Monday 19th December – Up For The Cup
Sleep – it’s a precious
thing and last night I certainly needed it.
Feeling fully refreshed after not having to get up before the Sun I had
to sort out what I was doing for Christmas.
Christmas is really getting in the way of my travel plans. It seems that every traveller in South America is going to descend on Cuzco to celebrate so I booked my
bed in Pariwana hostel for the festive period after finding out that
Ecopackers, where Elisha and a few others will be staying, only have a room in
an 18 bed dorm. No thanks! While at Ecopackers I bumped in Brian again
who is here for the night.
After heading for
lunch with Elisha, we both headed down to the main square, Plaza de Armas, and
could see and hear a commotio0n coming into the square. Yesterday in Aguas Calientes the bars were
full of people watching what appeared to be a very important football
match. It was a promotion playoff game
between Cuzco’s local team and a team from Lima. Cuzco won and got promoted to the top
division. What we could see now in Plaza
de Armas was the team’s parade through the town. All the players were precariously perched on
top of a minibus which the fans ran ahead, around and behind chanting their
team’s song. It was pretty cool to see
so we went and found a first floor coffee shop to get the perfect
viewpoint. As I’ve said before, Cuzco is
a place where you always need your camera close by. I didn’t.
But thankfully I had my phone.
In the evening, I
met up with Lorraine, Trina and Olivia from my Salkantay trek for a bite to eat
and a few drinks, with Brian joining in the party as well. After food we headed to the same place I was
in last Monday night. More live music,
more weird disco music. Then a sales
pitch from a guy trying to sell me every tour in Cuzco. After asking me what I did for a living, he
even offered me free tours if I fixed his website. After seeing him being asked to leave by the
staff and getting into an argument, I decided this was not the tour guide for
me.
Tuesday 20th December – The Half Cut Barber
While spending the
morning planning my time in Chile I’m quickly starting to realise that I’m going to have to cut out a few places that I really want to do –
Lake Titicaca, The Salt Flats in Bolivia, The Death Road. It’s going to be a very hard decision on what
to drop. But I’m going to look at is a
good excuse to come back to South America.
Needing a haircut, I
wandered around the streets of Cuzco for an hour and failed to find a barbers
or even a hair salon. Do people here not
have hair? It looks to me like they
do. Eventually after another hunt around
the plazas I found one right next to the hostel. The barber, a little old man, possibly in his
seventies, invited me in, sat me in front of the mirror, asked what I wanted
done (very simple, a No. 2 all over) and readied the clippers. At this point he stepped behind me, started
hunting through a plastic bag and, I assume forgetting I was sitting facing a
mirror and could see everything, took a big swig from a large bottle in a brown
paper bag. This is not the scene I
wanted to see directly before he picked up the clippers to go at my hair. After fighting to get the clippers going and
wrapping the lead around my legs countless times, he began his work. Everything seemed to be going fine until
about halfway through when he suddenly stopped and put everything down, reached
into his plastic bag again and put on his glasses. I literally had a blind-drunk man cutting my
hair for the last 10 minutes. Shortly
after he finished, reached for a cut throat razor before and asked if I wanted
a shave, or at least his hand gestures suggested that. Recoiling in fear for my life, I politely
declined, paid my money and made a hasty getaway. In the end, the haircut was actually perfect.
After the trauma had
subsided I met Elisha and Luci (from Melbourne) for some recommended rollos in
a place on Gringo Alley which I think was simply called Rollos. These were like kebabs (proper wrapped
kebabs, not the 2 a.m.-in-the-morming-I’m-hungry-stumbling-home-from-a-pub-and-need-the-worst-tasting-food-possible-which-will-give-me-the-runs-for-five-days
kebabs) and filled with falafel, chicken, lots of salad and sauces. Another place I’d definitely recommend if
ever in Cuzco. So tasty!
Tomorrow morning I
have a rock climbing session booked.
Time to get terrified again.
Wednesday 21st December – CouchSurfing
Peruvian time is in
a different dimension to the rest of the Universe. If they give you a time that something is
going to happen (being picked up for a tour, going rock climbing, when a bus
will leave) add at least 22 minutes and you might be close. If they tell you how long something is going
to take (a trek through the mountains for example), half the time and add
10%. These rules change on a daily basis. It’s a mystery.
I sat in the hostel
waiting for my rock climbing instructor to pick me up at 9 a.m. and gave him
until 9.15 a.m. before wandering over to the reception and asking what was
happening. They called him and reassured
me he was on his way. At 9.30 a.m. the
receptionist arrived over and to tell me that he would not be coming after all
and that he was in fact en route to his family’s place for the Christmas
period. I take it he must have had a
change of mind while en route to collect me – or they just lied. Not sure which.
My day’s plans in
ruins, I chilled out, planned and made long overdue phone calls home, before
meeting Elisha, Luci and a couple of volunteer colleagues of Elisha’s. Elisha is volunteering in a local school in
Cuzco at the minute. The school is run
by a local charity called Helping Hands and helps families who cannot afford to
send their children to the state run schools.
Tomorrow is their race day – the first time they have ever had one. They need a few extra volunteers to help out
with the organization so I’m going to go along and do what I can.
After dinner, Elisha
and I went along to the weekly Couch Surfing Cuzco get together in Indigo
Bar. Couch Surfing Cuzco and holding a
Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve, so having signed up to the website we wanted
to head along and meet a few people and get all the details for the
dinner. Everyone was so friendly and
cool. Met both hosts and surfers. After Indigo we headed along to Mythology for
a quick dance and then home. Need to be
fresh for the big race day tomorrow.
Thursday 22nd December – Cuzco Race Day!!
Happy Birthday
Aaron!!
What an amazing
day. Up early, I met Elisha and we
headed to the school in the San Sebastian area of Cuzco. When we got there the first task was to set
up the Start/Finish line banner. Then
clear the streets of all the dogs, of which there are loads. This was done by two of the kids using a
megaphone, matching along with Elisha and I, to let all the residents know that
it was Race Day and no dogs allowed.
Next all the kids had to be separated into their age groups. The guys had done a great job organising the event with proper running t-shirts for all the kids and assigned
numbers. As everyone arrived there was a
definite air of excitement, with the mums getting kitted out to for their race
too. After everything was setup, the
races began. The kids and families loved
it. My job was to direct them in the
right direction along the streets. Not
too difficult a task it would seem except some of the kids were so eager that
when I told them to turn back they charged passed me and I had run after them
to turn around. Then when doing the same
job for the mums’ race I felt like a May Pole when they started running in
circles around me. It was so much
fun. Finally it was time for the prize
giving for each race - all the kids and mums feeling very chuffed with
themselves - followed by Christmas gifts for all the kids. Followed by a huge downpour. Thankfully it held off until all the races were
over.
After lunch with
Elisha and some of the volunteers, I headed back to the hostel to plan my trek
up Eli Misti in southern Peru. It’s my
next volcano and one of the main ones I want to climb. I’m having no luck with
this planning. No response from the tour
companies. I’m putting it down to it
being Christmas.
In the evening,
Elisha, Luci and I headed back to get some more rollos along with John, Terry -
a former criminal lawyer from the States - and his daughter Rachel. Terry had some very interesting stories to
tell about his time as a lawyer – allowing me to see it from a very different
perspective than I normally would.
Friday 23rd December – Reunions
At the very end of
last night I asked Elisha to check if her hostel, Ecopackers, maybe now had a
bed for over Christmas – and thankfully they did. Not only that - it was in the same dorm as
Elisha and Luci. Perfect! I seemed to be spending all my time over
there anyway to the point that one day the people working at Ecopackers thought
I was already checked in. So first thing
I did this morning was check out of Pariwana and make my way over the
Ecopackers.
Not long after
getting myself settled in I discovered that Rinath was in Cuzco now too, and
staying at Ecpackers. The day was just
getting better and better. We met up for
lunch and then headed for some coffee along with two guys she had travelled
with in Columbia.
In the evening
everyone seemed up for a big night out, so we all headed to Indigo (where I
bumped into Kia – we both seem to be doing the exact same route!),. In indigo all the guys from Couch Surfing
Cuzco were there so after a few drinks we hit the clubs – Mythology first and
then finished the night in Groove.
Saturday 24th December – Christmas Eve Is A Big Deal In Cuzco
After a late night,
I gingerly crawled out of bet at about 10 a.m. and pretty much right away
bumped into Helen who had arrived back from her Salkantay Trek last night. Was really cool to catch up with her
again. It really does seem like everyone
is gathering in Cuzco for Christmas.
Christmas Eve is the
big day of celebration and festivities in Peru rather than Christmas Day. Elisha and I headed to Plaza de Armas where
we came across a huge Christmas market.
The atmosphere was brilliant and so festive. They were selling everything in the market: cribs,
statues for the cribs including all the animals, and strips of fresh grass to
line the floor of the cribs. There was
music coming from lots of the stalls and all the locals were dressed in their
traditional costumes. After a lazy
stool, we headed to San Blas for a bite to eat and entertained ourselves by
getting some funny photographs with accidental llamas in the background.
After Elisha headed
to do some shopping in the market and I headed back to the hostel. I was starting to feel really unwell. Something was definitely was not right with
me, but I just put it done to having a late night and needing some rest.
After chilling in
the hostel for a few hours, Elisha, Luci and I headed to the Couch Surfing
Christmas dinner. It was a good night
and I spent a lot of the evening talking to two girls from Sydney who had just
been to Arequipa. They have highly
recommended a three day trek to Colca Canon and used the same tour company,
Colca Trek, who I am planning to use for my El Misti trek (which I have not
managed to get sorted – getting close though).
At least now I know I am using the right tour operator.
As the night went on
I started feeling worse and worse.
At midnight, the
city exploded with fireworks to bring in Christmas Day. From all the streets and houses and in Plaza
de Armas fireworks could be heard going off for a long time.
Once we had all
finished the dinner we went to a pub but I couldn’t stay longer then about half
an hour. It was time for me to go home
and lie down. I felt like I was about to
collapse or be sick. Once I got back to
the hostel I went straight to bed, but it wasn’t long before I was awake again
and running for the toilets. I have not been
that ill for many years. Violent
vomiting over and over again. I swear
that, in-between the explosive episodes, in the distance I could hear the old
men from the Benevolent Order of Antelopes chanting, ‘Boom-baba. Boom-baba.’. After it ended I crawled back to bed feeling
like death. The venture to the toilets
was repeated twice more during the night.
Happy Christmas Mark!
Sunday 25th December – Christmas Day
Happy Christmas
Everyone!!
Having had a very
interrupted sleep I got up at 10 a.m. still feeling awful. After making a few phone calls home to wish
everyone a Happy Christmas, it wasn’t long before I was back in bed. From then I slept straight through until 4.30
p.m. Still exhausted but feeling much
better I went and met everyone else and chilled around the open fire in the
hostel. The weather in Cuzco was very
cold, maybe 6oC. I thought I
was going to have a warm and sunny Christmas being in South America. Not at all.
While Ireland was having its warmest Christmas on record, Cuzco seemed
to be having its coldest.
To see if I would be
capable of having the hostel Christmas dinner later I experimented with a few
bread rolls. With no repercussions from
those, at 9 a.m. we all sat down for our dinner. It was really tasty. Turkey, some sort of strange potato
concoction and veg followed by dessert.
After it was back to huddle around the fire for some warmth and chat
late into the night.
Monday 26th December – Boxing Day
Over the last few
days I have been in a lot of contact with Colca Trek and have finally got my
trek sorted – unfortunately it’s not my trek to El Misti. That’s proving to be a pain. I’m the only one wanting to do it and they
need at least two people. With this
being low season, the chances of it happening are slim. But what I have finally sorted is my three
day trek to Colca Canyon. It starts on
December 29th so today I booked my overnight bus to Arequipa,
leaving tomorrow night. I have splashed
out and booked full-cama – a seat that pretty much turns into a bed which will
be very welcome on a 12-hour overnight journey.
Still feeling wiped
after my stomach bug, I chilled out all day before heading back to Los Perros
with Elisha, Rinath, Luci and Nathan.
Having raved about their burgers for a few days, I was a bit concerned I
may have exaggerated their size. It was
the opposite. I had actually forgotten
how big they really were! It didn’t
disappoint.
As it was Boxing Day
I tried to pick myself up for a good night out as is the tradition back home -
one of the biggest nights to head out over the Christmas period. I felt I needed to raise a glass or two to
all my family and absent friends back home who make going back to Ireland for
Christmas so much fun. But all I could
manage was a quiet beer back in the hostel.
Both Elisha and Luci
leave at an ungodly hour early in the morning for differing trips to Machu
Picchu. More parting, but hopefully
won’t be too long before I see them again.
Elisha is now planning to be in Arequipa as well, so that should only be
a matter of days.
Tuesday 27th December – Cuzco Walking Tour
Probably something I
should have done a long time ago considering how long I have been in Cuzco but
only today, my last day in Cuzco, did I manage to get around to heading on the
Free Cuzco Walking Tour, along with Rinath.
I really enjoyed it, even if it did go to areas I had already been to
over the last few weeks. But the guide
Yonathan pointed out a lot of places of interest which I had just waked passed
not even realising their importance. A lot of the buildings around the main plazas
were built by the Incas with their distinctive style of architecture. In one wall they have arranged the stones to
form the (vague) shapes of their three most revered animals, the condor, the
puma and the snake.
After some rollos
with Rinath I headed back to the hostel, typed up my blog and readied myself
for my bus journey to Arequipa. Rinath
is off in another direction and I won’t see her again on my travels. It was a lot of fun to hang out with her
again for the last week. After our
goodbyes I taxied to the bus station, boarded my bus and headed to Arequipa for
the next leg of my adventure.
Wednesday 28th December – Arequipa
Well treating myself
to the full cama experience on the bus was a waste of time. The seat was great. Like first class on an airplane and some tasty
hot food included. But when I attempted
to get to sleep, all I could hear from below my seat was the rattling and
banging of something in the boot that was loose. So bleary eyed upon arrival in Arequipa I
shared a taxi with a few Australian guys to The Wild Rover. The Wild Rover is a hostel chain with an
infamous reputation – parties all the time.
But apparently this one in Arequipa is the ‘mild’ rover and with New
Year’s Eve fast approaching it was one of the hostels that had rooms available,
so I decided to go for it and hope for the best.
Having my Colca
Canyon trek tomorrow I had to call to the office of Colca Trek to make my final
payment at which point I again enquired about a trek up El Misti. Still no joy.
Why does no one want to climb El Misti?
Now that I am in Arequipa I can see it looming in the background and it
looks fantastic. I have to say I’m
baffled as to why not one other person in the city wants to climb it.. It’s screaming out to be climbed.
After strolling
around the city I headed back to The Wild Rover where I bumped into Gus, a guy
I briefly met in Cuzco at Pariwana Hostel, and Helen M. Everyone in the hostel seems to be heading on
a trek of Colca Canyon tomorrow – at about a quarter of the price I paid for
mine. I wonder will there be much
difference in the treks? At least mine
leaves at 8 a.m. while everyone else’s leaves at 4 a.m. Once packed I sat in the bar in the hostel
with Gus and Helen M. It is a Wednesday
night and I can see that this bar has the potential to be crazy. New Year’s Eve is going to be an interesting
night. But I do like this place. A lot of fun people and good craic – with the
obligatory Irish tunes in the background.
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