MAPI

Machu Picchu is the most beautiful place I have ever been, hands down. We stayed in a humid little town called Aguas Calientes, which is a so so place. Since it is the only town you can stay if you want to catch a bus to the top, everything is more expensive and not as good. I ate alpaca and some greasy potatoes for the equivalent of ten USD, plus a service tax of 10 soles (around 4 USD). The alpaca was pretty tough, but had a delicious cow flavor. As for Machu Picchu, it was entirely worth the expense and hassle. The drive up to the site takes place on these narrow switchbacks, which led to a lot of clenching, but the scenery is insane. Gigantic mountains are on all sides, and they are covered in what looks like a dark green shag carpet. I can´t really describe the ruins...it seems impossible that people were capable of building such precise structures without modern tools. There are two climbs you can do from the ruins. One is called Wayna Picchu, and for some reason it is the most popular. You have to get to the bus station at two in the morning just to get a stamp that allows to you climb it during the heat of the day. If we could have climbed it at 4 and watched the sunrise, I probably would have been more willing. Instead we climbed partway up Machu Picchu, which the guidebook said has a better view and less people. The worker at the bottom of the mountain said it would take an hour to reach the summit, but it turns out that is only true of extremely athletic billy goats. Someone who was descending said it actually takes around two and a half hours. After an hour of uneven steep stair climbing, we gave up and took some sweaty pictures before heading back to Aguas Calientes.

Mother´s Day is a huge deal in Peru. Actually, anything is a huge deal. Someone sets off fireworks every morning outside my window, just to celebrate the arrival of 6 am. Anyhoo, when we got back to Aguas Calientes there was an absurdly loud band playing in the plaza, and hundreds of people milling about. The traditionally dressed mamas were all drinking these giant bottles of beer and dancing to what has to be the Peruvian equivilent to ranchero. Two guys were passing out free shots of whisky with a hint of sour, and all of this occurred in an absolute downpour. To complete this weird scene, I saw three of those Chinese Crested dogs, and they all had owners! Out of all the dogs roaming the streets, people choose bald rats to keep as pets. I´m back in the dust of Cusco, and slowly discovering Machu Picchu mosquito bites on my pasty gringa skin.

One more thing, I taught a kid how to plot points on a graph. Explaining these things in Spanish isn´t very easy for me, so I was unbelievably pleased when he actually got it.

Note the awkwardness when smiling for pictures.