meats and potatoes on a stick.

6.23.2008

Monday

We arrived at the bus station at 8:20 for our 9 am bus to head back to Cusco. As we searched for our bus company, we encountered a large sign stating “Puno-Cusco 8:00 am”. Well damn it. Luis had told us the wrong time and we had missed our bus! We ran around looking for one leaving at 9, crossing our fingers, hoping we wouldn't actually have to wait until 8:00 pm to take the trip back. Cruz del Sur had a bus pulling out at 8:30. 5 MINUTES! We hurriedly bought tickets and were the very last two to board the bus. The bus smelled musty and like smoke. But at least we had a ride to Cusco!

Once off the bus, a taxi driver offered us a ride to our hostel, but we only had s/4. He said no and turned up his nose. So we started walking. A ways down the road, he met up with us again and said he would take us where we wanted to go for our s/4. We got in, and right away I felt like he wasn’t taking us the right way. I knew our hostel was just two blocks from la Plaza de Armas, and so I asked him about this. He replied “No, es lejos” (no, it’s far). I explained that our directions said it was 2 blocks from the plaza and I didn’t feel like we were going the right way. He said (in Spanish) “oh you don’t want to go there anyway, they just smoke cigars and marijuana all the time. Women aren’t allowed. I’ll take you somewhere nice!” This is when my “this is not a good situation” meter kicked into high gear. I was all of a sudden very nervous and very upset. I said, as calmly as I could in Spanish, “SEÑIOR! You will take us to this hostel and I don’t think you are taking us there”. Then the taxi driver got upset and pulled out a map to show us that roads were blocked because of the parade, and explained that he was taking detours to our hostel. Ok, ok my mistake. But seriously, you don’t eff around with two young traveling girls like that. Images of being sold into slavery flashed through my head…

We arrived in one piece to our hostel in Cusco, Monte Horeb Hospedaje, that afternoon and went up to the front desk to check in. The location was great, just two blocks from La Plaza de Armas, and just one block from La Plaza Regocijo. We gave the front desk our names. The nice Peruvian woman behind the counter replied that she had received a cancellation for Jill Cox on June 19^th! Say, what!? Well there’s just no way! We had been in Ollantaytambo and Pisac on the 19^th, with no internet or phone access. The lady behind the counter said she would give the owner a call because they had a room for that night (Monday) and Wednesday night, but not Tuesday night. At this point Jill and I were freaking out. This was exactly why we had made reservations back in March. Cusco’s biggest celebration of the year was the following day and we would be hostel-less! The owner was on her way. When she got there, she showed us the e-mail: indeed a cancellation from a Jill Cox, but one with a very different email address from my Jill Cox’s. I’m thinking either ambush (!!) or total, complete, weird coincidence (two Jill Cox’s?! In Peru? At Horeb Hospedaje? On the same nights?!?) or perhaps severe computer glitch? Who knows. Despite our worries, the owner said not to worry, that she would rearrange some things and make sure we had a place to say. Thank goodness for friendly Peruvians!

We dropped our things off in our - almost wasn’t ours – room and went to explore the town. In preparation for Inti Raymi, a giant parade was parading through town. We guessed by the number of signs for each group in the parade there were at least 200 different groups (Two Hundred! Just in case you missed that…). We walked around for a while watching the masses of people and intricate dances in the parade.

In the plaza de Regocijo, all the people who had finished with the parade began to party. The entire square was a giant festivas beer garden! There were many food carts selling quinoa, hamburgers (the thinnest burgers I’ve ever seen), and meat and potatoes on sticks. I got two meet sticks (feeling brave tonight), one with sausage slices (or something similar? No way to really tell) and one with beef (well…maybe alpaca). Despite the meat from unknown origins, it was delicious! I asked for one with all potato, which she happily ate, despite the possible meat cross-contamination. The three sticks cost all together s/4.20, or about $1.40 each stick. I also tried Cusqueña beer (purchased from a 9 year old girl). It was pretty decent!

We strolled past the several Peruvian men relieving themselves on the backsides of the port-o-potties, through the streets wet with beer and piss, to get some ice cream. Then headed back to Horeb. We could hear people celebrating until at least 3 am (a normal party end time when I’m home in Seattle, but certainly not when I’m traveling!).