06 December 2010

Left Abancay around 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Cusco three hours later. Along the way I gave a ride to an old man and two young men with a little boy. One of the men and the boy crowded into the backseat. The drive was quite normal and tranquil with long ascends and slinky switchbacks and the green Andes towering all around. Through breaks in the clouds I could see higher rocky snow peaks. Twice there were spots in the road that dropped off and my car went flying through the air like the Dukes of Hazard or Evil Knievel but on a smaller scale. Despite the heavy enormous pressure put on the shocks and the intense scrapping I hope there is no damage to the car.

I got lost in Cusco before I found the Plaza de Armas and was able to orientate myself with the map in my guidebook. I found a cheap room and booked a tour to Machu Picchu for $165. I walked to several bookstores looking for more detailed roadmaps of South America but the ones I found had less info than my AAA map.  The highways weren’t even numbered. I saw a Quecha woman walking down the street conversing with a friend and openly and casually nursing her baby.  Despite it’s name the South American Explorers Club didn’t have a roadmap of South America or Brazil. In fact the lady working the help desk said “Good luck” in reference to finding a roadmap of Brazil.  I can buy a roadmap of South America at any bookstore back in the United States but not in South America at the clubhouse of the group dedicated to exploring and traveling in South America?  That makes perfect sense. I got lost on my way to the SAE and two ladies saw me with my tourist book map and showed me the way. 

I returned to the hotel to freshen up but they had no toilet paper. Only in the private rooms they said. But luckily they sell toilet paper. So I got the extra paper I had in my car. I was going to hang out in my room but the shoddy wi-fi drove me out to a cafe on the plaza for a few hours. While in the cafe the rain began to fall in sheets. There was also a bit of hail and it all got inside since the large balcony doors were open. There was also an astrologer giving a reading via Skype.

A storm rolled in very quickly

After taking a shower I wandered the cobblestoned, narrow, hilly streets of Cusco looking for a food and a knit rainbow hat. The rainbow flag is the flag of the Incas and as a result everything in Cusco is bright and colorful.  All the knit hats and shirts and clothes are bright and cheerful. I bought a leather journal with a Moon/Sun design.  Pachamama and Viracocha. I kind of regretted this after seeing more elaborate journals at other stores. It took me forever to find the hat I was looking for and it turned out to be in a shop not far from where I had begun my search.  I had gone in a circle around the Plaza de Armas. I think it might have been a useless quest.  I think the majority of this trip has been a massive waste of time. What am I even doing?

Nirvana and Pearl Jam played a show in Cusco

How about some dinner?

The streets of Cusco are narrow and cobblestone. Very steep and very narrow. More like alleyways than streets. Tomorrow I will go see Machu Picchu and then I will never see it again. So what’s the point? At the cafe I listened to Joel Beeke preach about killing remaining sin. Perhaps the whole journey is nothing but deep founts of my wickedness springing forth from my heart. What am I doing to glorify God? Nothing. This trip does nothing to glorify God.