After a long restless night in the Lima Airport, i finally catch a flight to Cusco at 5:30am, putting me in the lost city around 7:ooam. The airport is so small, it doesn't take me more then 20 minutes to get off the plane, fetch my luggage, pass security (or lack there of), change clothes, and walk out the front door. Getting a cab was no issue as i had at least 10 Peruvians immediately in my face asking if i needed a ride. I took the lowest bidder at 20 Soles. a 30 minute cab ride that cost roughly $7 USD. Unheard of, i think to myself. I find out later that i over paid by about 10 Soles. Still worth it in my eyes.
The cab ride came as a bit of a shock to me. I had been so anxious about the tip for the past few weeks i spent little time researching the city of Cusco. Growing up in Atlanta i am used to urban settings, modern buildings, organized traffic.... Cusco was the 100% opposite. The city its self was mush of what i expected. Old buildings, many made out of mud. But what i didn't expect was to see hundreds of people wondering the streets, already going about the days business. I had to remind myself that it was only 7:30am. I am normally hitting the snooze button for the 2nd time by now. Most people in Atlanta are sitting in traffic fighting their inner road rage, or frantically trying to get a cup of coffee at an over priced coffee house. Not here. Peruvians cheerfully fill the streets selling the days freshest fruits, meats, nuts, hand woven alpaca sweaters or hats, all to make a few Soles a day. I immediately notice the differences in culture. Peru seems to have no greed, no jealousy, no anger.
I have instructed the cab driver to take me to "The Point Hostel." This is where i am to meet my traveling companions, Greg Hurme, Jason McGuire, Justin Bell, and Michael Hutto. The cab pulls down a dirt road alley and stops at a rickety old door on the side of a stucco building. I look frantically for a sign that indicated i have reached "The Point Hostel". Alast i find it, written small high above the rotted door. I grab my luggage and try to enter, but to my surprise the door is locked. I figure its just locked because it is so early, but i later come to find out that it is always locked and it is the only place we encounter that actually locks their doors at all times.
Being that is it around 8am, i figure my friends are still sleeping in their assigned hostel beds, sleeping off the nights intoxication. I inform the front desk that i have arrived and that my friends are expecting me. Not to my surprise, I encounter some language barriers. Hutto had a bed reserved, but none of my other 4 companions had a bed. This bothers me, and i try to convince the young Peruvian that he was wrong and had made a mistake. "Of course they are here, you must have just forgot to write them in last night." He promptly disagrees. After speaking my best spanglish to the young man, I convince him to give me a flash light and let me search the place for my friends. "The Point" is considered the party hostel of Cusco and i can tell by the main lobby. Reminds me of the KA house early on a Friday morning. Random people passed out on the dirty couches, beer bottles and cigarette butts everywhere. Young girls walking around in their underwear trying to piece the night together..... And to top it all off there is someone sleeping under the ping pong table using a roll of toilet paper as a pillow. And here i am entering each "dorm" room shining a flash light at all the bunk beds looking for my friends, pissing may people off along the way. My search ends with no luck. Where the shit are my friends??? This troubles me. Did they give me the wrong hostel to meet them at? How the fuck am i supposed to figure out where they are? This gets my mind racing. We are supposed to trek out in less then 24 hours. If i cant find them, how am i supposed to know where to meet our guide to hit the trail head? If i cant find them, then my travels have been a complete wast. Do i expect to stay in this town for 8 days by myself? My first impressions tell me it will be a long ass week if that is the case.
The cab ride came as a bit of a shock to me. I had been so anxious about the tip for the past few weeks i spent little time researching the city of Cusco. Growing up in Atlanta i am used to urban settings, modern buildings, organized traffic.... Cusco was the 100% opposite. The city its self was mush of what i expected. Old buildings, many made out of mud. But what i didn't expect was to see hundreds of people wondering the streets, already going about the days business. I had to remind myself that it was only 7:30am. I am normally hitting the snooze button for the 2nd time by now. Most people in Atlanta are sitting in traffic fighting their inner road rage, or frantically trying to get a cup of coffee at an over priced coffee house. Not here. Peruvians cheerfully fill the streets selling the days freshest fruits, meats, nuts, hand woven alpaca sweaters or hats, all to make a few Soles a day. I immediately notice the differences in culture. Peru seems to have no greed, no jealousy, no anger.
I have instructed the cab driver to take me to "The Point Hostel." This is where i am to meet my traveling companions, Greg Hurme, Jason McGuire, Justin Bell, and Michael Hutto. The cab pulls down a dirt road alley and stops at a rickety old door on the side of a stucco building. I look frantically for a sign that indicated i have reached "The Point Hostel". Alast i find it, written small high above the rotted door. I grab my luggage and try to enter, but to my surprise the door is locked. I figure its just locked because it is so early, but i later come to find out that it is always locked and it is the only place we encounter that actually locks their doors at all times.
Being that is it around 8am, i figure my friends are still sleeping in their assigned hostel beds, sleeping off the nights intoxication. I inform the front desk that i have arrived and that my friends are expecting me. Not to my surprise, I encounter some language barriers. Hutto had a bed reserved, but none of my other 4 companions had a bed. This bothers me, and i try to convince the young Peruvian that he was wrong and had made a mistake. "Of course they are here, you must have just forgot to write them in last night." He promptly disagrees. After speaking my best spanglish to the young man, I convince him to give me a flash light and let me search the place for my friends. "The Point" is considered the party hostel of Cusco and i can tell by the main lobby. Reminds me of the KA house early on a Friday morning. Random people passed out on the dirty couches, beer bottles and cigarette butts everywhere. Young girls walking around in their underwear trying to piece the night together..... And to top it all off there is someone sleeping under the ping pong table using a roll of toilet paper as a pillow. And here i am entering each "dorm" room shining a flash light at all the bunk beds looking for my friends, pissing may people off along the way. My search ends with no luck. Where the shit are my friends??? This troubles me. Did they give me the wrong hostel to meet them at? How the fuck am i supposed to figure out where they are? This gets my mind racing. We are supposed to trek out in less then 24 hours. If i cant find them, how am i supposed to know where to meet our guide to hit the trail head? If i cant find them, then my travels have been a complete wast. Do i expect to stay in this town for 8 days by myself? My first impressions tell me it will be a long ass week if that is the case.
I take a few deep breaths and think for a few minutes about my next move. I decide to wait around for a bit and see if they show up. Maybe they just went out and got hammered and are staying in some unassigned beds. After all this is where they said to meet them. They wouldn't dog me out like that.
I grab a cup of coffee from the "breakfast" area and sit down on a couch that is unoccupied. And I wait. And wait. And wait. As i am naturally impatient, after about 30 minutes of waiting i begin to get anxious. And think. Maybe Hutto was here but the others were not. After all, Hutto DID have a bed reserved. Did the others back out of the trip without telling me? Did their flight get delayed? Miss a connecting flight? Get arrested last night?? I wonder around the hostel looking for clues like McGuiver. But making a blow torch out of a single match and a magnifying glass wont help me unless i use it to burn the bitch down and hope to spot the 4 ass clowns as the run from the burning hut. As the hours pass, people begin to wake up and wonder around in a drunken stupor. Most of the people appear to be younger. Reminds me of college. Except they all have foreign accents. Around 9:30am i find a room with a computer and working Internet. Sort of odd to see a computer set up in a dump like "The Point" but i take it as a sign from god. A way to escape the 3rd world living quarters i found myself in. And a sign from god it was. The first email i read was from Greg sent 3 minutes ago. "Read Me" the subject line reads. Turns out the 4 of them decided to stay in bit of a nicer place and booked a room at a hotel about 2 blocks away. This excites me. I immediately grab my junk, head to the front desk and ask for directions.
As i am walking the 2 blocks to the hotel, i begin to notice how thin the air is at 8,000 feet. Carrying a 20lb bag in one hand and a 15 lb pack on your back isn't so pain staking in the states, but in the Ande's Mountains, its a different story. That high up your blood thickens, making your heart work a little harder to get blood to the working muscles. This makes you breath harder. But when your breathing in air that contains less oxygen, your almost fighting a losing battle. My trekking guide told me i would need 48 hours to acclimate to the altitude, but i only had 20 hours. I better acclimate fast!
Alast I arrive at the hotel and find Justin in the lobby. 10:10am i finally meet up with my group. Going on nearly 3 hours of sleep the last 26 hours, a bed looks mighty comfortable. But how can i lay down at a time like this? I have arrived. In Peru. I must explore the city.
I grab a cup of coffee from the "breakfast" area and sit down on a couch that is unoccupied. And I wait. And wait. And wait. As i am naturally impatient, after about 30 minutes of waiting i begin to get anxious. And think. Maybe Hutto was here but the others were not. After all, Hutto DID have a bed reserved. Did the others back out of the trip without telling me? Did their flight get delayed? Miss a connecting flight? Get arrested last night?? I wonder around the hostel looking for clues like McGuiver. But making a blow torch out of a single match and a magnifying glass wont help me unless i use it to burn the bitch down and hope to spot the 4 ass clowns as the run from the burning hut. As the hours pass, people begin to wake up and wonder around in a drunken stupor. Most of the people appear to be younger. Reminds me of college. Except they all have foreign accents. Around 9:30am i find a room with a computer and working Internet. Sort of odd to see a computer set up in a dump like "The Point" but i take it as a sign from god. A way to escape the 3rd world living quarters i found myself in. And a sign from god it was. The first email i read was from Greg sent 3 minutes ago. "Read Me" the subject line reads. Turns out the 4 of them decided to stay in bit of a nicer place and booked a room at a hotel about 2 blocks away. This excites me. I immediately grab my junk, head to the front desk and ask for directions.
As i am walking the 2 blocks to the hotel, i begin to notice how thin the air is at 8,000 feet. Carrying a 20lb bag in one hand and a 15 lb pack on your back isn't so pain staking in the states, but in the Ande's Mountains, its a different story. That high up your blood thickens, making your heart work a little harder to get blood to the working muscles. This makes you breath harder. But when your breathing in air that contains less oxygen, your almost fighting a losing battle. My trekking guide told me i would need 48 hours to acclimate to the altitude, but i only had 20 hours. I better acclimate fast!
Alast I arrive at the hotel and find Justin in the lobby. 10:10am i finally meet up with my group. Going on nearly 3 hours of sleep the last 26 hours, a bed looks mighty comfortable. But how can i lay down at a time like this? I have arrived. In Peru. I must explore the city.
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