July 27, 2013

• Cuzco 101

  Well, what is Cuzco like, for those of you who are interested?  Cuzco is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations in South America, because of its proximity to Machu Pichu, and also the many Inca ruins right in Cuzco, and the surrounding area.  It is situated in a rather narrow valley, with mountains on both sides.   At the far end of the valley, you can see snow capped Ausengate, almost 21000 feet high.  Although 40 miles away, it is usually visible on a clear day, which is normal case for this time of year.  Even though it is only the 10th highest peak in Peru, it is still more than 500 feet higher than Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America.  Because it has high mountains on 3 sides, the only way to land at the airport is from the East, and the only way to take off is from the West.  I guess they don’t have that much wind to make it necessary to reverse that, because it is not going to happen.  

   I live only a block away from one of the busiest streets in Cuzco, the Avenida La Cultura.  This is the main road that takes people into downtown Cuzco, and so it is always quite busy….Luckily there are traffic lights that allow pedestrians to cross, and most of the drivers here obey the light signals.  Down the center of the Avenida Cultura is a Ciclovia, or bikeway, which is also good for pedestrians and runners.  It has steep banked grassy areas which protect the middle from vehicles, and also enhance its beauty.  There are also a lot of flowers and trees in the median there, and every day, there are multiple workers watering, weeding, sweeping, and just in general making it look nice. 

   I take a bus to work and back about 4 miles away every day.  The city buses are frequent, and you don’t have to wait long for the appropriate bus to come by.  Each bus or combi (vans which are smaller that also carry people) has a driver and then one person who collects the money–70 centimos (about 25 cents) to go anywhere in the city, basically.  I enjoy listening to the collectors barking out the future stops at any stop–they would all make good auctioneers, because they run through the names of future stops in 5 seconds flat.  Also as you drive along, they call out the next stop–Puente, Andino, Sol de Oro, etc.  If you want to get off at that stop, you say “Baja” (down), and the bus stops to let you off as you pay…If there is no response, the collector says, “Puente, nadie” (Puente, no one) in a downward trailing tone of voice, such that it seems that he is very disappointed that there was no response…It is very reliable transportation, and once you get used to it, it works quite well.  I always try for the bigger buses, so that way if you have to stand up, which is frequently, you have enough room to stand straight up.  The combis require bending your head over at an awkward angle if you are Americano.  The Peruvians in general are short enough that no bending is required.  Occasionally on the bus, someone will get on and make a spiel from one stop to the other, or longer, usually trying to beg for money for some cause or another.  One fellow was asking for money for himself because he was in the hospital for 7-8 months, and had surgery, and to prove it, he pulled up his shirt to show large abdominal scars with some hernias too.  I think, TMI, but I still gave him money.  After they collect, they get off at the next stop, and they never pay anything for their ride so I guess it is gratis (free). I would have to say this is the first country that I have seen that.  

  Finding your way around downtown is a bit difficult, because they change the names of streets every block.  The names of the streets are rather interesting, and that is only the ones that I know in Spanish.  Names such as Matara (he will kill), or Afligidos (the afflicted ones) don’t inspire confidence late at night.  I am sure the Quechua words are even more interesting, but I don’t know how to interpret those yet…

  Last weekend, I headed to a country church in San Juan de Quihuares  with Dr. Derek Brubaker, his father Bob, and his brother Jeremy, (visiting here from the states) and then Gloria Mamami, one of the ladies from the church here in Cuzco.  We were planning to get there for the service, and then afterwards there would be a health talk, and eat together.  Well, the first part of that didn’t happen, as we got delayed by road construction several times enough to miss the service.  But at least we got there in time for the fellowship meal!  When we first got there, they made us go drink tea and eat some bread, which was very welcome as it was getting late.  Then Derek and Gloria did the talk, and then we had a fellowship meal.  Some of the roads to there are not for anyone who is scared of heights.  No guardrails, with huge dropoffs, and there is slippery gravel as well.  We had to climb the mountains too, at one point topping out at over 14,000 feet on one of the passes.

  Well, I would love to write more, but tonight seems like sleep may be more important.  So I’ll live you with this site if you want to look at pictures of some of these things.

  https://picasaweb.google.com/101410363747604056143/CuzcoPeru2013?authkey=Gv1sRgCOq67q2R3oHTOg

   

  • 6:05 pm
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