Cuzco

Got met at the airport by Krista which was a nice bonus to say the least. Cuzco is a dirty, compact little town with 400k or so folks living at altitude among the Andean mountains. Its shocking in that you feel like you could walk most of it in an afternoon but its got such a sizable population. I have only a city like Hamilton, Ontario to compare it to. Good luck walking from end to end of that sprawl. Maybe its the definition of the word suburb as when you look at the hillsides there are houses that go WAY up there.

Definitely felt the altitude (and started feeling it on the plane - I had thought that cabin pressure was fairly standardized - strange). Some folks that I have met have some serious signs of altitude sickness, but I have gratefully escaped it. When I was in Nepal I was a wreck so I was a bit concerned about how I would react. Looking good.

We got me checked into a hostel just off the main square (the tourist Mecca, but where the action is). Got sorted out with some Coca tea and then took a walk around the town a bit. Finally ended up drinking beers on a balcony as I swear 10 different parades took place below us. The next day I slept - a LOT. Woke up at noon which was pretty luxurious to say the least. Can't remember the last time I slept for 12 hours.

Spent a good couple of days wondering around and taking in the sights. My traveling life is starting to be a little bit of a dichotomy. I am equally at ease eating corn with suspicious looking cheese from the sketchy looking bag of some street vendor for 30 cents as I am eating $25 westernized fish dinners in a tourist trap on my visa. In terms of food, it was actually quite good here. You can get fried chicken, salad and fries for 3.50 soles (just over $1). Scrumptious street meat on a stick cooked in a lemon cilantro sauce complete with a potato on top for 1 sole. We also went to a funky place that I liked quite a bit (owned by a guy who takes the profits to support his orphanage) that had cheap red wine and some hand made tortilla chips and guacamole that was _seriously_ good. Medium priced and medium tasting food to be had in the square with varying quality and authenticity.

We took a trip out to the ruins at Pisac which was a phenomenal day. It was nice to take a local bus out to the village at the base of the ruins and finally get away from the dirt and smog that I have been living in. It was something. 5km, steep walk up and a 10km walk out through some rich, rural landscape. Take a look at the photos (link, top right). I am realizing that my digital camera needs a polarizing filter (which it can't take). I need to start shooting raw and then fake it later I guess, but I think I will invest in a digital SLR one day. The browns and blues were really deep in life. For both of us, the day in total with an hour ride bus trip each way, three drinks and 2 chocolate bars came to about 5 USD. And mountains. God I love mountains.

Krista lives in a boarding house of sorts as she volunteers in a medical clinic placement for 6 weeks. Filled with what seems to be an endless gaggle of 17-22ish year old girls / women (and couple of bewildered dudes) it takes on a little bit of college dorm type of feel. Its odd to me that they seem so worldly. I have something to learn from everyone I am coming to realize. It takes a certain type of person to go to South America to work / volunteer before college. I can't remember the last time I partied with 19 year olds (probably when I was 19) but it was pretty fun. We had a rousing drinking game before hitting the town hard. Went to a couple of 'clubs' and danced the night away. I realize that have become a bit of an electronic music snob from my days in Toronto. Mixing electro to trance to Michael Jackson to hip-hop blah blah blah just seemed so comical to me (especially with the day-glo Goa trance strings all over the ceiling). More of a wedding DJ medley than anything I am used to hearing on a Saturday night. I won't go into the track list and weird mash-ups here, but I was actually laughing out loud (as I sang along).

I made my exit, not before we sat on the steps and sparred with some of the street kids trying to sell us crap. I never even give them the time of day but it seemed like a good way to spend some change. We worked them into a frenzy and I haven't laughed that hard in a good long time. 2 hours of sleep later, it was off to catch the train. Lets just say that I don't bounce back like a 19 year old anymore.

I have to say that it was important for me to spend this time with Krista. She knows me from a different time and place and having not seen her for 4 years or so she has a unique viewpoint of who I am today vs. way back when. So much talk with piercing questions and brutally honest answers about both of our lives, past and present. Its refreshing to be completely without guard. Its a good sign that I have these types in my life, both away and at home.

Krista has been a little bit of a tour guide of late, chauffeuring her boyfriend Len around prior to tackling my tourist requirements. (Kris - Thanks for taking the time out and sharing a wonderfully good time.)

I have changed my plans about eight times so far. The latest has me leaving tomorrow back to Lima to try and get a ticket to see Roger Waters perform Dark of the moon in its entirety. My lack of planning continues to bite me in the ass. I hope this works out. (My mother is queen of the power of positive thought, she always wants me to say things _will_ happen. I am getting there as I no longer say they _won't_ happen but that I hope they will. A work in progress :)