Recent activities

My apologies to those of you who were worried about me. Last week was intense and my access to WiFi very limited, so so no time to write. Last Friday evening I moved to a new place that is both closer to the school (within walking distance)and has WiFi. It also has EIGHT other students! The family lives in a large building with several bedrooms and is quite comfortable. There still is just cold water in the kitchen with which to wash dishes - seems to be common in Cusco - but hot showers. The hosts are very warm friendly people, and the rest of the students very enjoyable. Two women are from the US, one young girl from Norway, two couples are from near Edmonton, and a gentleman whose background I don't know yet. We all went to a concert tonight which was a five minute walk from here. It was mainly a wind orchestra made up of students from the university. We heard variations from Edvard Grieg to Mama Mia, enjoyed ourselves immensely and it was all free. Sat. morning I departed early for my trip to Agua Calientes and Machu Picchu. It seems that travel arrangements in Peru tend to be informal, and since I was expecting to be with a group and a guide, I was surprised to find myself quite on my own with no bus or train ticket, and just a hand written itinerary with the travel agent's name and tel. number. At the train station each person is expected to have a ticket and passport for boarding. When I realized that there was no tour guide on the bus, and that I could't board without a ticket, I turned to my fellow passengers and asked for help. They were amazing, taking over and phoning the travel agent, finding a train official, and finally I had a pre-assigned seat on the train. Once the train arrived in Agua Calientes, which was referred to as Machu Picchu, I again had a problem as there was no-one to meet me to take me to the hotel. Once more, another phone call by my new friends to the travel agent, and suddenly there was someone holding up a card with my name on it. The rest of the day passed uneventfully and I enjoyed lunch on the patio of a restaurant overlooking the river and mountains while eating seviche and listening to a local group playing Peruvian music. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through a huge market, and alongside the very fast moving waters of the river. It was a beautiful day and I took many pictures. That evening a guide met me to give me the bus and entrance tickets to Machu Picchu. At 7 am on Sunday I boarded the bus for the half hour ride to MP. The views of the mountains and valleys were just spectacular and I was beginning to wonder if MP could match this stunning beauty. However, it not only matched it, but surpassed it. What an incredible place. Our guide was great and told us all kinds of interesting stories and history. The first was that Machu Picchu was not the name of the Inca city, but was the name of a mountain - big mountain. Later, the people just referred to the remains as Machu Picchu as they didn't know the name of the city. I also learned that Cusco means little dog, and that the original name was Cosco, but the Spanish has trouble with the pronunciation, and changed it to Cusco. The tour was about two and a half hours long, with much climbing, and the remainder of the time we were on our own. I took over a hundred pictures, (I promise to delete some of them!), and thoroughly enjoyed just walking around while taking in the enormity of what the Incas had accomplished. I returned back to Agua Calientes mid afternoon, and did not get back to my new abode until just before midnight - more problems with bus transportation. So that brings you up to date. Will now be able to make more regular posts. Chau.