Day 106: A bit lightheaded in Cusco (April 23, 2011)

I'm a little discombobulated.  Not much, just a little.  It started at the airport, where I chatted with a friend who had a bad day and it made me feel a bad.  And not being able to do anything was frustrating.  I'm wired so that when something goes wrong, I want to do something.

Then my plane left on time and since I'm typing this, obviously I made it to Cusco in one piece.  But the last 15 minutes of the flight were scary.  There wasn't turbulence -- at least, it wasn't a bumpy ride.  But the plane just kept tilting from side to side as we flew over and through the mountains.  It was like being on a boat.  I expect that's a normal flight around here, but I don't remember being on any other flights that did that, so my palms got all sweaty.

Then my hotel either didn't send a driver for me as requested or he/she was so late that I gave up and got a taxi.  Not a big deal, it's only 25 soles (about $9), but it was an irritant.  My driver, though, seemed really nice and while he only spoke spanish, I was able to talk to him a little bit.  My spanish was terrible and we didn't talk about much, but I felt good because it's the first time since I arrived in the spanish-speaking countries that I was finally able to communicate beyond "hello" and "do you speak english?"  It was like something clicked in my brain and my tongue.  (I had the same experience with the hotel reception, too.)  So that made me feel good.

Cusco

But then, we arrived in the neighborhood of my hotel.  The streets are very narrow, as in, only one car at a time and maybe a gutter for pedestrians to stand in when the cars pass.  And my driver couldn't find the hotel.  And the numbers on the street randomly got bigger then smaller, so they were no help.  Then his cell phone couldn't call the hotel for some reason I couldn't understand.  And then he couldn't work the pay phone.  Finally, I got out of the car and asked a shop keeper for directions.  Instead, she instructed my driver on how to use the pay phone (not sure what the problem was there lol).  I didn't mind being a little lost -- I'm not in a hurry.  But after a pretty long delay and needing my help to get us to my place, I was mildly annoyed.

A "street" near the San Blas church & neighborhood.

So when the taxi driver didn't have enough change for my 50 soles bill (which is not that large a bill, other drivers easily made change for it) ... well, I started to see red.  I switched to english, put my hands on my hips and gave him a very irritated look (and if there's one thing I'm good at, it's giving irritated looks).  He dug through his car for more change and was still just short.  I pointed at him, then pointed to a nearby store, but he either couldn't get change for the 50 or he didn't try too hard.  In the end, he only owed me about 18 U.S. cents, but there are too many shady taxi drivers out there and after the 20 minute delay in getting my to my hotel, I wasn't in the mood to be charitable.

As I stomped away, up some steps then up an alley to my hotel, my head was spinning!  And I thought to myself, "wait a minute, you're not that angry, are you?"  Because I didn't really feel angry, I felt like I'd stood up to a shady taxi driver.  But I am close to 11,000 feet above sea level, and so it dawned on me that I was probably not getting enough oxygen.

[About 6 hours later] ... So I typed all that above then went outside to take a few photos of the town to add to this post.  As I was strolling about 50 meters from my hotel, looking for a good shot, I here "Gaby!" and I turn around and it's Ian from Easter Island!  He and Jackie were in a cafe right nearby, with two others from the Peru tour they are all on.  Sheila and Simon Russell.  So I joined them for a drink then we all wound up going to a show -- a series of folk dances, a lot of fun -- and then dinner at their hotel.  It was good luck we ran into each other because I didn't know how to reach them, and they're really only in Cusco this one day.  So my evening was a lot more fun than I thought it would be when I first set out.

Glasses of water on their heads.

A dance about the farmers wooing the girls.

It's not quite 10:30 and I'm either really tired or suffering a bit from the altitude.  I don't quite have a headache, but almost, and it will feel good to sleep.  And to sleep in tomorrow, too.  Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and I'm not sure if I'll brave the crowds and go to church.  I sometimes go to church when I travel because it's a good way to see some local color.  On Easter Sunday in Peru that is sure to be true.  You'll find out tomorrow!

Oh, and final note... Cusco, like Santiago and Lima, also has a giant statue overlooking the city.  So that's still 100% of big cities here have giant statues.

I don't know who this is yet.