Checking out a continent that is new to me. Happened accidentally as it often does for me. No joke. I had no idea I’d go to Ireland a few years ago but the flights were cheap and I was like, “hmm. I’ve never been /there/…” I was planning to go to New Zealand and Australia in February (that might have to be next…) but it didn’t quite work well with work so I started exploring other ideas and landed on this one. I really didn’t know much about this area of the world but the more research I do, the more intrigued I become. How is it that all these awesome places exist on earth and we are still unaware of them? Or at least I have been. My cat Sylvie is also on vacation. A couple of friends very generously offered to take her in and she seemed right at home and began exploring this exotic locale immediately. That’s my cat! Came back to my place last night and was struck by how different it is not to be greeted by the customary grunt and dash for the door to go explore the mysterious hallway. Seemed eerie and not quite right. I swear that I still heard her there. Still as insane as always, I guess. So I’ll likely have a few pics to share and a number of meandering thoughts and rambling babbles. I know not everyone is fond of all these updates so I’m just giving you a heads up for the next couple-ish weeks. For all others who may be interested, welcome back to my visual, anecdotal, and occasionally philosophical explorations. Hasta pronto! — 
April 20 – la musica
One thing I really love about this place is hearing people in various places blasting out their music and singing along at full volume – from their balconies, on the street, working in the coffee shop, etc. I’m a tad envious of their courage to just go with it and put it out there. I tend to only do that while driving alone in my car! I went to the San Cristobal hill today, which I’m thinking is probably the highest place in the city. It’s like an urban mini-mountain. You can climb up but to save time, and use a strange method of transportation, I took the funicular cable car. I also went on a little gondola over the other side of the immense park. It was a little strange as I was grouped with two adult women and three kids who all knew each other. It wasn’t as fun as I had thought it might be and when we reached the end point, one of the women told me that I could get out and look around but they stayed in. I think she was just trying to get rid of me… lol. Actually, it was a great suggestion. There’s a cute little park over that way with great views. I was excited to go today because it was sunny with clear skies and I was hoping for a dramatic shot of the skyline with the massive Andes Mountains towering behind it. Alas… It was hazy yet again and you could only faintly make out the silhouette. I did get some better shots of mountains on the horizon. I started to rush back because I thought that the last trek down via the funicular cable car was at 18:45. The guy checking tickets didn’t understand that I had a round trip ticket (they all looked the same!) and so I had to fumble through my horrible Spanish, which I think has been /regressing/ (or I’m just being forced to admit that it truly does suck even worse that I had thought) on this trip! Everything got squared away. Shared another awkward gondola ride with five others who knew each other. I was rushing back and got lulled into the Sirens’ song of an even higher vantage point. Up at the top was a religious/meditation area with an art installation that featured seven crosses painted in different styles of artwork. I like the Eastern European style so I snapped a pic and then heard this beautiful, peaceful flute music. It made me want to move towards it. It was so calming that it kinda made me want to sit down and be spiritual. The sun had set and the light was quickly fading, which only added to the mystique of it all. I knew I was missing my cable car and I might need to take a two-hour trek in total darkness on trails back down to the base but somehow that no longer mattered. It was really that moving. I soaked it all in and started to head back down. By this time the sky was almost totally dark but there was just enough light that the sky had a gorgeous dark violet hue to it. Beautiful when contrasted with the lights of this enormous city. I noticed there was a line for the cable car, which surprised me. So I got in it. Turns out that it’s not that the last ride is at 18:45, it’s that the ticket needed to be purchased by then! As I had round-trip tickets, all was good. No scaling down the sides of that enormous hill in complete darkness for me! One thing I noticed tonight is that I hadn’t heard any other Americans. At all. The only other English I’d heard spoken is to me when people realize, “oh his spoken Spanish really /is/ that bad” and they switch over. So on the way down I encountered my first travelers from the United States. I usually avoid these people like the plague but for some reason, against my better judgment, I decided to interact. We had gotten into the first section of the cable car and the woman, who was with a guy, got way in the back. The incline is extremely steep and honestly, I kept waiting for that cable to break, hurtling us to our deaths. So I said, “You don’t want to stand in the front?” And you would have thought that I was some creepy molester by the way she looked at me. She went on as if I hadn’t said anything. And I went back to pretending I don’t speak English and avoiding any contact with foreign-traveling Americans. The universal balance has been restored!
April 20
And the night before I had barely any sleep because I was packing until all hours of the night. So I figured out the weirdness of a new misterb&b location, communicated with the host, got set up on wifi, exchanged a few notes and proceeded to pass out for a short while. I didn’t even get moving until well into the afternoon. Went to a mercado and had a seafood soup with cheese and wine sauce and a homemade pineapple juice with frothy topping. Yum. I enjoyed using my lame Spanish again to correspond with the waitress. There is a certain cadence that Spanish speakers of Peru and Chile employ that I find endearing. When I first arrive in a place I’m very apprehensive about everything and I trust literally no one (why is that person looking at me? Are they trying to pull one one me? Until I realize that what they are looking at is their child between whom I have unwittingly stepped and inserted my own personal insecurities). But after a while I start to “get” a place and I feel less and less threatened until I actually find myself feeling comfortable. Met with a new online friend who seems to be linked to another couple of online friends. This is not the first time this has happened on this trip, already! Ok, I’ve got to hit the sack as I’ve already nodded a couple times while writing this! Buenas noches!
April 21
Happy Easter for those who observe/celebrate! I hope it was good. I took a day tour out to the coastal town of Valparaíso today. I booked it literally just a couple nights ago from my phone while walking back from Bellavista. So strange that you can do that. Frankly, I was surprised that they were running a tour on Easter and I half expected it to be canceled. I have typically been resistant to taking tours. The first one I ever took was when I went to Greece with my partner at the time. He booked it and I pretty much just went along for the ride. It was dreadful. A bunch of Americans, mostly. Some woman from Ohio sarcastically belittled her husband the whole time. We would stop at these amazing sites that were thousands of years old and they were like, “ok you’ve got 20 minutes…” We would rush around. Some of the others would descend from the bus and take selfies doing that stupid “rock on” (kind of similar to today’s sideways “V” thing that people do with their fingers that I don’t understand) gesture and sticking out their tongues. I vowed I would never in my life take another tour. And I didn’t. For many years. But then I took a couple day trips just because I wanted something easy for which I wouldn’t have to do so much planning. And I had some good experiences overall. I’ve also used tours to get to places that seemed like they’d be too complicated to get to otherwise. And those have mostly been ok, too. Sure there are a couple cheesy things about them and I loathe whenever I start feeling like I’m being herded around but I must say, those moments have been minimal. I don’t think I’ve actually had a /bad/ tour since that very first one. Today’s was great. A couple from Scotland, another from Wales, a German woman traveling solo and a couple from the US. Guess which two I found most annoying. lol. They were ok, I guess but what is it about Americans that makes them lack any sense of curiosity about others and get bothered by the slightest inconvenience? The trip was super educational. I learned so much about the history of Chile, the politics, the culture, agriculture, economy, history, language, international affairs, etc. This is the advantage if you have a good guide. I even chatted with him briefly in Spanish. I had really wanted to go to this coastal town and I’m so glad I did. If there’s ever something you’re wanting to do, do it! Even if it sucks, you at least won’t wonder and regret. We stopped at this great restaurant for lunch and I had the ceviche. Chil’… you haven’t really had ceviche until you’ve had Chilean ceviche. Wow… We also stopped at a vineyard/winery. Again, wow. I’ve always enjoyed Chilean wines but this stuff was incroyible. The white wine had what seemed like an entire basket of fruit in it without being too sweet and the red one – Carménère – had literally the best scent of any wine I’ve ever tried. I could have sat there and smelled it for hours. Also had some chicha for the first time. Interesting. Kinda wine-ish but not fully. It’s lighter. It’s a contender for the new drink I always buy after I wrap up a trip. It was weird seeing the Cerro San Cristobal from a distance on the way back and realizing I was just there last night. So close yet so far when one considers all one has to do to get up there. I have a number of other day trips booked as well. Much more than usual as I wasn’t really quite sure how to get around down here. Tomorrow brings another. Hasta mañana!
April 22
Today I did the thing that I was most wanting to do on the Santiago portion of my trip. I took a tour out to the Cajon del Maipo. It’s a dammed up lake that stores glacial melt waters from the Andes and serves as the source of drinking water for the Santiago metro. Today we had two Mexican women, three Brazilians, a gaggle of people from Trinidad, a Canadian couple, and a Puerto Rican American. Great mix. They conducted the tour mostly in English with a smattering of Spanish. The views were stunning. All day long. This earth so amazes me, sometimes. We had a picnic that the tour put together and chil’… if you want to get people in a group talking, just bring out the wine. Whew… The bottles seemed to keep coming and coming. Of course I kept extending my glass… Before you knew it, it was as if we were all close friends. We also had a pisco sour, which I’ve heard so much about. Oh my god, I understand why now. I think that might have to replace chicha as the post-vacation drink I will seek out when I get home. Feeling tired and lazy now. I’ve been hitting it pretty hard so will probably just have a nice, meandering day tomorrow. I’m slated to hang out with a new friend or two, too so that will be fun. One I had met prior to coming down and the other I just met today! This is one of the number of reasons why I like to travel solo. I find that I’m more likely to meet others that way. When I travel with another or others, I tend to stick with them, unless I’m just swinging through for a night like I did once in Sitges to meet up with friends from Omaha who happened to be there. A tour is a great way to meet others although they’re likely not going to be locals. I find locals easier to meet via Airbnb or out and about or like this time around, through an app where we meet online first – in my case before even coming down – and then meet in person. I know many people have met others in a bar but that is so not me. I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve met anyone that way in my entire life! Someone was telling me today about how he tends not to approach others but has no problem conversing when approached. That’s me to a tee. The extroverted introvert.
April 23
Lazy day of just roaming around. It’s nice just to see people walking to work and doing normal things. Probably because I’m just observing. lol. What is it about being on vacation that suddenly makes the banal intriguing? It’s almost like we’re finally able to step back and just observe the madness of it all. Yet there’s also a certain comfort in observing the flow as everything hums along. Conversely, when stuck in that routine day in – day out, week in – week out, month in – month out, I start to freak out and feel trapped and anxious. I will literally wake up with mild anxiety and even panic attacks. This is one of the reasons why I travel. I went the mercado central that I went to on the first day for lunch. There are a number of restaurants and they get right in your face and are trying to sell their menus. The problem with this approach is that #1, I can only understand maybe 1/5 of what they are saying. Not only do they speak really quickly, but I struggle to understand this accent down here. I spoke to the Mexican women on the tour yesterday and felt so relieved talking to them because while still bad, I realized my Spanish wasn’t as hopelessly dreadful as I had thought. #2, I’m mildly introverted and even if I might be interested in your restaurant, when you walk up and start talking to me at 100 mph, my first instinct is to get away from you. They would have better luck with people like me if they just put a menu out that highlighted their specials, maybe asked if I had questions, and then backed off. But once again, the world caters to extroverts. One thing that’s fascinating is when your travel experiences intersect with the news in some way. I’ve met a new friend who has fled political strife and possible persecution from the continuously crumbling government in Venezuela. There are a lot of people from Venezuela currently living in Chile and other countries. It’s been fascinating for me to hear his thoughts, stories, and perspective. He and his friends seem to be doing as well as you might imagine given the circumstances. Somewhat conversely, I follow news extremely minimally while traveling and just today learned today of the horrible news in Sri Lanka.
April 24
Hola de Peru! I started the day off chilled and wearing a jacket and ended up comfortably strolling down a pedestrian walkway wearing a short sleeved shirt and long pants. Santiago struck me as more European in nature while Lima definitely has a more Latin flavor that I’ve noticed in my few short hours here. People don’t use brakes on the street. They use their horns, instead. I liked Santiago but I found the people there to be, well, odd and distant in some way. I had initially planned to focus completely on Peru but an online friend I’ve known for years said I should come visit and even offered to host, which I thought was extremely generous. After not hearing from him for a while I suggested that maybe I get an Airbnb but said I’d still like to meet. He insisted I stay at his place and asked that I call the next day. I was busy that day so I called the next and then he stopped responding. Like at all. I never heard from him the whole time I was there. Why do people offer something and then not do it? I couldn’t in a million years imagine doing that. I contrast that with a newer online friend who works at the Lima airport and lives near where I’m staying and how he assisted me with helping me find the place and even was kind enough to help me carry my luggage! The Santiago experience ended just as well as I was busy the entire time I was there and I might not have had the time to hang out with my Venezuelan friend that I did and I really enjoyed that. And I got to see Valparaiso and Cajon del Maipo and Santiago in the first place as I hadn’t intended to go there at all. When presented with an abrupt change in plans or expectations, I do what I can to let it go and just flow with that is, which is not how I have always been. I used to get all bent out of shape whenever plans ended up being different. A change in another’s intentions can be very revealing if you allow it to be. Went for a stroll here and ordered the requisite Pisco Sour and Lomo Saltado. I splurged and ate at a nicer restaurant as opposed to the dives and take-outs that I typically visit and I must say… it does actually make a difference. The tastes in the sauces are ever so subtle and delicious and the fries are among the best I have ever had. I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for. PS, don’t get the stronger Pico Sour. The guy told me it would have more “sabor”. Yeah, “sabor” del alcohol! I couldn’t even have a /second/ one of these without getting completely sauced. With as tired as I am, I should sleep well tonight once I close the noise canceling windows. I look forward to exploring this new place tomorrow!
April 26
I was excited to get a full night’s sleep last night after running a pretty continuous sleep deficit from the moment I arrived in Santiago. I was able to get up and not feel rushed yet still get out and about at a decent hour. I wanted to find the meeting point for a day trip I’m taking tomorrow as it meets dreadfully early and I know myself too well when it comes to mornings. I had my usual iced Americano (yes, I have them when traveling, too…) and had lunch at a middle eastern place just because it smelled so damn good. I had my first moment where I was concerned with eating things. You’re not technically supposed to eat like 90% of what is out there to avoid getting some kind of stomach bug. But I like to try things and I didn’t feel like was getting enough vegetables so I had a dish that had this delicious salad with fresh seeming vegetables and lemon juice. Afterwards my stomach felt “off” and I was like “uh oh”. I’ve been very fortunate to not have any experiences like that while traveling thus far. I’m more careful than the adventurous eater in me would like but it’s because I have so many things still planned and don’t want to get sidetracked if I can avoid it. That being said, I become more adventurous with my eating as the trip carries on. While crossing the street to get to the coffee shop I went to I witnessed some woman crossing the street when the light clearly said “don’t cross” with its red light and imagery showing a person not crossing. There is even a timer that counts down the seconds for you. But unfortunately Miss Thang was too important to wait and she just waltzed out onto the street like she owned it. So when the car zooming towards her honked, she threw her arms up into the air and acted all aghast kinda like, “how can you do that? How dare you! /I/ was /crossing/! It reminded me of a time once when I was driving in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This guy was absentmindedly strolling right into traffic like it didn’t exist for her and when I honked she goes, “oh no you didn’t! Now I’m going to walk really slowly to slow you down.” It was one of those moments of incredulity when you’re like, “wow, not only is this guy an ignorant ass but she’s proud of it.” And the sad thing is that all you can do is sit there and watch them be righteously indignant even though they’re totally in the wrong and had you been the slightest bit psycho you could have just pushed that gas pedal all the way down. But instead you wait for Miss Thang to pass while she gesticulates and insults your ass. The temperature at night here is absolutely perfect for nighttime walking and drinking and other festivities. I’m so jealous of places where people can do that year round. It really is limiting to be stuck inside for six months of the year if you don’t want an unpleasant experience. I see a lot of couples hugging and kissing and lying against each other in the grass. We need to do more of that back in the States. We’re either too uptight or we go too far in the other direction and end up with countless soulless connections. (Or maybe it’s just me.)
At least that’s the way it seems to me. Maybe the weather has something to do with it. People seem more at ease. Except for when they are driving. Wow, people seem stressed driving. I’ll have to admit that I do love the feel and even the chaos of it all. Santiago was cool but it seemed too orderly to me or something. There’s good and bad to both, I suppose. The best is likely a healthy mix of both. I tend to struggle more with chaos but I often like it more. Kinda like how I have always wanted to be an extrovert but am aware that I tend to skew slightly the other way when I’m honest about it.
April 26 – Paracas
Took a tour to Paracas today. Got up at an inhuman hour and walked to the meeting point. I always get a tad nervous at the loosey-goosey nature of these things. I arrived and immediately a woman took a few of the people with her to a bus. Should I have been on that? Why didn’t I ask her when she was standing in front of me? What if not asking that question causes me to miss this whole trip even though I managed to pull off the Herculean (for me) task of getting up and getting there on time? In the past, this self-doubt/questioning would have been accompanied by almost overwhelming anxiety. But now I don’t have the anxiety. I figure it’s all in their hands and whatever will happen will happen. I had about three separate instances like that happen as the day progressed. I don’t know how these organizations pull it off with all of these moving parts but somehow they do. Some people were just going down for the day and coming back, others were staying in Paracas, others were moving to the next town, and still others were in for the week-long trek to Cusco. Adding another layer, there were a number of activities that some were taking part in and others not. Some were carrying all their luggage, others like me just had a back pack. I adore my back pack, btw. It’s one that folds (or “doesn’t kiss” like autocorrect wanted. lol) into a pocket sized bag. It’s totally what I wanted. I had originally picked up another bag at REI that was kinda want I wanted but not exactly, and was much more expensive. I have a bad habit of just settling but was so glad to have gotten this one (at Target for a fraction of the cost of the other) and returned the other when I saw it. This trip to Paracas was an example of something I was really wanting to do, too and I’ve loved every bit of it, despite the long day and long commutes to and from. “You really need at least two nights,” the travel purists would say. Don’t listen to them if it doesn’t work for you. Met some fun people today including a young woman from Northern Norway above the Arctic circle, many Canadians, and a British couple from London, who it sounds like will be arriving in Cusco at about the same time as me – only via bus for them and plane for me. Would be funny to run into them there. Just heard that song “What Is Love?” On the radio. I adore that song. It was popular on my first ever international experience, when I lived in France for a year after college. It’s interesting to me the emotions that are tied to things and recalled or inspired. When I was in the Parque del Amor the other night, I read all those poetic slogans having to do with love in various ways and forms and saw all these people demonstrating love to each other by kissing, hugging, lying against each other, holding hands, and I felt emotional myself on and off. Even had tears in my eyes a few times. Love and sadness go hand in hand sometimes. A yang-inspired yin.
April 28
Interesting day. I had initially planned to get up and meander my way downtown to the Centro Historico, maybe take a bus up to the San Cristobal viewing point and catch the catacombs and eat some of this “chifa” food I keep hearing about, which is supposed to be a mix of Peruvian and Chinese and is said to be amazing. I also was planning to meet another friend from online and check out some art installation before making my way downtown. One thing that made me a bit nervous was that the area of town was said to not be the safest in this guide that I read. But I’d been corresponding with this friend for a while and there was an official website for the event so I apprehensively decided to check it out. My friend was gracious enough to buy me a couple bus tickets to get over there. The bus system specifically and the transit system as a whole is a bit of a mess in Lima. There is only one completed train line for a city whose metro area population tops 10 million. Even the Twin Cities, whose population only tops about 3.25 million, has /two/ train lines. Additionally, the train line in Lima is in the center of a highway and seemingly doesn’t connect anything. There is a huge bus system with about a million differently colored, honking buses. Zeus only knows what the itinerary is for all of them as I believe they are all owned by different companies. I will have to say that the buses did get us over there, though. My feelings of apprehension lessened as I continued to chat with my friend and just get a feel for things. People were wearing nice clothes and bringing kids onto the bus. The area where the art event was definitely looked run down but was kinda vibrant in a way with a ton of markets and haggling going on. We got out and walked to the event and it was totally awesome. My friend informed that it has been used to revitalize a formerly blighted area and I would say that it has definitely worked. It was fun, interesting, and festive. And to think that I would have totally missed it had I taken those warnings at face value and refused to even consider. I think there for me needs to be a balance between the risk of trying something and knowing when is too much and when is time to duck out of something. I’d be sitting in my Airbnb the whole time or only staying guarded in touristy areas and not really experiencing what could be the true essence of a place if I followed the advice of all these people who seem scared of anything that veers from their way of living and experiencing things. Afterwards, we went to a fortress where the guide spoke about the history – a complicated one that involves indigenous populations, Spanish colonizers, and ultimately independence from those colonizers. The guide was completely in Spanish and admittedly I was unable to fully follow along but I did get quite a bit from it in the end. I recognized a lot and was able to on some level at least deduce what she was saying or recognize words and phrases. One thing I was able to get from her talks was that the seal only appears in their red and white flag when it is flying from a governmental building – something I noticed later when we saw a flag without the seal flying in the Centro Historico. To get to downtown, we decided to use an Uber. I had run into another United States American while touring the Huaca Pucllana ruins a couple days prior and he said that using Uber here in Lima was just as easy as in the States. I’d been reluctant to try, fearing whatever situation I might end up in and thinking that it couldn’t possibly be as secure as in the US. But in hindsight that was silly to think that way. After all, I’ve been using Airbnb and Misterbnb down here. I think there’s a certain vulnerability, though when you step into a car and are being whisked away on streets you don’t recognize and have no idea where on earth you are going. A major difference between an Uber and a taxi is that an Uber offers a set price at the beginning (as opposed to one that can be manipulated by driving distance for an unwitting passenger who doesn’t really know the quickest route) and there is no exchange of cash involved. And I really like the fact that riders can rate drivers and vice versa. Keeps everyone on the up and up. I have total confidence in it. Used it twice today and it was nice to let the driver do most of the worrying about driving. Most… I loved the intricate buildings of the Centro Historico. Some struck me as something you might see in Russia or something. We ended up at one point at their version of the Library of Congress. I loved it. It was all about language. The linguistics of it, the expression of it, the art of it. Beautiful. I still have a few things I want to see when I come back from Cusco for a couple days but would like to return to the Casa de Literatura Peruana if I have the time, which brings me to another point. I’ve read on so many travel sites how Lima is just a pass through city and you really don’t need to spend more than a day or two there. I have already spent two full days and a night here and I still have quite a lot I would like to see/do/experience. One can certainly pass through if that’s not what their focus is but they’re actually missing quite a lot of interestingness (was going to say “interesting things” but that popped up and I liked it better).
April 29
Well it’s finally happened. I’ve finally started mumbling to myself in Spanish. I’ve enjoyed chatting with my current Airbnb host and others while out and about. It’s funny how foreign languages come and go in waves for me. I’ll have moments like with my Airbnb host this morning when I feel it’s really coming along! Then I have times like at the restaurant I went to for lunch where I could barely utter two semi-comprehensible words. I enjoy it all just the same. I didn’t post yesterday because quite frankly, I was spent. I came back after exploring around and struggled to keep my eyes open. The next thing I knew it was 2 1/2 hours later. Had my first not so great travel experience in a while. It was with this budget airline I booked from Lima to Cusco. I should have known better. I’ve stopped flying Spirit Airlines for similar reasons but wow, I had no idea what I was about to see unfold. I got to the airport about 2:45 ahead of my domestic flight so I was thinking I’d just get some coffee and something to eat and relax a little with my extra time. Little did I know I would be standing in line for 1:45 until I got up to the ticket counter. They had a faster line you could pay extra for but I didn’t think that was necessary being almost three hours early. Who knew? It was a disaster. At one point there were so many people for a quickly approaching flight in this snail paced line that they had to create another line specifically for the flight. As I approached, I noticed that 80% of the customers were yelling at the ticket agents. I’m not even exaggerating. If anything, that might be a conservative estimate. At one point the line completely stopped moving as literally every ticket agent was being yelled at. I finally got to the front and braced myself. There were extra charges for literally everything. I didn’t have access to a printer so I couldn’t print my own boarding pass (and there are no self-serve kiosks for this airline). Stiff charge (how much does it cost to print one of those rectangular pieces of paper??). Charge for the carry on, which I actually half expected, charge for assigning a seat. I purposely chose /not/ to pick a seat for such a short flight to not pay extra so when she asked if I wanted window or aisle seat, I figured they had some vacant. Nope. Charge. It was something else. My flight, which admittedly was pretty cheap, had now practically doubled and I had a bad experience, to boot. The staff were jerks, too. I suppose I would be too if 80+% of my clients were yelling at me all day long. The end price ended up being similar to other airlines only those people didn’t have to endure the hassle and frustration. “If it sounds too good to be true…” I booked another budget airline for my flight back to Lima but thankfully not with that company so hopefully it will be better. The reviews are. Wandered around Cusco last night and today. My feet are killing me. Reminds me of Lisbon with all the up and down stair climbing. Went to a cheapie place for dinner last night. 10 Peruvian Soles, which is about $3.50. For that I got a ceviche appetizer, a soup, a full dinner size of Lomo Saltado (which I love), and a lemonade. I asked for a Cusqueña Negra (dark beer) and it was only 7 Soles. And it was delicious. Afterwards I saw some drink called a “ponche” advertised in a shop’s window. They had various flavors including wine, chicha, Machu Picchu (whatever that is…). I got the wine, which was basically a heated red wine with merengue on top. It was… different. Not Minnesota “different”, just different. I still don’t quite know what I thought of it. It’s not something I’m clamoring to get again but I didn’t hate it. It was just odd to me. I liked the heated wine. I was trying to figure out how exactly the merengue fit in. I’m still trying to figure it out. Had lunch at a nicer (for me) place today. Honestly, I just needed to use the restroom really badly and I landed on that restaurant and the menu seemed interesting enough so I picked it. I had the chicken with Andean herbs (they seemed fresh and very “green” tasting. One was mint) and cream sauce and sautéed vegetables and fries (fries are included with literally every meal, even when it doesn’t seem to make any sense – sautéed beef and vegetables with rice? Let’s add some fries to that…). The waiter brought over some crunchy, toasted corn to munch on and a lemon pisco sour with some nutmeg-ish seasoning that was amazing. Great place! Thanks, bladder!! Headed to San Blas, which is famous for having an extremely intricately designed pulpit carved from a large tree. Really interesting. I headed to the Museo Inka afterwards, which focused on the art and artifacts of the dozens of pre-Inca civilizations eventually unified in a larger geographic sense by the Incas, who were actually relatively recent in the scheme of things. The artifacts were amazing. Lots of faces and weirdly, cats. When the Spanish came in and destroyed and plundered everything, they also demolished any cat statues they found as they were representative of who they conquered. Great museums but no photography was allowed. Definitely worth a visit. I then on a weird whim headed up to Sacsayhuamán, which are ruins that overlook the Cusco Valley. I’m not sure what I was thinking as I had to climb up, up, and up. Apparently this altitude doesn’t affect me, except that I need to stop every so often after exerting myself and catch my breath for a minute. I’m so glad I went but admittedly, wish it would have been an hour earlier. I remember seeing a walking trail going up from below but for whatever reason the guy at the ticket office told me to go on the street around. So I did. I saw stairs going down at one point and figured I’d just take those. It was dusk and light was fleeting so I started down the trail but along the way, something didn’t seem quite right so I turned around and alternated between jogging and quickly walking back. As I was approaching the ruins again some guy was descending. I got nervous as it was starting to get dark now and I didn’t know who this guy was or why he was coming down this way. “Trabaja aqui?” I asked pointing back at the ruins. He said he did and asked what /I/ was doing. I explained in more eloquent Spanish than I realized I knew and he said the trail did in fact go back to Cusco and he walked part of the way with me and we chatted. I learned that he has lived in Cusco all his life and works at Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuamán. He was very friendly and I was so relieved, even though I wasn’t 100% relieved until I saw that gate I had seen earlier when going up. Heading back, I was going down some stairs and nearly twisted my ankle, which would have been really fun as I’m heading to Machu Picchu tomorrow. I’m being picked up at 5:10. AM. Anyone who knows me knows how excited I am about this. But at least I thankfully don’t have a twisted ankle!
May 1
Remember that averted twisted ankle I told you about? Well… I got back to the Airbnb that night and just took it easy and tried to stay off my foot. But the more the night went on, the more it ached, especially if I moved it in certain directions. This made me nervous as I knew I’d be doing a lot of walking, climbing stairs and going down stairs, all on rocky, uneven surfaces – sometimes really steep ones. I tried going to bed early, which is another thing I’m not particularly good at. I couldn’t sleep a wink. I was nervous I was going to miss the alarm going off at 4:13 (I checked the AM/PM thing probably about a dozen times), and was nervous about my foot. I was starting to have a little trouble walking on it. I couldn’t get comfortable in literally any position because of the way my foot would hang or have pressure on it (I typically sleep on my sides). It wasn’t like sharp pains or anything but it wasn’t pleasant and any movement brought the chance of pain and made me worry more. After obsessing about it for a while longer, I decided to put my boots on. At least my boot would keep my foot stable. Kinda like a cast. I swear I didn’t sleep a wink that entire night. Had a lot of anxiety. Then when it was time to get up I was like, oh my god… At least a good portion was going to be riding in a taxi and a bus and a train and another bus. I still had a few hours before the hardcore stuff. So I stood outside at 5:00 waiting for the taxi shuttle. The guy picked me up and seemed uber distracted talking to seemingly four different people while driving like a bat out of hell and barely missing cars. He took me to this place but something didn’t seem right about it. I didn’t see any buses. I asked him in Spanish if I was supposed to go inside, half wondering if he was going to escort me to the right place. He said yeah, so I left the car and went inside. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I showed them my ticket. Some guy told me to go upstairs. I looked all around but nothing was seeming right. People were getting on /flights/ at this place. I spoke to a woman behind a window. I didn’t even know what her job was but she looked official. She was kind enough to tell me that my ticket was for the bus station and this was a local airport. I asked her how to get to the bus station and she said it was a 10-minute taxi ride. It was 5:25. My bus was due to leave at 5:50. I went outside. No taxis in sight. I called the rep I had been working with at the tour company. I totally woke him up. I told him in English that the cab driver had taken me to the airport. He didn’t understand and I said, “I mean /taxi/ driver…” He said he would make some calls and get back. By this point it was after 5:30. I saw a cab driver that was dropping someone off. I went over and asked if I could get him to take me to the bus station. Then I realized that I had totally interrupted the exchange between him and his customer before me. I apologized. He told me his rate (what was I going to do? Refuse?), which was actually decent. About half way to the bus station, the tour rep called and said to stay at the airport. That the taxi driver was coming back. I told him I was already en route so no need for him to return. He apologized profusely, which I appreciated but I told him it wasn’t his fault. It was the taxi driver’s fault. I asked if I could be reimbursed and he said yes. So I got to the bus station at like 5:48. The bus and train are owned by the same company so they took care of both there. Oh yes, and I’d still been limping around the whole time. When I first got up I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through the day. I was heavily favoring my left foot and using the injured one as a sort of crutch. I swore one of the ticket agents at the bus station was like, “/He’s/ going to /Machu Picchu/?” I climbed the stairs onto the bus and train like some frail, old grandpa, holding onto the railing for dear life. We got to the little, mostly shopping town of Aguas Calientes that rests at the foot of the hill that leads to Machu Picchu. You go up this zig-zag road for a half an hour before climbing a million stairs to get to the site. Chil’ is getting a workout on this trip! A guide was there at the Aguas Calientes train station holding a sign with my name (I’m not sure why but that makes me feel privileged and icky) and that of Pamela (pronounced “PaMELa”). She kept saying her name over and over again and PaMELa seemed nowhere in sight. I asked the guide in Spanish if she worked for the same tour company (or at least I think I did) and she said yes so I told her about my problems with the taxi in case PaMELa was experiencing something similar. And then I told her that it’s likely that her name might be pronounced PAMela but she didn’t hear me. At that point the missing woman finally arrived and she was a Spanish speaking PaMELa! So I was glad that the tour guide hadn’t heard me. PaMELa has two friends. 20-somethings. The guide went into this lengthy explanation in Spanish for them and then when she talked to me, it was like two sentences long. I was like, “huh?” Then she disappeared!! I finally broke down and asked the young Spanish women in lame Spanish where the guide went and what we were supposed to do when we got up there. You can’t go on the actual premises of Machu Picchu without a guide, although once the tour is over you can wander around. One of the women answered me in English that she was coming back and we were supposed to look for someone in a blue jacket. (??) I was guessing that there’d be a number of people in blue jackets. I was wearing a blue jacket! I was nervous after the whole taxi experience so I texted the tour rep and was like, the tour guide has left and one of the Spanish women said to look for someone in a blue jacket. Is this true?? Before he could respond the guide returned and said we’d be staying together in a group but what actually happened was someone said my name upon arriving and I was immediately whisked to an English speaking group and never saw PaMELa and her friends again. When you first arrive at the site you’re emptied out into this horrible horde of tourists doing full-on photo shoots with this amazing site reduced to a selfie prop, almost an afterthought in the background. People are really the worst sometimes. The guide was great. We were supposed to do a quick tour then go off on our own but he allowed ample time for photos, which prolonged it. I found all he had to say so interesting so I didn’t mind at all and appreciated the time for photos and resting. Of course you’ve always got some annoying people that will take advantage and this Chinese couple decided to have a full-on picnic spread. You’re not even supposed to bring food onto the site! Most people bring a little bag of peanuts or something and sneak a few bites but not this couple. The ruins are so fascinating. Thinking how they got the materials there and what all it represented and how it remained largely hidden from the outside world (and with good reason. How would you even know to look there!!) for so many years. The complete integration with nature, something I’ve learned is a tenet of the Inca religions, was so interestingly expressed in their sculptures, architecture, and landscaping. They even had replicas of the nearby Huayna Picchu and other venerated mountains so that people could worship them without actually making the trek to them. What blew me away even more so is the landscape and topography. So gorgeous and striking. Mother Nature really has us all beat in that regard. Really what forms the lands where Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu sit is the Ullantanbayu River way down below. As my luck would have it, it was sunny before and after but it was misty and cloudy while up there. But I didn’t mind. It made it kind of mysterious with the clouds swirling through. At least it wasn’t raining, mostly. My foot held up pretty well, although I shuddered a bit every time I landed on it hard or twisted it in some way. It actually felt better as the day went on. One thing I noticed on the mile long line for the buses back was a number of older, bordering on elderly people who were there. I don’t know that this is a trek I’d want make while significantly older unless I were in awesome health, which I’ve personally learned can be a crap shoot as we move on in years. Got back to Aguas Calientes and the tour included a lunch there. It was a nicer restaurant and they were serving a buffet. I let my guard down with it being a nicer restaurant and ate a couple things I probably shouldn’t have. As a result I’ve been having some “digestive issues”. I got up this morning and took my usual medications and a short while later I was having those issues again along with some fun nausea. I was pondering taking the meds I got from the travel clinic for that and when I got back to look at the pills, I realized that I had accidentally taken one in place of my normal medication. Oops. Ok in the end but it left me feeling queasy and out of sorts all day today. I’m hoping my stomach issue is cleared or at least better tomorrow as I’m going on another tour, one that will require some physical effort at a very high elevation. And a likely scary-ass bus ride to get there. Oh and it leaves at 4:15. Why did I sign up for this again?? I got my reimbursement for the cab ride this evening, which I was impressed with. The cab driver texted me and apologized profusely. I suppose I could have gotten all mad about it and let him have it but I decided to let it go. I told him that we all make mistakes. Even me. I got to the bus so all was good. He seemed to really appreciate that. Almost felt like it made the world a better place in some teeny-tiny way.
May 2
Today was an unplanned day as the tour to see the alternative rainbow mountains in Palccoyo, which would have involved a hike up to 16,000 feet, got canceled due to snowy conditions that #1, would have made it dangerous, and #2, would have defeated the whole purpose of seeing rainbow colored mountains if everything were covered in white. Living in Minnesota, I already know what that looks like… Still, I was bummed. It was one of the things I had been most looking forward to. But what can you do, right? I just took things at a slow pace. And it was really nice. I managed to stumble upon a tap room here! I had a purple corn (usually referring to chicha) IPA. It reminded me of a Surly Furious only a little more subtle. Like a Rye Surly Furious. I ended up sitting next to a gaggle of Québécois/French Canadians. They thought I was French. I glowed for a second. They were impressed that I was an American who spoke French. I ventured into a few shops and I’ll admit, got the shopping bug a little, which I never do. I was then thinking of heading up Mount Everest to drop off my new acquisitions at my Airbnb up on the hill when I got a note from the tour operator. The tour guide had fallen and they were thinking they might need to cancel the tour I had planned to the Sacred Valley tomorrow. I was annoyed. This was the same company that canceled the rainbow mountain tour. That one I understood. But to have /two/ cancelled when it seems they should have been able to get someone else to fill in if need be… I channeled that same guy who managed to get to the bus station the other day when the cab driver took me to the wrong place and I was given 25 minutes to fix it. I asked the tour guide if he could give me recommendations of other tour companies with similar tours and I started looking up some myself, online. Fortunately, they were able to get a replacement so we’re on again. I’m glad because this is a full day tour that includes visits to a couple sites not on the other tours I saw. Should be pretty cool. And I don’t have a twisted ankle /or/ an upset stomach! As I headed back out for the evening I looked out once again at the amazing view out my Airbnb window and noticed something I hadn’t before – snowy peaks in the distance. I wonder if that is where the tour that got cancelled would have been. I was so lucky to be out and about tonight because I saw some great street performances, both planned and spontaneous. I loved them both for completely different reasons. I love how “alive” this city is. All the time. What makes a city so vibrant like that? I’m so jealous! Other observations about Cusco – there are dogs all over. They seem friendly. Docile, even. I get the impression that their owners let them wander around like some owners in the US let cats roam around outside. There is an interesting, distinct scent that I often smell walking around. I’m wondering if it’s related to coca leaves. I’m addicted to coca candies, btw. The toffee is amazing. There is Christian symbolism everywhere overtly as well as Inca spiritual symbolism subtly displayed everywhere. I hear a lot of 80s songs here, but they’re actually kind of groovy, jazzy, or alternative remixes that make you listen for half a minute before you realize what the song is. There’s a surprisingly quite groovy alternative music audience down here in Peru, which surprises me greatly as so many other things have. I’ve learned so much about this country!
May 3
My last night in Cusco. I feel zonked. Did a full day tour of the Sacred Valley today and it was way more amazing than I was even anticipating. Loved it. We went to about five different remote sites including Moray, which was an eerily accurate series of cylindrical depressions that were used for experimenting with crop seeds with regard to surface temperatures and moisture levels. It was so cool to see. Also the scenery between the various sites was gorgeous. I never once got bored of it. Having mostly lived in flat places, there’s a part of me that has always longed to live in a place with more interesting topography. The sun mostly smiled on us today for a second straight day. Went to the salt flats, which were also really interesting. It blows my mind #1, that these places exist and #2, that they were even found as some of them are so tucked away in the middle of nowhere. I guess the way Moray was discovered by a sighting from an airplane pilot. The fact that the whole tour even came together at all is amazing. The tour guide was picked last evening to replace the original one who had fallen and hurt himself. He sent out a video via WhatsApp last night and quite honestly, I was nervous. He was a little too expressive and energetic for something that was to start at 6:30. Then this morning he sent a text about something about “let’s be positive”. I was like, oh god… But I ended up liking him. English is not his first language and that was the language of the tour as it was me, an Italian couple, and their friend. I was able to help the guide learn some new terms, which he really appreciated. He took us to some places where tours don’t as often go. And pointed out theories he thought were BS and provided multiple other plausible explanations for things. The tour went considerably later but it didn’t seem to matter because he seemed really impassioned. I was glad we went to the last site but admittedly I was really tired and wouldn’t have been opposed to skipping it. I think I’m all ruined out for the moment. I came back and started packing my bags. I’m attempting to bend the laws of physics with all the new stuff I acquired. And I’m dealing with less space as I left my bigger bag with some stuff I didn’t need back in Lima with my Airbnb host there. I mostly have it figured out except for just a last couple of things. Why are there always those last two things staring you in the face when you think you’ve got it all figured out? I’m actually ready to leave Cusco, methinks. Unfortunately my plane doesn’t head out til tomorrow evening. At the time that I booked it all, I was thinking I was going to have spent a full day on the rainbow mountain alternative, which would have left me tomorrow to buy any relevant stuff. After the trip was canceled, I did that yesterday and I’ve hit most of the museums I was wanting to. When planning the trip I was so concerned that I wouldn’t have enough time that I actually was thinking of staying to Sunday! I’m so glad I didn’t do that but would have preferred to have left tomorrow by early afternoon. So my check out is tomorrow at 11am but I don’t actually need to be at the airport til 5:30 for a flight a couple hours later. I’m at this point just planning to hang out outside if nice and eat and hit a coffee shop, etc. I’d still rather be in Lima. I have a couple friends I’d still like to see again before I wrap this whole baby up. All right. I’m spent. It’s all I can do right now just to keep my eyes open. I don’t think I’m capable of any philosophical musing, like I normally enjoy doing.
May 5
It’s interesting to me how a day that I was initially not very excited about turned out to be such an enjoyable one. At the little breakfast my Airbnb host in Cusco provided, I had a great conversation in Spanish with him. And my Spanish was actually “on” so it felt great. I was even able to act as a translator of sorts for the other American (from Iowa!) who came down and joined in. On the wall of the host’s kitchen is a wooden carving in the shape of Wisconsin. She commented on it as I had done just a couple days prior. I mentioned to my Airbnb host that I had a number of hours before I needed to get to the airport and he said I could leave my bags there and could keep the keys from the street to the compound and into the house. He even called and set me up with my cab to the airport in the evening. The chat with the other guest was lovely, too. She works in a loosely similar field of work and views traveling similarly. “Traveling vs vacationing” she called it, referring to something she had previously heard. I love that. I guess I’d probably be much more of a traveler than a vacationer. I headed out for one last stroll around town, taking in what I could. I strolled to an area I had not been to that was full of shops. I walked around them, not to buy anything. Zeus knows I don’t need anything more and I had already altered the rules of physics to get everything into my bags. It was more just to look at the repeated patterns, figures, imagery, colors, etc. I was thinking about how it seemed so simple just hanging out selling products that you’ve made or brought in. I was jealous of the simplicity of it but am grateful for having the resources to see it all, which I’m imaging I wouldn’t have if I had such a job. One thing that I will admit wears you down a little bit down here is the constant attempt to sell you stuff. Over and over and over. I understand where it comes from but it gets tiring. Sometimes I just want to go up to a stand and look at something but I’m hesitant lest the shop owner run over and start trying to sell me that thing and a dozen others things. Often times when I see one of them coming I just walk away. The guy who led our tour yesterday said he discourages anyone from buying things from the people on the street. He said all the people wearing traditional clothes and such are bullshit actors. Not that he had a strong opinion or anything. lol. He also believes that the former Peruvian president who recently killed himself, faked his suicide and subsequent funeral and is living somewhere off the inheritance while his wife and kids continue to collect the government payments. I wasn’t really sure what to say to that and didn’t really feel like it was my place not knowing anything about life down here so I just nodded my head pensively and said nothing. I returned to Lima last night and there already was a certain familiarity with the place that felt right in a strange way. Cusco was really cool but the fact is that as much as I love seeing the country and small, distinctive towns, I’m still a city person at heart. Probably always will be. Met up again with an online friend turned in-person friend and went to this little bar that was playing the most amazing collection of early 80’s alternative. Wow. I was up later than I’ve been in years. But loved every second of it. Today and tomorrow I’m just planning to take it easy here in Lima. Currently I’m firmly planted on a bench on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, allowing the people to pass and the breeze to brush up against my face. I’ve decided to take my Airbnb host out to lunch or dinner tomorrow because he’s been so incredibly flexible allowing me to store my luggage well past the times I have been staying there. I’ve enjoyed our chats about everything from relationship issues with this guy he is dating to philosophy to his acting gigs to life in Peru.
May 7 – Le Retour
Back in Minneapolis. It’s always a bit of a rude transition for me when I head back. I go from being fascinated even by something as simple as taking a stroll down a city street and looking at new buildings and plants and meeting people whose stories intrigue me or whom I find wildly attractive in some way to listening to people drone on about home repairs or investments or other boring things I couldn’t possibly care less about. Is that what people are discussing in other countries, too but I’m just blissfully unaware because I don’t have that kind of mastery of the language? It seems like more of an American thing to me. It also struck me as so vastly different to have been in a place with handsome men literally all over the place. Sorry American men, like I’ve also said with Europeans, they win hands down, particularly Peruvians. Good looking bunch! I learned so much about the country and am even more in awe after having visited. The multitude of landscapes, the history, the food, the culture, the music and joie de vivre. There is so much to see there and I felt like I had just scratched the surface. One major surprise was how big of a presence alternative music has there. There was an 80s alternative club there that rivaled and I would even say beat the Transmission events up here. So fun. If there were anything that seemed lacking to me it would be around public transportation. Lima – a city four times the size of the Twin Cities – has fewer train lines and the traffic for basically 5/6 of the day is a complete cluster. Also, it struck me as a place that had a fairly significant underlying current of homophobia and poz-phobia for people living with hiv. I found myself educating people there about it like I do at work. It’s not to the point like in Muslim countries where there are laws against being honest about one’s orientation that can land one in jail or worse, but it wasn’t a place where it struck me that one could be fully overt. This is contrasted with Santiago, where I think that is ok in certain areas. I saw men holding hands for example whereas I never once saw that in Peru. So I guess every place has its pluses and minuses. I felt very comfortable in Lima, though. I enjoyed it immensely and as always am so thankful to have the health and physical stamina as well as resources and ability to take the time away from work that I did to pull off such an exploration. The people I met along the way have so enriched my life and I hope for them to continue to have a presence in my life on some level. A friend of mine who was so gracious to watch my cat Sylvie (I joked that she too was on a vacation) asked what my favorite part of the trip was and I really can’t put my finger on that because I liked the experiences so incredible differently. Honestly, I guess what I like most is being pulled from my stifling routine and experiencing something so completely different and being ok with that, not falling into total chaos and anxiety with the disruption (not that there weren’t moments of that but I was able to take them as they came). Traveling centers me like nothing else and brings me to the here and now, not being concerned with worries about the past or fantasies about the future. That being said I learned of an Incan philosophy that seemed opposite that blew my mind – that there is no /present/. There is only the place where past meets future and the second one tries to consider it as present, it is already in the past. I guess traveling for me allows me to ride that wave and fully experience the landscape or new person I am meeting or dish or moment when I’m rocking my Spanish (or not so much). To me, that is the stuff of life and living that unburdens me, if only momentarily, from feelings of being stuck and weighed down.
Scott Bilodeau's Meandering Babbles 