9 October 2010
Ten Thousand Feet Up in Peru with Coca, Elvis and the Love Taxi
After what seemed like a long respite from international travel, I finally got the chance to embark on another journy. The destination this time, Peru, and ultimately, Machu Picchu. I left Houston, TX on a six and a half hour direct flight on Friday night. Arriving into Lima, Peru around 2230 at night. Earlier that day I had arranged a last minute hotel room near the airport. My only intention was to sleep for a few hours before having to return to the airport for a 0730 flight. The hotel had gotten some pretty terrible reviews online but I figured I could handle anything for a few hours, it was cheap, and at least I had a male friend to travel with.
My friend from Connecticut (by way of Costa Rica), Jonas, was waiting at the airport when I arrived. The Hostal Caribe had promised me via email that they would be waiting at the airport arrivel with a sign bearing my name. Jonas and I walked quite a few laps around that arrival hall until we were quite sure there was no little Peruvian man holding a sign with my name on it. After a bit of bargaining in Spanish, we got a taxi cab to the hotel.
It certainly was not anything glamourous, and was in a very "local" part of town. The room was basic but it served the purpose. At 2330 at night, the neighborhood boys were still outside playing football. The Spanish music played in the distance and the shadows of the mountains loomed beyond the city lights.
I can not say that it was a good night sleep. Even with my earplugs on, I frequently awoke to the sound of moving furniture, a crying baby, and other routine street noise. When my alarm went off at 0600, the roosters were crowing outside louder than I'd ever heard, especially in the middle of a city of 9 million people. I took a peek outside and down on the street below was a white cab with a red heart logo painted on the roof, hood of the car, and both doors. Under the windshield wiper I could make out a sign which read, "Kate Whitehou." Apparently my hotel taxi had finally arrived, only about 8 hours off schedule, but at least they brought the love taxi to make me feel special.
Jonas and I quickly gathered our things and left the hotel. The cab driver was a friendly guy and he explained that he had looked for us the night before, but had left after not finding us. He took us to the airport for the same low rate, so it all worked out. He asked how long we would be in Peru, and he answered that one week was not enough.
It was a short flight from Lima to Cuzco. On the flight, I met half a dozen other people who would also be in my tour group. Yes, for the first time since highschool, I had joined up with a tour group. It just made more sense to hike and camp with a group rather than alone. Frankly, I also did not have the time to make all the arrangements on my own either. It just so happened, that the price and dates that worked out best for me, out of the hundreds of Machu Picchu trips I found, ended up being on a "Singles" trip. It felt a little cheesy to me as I never thought of myself cruising a singles trip, but I decided to keep an open mind. At least this guaranteed that I wouldn't be with a bunch of boring, old married people.
Everyone was really friendly on the plane...there were people from all over the country in our group...New York City, California, New Jersey, a Brit living in Boston, an Aussie living in NYC, a Chinese living in Toronto, and a few other from various states, even a "neighbor" from Austin, TX. After landing in Cuzco we met up with our tour guide, Erik, who has his own business called Erik's Adventures; we headed to our hotel.
Cuzco is a beautiful town filled with both Inca and Spanish colonial architecture that sits at an elevation of 10,860 ft above sea level, nestled in the Andes Mountains. Everyone had been talking about altitude sickness. Some people brought along prescription medicine, Diamox. The tourguide, Erik, told us that we should stay well hydrated and that we would have some Coca tea when we got to the hotel.
Coca tea is made by steeping the dried leaves of the Coca plant, yes, the same plant from which Cocaine is derived. This plant has been a part of the Andean culture for centuries. It is not as bad as it sounds, per Wikipedia, "the alkaloid cocaine is found in the amount of about 0.3 to 1.5%, averaging 0.8%, in fresh leaves. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue. Absorption of cocaine from the leaf is much less rapid and efficient than from the purified forms of cocaine, and it does not cause the euphoric and psychoactive effects associated with use of the drug." They claim that chewing or making a tea with the leaves will help altitude sickness. All it did was make me feel jittery. The leaves also play a role in the spiritual beliefs of the area, "Coca leaves play a crucial part in offerings to the apus (mountains), Inti (the sun), or Pachamama (the earth). Coca leaves are also often read in a form of divination analogous to reading tea leaves in other cultures." Our Peruvian tour guide, Jaime (pronounced Hi-may) tells us about these rituals.
After settling in, we have a group Peruvian lunch which consists of a chicken stock soup with potatos, followed by a potato like croquette, then I had lamb served with rice and a yuca. I felt completely carb loaded. Outside the restaurant, we stood on the street corner and admired the beautiful central square of Plaza de Armas, which is lined by multiple large churches and other colonial and Incan buildings. A teenaged boy comes up to us in attempts to sell some "paintings." He told me that I could buy it for one of my lovers. After realizing he isn't going to get a sale, he just chats with us. His name was Elvis and his English was quite good. He says he wants to be a tourguide some day after college and says he learned English by selling crafts to tourists, a trade he began at age seven. He asked me if I was looking for peace and quiet. I said that of course I was. He said, "Ok, well good, I am Peace and I have a brother named Quiet." That was a novel pickup line to me!
A bit further down the street I met another salesman named Elvis as well. He approached me by asking if I sprechen zie Deutch. He said he thought I looked more German than American. I asked him if Elvis was a common name here as I had just met another Elvis. He said no!! in a very surprised way. He was skeptical that there was another Elvis around here. He asked me if Elvis was popular in the US. I said well yes, Elvis Presley. He did not know who that was! He said he hated his name, Elvis, but it was his parents' choice and not his own.
When the group finally formed, we went out on a tour around Cuzco. We visited a museum containing paintings and old Inca architecture. We also took the bus further out of the valley and up to the mountains where we visited a few different Inca ruin sites. Jaime explained the thought process behind the building of these structures. How far the basalt was brought from, how each piece was chiseled or carve to fit the next. The Incas built their walls to withstand earthquakes by slanting the walls inward at an angle as well as making trapezoidal windows and doors. It was impressive how seamlessly these huge rocks fit together. You couldn't even slide a piece of tissue paper between them.
From higher up at the ruins we got a great view of the city below in the valley of the Andes. I guess the coca tea wasn't working that well because I did feel a bit lightheaded even further up now. It was subtle, but I did feel it. I also felt much more winded with my heart beating faster than normal from just a short upward hike. I was glad we would have a few days to settle in and acclimate before our four day trek to Machu Picchu at an even higher elevation.
Later that night, a bit exhausted from the day and the altitude, Jonas and I still dragged ourself out for some dinner with a few of the tour mates. We went with Helen, my assigned roommate, and British woman from Boston, as well as the guy who lives in Austin. I decided that we should leave the tourist area and try some authentic restaurant. After a 10 minute walk we found ourselves in the "real" Cuzco. Busy streets filled with smoggy air, small shops selling all sorts of junk from thong underwear, to shoe soles, to gaudy curtains. We finally found a hole in the wall restaurant offering a 2 course meal for three and a half sols (the equivalent of just over ONE US dollar!) The meal wasn't half bad either but I feel like I was making out with a car exhaust pipe. Luckily, there is no time zone change for me, but after a busy day at high altitude and a terrible sleep in Lima. I am ready for bed.
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