The last country of my travel through Latinamerica

For a year I was already travelling through Latin America. With Peru my 17th and last Latin American country was the next on my itinerary. This came at relatively short notice, because a friend of mine had told me that she was just there. I found a cheap flight from Paraguay and I wanted to see Machu Picchu for a long time anyway!

So I flew from the Paraguayan capital Asuncion first to Lima and from there to the historical city of Cuzco. Both flights were extremely turbulent, basically every 10 minutes the captain made announcements that a turbulence zone would be flown through. I already saw the dark thunderclouds coming up. The Andes are really something else. Eventually I arrived safely.

A historical city

Cuzco is an important historical city and was capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. As the oldest living city in the Americas, Cuzco has been inhabited continuously for over 3,000 years. It is is surrounded by the high peaks of the Andes at an altitude of almost 3400 meters. There you can get problems with altitude sickness. The city has become a major tourist destination, hosting nearly 2 million visitors a year, so it gets very crowded in the historical center of the city. Cuzco is also the starting point for trips to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu which I visited the other day and is written about in another article.

After my return from Machu Picchu I spent 2 more days in Cuzco, strolling through the narrow alleys with the many colonial and pre-colonial buildings. Later I bought souvenirs at a market. I purchased a nice colorful wool sweater for a good price, but I doubt very much that it is alpaca wool, which is often offered for sale here. You have to pay much more for it.

In terms of culture Peru is similar to Bolivia, but cleaner and more commercialized. For example, if you want to take a photo with a colourfully dressed local woman with her llama, you have to pay. In Bolivia, however, the locals sometimes get angry if you take even a snapshot of the landscape they are in.

Meeting other travellers

In a vegetarian restaurant I got into a conversation with a crazy American woman who only came to Peru to participate in an Ayahuasca ritual. Thereby, the participants take a psychedelically working mixture of plants and hope to reach their inner self. It is also supposed to bring forth experiences that are rooted in the deep subconscious - both good and bad. Quite often the use of this legal drug leads to nausea and vomiting, but it seems to be worth it to most participants.

I also had a good hostel, which even had an integrated bar and restaurant, where vegetarian meals were also offered. Here I indulged in a Lomo Saltado, the Peruvian national dish in vegetarian variation. A stir fry that typically consists of marinated sirloin with onions, tomatoes, french fries, and other ingredients; and is typically served with rice. After the dish I enjoyed some cocktail called Pisco Sour with an American doctor.  The basic spirit of the drink is Pisco, a grape brandy from Peru, which is mixed with lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white with ice.

Personal disappointment

Actually, I had planned to see an old friend from Korea here again, but she cancelled a meeting that had already been arranged because she suffered from a headache. It would have been the first reunion since 5 years.

Also the next days she put me off with lame excuses. Coincidentally she ran into me twice, once in Machu Picchu and later in the Peruvian desert whilw sandboarding. However, the look on her face revealed to me that she was not particularly pleased to see me. I left it with a short "hey how are you? I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her large group of Koreans with whom she was constantly travelling. When she was back home she finally told me that one of the group members was her boyfriend.  He suspected me of having a crush on his girlfriend and that I had changed my travel plans especially for her. What a nonsense! I would also have liked to meet the whole group or her and her boyfriend but even this he rejected. Without doubt one of the biggest personal disappointments of my travels.

After two more days in Cuzco I finally went to Ica, in the desert of Peru.