Journey to 3,500 meters above the sea

I am sitting in a double decker bus as it slowly meanders down the Pan-American highway on the southern coast of Peru. We have only scraped the surface of our grueling 21 hour journey to Cusco, although the bus smells like we have been traveling for at least two weeks.

The road--which is only two lanes wide in most spots--winds through beaches, corn fields, and some of the poorest rural communities I have ever seen. Colorful laundry dries on clothes lines mounted on the roofs of dilapidated shacks. Wild dogs run into the street and back out, lucky to not be one of the unfortunate ones lying dead in the gutter. Trash and chunks of discarded concrete lie everywhere, like piles of unmelted snow. All of this is against a backdrop of beautiful, rugged Pacific coastline. 

People go about their lives- they walk along the road, work, and shop. Others watch the passing cars from dimly lit bodegas and restaurants that dot the highway. Children play in empty, abandoned lots. Many people are dressed nicely, however, and the dichotomy between their clothes and the surrounding houses is strange. What makes the scene even stranger are the pervasive billboard ads for vacations, bus tours, and- of course- Coke and Pepsi.

I see these things and wonder why the residents of these towns do not rise up and block the road, grab a machete, and slaughter us rich tourists en mass. Why do they continue, day in and day out, to live this way? Do they want to act, but are just too tired? Or is life really not so bad in those dirt floor huts? 

Seeing all of this makes me feel helpless and guilty. I want to help these people. But do they want my help? Who is to say that my life is better than any of these people. And what could I do? I tell myself  that spending my money here helps, but this seems like an excuse. 

We are now beginning our climb from sea level to the mountain town of Cusco, with a total elevation gain of 11,300 feet.  I pray that my experience climbing 14ers will pay off in a clear head and no altitude sickness tomorrow....

UPDATE- Cruz del Sur tour bus hijacked by armed gunmen, $50K worth of items stolen. Same bus company, same route, same overnight time, and only 5 days after my trip. 
http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-tourists-assaulted-on-bus-to-cuzco-50000-stolen-100285

Lima

My travels began in Lima, the capitol city on the coast of Peru. The climate is cool, cloudy, and humid for six months out of the year- think Seattle in the fall or spring. It is kind of like living in a cloud- foggy and misty, especially in the afternoon. 

Despite the chilly winter weather, Lima is a beautiful city. Miraflores, the district where I stayed, is very green and has some amazing Spanish architecture. And the city is huge! Almost 9 million people and counting. This is apparent by the sound of Lima, which is non-stop honking and car alarms (I have officially memorized the eight-part car alarm that is so common here). 

Speaking of traffic- drivers here are absolutely insane. There are many four-way stops on busy roads, minus the stop signs. Drivers constantly play a game of chicken with each other. Add pedestrians into the mix and it becomes quite a site. 


The smell of Lima is car exhaust mixed with the most delicious roasted chicken you have ever smelled, with just a hint of the ocean. Strange, but true. 

I went on a tour of the historic district of Lima two times- the first during the day with my hostel, and the second at night with Juan Carlos, a very cool guy I met through my friend Brenna. We drank pisco sours in the oldest hotel in Lima, and walked through beautiful churches built in the 1600s that were lit up for Sunday evening mass. 

I met some cool people at my hostel, and we went salsa dancing in Barranco after drinking copious amounts of cerveza. I also met several local Couchsurfers, who gave me endless amounts of information about Peru (muchas gracias Eduardo, Oscar y Enzo!). On my last night in Lima I met a girl via a couchsurfer who lives in Denver, was an AmeriCorps VISTA, and once lived in Asheville- so ironic! We even know some of the same people. Another sign that I am on the right track...

I also met a girl randomly in Parque del Amor who is from San Fransisco originally, but now lives in Santiago, Chile by herself. We went to a cafe and had a great talk about what it means to be an independent woman. I told her that one of the reasons that I am doing this trip alone is to get away from being dependent on other people and things. I have been thinking about this a lot lately...

I am leaving out a lot, but I am tired. I will try to write as things are happening as opposed to after the fact from now on. Adios! 

Parque del Amor 

At a bar in Barrancos with friends from Dragonfly Hostel

Salsa night with couchsurfers 

   

Lima at night- so beautiful!

So cold, even the perros wear sweaters

Beginnings

My first day in Peru was, without a doubt, the hardest and most stressful 24 hours of my life.

I have a feeling that only people who have traveled alone to a foreign country, knowing no one and not being able to speak the native language, know the kind of sheer terror this can produce.

But despite the urge to hide under the covers in my hostel room after arriving, I got up. I made a list of positives, which included "I can leave whenever I want!", which I underlined not once, not twice, but three times.

I pulled myself together enough to walk around Miraflores, the district of Lima where I was staying. I managed to eat a little food and did some people watching. And I got my yellow fever vaccination from a local clinic, which cost a whopping $30 (suck it, Asheville Infectious Disease!)

I was very emotional the first night, after only sleeping three hours the night before. Before settling in to my room for the night, I met a guy from Australia whose name I don't remember (Max? Nick?) in my hostel. He has been traveling alone for the past six months around South America, and told me that he hated it for the first two or three weeks, and felt very lonely. Then he said he got up one day and started really enjoying it, and has been going strong ever since. He told me that it will suck at first, but to just hang in there and it will get better.

I will probably never get to tell him how much this meant to me, because he left for Cusco right after our talk. But I took our conversation as a sign from some higher being that I'm on the right track. Or so I hope.

Item #10 on my list of positives is that the universe will provide. This may be the thing I need to concentrate on during this trip more than anything. I just have to stay strong, think positive and keep going.

More to come...