Picking up where I left off, after showering and changing, I was booted out of the hostel until noon. I decided that this would be a good time to go check in with the company organizing my Inca Trail trek, United Mice. First, I misread the map and ended up at the Plaza de San Francisco (maybe some deeper meaning to that one?) and from there to the local covered market. All the usual strange meat products were there, along with Peruvian goods and strange drugs. Apparently, Peru has its own hallucinogenic cactus, called San Pedro, which can be purchased in the marketplace.
Anyway, I backtracked an eventually found the Plaza de Armas, which is a very nice square. It has a beautiful green fountain and nice landscaping with plenty of benches to sit on and enjoy the experience. Surrounding the square are the usual tourist restaurants, shops, internet cafes, travel companies, and new to me, massage joints!!! i´m fairly sure that these are for actual massage, and not a code for prostitution, but there´s a cute girl offering, "massage, massage, you want massage?" every few feet. of course, for a town built on a tourist trade of hikers, offering cheap massage to the suffering masses is probably a brilliant idea. I know that I plan on purchasing one two or ten when i finish my four day hike.
I fought my way through the shoe shine men, massage girls, and postcard boys and found the United Mice office. This was a tiny little storefront with two people sitting inside. Not really all that trust-inspiring. However, after talking to the guy, receiving my prepared handout and being told about the group meeting the night before the hike, I was reassured that I had booked the right company!
Unfortunately, this did bring up something that I had not considered. In packing for Peru, I decided to bring my credit card and not to bring my bank card. My reasoning was that if my credit card was stolen, no big deal, but if my bank card was taken, I would eventually be reimbursed for all the funds, but until then, I´d have no cash. Brilliant critical thinking, lacking but one bit of data...no one accepts credit cards in Cusco. Apparently there´s a huge problem with credit card theft and fraud in South America, and businesses have lost out too many times by accepting stolen cards that then didn´t go through. The solution to this was to not accept cards at all, it´s an all cash society. Shocking!!!
My depleted store of cash and I then wandered out in search of lunch. Right around the corner was Govinda, a vegetarian restaurant run by Hare Krishnas!!! So cool! I had some lovely muesli in yogurt with honey and bee pollen. Then it was back to the hostel to fall face first into a bed. That wonderful piece of furniture sheltered and supported me for four hours, but I regretfully left it to try to acclimatize in a vertical stance.
I had noticed some serious shortness of breath, headache, and nausea courtesy of Cusco´s altitude, and had been advised not to sleep too much because it is easier to acclimatize when one is active. I took that advice a bit too far and walked a mile in search of a vegetarian restaurant, Naturaleza. Of course, this restaurant no longer exists, but by the time I returned to the hostel, I was gasping and felt that my head was about to explode. Luckily, there was a congenial group of girls watching movies in the TV room at the hostel. I huddled on the couch with them and watched The Pursuit of Happyness (surprisingly good I thought) for the next couple of hours. By then it was 10:30 and I felt justified in reacquainting myself with mi cama. Lights out for Christine with the aid of a pair of earplugs, and a shirt over my eyes.
"What happened on Day two?" you ask, well all your questions shall be answered shortly. Hasta luego.
Anyway, I backtracked an eventually found the Plaza de Armas, which is a very nice square. It has a beautiful green fountain and nice landscaping with plenty of benches to sit on and enjoy the experience. Surrounding the square are the usual tourist restaurants, shops, internet cafes, travel companies, and new to me, massage joints!!! i´m fairly sure that these are for actual massage, and not a code for prostitution, but there´s a cute girl offering, "massage, massage, you want massage?" every few feet. of course, for a town built on a tourist trade of hikers, offering cheap massage to the suffering masses is probably a brilliant idea. I know that I plan on purchasing one two or ten when i finish my four day hike.
I fought my way through the shoe shine men, massage girls, and postcard boys and found the United Mice office. This was a tiny little storefront with two people sitting inside. Not really all that trust-inspiring. However, after talking to the guy, receiving my prepared handout and being told about the group meeting the night before the hike, I was reassured that I had booked the right company!
Unfortunately, this did bring up something that I had not considered. In packing for Peru, I decided to bring my credit card and not to bring my bank card. My reasoning was that if my credit card was stolen, no big deal, but if my bank card was taken, I would eventually be reimbursed for all the funds, but until then, I´d have no cash. Brilliant critical thinking, lacking but one bit of data...no one accepts credit cards in Cusco. Apparently there´s a huge problem with credit card theft and fraud in South America, and businesses have lost out too many times by accepting stolen cards that then didn´t go through. The solution to this was to not accept cards at all, it´s an all cash society. Shocking!!!
My depleted store of cash and I then wandered out in search of lunch. Right around the corner was Govinda, a vegetarian restaurant run by Hare Krishnas!!! So cool! I had some lovely muesli in yogurt with honey and bee pollen. Then it was back to the hostel to fall face first into a bed. That wonderful piece of furniture sheltered and supported me for four hours, but I regretfully left it to try to acclimatize in a vertical stance.
I had noticed some serious shortness of breath, headache, and nausea courtesy of Cusco´s altitude, and had been advised not to sleep too much because it is easier to acclimatize when one is active. I took that advice a bit too far and walked a mile in search of a vegetarian restaurant, Naturaleza. Of course, this restaurant no longer exists, but by the time I returned to the hostel, I was gasping and felt that my head was about to explode. Luckily, there was a congenial group of girls watching movies in the TV room at the hostel. I huddled on the couch with them and watched The Pursuit of Happyness (surprisingly good I thought) for the next couple of hours. By then it was 10:30 and I felt justified in reacquainting myself with mi cama. Lights out for Christine with the aid of a pair of earplugs, and a shirt over my eyes.
"What happened on Day two?" you ask, well all your questions shall be answered shortly. Hasta luego.
