Cuzco is a town at 3300 meters above sea level, and is surronded (again !) by mountains at above 4500 meters. This city is the most touristic city, so far, I had spend some time in. You cannot walk 3 seconds without having someone asking you for something. I was on a remote place of the town taking a picture of a llama when suddently 2 kids came from nowhere asking me a propina. The entire country is on propination addiction. What ever you ask, you´ve been in return ask back some money without any question (or answer in my case). Yesterday I was asking some direction to a young kid (maybe 7 years old) and he ask me some money before answering. It is more obvious here in Cuzco that everyone is trying to make money out of the tourist´s wallet. You have to be aware of it, and deal with it. This is so different from all the other places I have been so far in Perù. I hope this is the only place.
The city of Cuzco is the nearest big city close to Machu Pichu, and is the starting point of the major big treeks that could be done in this amazing area.
The Inka-Trail is the most used and famous road in South America, and consit of a 4 days and 3 nights along the major Inka places in the neighborhood. What I did not know is that you need to book in advance your passage to the trail. The Peruvian gouvernement only allow less than 100 visitors a day, and it´s booked until the end of September. I won´t be able to do the famous INKA-TRAIL, but I will certainly see the Machu-Pichu. Many options exist there for me to see the big mountain:
- I can hide in a German Backpack going to the trail (they are bigger than any other backpack I have seen on the road, they even have a name for it: rucksack)
- I can dress-up like a llama and pretend that I was eaten alive
- I can walk on my kneens and talk with my fake german accent and say that I am a local quechuan guide
- I can do the 5 days-4 nights more difficult alternative road of Salkantay (rule 1 ?)
- I can take the train and stay overnight at the bottom of the mountain in Aguas Caliente and take a bus ealy in the morning to see the sunrise on the Machu Pitchu
All will depend on how I recover from my adventure in Colca, and some feedback I will receive from J. a guy that I meet before.
In the mean time I am taking it easy and watch some more soccer in some strange places full or ex-military-futur-student Israelis people.
Allez la France