South to Cusco

The SKIP 2011 Annual Report is online!

http://www.skipperu.org/en/about-skip

It actually still needs tweaking a bit but I won't say where. I may have only been with SKIP for a month but I've got something to show for it and it will stay on the website...maybe forever as well as being sent to all sorts of people and potential funders (I was informed that there has already been some interest on the back of this report alone...).

I didn't have time to think about leaving SKIP very much since I was still working right to the end. A lot of people asked how I felt about leaving and, quite honestly, more than anything, I was excited about getting to Cusco! It was tough finishing work off in a busy house in the heat whilst simultaneously planning the trip south. However, when the time came, it was a Thursday evening (family dinner night) so everyone was around and I got a lovely send off that made it feel very strange to leave everyone.  There's a tradition of creating a human archway leading up to the door for you to walk through as you walk out for the last time. With such a full house, my archway was a tunnel across the entire patio. Then, suddenly, I was in the taxi to the bus station along with a very stuffed rucksack (I bought a couple of scarves made by SKIP mothers but I'm sure I got rid of a lot of stuff too...) and travel buddy Nico. I'd better introduce Nico since I'll be spending the whole week with him. Nico is from Cleveland in the States, he's a teacher but he took 8 months off to come and volunteer for SKIP. He likes karaoke, water polo and Mentos.

 A (quite small) family dinner

Cusco is everything I hoped for and more. I was nervous about the altitude hitting me hard, arriving by plane directly from sea level. At 3399m in the main square (and I hasten to add that our hostel is a fair bit higher!), it's not the highest I've ever been but it is the highest I've been without the help of Diamox. However, I'm clearly from mountain goat stock as the effects have been minimal (*smug*). Walking up the steep hill to our lovely hostel with stunning views was very slow on the first time but it was accompanied by a fairly pleasant floaty feeling rather than the pounding headache that people talk about. The hostel provides unlimited 'mata coca' a 'tea' that's a natural remedy for altitude sickness (basically a handful of dried leaves in got water and genuinely delicious, if a bit awkward when you get a bit of leaf or stem in your teeth).

So, Cusco. For those not familiar, it sits in a sort of well in the mountains, and the outskirts sprawl up the sides of them. It's much more 'old school mountain Peru' than the coast, much more abundant in tourists, which is a shame but at least people don't stare at us and shout things in the street. They do try to sell you things and coerce you in to restaurants. I don't know which is more annoying. Nico and I have developed a come-back that works for most of their offers. When one of us is offered something, you say "No thanks, I have him/her." For example, "Would you like a baggage trolly?" (not free!) -"No thanks, I have one (pointing at Nico)". This has also proved effective when offered massages, a 'beautiful little doll' and a horse to help with the walk.

The ruins in the surrounding mountains are horrendously underrated by the guide book, probably just because there are so many of them. The past 3 days have felt like borrowed time because I was expecting (on the advice of many people + books) to be incapacitated with altitude sickness. So to have seen some stunning Inca ruins and panoramic mountain views and trekked around the nearby town of Pisac among waterfalls, whilst being serenaded by panpipes before even starting the trek to Machu Picchu, is quite exciting.

 Cusco

A view from Sacsayhuaman ruins (pronunciation easy to remember, it sounds just like 'sexy woman')

A baby Alpaca (I ate some today too)

Pisac was pretty exhausting, not least because of the bus ride back to Cusco. The bus was full. Or so we thought. They managed to pack us on a few more behind so we were standing, contorted and holding on for dear life right at the front. At the next stop – maybe some people will get off? Oh no, they’re getting a couple more on. Meanwhile the bus makes its way up steep, winding mountain roads with breath-taking drops off the edge of the roads (with no barriers). When I managed to take my eyes off the steep drop/where I could get the best hand hold to stay upright on the bus, I focused on a window sticker at the front, roughly translated: "This ride is safe...because Jesus lights my way." I think there is such a thing as too much faith...

Tomorrow we’re heading off early for a 4 day trek ending at Machu Picchu, with some mountain biking, jungle trekking and hopefully river rafting (weather dependent) along the way. All being well, I’ll be back in Cusco on Thursday night with several billion photos, mosquito bites and muscle pains. Do I have several billion muscles? It already feels like it after today's little walk.