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Cuzco, Peru - Finger Puppets |
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006 We're leaning towards doing the Salkantay trek. We spent the day running around to tour companies comparing prices and itineraries and trying to figure out what to do about getting to Machu Picchu. This particular area of Cuzco, near the Plaza de Armas, is the most touristy place we've been to yet, and every business on every street is either a restaurant, hotel, Internet cafe, camping gear rental, travel agent, or souvenir shop. And they almost all have signs advertising "Inca Trail - tomorrow!" The touristy concentration makes it easier to get around to the agencies, but otherwise it's a bit painful. Nowhere is as bad as Gringo Alley, but everywhere there's someone eager to sell us something. Sometimes young men will walk past us and whisper, "You want graaaasss?" I even had someone ask me if I wanted methamphetamines. (Who says "methamphetamines?") It's impossible to sit in the main square or any of the smaller squares if you want any peace. Trying to sit for a while today, we were approached by no less than six people in fifteen minutes. One of them was a man selling Salkantay treks. He offered us a price of $190 dollars, which is considerably cheaper than the lowest price we've found at a reputable spot ($300 at United Mice). To be polite, we took a flyer and told him we'd think about it. But there are some things we just don't want to be cheap about, and hiking in the middle of the wilderness with strangers is one of them. Also, the guy was really spitty. Little flecks of saliva kept landing on his display boards of the trek as he repeated himself in English, "First day, highest altitude, sleep here, third day, hot springs, sleep here, fifth day, Machu Picchu!" He asked us which was more important to us, price or quality. "Quality," Michael said. The man nodded sagely and said it was a good choice, and went over his boards again. "First day, highest altitude" - saliva flecks - "second day..." He kept trying to get us to come to his agency right then, and even lowered the price to $170, which didn't make us feel better at all. We were glad when he went away, and we gave up trying to sit in the park. As planned, we met Ben for dinner, and ended up going to a very fancy place called Ciccolina. We didn't have a reservation, so we sat in the bar with a bottle of wine and some appetizers and waited. Michael and I gave Ben a finger puppet of a vicuña as a little birthday gift. I don't know why finger puppets are such a popular souvenir here but they're everywhere. What he really needed was a new camera, as he'd just had his stolen on an overnight bus. He believes the thief was his seatmate, who probably took it out of his bag when Ben got up to use the bathroom. That's one more good thing about traveling with a partner, there's always someone to watch your stuff. We've been very lucky so far, but Ben's the second person we know personally who's been stolen from, Sepi being the first. We waited in the bar for so long that the manager came up and apologized and said she'd give us each a glass of wine on the house. Which blew us away. We haven't eaten in a really nice place in a long time, and the last time, in Mexico City, Michael was given the wrong dish and the waiter's response was pretty much, "oh well, just eat what you're given." So by the time we were seated, we were pretty drunk... or maybe it was just me. I wasn't even really hungry anymore, but I didn't want to miss out. I ordered seafood risotto and Michael and Ben both had the alpaca. I had been wanting to try alpaca. I was reluctant to order a whole plate of it for myself, but I was happy to taste Michael's. It was delicious. Tender and juicy and served with a nice black peppery sauce. It was like beef, or maybe lamb. So good. My risotto was delicious as well, but I was so full from all the wine that I could barely eat any. The service at that restaurant was amazing. I have never been treated so well at any restaurant in my life. Altogether it was a great night. Ben is a funny guy. Like all the Euros we meet, he claims his English isn't that good, but it is that good. When I say my Spanish isn't that good, it's the sad truth. On the street after dinner we were accosted by a cigarette lady. Ben smokes, so he stopped to look at her selection, but she didn't have his brand so he moved on. Then she tried to sell me some, but I don't smoke and said so. As I was walking away, she asked me for my leftover food. I've given away lots of leftovers on this trip, but the seafood risotto I didn't want to give up. It would be cold enough in our room overnight to keep it safe to eat, and I wanted it. It was so good, and I'd barely touched it. So I pretended I didn't understand her and said, "No fumo" again. I still feel really guilty about that.    55 comments so far | Post a comment
Monday, June 19, 2006 | funchilde said...lol. that's gonna be my new excuse for everything megan..."no fumo" great description of the "spitty" guy, michael i love the reds in that pic of Ben. I lurve that yall try new stuff...so many people wouldn't even try a taste of alpaca (i can't wait). I am continually inspired by yall's spirit of adventure. Hey, guess who has tix to see Sarah Jones in NY in July...? hehehehe Wednesday, June 21, 2006 | Michael said... Thanks Dia! Are you planning any NYC visits after September when we will actually be there? Do you like bad Tequilla and Mexican beer specials? Wednesday, June 21, 2006 | Megan said... Alpaca is delicious! Dia, be wary... the tequila is poured from a bottle hidden under the bar... yum... Thursday, February 19, 2009 | Demi - Glass Bottom Boat said... why didn't you post some photos of this same Salkantay treks? you know, you've so intrigued by mentioning it for several times, that I have a wish to see what it is like! may be you still have some nice pictures? ;) Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей 9500 said... yui Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С1-00 said... 4875574 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С1-01 said... y6ry Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С1-02 said... 6u5r6u5 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С1-03 said... ghyt Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-01 said... d Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-01 said... yut Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-01 оригинальный said... ui87opopp Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-02 said... nkkk Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-02 оригинальный said... ewt Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-03 said... 98989 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-03 оригинальный said... uioyiouy Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-06 said... t Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С2-06 оригинальный said... 7uijt Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С3-00 said... 4458484 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С3-00 оригинальный said... 8888888 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С3-01 said... dew Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С3-02 said... tyiu Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С5-00 said... 44444 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С5-00 оригинальный said... ========gku Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С5-03 said... mnmnm Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С5-03 оригинальный said... ээ Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С6-00 оригинальный said... эwtwret Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С6-00 said... 45ty6y Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С6-01 said... sd Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей С7-00 said... вапуке Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E5-00 said... yu Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E5-00 оригинальный said... yuhjytiytut6 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E50 оригинальный said... 643t6 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E50 said... ry6 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E51 said... uouiou Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E51 said... 0juhjuh Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E51 оригинальный said... vutrf Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E52 said... vuygh Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E52 said... jhtfu Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E52 оригинальный said... twt6e Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E55 said... 09ouhgj Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E55 said... cvgfh Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E55 оригинальный said... hdtht Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E6 said... ftyuj Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E60 said... dgrg Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E61 said... jgtt Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E61i said... jtruey55555555555 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E62 said... 555555 Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E63 said... gvdfgh Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E65 said... ngfnhkj Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E65 said... gnnvv Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E65 оригинальный said... пойй Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E66 said... adxd Saturday, February 4, 2012 | дисплей E66 said... 7989540962 Monday, March 12, 2012 | adg said... 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|  Cuzco, Peru.  Streets of Cuzco.  Happy birthday, Ben.  Alpaca.
Megan Lyles is a native New Yorker who has also lived in San Francisco. Having already traveled in Eastern and Western Europe, India, Thailand, and the U.S., she is now tackling a one-year bus trip from New York City to the tip of South America with photographer Michael Simon and doing freelance work along the way. She has a degree in social work from NYU and types 85 words per minute. More about Megan. Links Michael's photo blog. |
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