Around 3:00 AM I was aware of latin beats, not music, just beats. A disco two buildings away was in full swing, the heavy bass was conveyed through the concrete structure we shared. I got dressed and went downstairs. This time I was not locked in, as has happened twice, but I had no key to the front door, so after springing the latch to leave I propped so that it appeared secure althought it really wasn´t. I made my way over to the disco and with one glance determined that these people were far more energetic that I could hope to be at this time and headed back to my room. I didn´t want to watch TV and had nothing to do by a guy in private can always find a way to pass time.
Dawn broke and I dressed and headed down the stairs. The streets were nearly vacant and I walked them all.
A woman sat a table with three types of juices and cheese sandwiches. A bearded old Incan was eating a guacamole sandwich. When an Incan grows a beard, it looks like those Chinese beards; Incans do not have much facial hair. I ordered a drink and a sandwich. The drink was hot and viscous. We chatted for a bit and I asked her to write down what was in the drink, I guess the thought I was asking for a tab and wrote me out a bill for 10 sols, 5 for the drink and 5 for the sandwhich. These sandwiches sell for 1 sol everywhere. A complaint that the sandwich was only worth 1 sol met with a response of 2, so now my bill was 7 sols. I paid the tab and walked 50 feet down the sidewalk and asked the price of the sandwich and the drink. They were one sol apiece.
I returned to the woman and said, ¨"por ahi" and pointed to the sandwich "uno sol" and then pointed to the drink and said "uno sol". Then I looked at her with disdain and said "precio especial gringo." "Si". "Necessito recompsar cinco sol" and stuck out my hand. She unabashedly gave my a five sol coin after having acknowledged that she had ripped me off.
I bought ¨Lost City of the Incas" by Hiram Bingham, the "scientific discoverer" of Machu Picchu. He is so named because many people knew of its existence, a German had been there and written his name on the wall, it was on an official Peruvian map, etc. I also bought the best canteen ever, a strap with a giant cup holder for a 1.5 liter bottle, you forget you are even wearing it. Best of all it has intricate patterns had woven by the Inca craftsmen and says "Machu Picchu on it." Cost? 10 Sol about $3.75.
A saw a sign that said "Zona Seguridad". This wasn´t fenced off or anything, just a bunch of steps disappearing into the jungle. I supposed that the only thing they were securing in this zone was the wildlife so I ascended the steps admiring everything around me, the lichen covered stone steps, the dense foilage and as I climbed higher, the river, the mountains and finally I was higher than the clouds, not much of an achievement in the cloud forest. Still higher I ran out of steps and continued on a narrow, steep trail off into the jungle. Where is my damn walking stick? Climbing something like this is easier than going down, on your way up you can grab what lies ahead. Although the weather was perfect for strenous climbing I didn´t look forward to the walk down so I turned around and headed back down the trail. After a hundred yards or so I encountered a 50 pound dog barking aggressively alternating with growls who was soon backed up by another dog of comparable size. ¨"This is not good." Still, I had the high ground. I yelled at them and in response a disembodied voice called the dogs off. Continuing down the trail I met the dog´s master, a male youth clad in laceless boots and appropriately carrying a machete. We exchanged civilities and the dogs circled behind him as I continued my descent. When I reached the top of the stairs the dog I had first encountered came back to challenge me again. As he approached I slipped, falling towards him, yelling as I did so. That sent the dog with his tail between his legs 50 feet faster than I could possibly have imagined.
Presently the youth reappeared, holding a 2 meter stalk of some leafy plant. I asked what it was for and he told me it was to feed his guinea pigs. That short conversation consisted of "¿para qué?" "cuy". At the base of the stairs I thought, "Now what?" I discovered a sidewalk with fresh water gutters on either side, obviously feed by some clean water source and followed them through a forest like setting, but that took no more than 20 minutes. Next, I found the tourist office and inquired what there was to do in this town and was told about some waterfalls 4 kilometers away. Great!
The provisioning process was more of the same with the local I met. This time I was prepared, I picked up a 1.5 liter bottle of water and put it on the counter. "¿Quenta Costo?" "Cinco." "Quattro" and I put it down and started to walk out the door, "Quattro" she accepted four rather the five she was asking.
Spying a bag of energy mints I asked the price same bullshit, she said 10, I said 5 in Cusco she told me transportation... yeah right... and we settled on 6 then I bought another type of mint with which I was not familiar. Out in front of the store I found a policeman and asked him for the directions to the trailhead and he pointed it out for me. I pulled out my mints, which he eyed, so I offered him one, holding two different types. He chose one and I asked him why that one, his reply? More coca.
The walk along the railroad track was very scenic by itself. I encountered a couple that were going to climb a nearby mountain, which they pointed out. Apparently it is a difficult climb and in places you have to use ill-maintained wooden ladders affixed to the wall. How tall are some of these ladders? Up to 30 meters, that´s 100 feet... no thank you.
When I arrived at the gardens I was suprised to find that it was actually a woman´s yard. She owned untold hectare of spectacular wilderness 2 1/2 miles from town, a town that has no cars and can only be reached by train. She posed for a picture while wearing my hat and declared the we were now amigos. I paid the 10 sol price and she showed me around her gardens and all of the orchids with no flowers because it has been raining too much. Wait where are the waterfalls? She walked me across the road, opened the gate that was seemingly locked with a chain and padlock but with a flip of the lock over a rail the chain swung free, she opened the gate and we entered. She pointed out many plants as we walked down the trail and then told me that I could continue for 15 minutes and see a small water fall, then 15 minutes more and see a bigger one. It was a fantastic walk, I won´t describe it, I will include the pictures when I have more bandwith.
I was back on the railroad track I had followed out, heading back into town. Every couple hundred yards was a number of people with group sizes from 1 to 5 all heading into Agua Caliente from Santa Theresa a five hour trek. I came off the trail just as PYT was passing and stepped up next to her and told her she was almost there, only four kilometers to go. That brought a big smile to her 24 year old Swiss face. I stopped to take a picture or two and she was 100 yards down the trail. I continued walking but I noticed she was gaining me. Now I was shamed. She was wearing a pack and was at the end of a five hour trek. Using her as my pacesetter I decided to catch up with her. We talked for 15 minutes but I decided to cutoff and go to the botanical garden.
I walked around town, negotiating the best price for a guinea pig dinner, then took a bunch of pictures of fabrics for a friend. Wish I could have gone to some village and watched people make this stuff. Finally I had dinner. I don´t see what is so great about guinea pig. The pile of bones when I was done had a skull with eyes and teeth prominent.
"I told you we´d see him again!!!" My travelling companions had stayed at the hostel having already booked 3 nights I had checked out and found other accomodations. When I inquired as to their whereabouts the woman pointed at the 9 o´clock checkout time, which I thought meant that they were no longer there. They were out to grab dinner and the 4 for 1 happy hour special. I said, they are everywhere on the street to the hot springs, and they all offer free nachos. It was not possible pass a restaurant without having someone accost you with a menu. We found a spot and chatted while they noshed and a band set up across the street, played 3 or 4 tunes, sold some CD´s and moved on. We agreed to meet in Cusco on Monday if at all possible, exchanged emails and went in pursuit of or respective objectives.
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