Finally in Cusco

After 13 hours on a bus I almost cried tears of joy when I arrived 3 hours late and still found my friend Elly sitting in the Cusco plaza at our meeting point in front of the McDonald's. I was so relieved to see her after such an adventurous two days of travelling. It was Halloween and the place was teeming with adults and children alike dressed up in costumes and causing a ruckus. We went to eat an alpaca burger and drink a pisco sour. The next day, I got just a small taste of Cusco in the daylight before we hopped on a transfer taxi/van/bus for the nauseating two hour drive on the winding mountain roads to Ollantaytambo.

 

Peruvian countryside

On the road again...just can't wait to get back on the road again...

Except that it wasn't as luxurious as it seems. I got on the bus again, this time going from Arequipa, Peru to Cusco. I was told it would take about 9 hours...that didn't sound toooo bad...but it ended up taking 13...and that was bad. Especially when there's nothing to eat. Bummer.

But there were some beautiful views from the bus window and I made it there eventually, so it wasn't a total loss.

 

 

 

 

 

My sweet ride...note to self: never take Flores Bus from Arequipa to Cusco ever again.

Bus station culture

I got to Arequipa, Peru by overnight bus and was intrigued by the bus station culture. I was impressed by the way the Peruvian women carried their huge, heavy loads/food/babies on their backs with brightly colored blankets. There were tons of little stands selling bread, tons and tons of bread, including bread for the day of the dead...with the little baby doll heads and all.

Before I got on my next bus I was able to get out of the station a little bit and explore the city by means of local transportation...another experience in itself. The little bus/van I took cost about 20 cents and I had to jump on while it was still moving basically and jam myself into a tiny seat on the crowded bus with my huge backpack. 

On the way back I took a cab.

 

Change of plans!

To get to Ollantaytambo, Peru to see my friend Elly, my travel plan was simple: take the bus from Iquique to Arica, drive with my friends from Arica across the border to Tacna, Peru, get on a plane and fly a half hour to Arequipa, get picked up by my student's uncle and explore until getting on a bus overnight to Cusco, meet my friend in the main plaza in Cusco the next morning, hang out there for the day, and take a shared taxi/van to Ollantaytambo.

Ok...so I guess it wasn't so simple...but it got worse.

There was an immediate stop put on these wonderfully thought out plans at the airport in Tacna. My flight was cancelled. They told me that I could either wait to fly out until the same time the next day (missing my bus and losing an entire day of my short 6-day vacation), or get reimbursed and find another way. I opted for the latter...which turned out to be equally stressful. But I was lucky and met a new friend. At the airport a very friendly guy offered his dad, who lives in Tacna, to help me. I went to his office, he took me to the bus station to buy a ticket from Tacna to Arequipa overnight and then I could get a different bus ticket when I got to Arequipa to go to Cusco (which took 13 hours during the day instead of the 9 hours they told me it was going to take...not cool), we went and picked up his wife from work, they brought me to their gorgeous (and huge) house very briefly, then took me out to dinner before bringing me to the bus station and sending me off. I now have friends in Tacna! How did I get so lucky?

These are some pictures of their house...I had to capture some of the strange night...

 

Crossing the border

I went to Peru! First time crossing the border from Chile to Peru...from Arica to Tacna. My friends who live in Arica drove me across the border and hung out with me in Tacna before dropping me off at the airport. We went through customs at the border and I almost got rejected because I didn't have the correct tourist paper...whoops.

We got into Tacna and walked around town for a little bit, exchanged money from chilean pesos to peruvian nuevo soles, checked out the market with the GIGANTIC fruit...seriously papayas bigger than my head...and ate lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant. My meal wasn't as good as I'd hoped...it was tiny pieces of fish in small portions...boo...but the salted corn kernels were good!