Cusco, Peru 14 de enero - 8 de febrero

Cusco (Peru)

Lunes 14 de enero– viernes 8 de febrero

I spend almost four weeks again in Cusco, and in the same hostal as before (Hostal Yawarmaki) in the San Blas neighbourhood of Cusco, on the edge of the historic centre. It is such a beautiful city: the surrounding mountains and the 500 year old buildings and the narrow cobblestone streets. Mostly I am here to relax and finish writing my book. I do complete the book and send it off to a few friends to get some feedback.

                                                        The steep cobblestone streets of Cusco

I also do spend a lot of time speaking to people and I finally starting to feel comfortable speaking Spanish: it has taken 6 months. That is important because where I am going next, doing some volunteer work, it will be really important to be able to speak Spanish. I now find myself speaking to myself in Spanish which is a big step forward. (No, rarely out loud.)

The famous street of the 12-sided stone: an ancient Inca wall

 

I walk down to the nearby town of San Sebastien to see yet another  religious fiesta for another reincarnation of either Mary or Jesus, each with another name; I forget this one. Always with a big procession, a statue and lots of firecrackers.

Firecrackers go off here every day. It is more than a little annoying: Raquel tells me they are used for something like 9 days before each fiesta. That means pretty much every day of the year.

The magnetic strip on my credit card has worn out and does not work. I fortunately also brought a debit card and the charge for it is actually less ($3 vs $4).

                                                   Another  view of old Cusco

Every morning Raquel makes breakfast which consists of lots of strong coffee OR cuaqer (watery oatmeal) and freshly made juice. During and after we usually talk for an hour and then I go out for a long run. I learn a lot about life here from her as well as give my Spanish a good work out.  I tell her that firecrackers have been outlawed in Canada because of injuries, which prompts her to tell me about two little boys she knows that have lost most of a hand each from firecrackers. Also, the two house fires in houses where they make firecrackers: several deaths in one; a disfigured man in the other.

                                                     12 sided stone: Think of doing this by hand

She talks about the problems of marriage (she is 30 and seems not very interested), domestic abuse, and the preponderance of single mothers with deadbeat boyfriends. The govt is pushing the learning of both Spanish and Quechua in schools but she says that in the rural populations parents do not want their kids learning Quechua. I understand but it is kind of sad.

Met a massage therapist/former nurse/would-be psychologist (if she could afford university) named Roxana. Gorgeous 28 year old, who lives with her older single mom sister, her niece and her teenage sister. Roxana is a very talented massage therapist and really enjoys it but also knows more about healing plants than anyone I have yet met. She is also a really decent human being, and looking after her family and struggling with her own issues. She grew up in the country and I found out that she helped her father build their house out of adobe so I learn a bit more of the process from her. People in Cusco and area and in the Andes in general do use a lot of plants for healing and many seem quite knowledgeable but Roxana seems more so: she says that she has read a lot about plants too.

                               Calle Recoleta: right by my street. This street is scary at times.

Roxana finally solves for me the mystery of the pleasant smell that emanates from so many stores in Cusco. It is Agua de Flores (Flower water) that people sprinkle in their shops for luck. Luck seems important to people without a lot, and I sure enjoy the smell, so I guess it brings me luck.

I have been looking for another Ayahuasca ceremony here (although there are more in the Amazon which is where the plant is grown). Roxana asks me if I am interested in going to one without me even mentioning it. She has been to one before with a couple in Urubamba and we both wait to hear when there is going to be the next one. I find out from her hours after she finds out: it is that day. We decide to go at 5 PM, and the ceremony is an hour away by bus at 8 PM. I run and pack a few things and come back to where she has her massage studio and we go, arriving about 7 PM. We took a servicio and the driver goes too fast and I feel sick most of the way. (Good practice I say for the ceremony!) It turns out to be an excellent experience. The couple running it, Greg (Belgian) and Dulia (from Cusco) are super helpful and supportive in ways I would never have believed. Turns out it is just Roxana and me. Greg does some drumming and chanting and plays a few other instruments during the ceremony which is really helpful. It is even more powerful than the last time and I learn more about myself again as well as hallucinate quite a bit. It is not something you would ever do for recreation as it is too painful: the upset stomach and vomiting is not fun, but it is worth it.

                                                Roxana, me and Dulia (r) on the morning after.

We are pretty much done by 1 AM and we sleep there in mattresses on the floor and we feel reasonably good in the morning. Have a decent breakfast and then pick some fruit in the backyard including capuli (a kind of cherry) and a couple of other fruits that I now forget. Then stop in to see my friend Paul’s daughter, Julia, that I went hiking with in the fall, at her school which is also in Urubamba. Julia seems as happy and enthusiastic as the last time I saw her. There are few children at the school today as workmen are cutting down a giant Eucalyptus tree in the schoolyard.  We go for lunch near the town square. It is great to see Julia and with Roxana there, we speak Spanish the whole time which is a big change.   Afterward, Roxana and I head back to Cusco by bus (not servicio: much more pleasant).

Almost every day I have been here it has rained, some times only at night. Some times night and day. And it is generally pretty cool. I buy two more ch’ullus in the street from a young woman from the country with a baby on her back. Home-spun wool from alpacas, hand-died with natural plant and insect dyes, and hand-knitted. Before she and I are finished talking about four other ladies and girls are lining up to sell me other things and I beat a hasty retreat.

Once my book is done (first draft) and sent off (Thursday) it is time to go. I have a last supper with Roxana on Friday night after buying my bus ticket: S/387 =$155 with the most expensive Peruvian bus co. but the only one that will get me where I want to go. Sat 2 PM to Mon 4 PM from Cusco to Guayaquil, Ecuador. From there, I have another 5 h bus to Riobamba, the HQ of the volunteer organization that I have signed up with to go to work on an Ecotourism project in the Amazon for a month, and then another 3 h to get to the plane which will fly me in. Cost is $350 plus the plane flight of around $500 round trip. I will get one last run in tomorrow morning, buy a few gifts for the community, a few supplies for me and I will be off on my last adventure of this amazing trip.

After that, I will be heading back to Canada. Seeing as this is a community with no electricity, this will be my last post before returning to Canada.