Mucho Machu Picchu Pictures

In the middle of the module the powers-that-be decided to give us all a little extra time off.  I’m sure glad they did. 

We took the early flight from Lima to Cusco, which is the closest big city to Machu Picchu.  The elevation there is about 10,000 feet or so, which gives the faint of heart a bit of altitude sickness.  Luckily there’s this native plant where if you chew the leaves it’s supposed to help immensely with the elevation issues.  You might have heard of it before.  It’s called “coca”.  They make some sort of substance out of it, but it’s pretty hard to find in the US.

Yep, coca is a normal thing there.  People chew it, they make tea out of it, and there’s even coca candy.  Now, there’s a BIG difference between the innocent little leaf and the highly sought after powdered substance.  The leaf just has a few medicinal-like qualities, and supposedly doesn’t show up in a drug test.  That’s what they say at least…

After the first night at our hostel, where right outside our hotel room, kids decided to do woodwork of all things in the wee hours of the morning, we woke up early to tour some of the nearby ruins in Sacred Valley.  Our guide, Miguelito, took us to the top of a mountain and showed us all the ruin-ridden hot spots.  There was also this weird flute player who kept following us around the mountain.  It was like he was composing the soundtrack of our Incan journey.  With only one song.  For two hours.

After a full day of hiking we ended up in Aguas Calientes, the town right next to Machu Picchu.  It would have been a beautiful little place if it weren’t stained with the lucrative prospect of tourism.  I’m not sure what it looked like before, but it’s kind of sad to see what it is now.  Dozens of hostels and restaurants all catering to the affluent visitors.  I guess it’s a pretty typical scene for such a prominent destination, but the town was severely lacking in character.

Luckily, Machu Picchu was just a short bus ride away, and everything there is incredible.  While I was sitting atop Machu Picchu, gazing down at the valley below, I decided to write a little rap about my experiences of the day.  I feel like it’s the only appropriate way to describe all my experiences.  Yes, it might go on my debut album.

Come gather round cuz I’m about to teach you

‘Bout the things I learned while hiking up on Machu Picchu

First I woke up in the morning and I drank my mocha

Got my little day pack, and my bag of coca

When you get there in the morning it can be a little foggy

And when it starts to rain your pants get a little soggy

The best way I found I could diffuse some drama

Is to feed a stick with leaves to a hungry llama

And if you wanna climb 700 steps I’ll try to meet you

At the top of the old mountain they call Wayna Picchu

And when it gets all cloudy and it rains a bunch

Just head for the entrance to grab some lunch

If you’ve got a bit of Pisco you can drink a smidge

Before climbing all the way up to the Inca Bridge

And the best way to admire all the ruins and greenery

Is to just sit back and soak in the scenery

Then when your time’s up and your visit’s all through

You’ll be incredibly glad that you came to Peru.

Thomas out.

Perusing Down South

Yes, South America is the next stop.  To catch some of you up to speed on what’s going on, I’ll be spending roughly 7 weeks down in Peru for a module abroad program I’m doing for my MBA.  Yes, I also did a short trip throughout Asia right before coming here which I neglected to chronicle.  I traveled without telling you about it.  I’m sorry.  I feel dirty, and it won’t happen again.

As soon as I got off the plane in Lima I got a wonderful reminder about the Latin American pace of things.  Customs took about an hour to get through because of the 20 stations open, only 2 were open.  And three planes arrived at the same time.  Wonderful stuff.  Going through the declaration line also felt like a life-or-death moment.  For the “random” searches they do they have this podium with a giant button.  You push the button and if the light turns green you’re good.  Red, and presumably you’re never heard from again.  I got green!  I wanted to snap a picture of the giant button, but I was too afraid my suspicious activity would reserve me a spot in the red line…

A 30-minute taxi ride filled with my sad attempt at Spanish conversation with the driver, and I arrived at my apartment.  The housing situation is pretty much a free for all here, so I’m rooming with a few other students: Abe, Charise, and Chelsea.  Our place is pretty nice.  A little cramped for four people, but the view from our 18^th floor apartment makes up for it (and we’re only a 10 minute walk to the ocean).  The first full day there the landlady wanted us to pay our rent in full.  American dollars.  That would have been a great thing to know before coming down here.  Luckily you can withdraw USD from the ATMs and it’s A-OK.  However, if any of your bills have ANY sort of tear whatsoever, they absolutely will not take it.  I had $180 that was slightly damaged which I couldn’t give her and had to find other bills.  This is an EXTREMELEY annoying aspect of the country.  Just shut up and take my money!!

To christen the new living establishment I thought I would be clever and purchase some duty free.  I ended up buying a bottle of Bombay Sapphire in Miami, thinking a gin and tonic would be a nice relaxing drink to have every now and then after class.  It was a bad choice on my part, because this country apparently doesn’t have any reasonably priced tonic.  Of the few supermercados I’ve been to, one place had tonic, and they were selling it in packs of four VERY small cans for the equivalent of $6.  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even make a full drink from one of the cans.  So now I’m stuck with a bottle of gin taunting me everyday.  One of these days I’ll find some tonic…

The great thing about Peru is that I finally have the chance to practice all that Spanish I never use.  I’m not fluent by any means, but I know the most of anybody in my apartment, which makes me the de facto resident Spanish-speaker.  I may not be able to talk in-depth about certain topics, but I sure am learning how to bargain with a taxi driver.  “Necesitamos ir a San Isidro, el Camino Real.  Sabes? …Cuanto cuesta?  …Doce es un robo!  Ayer estuvo siete Soles.  Es cerca de aqui, y no hay traffic ahora!”  Sometimes they drive away, but taxis are aplenty round these parts, and you can usually find a taker after a few tries.

Just a little info on classes for the scholastically curious: the class structure we have down here is completely different than anything else I’ve ever done.  We all take one class at a time for a week.  When the week is done, the class is done, so learning is rather intensive.  Yesterday we had the same class for 8 hours.   AND after class you’ve got to head back home to prepare for tomorrow’s class or work on projects and presentations.  The turnaround time for a project can be less than 24 hours, which adds just a teeny bit of pressure.  Obviously sleeping is not an important task to these people (but I signed up for it, so I can’t complain).

So after two presentations, a fancy orientation dinner, stumbling upon a parade, National Pisco Sour Day (delicious drink!), and a Superbowl in which I consumed a nacho plate for two, I’m getting adjusted to the pace of life in Miraflores.  Life is good, but I’m still searching for that tonic…