Peru, if you are not familiar, is a South American country located on the western coast of the South American continent. Bordered by Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile, Peru is one of several countries through which the Andes mountains run. It is these mountains, the people, and the culture that they contain, that interested a few of my friends and I, in a spontaneous trip to Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. In a series of posts over the next few weeks, I will attempt to give you a taste of Peru, it’s beautiful scenery, delicious food, and a glimpse into it’s amazing culture.
We began our journey by flying into Cusco, Peru. The airport terminal itself was under construction, and the arrival area was small but inviting. After claiming our bags and exchanging a little cash, we thought we would catch a taxi to our next stop. Although it wasn’t terribly difficult, it was more of an adventure than one might think to find a taxi on the crowded street outside the airport. We found drivers of dust-covered carts, vans, trucks, and even three wheeled carts vying for our attention or simply trying to make their way through the crowd. After finally finding an actual taxi, we went on a 20-30 minute ride across town to where a “colectivo,” or small bus, would take us to Aguas Calientes where we would catch an evening train and continue our adventure.
(A rather calm picture of our ride)
As we were waiting, we decided to catch a little of the local flavor by going to one of the local restaurants. It was here that we found our first cultural misunderstanding, although it worked out quite well for us. We did not quite understand what the waitress had asked, and we must have agreed to her suggestion even though we didn’t realize that we had! We thought we had understood her question as a few of us spoke some Spanish, perhaps some would say, enough to get us in trouble! We found out later that we had agreed to the daily special of chicken and noodle soup. Due to the high-altitude, and the crazy taxi ride, several of us were quite thankful for the light fare that both filled us up and helped to soothe our stomachs. The bus for our transport finally arrived, and we packed in as many people as could ride in the bus safely. On the way up, I was sitting beside one of my friends who suddenly stated that he didn’t feel well and slumped over in his seat. As I tried to rouse him, he was completely unresponsive. I continued to try to rouse him, and he finally begin groaning. He later reported that “things just went black”. It appears that he had passed out, likely from a combination of high-altitude and dehydration.
The ride itself, it was quite an interesting one, even without one of our team passing out! The driver seemed to have no problem driving in either lane of the road, down the middle, or darting around other vehicles on the shoulder of the road. There are no speed limits that we could determine, but there were multiple speed bumps anytime the road would enter or leave an inhabited area. The driver didn’t appear to care about the speed bumps, as he continued to jolt over them at full speed.
(Pictures from along our route)
After finally arriving in Aguas Calientes, we found a beautiful oasis surrounded by mountains. The town itself was clean and cheerful, although it was filled with many tourists and tourist related shops. We stuck to the back streets and discovered more of the local flavor. There was a small gathering area where some of the locals were cooking and providing samples to those who passed by. We found a small restaurant located on one of the town squares, and decided to have a bite to eat. The restaurant offered many different local and international flavors. I settled on a more local choice that would be similar to the combination of an enchilada and a soft taco here in the US.
From where we ate we could look up into the mountains and see ruins of an ancient civilization. Unfortunately, we were unable to spend enough time in this town to discover more about them. We did however go to a local market where some of us were able to talk with a few locals, take a few touristy pictures, and buy a small souvenir to remind us of our time in this beautiful city.
After dinner, we meandered back to the train station, where our next adventure, and my next post, begins.