Note: this is taken from emails sent in 2001. Hemi
hola amigos!
i am writing from cusco, THE tourism capital of SA. it is quite different from anything i have seen so far in bolivia. the whole town exists to cater to the huge influx of tourists of all ages sizes and monetary flexibility.
this of course is due mainly to MACCHU PICCHU, the ancient inca city discoverd in 1911, after many years of solitude in the peruvian forests.
a short recap of the last events –
after climbing huayna potosi i took a day to chill in la paz. i began to like the city more and more, and walked in the non tourist zones. i treated myself to som good and expensive food, at noon a nice tex-mex restaurant ($10), and in the evening i totally splurged; i went to the best hotel in la paz – the radisson plaza, where on the 15th floor they have a restaurant overlooking the city. i had a great meal for about the same price as lunch.
it was weird to be wearing a fleece sweater and t-shirt when around me all were dressed to kill (literally – there was a high officer convention between the generals of bolivia and paraguay).
the next day, tuesday, i left la paz with intentions of reaching cuscu. but this was not going to be a simple task for the following reason:
in peru there was a 2 day genral strike in the Puno department – no busses, cars , stores, nada. the strike was scheduled to end on wednesday, so theoretically i could wait a day in copacabana , a lovely city on the border of bolivia. but, the next day in bolivia there would be nothing open, including the border due to a census they had to take once in 10 years exactly when i had to cross the border.
with a group of other israelis and others, we decided to take our chance and cross the border. when we reached peru, there were no cars or busses, and we took a tricycle to carry our muchilas to the nearest town yunguyo, a 25 minute walk. all along the road were shattered bottles, rocks creating roadblocks and even one burnt up car.
we wanted to reach Puno, normally 2 hours drive away. after waiting in a nice plaza in yunguyo for 4 hours, a brave peruvian driver offered us use of his minibus for $3 a head. (this of course is much higher than the official rate). since we wanted to make as much headway as possible, we agreed. the way to puno took 5 hours, every once in a while detouring to pass a blockade, or otherwise the driver paying a small “fine” to the angry campesinos who awaited us at the blockades.
at times it got a bit scarey but the locals on the bus seemed quite relaxed so i tried to fall asleep instead.
we arrived near midnight in puno, and it looked like a palestinean refugee camp after a day of riots and scirmishes with the IDF.
the next morning the streets were miraculously cleaned up and i took a tourist bus to cusco.
next to me sat a peruvian chemical engineer, and between my spanish and his english managed to have an interesting conversation.
as i said, cusco is tourist oriented, which means that every step you take you are accosted by little kids, old ladiea and all that is inbetween to buy, give, donate, and generally improve his or hers quality of life.
just when i had thought all the strikes were over, today the people of cuscu marched up ave de sol (main street) to plaza de armas (main plaza) in protest over the same thing that the people of puno had, but the opposite.
the thing is this – a new highway is going to be built – the transoceanic connecting the shores of brazil via bolivia and peru to the pacific ocean.
the people of puno want the road to pass through puno, the people of cusco – you guessed right. so it could be interesting here in the next few days.
tommorow i am heading for a 4 day rafting expedition to a nearby river. it is considered the 3rd best in the world for whitewater, after the colorado and zambese in zimbabwe.
Next week, after a long awaited period of time, my beloved wife Paola shall join me for the remaining month of the SA vacation.
take care,
hemi