute vertical hike above the city, but gives an amazing view. We got to Machu Picchu at 5:30 and after waiting for it to open and to get our tickets stamped for Wayna Picchu, we had our guide give us a tour of Machu Picchu. At 10 we started our hike up rocks and paths that would be illegal to traverse in most countries. You could look down at a 400 foot drop below you, or sometimes the distance was so great the ground was barely visible. The structures were beyond words, however, and the culture of the civilization overtook us. Alpacas and Llamas grazed between Incan buildings, and all around us was forest and mountain and valley of immesurable scale. One could not help but just feel lost in both space and time, standing at the edge of a cliff and looking around. Finally, exhausted, we set off for the 1 and 1/2 hour downhill hike back to town, where we arrived at 4:30 and ate and drank until our train at 7 to Ollataytambo, where a van would wait to pick us up and take us to Cuzco. We pulled into Cuzco at 10:30, and after growing so close over the past 4 days, the 8 of us plus our guide Luis headed out. It would be a crime against my fellow travelers to share the events of the night, but let it be said that debauchery was had. I finally strolled back into my room at 5 am, time enough to pack and take a 1 hour power nap before waking up the following morning to make it to Puno...

Reunited

Resigned to the fact that my bag and I would not be reunited any time soon, I set my site to enjoying Huanchaco. The day following the trip to Chan Chan, we went to Huaca Sol y Luna, a site where two temples (sun and moon) were built as the foundation by the Moche for a mountain city of roughly 30,000 people around 1000 AD. It was a fabulous site, as the people lived there for 500 years, and every 100 years they would build a new layer on top of each temple to close a dynasty and welcome a new one. The surf was good, and there was a vegitarian place a few kilometers away with a great menu. At a local bar where I became friends with the owner, some of his friends rolled into town and are part of an authentic peruvian band. They played music and, moved by the beat, I got up and played this box percussion instrument you sit on and play. It was short lived as I needed to catch an overnight bus, but a cool time nonetheless beating on the box while some locals jammed out.

The hostal became slightly inhospitable, as there was a miscommunication during reservations and they forgot to tell us the whole place was under renovation and uninhabitable. The most startling encounter I had was when I was running up the outdoor, wrap around stairs with my surf board when I heard a yell to stop. A man came running up to tell me that, due to construction, they had removed a few steps from the free hanging staircase. I looked down and sure enough, two steps above me was wide open space as I stared at the ground below.

Other than that, the trip was great, but I am now resigned to accept the fact that I can no longer go into Bolivia as civil unrest has spurred government reaction and there are killings happening all over the country. With a huge hole in my path to Buenos Aires, I am slightly confused, but FINALLY after 6 days I have been reunited with my bag, so it will be nice to have fresh clothes. In a few hours I will fly to Cuzco, where tomorrow begins the hike of Macchu Picchu!

Tomorrow The Sun Will Rise

The funniest thing about traveling is the effort you put into planning it. The days or weeks or months of looking at proposed itineraries, reading first hand accounts, soliciting suggestions, packing, shopping, repacking... and in the end it all goes out the window.

4 days have passed since I lost my bag. Luckily for me I was coming to Lima to meet friends, and Alberto (the Italian with whom I will be living in Buenos Aires) leant me a pair of pants, socks, boxers and shirt - to add to the shirt, shorts, boxers and socks I was already wearing. After 2 hours in the airport, I walked half a kilometer to the local highway to avoid paying the outrageous $30-$50 airport cabs charge and caught a city cab to downtown for $5. I arrived at a huge, gated mansion which the owner turned into a hostal a few years back. From the outside, one could never tell that behind that small mahogony door set into white stucko sat a 3 story house of immense beauty. The 3 days I spent in Lima were mostly passed planning the next few weeks - coupled with a few trips to city center and the ever necessary night of cosmic bowling on a cliff overlooking the sea. I spent every day feverously calling the airport in search of my bag, only to have the phone ring and ring.

Hopeless, we left the hostal owner with the airport # & hopped an overnight bus up north to a beach town called Trujillo. We arrived @ 7 am and caught a cab to a town a few kilometers south called Huanchaco, where upon arrival we picked up some boards and went surfing (tho u could hardly call what i did surfing, since the really wide break made it impossible to paddle around the waves, and i got thrashed by wave after wave until i had to admit defeat). At 2 we caught a bus to a tour of the largest adobe city ever built, Chan Chan. The whole city corresponds to an indigenous people who preceeded the Incans and were eventually defeated by them. The main area we toured was a palace of the first governor - a 110,000 square METER palace capable of housing hundreds of individuals. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful... let the fight continue tomorrow.

Going With The Flow

I'm sitting in an internet cafe talking about my general lack of plans when my travel companions discover that I never got vaccinated for Yellow Fever. As it so happens, you are legally required to be vaccinated to even enter Colombia, but apparently this law does not apply to me. A local told me there was a clinic that gave out a free vaccine in town, and we made a plan. Wake up @ 6:30 to check out of hostal, go seek out vaccine, catch a cab to a mercado outside of town where you can catch a ride on the local boats that travel back and forth to an island 45 minutes away called Playa Blanca, find a hostal owned by a Frenchman named Gilbert, stay the night & catch a ride back the next afternoon.

The following is the readers digest of the events: The centro de salud doesn't give the shot but knows of a place 30 minutes away (and coincidentally close to the mercado where we search for a boat). We caught a cab for $4 and headed to this very poor barrio to pull up to 200+ people waiting outside for service. The cabbie realizes the hopelessness of the situation, parks the cab, and jumps out with me. We weave through the people asking questions and making excuses, constantly getting referred farther and farther back into the small building, sweltering hot and packed with people. Finally we arrive at a door marked vacuna (vaccine), knock, explain to a few people the nature of the situation, get ushered in & I get a needle shoved into my arm faster than I can blink. They grab my passport, jot down a few #'s, give me a yellow card to prove I'm yellow fever free, and we're back outside. We jump in the cab and drive to the docks, which are surrounded by a 1 way circular road avoid making the 4 kilometer tour, the taxi driver pulls onto the road, throws the car into reverse, and books it backwards at 30 km an hour. We catch a boat with the locals, arrive on the island, find the frenchman, and him up until he lets us use his wood canopy he built farther down the beach and separated from everything. We spend the day snorkeling, swimming and lying about until someone approaches us asking us if we want a ride back - and in a last minute decision catch a boat back to the mainland.

The next day I spent the whole time trying to figure how to get out of Colombia... as flights are WAY too expensive. After visiting 3 travel agencies and wasting 5 hours, I finally buy a round trip ticket to Lima, Peru (because the 1 way was $100 more expensive!) for an astounding $400. The flight leaves at 6 am, so I go back to the hostal where I meet 3 Israelis, 2 Germans, 1 Austrailian, a Colombian from Bogota & a Canadian. I teach all of them how to play Kings Cup and after 2 handles of Rum and 2 bottles of Vodka we head across the street to a bar where a band is playing live Salsa. We spend the whole night salsa dancing until 4 am, when I head back to the hostal, pack my bag by flashlight and catch a cab at 4:30 to the airport. I arrive at Bogota at 8 am, spend 5 and a half hours in the airport wasting time til my 1:40 flight to Lima, Peru where I arrive at 4:45 ... unfortunately, my bag doesn't. Where is my bag? I sit here 24 hours later, and the answer to that question is still " I dont know"...

Every Solution Has a Problem

So I arrived in Miami on a short 2 hour layover on my way to Colombia. A little annoyed at having to leave the airport & re-check in, I headed to the ticket counter where I spent the next 1.5 hours dealing with the fact that I had no flight out of the country. You can't enter a country as a foreigner without an exit flight, and they were not ready to make an exception. After some chatting and charm, a solution was reached. They would make and print a fake itinerary for me to show immigration in all of the countries I passed through over the next month. Of course if I was caught in this deception, the flight agents would disavow all knowledge of my existence, but it seemed like a good idea and so with 15 minutes to get through security and on my flight, I started the international portion of my trip.

I arrived in Cartagena, Colombia - a BEAUTIFUL beach town constructed by the spanish to be a port in 1533. Due to the ports massive success, it began to be raided by pirates, for which they encircled the entire town in a 4 kilometer stone wall, complete with look out towers and cannons. The interior of the city was intended for the elite wealthy, and as such all of the buildings are extravagantly built. The town is a maze, but its so small you can walk the entire thing in about an hour, a feat I accomplished several times. Upon arrival, I had no place to stay so i told the taxista to take me to the heart of town. I jumped out, found a hostal, and asked for a place... but it was full so they sent me down the street. They only had private rooms available, so I was stuck with paying $20,000 pesos a night, or roughly $12 dollars - expensive for Colombias standards. I walked straight down to the heart of the small city and started ambling around until I met a 21 year old local distributing flyers. We started talking in spanish, he warmed up to me and decided I needed a full tour of the city. We spent the next 2 hours wandering the streets as he explained to me what every statue meant, what building was for what, and when and why each was constructed. We finished getting a beer and watching the sunset on the wall before he invited me out that night. I ran home, threw on some pants, and met him in front of the clock tower to begin the festivities. We went out and as the night melted away, I started to notice he knew quite a lot of people. When I asked for a beer and was told it was $4, I said it was too expensive but he said no problem, we could go buy a bottle of rum and take it into the club. When I asked if that was ok, he said it was for him because his cousin owned the club, and was dating one of the most powerful drug dealers in the town. We then proceeded to get the bottle and go in, as he introduced me to every bouncer, and later to the 4 military guards carrying machine guns and the 2 officers accompanying them, who he assured me were for our protection. I started to freak when he stood up, took me into the bathroom and pulled out a bag of coke. When someone else walked in, he said hi, did a line right in front of him, turned to me and said - dont worry, you are home. I decided to run for the hills when he started to introduce me to girl after girl and told me to pick anyone I wanted, he was inviting me. When I said I wasnt quite in the mood, he got offended and I got concerned. Finally, he threw me into a cab and told him to take me wherever I wanted and not charge me. I got home at 1 and locked myself in my room, which is lucky because the next day the porter told me a young man with two much larger men came looking for me at 3 am. The porter told me they had the faces of people who run with drugs and offered him $30 to call me in my room ( a serious sum in Colombia). So much for a tranquil first day!

The Beginning & The End

I sit 18 hours from my flight down through Aruba and into Bogota. I arrive the even of Sept. 2 and have made no additional travel plans and aim only at the 1st of October when my rental agreement starts for a 3 story loft apartmentnt in Buenos Aires. How I will cross the 4 countries that separate me from my destination (and how I will spend the 30 days doing it) is still a mystery. I think sometimes in life you just have to jump - when you start to feel like you're looking so far into the future that you can't even see where you're standing, and you start to plan your life out to such detail that you've lost sight of who you are, when you're so affraid of death and loss and the unexpected that it's not even clear what you value in life - that's the time to let go, accept that control is an illusion, and let life take you. Because of everything there is to fear in this world, the most frightening is going through life not living.