Traveling by motorcycle is a lot different than normal backpacking. First off what might take a backpacker twenty hours on an overnight bus, will likely take a motorcyclist a good three days. I like it because you get to see a lot more of the countryside. Enjoy a little more of the ride, not just the destination. Stupid shit happens all the time on the road too. Like roadside food is probably the most fun example. It can be an amazing success. Good local grub served up by humble hosts. While most of the time, it's just a crap shoot. Such is the life BJ, Liam, and I went through getting to Cusco. For some reason all the food has some ridiculous name that has almost nothing to do with the meal. Like Lomo Saltando, it translates to jumping loin, but it's really delicious beef fajitas mixed with french fries served over rice. It's really been my Peruvian staple because everything else you order here is a fucking mystery. The entire journey up the Andes, we all had to choose the mystery meal a few times too many. You know what hits the spot after a long days ride in the desert heat? Yep, soup. Accidentally ordered soup three times, fuck me. Then there are the endless options in little far off towns along the way. Like one day after visiting several lunch restaurants we were stuck with trout or more soup. Mmmm...remote.
Eventually, we did find our way to Cusco. And I'm happy as a clam to get off the bike, and chill out again. It's a nice rather large city, that really is the cultural capital of Perú. There are alpaca sweaters, goofy beanies, and colorful (apparently native) M.C. Hammer pants everywhere. I swear I've never seen so many foreign tourists grossly misinterpret cultural heritage. At our party hostel, there are tons of gringos mismatched in the best way. Literally endless amounts of llama print clothing. I wish I could show you what some of these people were getting away and getting laid with. It's like they're purposely trying to wear as many llamas on their clothes as possible. Now I admit I know nothing about fashion, but only in Cusco could tourists on a weeks holiday get away with that kind of stuff. If I wasn't so damn lazy I would have taken great photos of those douche bags. Next time in Cusco, fo sho.
Right now I've got a great little travel group. About seven of us off and on. Some cute blonde Danes, tall Canadians, an Englishman, and some goofy Americans on Kawasaki's. It was pretty nice running around together, hitting up all the touristy spots in Perú. One thing I'm glad I didn't miss out on was Machu Picchu. The price to get there is outrageous. There aren't any roads, and it's going cost a minimum of about a hundred and forty dollars. So since I'm traveling with the Danes who did not want to hike, I took the lazy way out and rode on a train and stayed in a hotel. Whatever, it turned out to be about sixty bucks more. The train ride was awesome, since the terrain itself is unlike anything I've ever seen. The mountains are shear, rocky, and jagged, but topped with green. It was really bizarre when you actually reach Machu Picchu. It really makes you wonder why on earth there's a five hundred year old city plopped on top.
 |
| I love llamas! |
 |
| Extreme close up! Whoaaooaa! |
 |
| The lost city. |
In order to get a pass to hike the adjacent mountain, you've got to arrive at six in the morning. At this time there's nothing but fog and grassy trails. On a small hike before our tour we found a llama waking up on one of the graded terraces. I'm stoked, so I take a ton of pictures and give it a big hug. Later, Teresa and Christina have to pry me away from all the other grazing llamas to take our tour. They're just so damn cute! I could have played with them all day. Anyhow, I guess the real story isn't the sweet llamas on Machu Picchu, it's the city itself. Which, by the way, is an expensive tourist trap, but is totally worth all the hype. Engineering wise it's great. I love the grading, there are old terraces that after fifteen or so flat landings drop off into shear nothingness. It's crazy to think how dangerous that construction job was. The city itself was once just a normal Incan city, it had all the necessary features, farming, water, people, llamas, but now it's remains are on display for forty bucks a pop.
 |
| The view from Huynu Picchu. Walked up in the rain, and was able to get this shot in a brief momment without clouds. |
Don't get me wrong, the city is in a remote location and has some really cool features. I think the country takes too much advantage of this sight. Prices are outrageous for a fairly poor country. It's something you should want to see every time you're Perú, but since it's such a hassle to get there. I probably won't ever go back. It's too bad because tourists are really being taken advantage of. Seven bucks for a twenty minute bus ride, twenty dollar sunscreen at the top, and a even the forty bucks to get in is ridiculous. It isn't Disneyland for crying out loud, it's one of the seven natural wonders of the modern world. My favorite stories I've heard were about the Queen of Spain and a mudslide.
 |
| What a deal! |
During heavy rains the road and path down from Machu Picchu were washed out. Hundreds of tourists were stuck up there, luckily for them the good hearted people of the nearby town of Aguas Calientes came to the rescue. It's too bad the locals gouged every tourist, already overpriced rudimentary supplies were sold for double the price. Tourism dropped like a rock the next month when word got out about it. I hope they were hurting for screwing with people like that. But alas, it's much too popular an attraction to be left alone for too long. I'm sure by now they've made a full recovery.
The last anecdote is about the Queen of Spain coming to Perú for a visit. The most luxurious way to get there from Cusco would be an hour by car, then another hour by train. She would have none of it, so Perú made special arrangements to partly destroy a piece of Machu Picchu so a helicopter can fly her in. Totally hilarious. I love how Perú still has to kiss Spain's ass. You'll notice that half of South America speaks spanish. It's because the Spaniards conquered everyone they could find. The Inca civilization was the biggest and most prominent empire on the planet around the 1500's. Not for long because the Spanish conquered the whole empire with a force of something like a hundred and eighty dudes. Having the advantage of a cavalry, canons, steel, and surprise they stormed and took the capital. Completely amazing how it happened. I mean could you imagine two hundred guys taking down Washington and controlling the United States? Shyeeah right. Anyhow the spaniards took or burned most of the original culture. While all the natives are now speak Spanish, love gold, and drink coffee. Even today, it cracks me up that their former territory still bends over backwards to make them comfortable. What a world.
No comments:
Post a Comment