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.
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