To Market, To Market

On Christmas Eve I went to a special market held at the Plaza de Amas. Once a year the traditional Peruvians come down from the hills and display their wares for sale. The market was massive with the whole area being blockd off an huge crowds attending to see all sorts of traditional arts and crafts. There was a mix of tradiional and western entertainment with Santa Claus appearing to give gifts to the children. After the market I went back to the hospital. At twelve midnight there was a fantastic fire works display to herald in Christmas Day. From the sixth floor of my hospital room I had a spectacular view. The doctors and nurses on duty all came up to wish me a Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) and we all watched the fireworks for about half an hour. To my great surprise they opened the large windows all the way - I thought the windows at this height would not have been able to be opened. Hopefully, I will be released from hospital in the next day or two and then I can continue on to Machu Picchu. The kindness, generosity and quality of service shown to me by all of the people at the hospital has been second to none and I thoroughly recommend San Jose Clinic in Cusco should you ever need it.

Taking A Breather

Recovery is progressing slowly but steadily with the main treatment being intravenous antibiotics and regular sessions with a ventilator to clear the infection. Between these times I have had an opportunity to walk around the hospital region and talk to the local people. There is a huge soccer stadium behind the hospital that is always full of people attending some sort of sporting event. I bought a pizza one night and only ate part of it - the cheese they use (in abundance) was not to my liking. The people working in the hostel I am staying at dropped in today to see how I was doing and whether I needed anything. They had rung all the hospitals to find the one I was in. This sort of kindness is typical of what I have experienced from the people of Cusco.

Travel insurance - don't leave home without it

Unfortunately I have ended up in a Cusco hospital with a touch of pneumonia. Nothing major - but I am getting intravenous antibiotics to clear it up - thank god for travel insurance. The hospital room is enormous with a lounge suite, an extra bed for visitors, an enormous TV and a view to kill for - I am on a floor reserved for tourists. The doctors and nurses have been great and extremely thorough. I should be out of here in a couple of days but it may change my travel plans slightly as I may have to avoid higher altitudes for a while, particularly as I am not totally acclimatized yet.

The tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth

Finally, my dental work is complete and I can move on from Cusco. You haven't lived until you have dental work done by someone who doesn't speak your language and the only way to communicate is using Yahoo's Babel Fish translation service. It's really weird typing in questions and answers and then trying to work out the answers provided by literal translations. I can now make the arrangements for the next part of my trip and am organizing travel to Machu Picchu, Puerto Maldonado (in the jungle near the Brazil & Bolivian borders), Copacabana (where I will probably spend Christmas), La Paz (where I will probably spend new Years) and then Iquitos (to meet the Amazon river).

A city in ruins

Went on a tour of the city of Cusco and nearby ruins which included visits to the Plaza de Armas (which was the centre of Inca Cusco ), the Cathedral (which was started in 1550 and finished 100 years later), Qoricancha (Inca Temple of the Sun situated in the church of Santo Domingo which was built on the walls of the temple in the 17th Century) and the ruins of Sacsayhuaman (Inca fortress overlooking the city of Cusco), Qenko (an example of Incan "Rock Worship"), Puka Pukara (an Incan fortress/posthouse) and Tambomachay (Incan baths used for ritual bathing). The ruins were at significantly high altitudes (11,000ft/3,400m) and I swear that the whole of Cusco and the surrounding ruins consist of stairs which only lead up.

The hustler?

Spent some time playing poker with a group of people from various places around the world - notice the small amount of chips in front of me - I did not end up a winner. It rained for the first time on my trip and it was pretty heavy so not much walking around today. Chris and I split up last night with him going on to La Paz in Bolivia to enter a poker tournament. I still have a few days in Cusco until my dental work is finished. Checking out the post office to see how much it costs to send things home because there are a few souvenirs that I like but don't want to carry around for 6 months or so.

Andre the Peruvian

Looked in a lot of shops today and found an outfit which suits me well - not. As a Peruvian I think I make a good Australian. Found a place called The Real McCoy that serves everything British. Had porridge for breakfast with fruit and watched an English soccer match on the TV while reading the Guardian newspaper. Later on in the day had apple crumble with custard - your standard Peruvian meal. Today was a public holiday in Peru (Immaculate Conception) and there were parades, music and firecrackers - quite a sight. I bought some headphones at the market yesterday and today set up my computer to use Skype which offers phone calls to Australia for $0.027 per minute. Tomorrow I hope to finalize my plans for Macchu Picchu.

A view to kill for

It´s been a few days since I posted a blog and that is partly due to the hostel not having Internet access and having to use an Internet cafe. The view from the hostel is spectacular as can be seen by the picture. My stay in Cusco is going to be a bit longer than originally planned as there was a complication at the dentist with another tooth being broken. Due to public holidays and a couple of other factors I will be around for another week. I have been using my time to go on tours, go to the markets (where you can buy whole series of TV shows on DVD for about $7AUS - not that I would do anything illegal like that), hanging around foodshops (there are hundreds of them), playing poker (not ahead yet) and hanging around the Internet cafe (using Skype to ring home). As an example of the cosmopolitan nature of Cusco I had a spaghetti meal in a Mexican restaurant owned by a German and which was prepared by an Israeli chef - the food was great and plentiful. Lots of churches to see and will do some day trips as well before heading off to Macchu Picchu. In Cusco you go everywhere by taxi as any trip from any point to any place costs 3 Soles ($1.50AUS) and the chaotic traffic beats any carnival ride anywhere.

On the road again

Took the bus trip from Miraflores to Cusco yesterday and the day before - it was the ride from hell. What was supposed to be a 22 hour trip took 30 hours. Firstly, it left an hour late, then we had to detour because protesters were blocking the main roads, then the driver hit a rock and broke the axle. We had to wait a few hours for a replacement bus - basically in the middle of nowhere. At one stage the driver left and had to return because he left some people behind (Chris included). I also got a bad stomach ache from something I ate and I broke a tooth which definitely meant that this was not the best day of my life. The scenery was spectacular and it was amazing driving through the mountains. We saw lots of villages and many flocks of llama and sheep. It took me a little while to acclimatize to the high altitude (was very light headed when we got off for one of the bus stops) but I think I´m alright now. Cusco looks really interesting and will plan my trip to Macchu Picchu and a few other places while I am getting orientated.

Hanging loose

Hung around today preparing for my departure to Cuzco tomorrow. Booked a bus trip, which will take 20 hours to go from Miraflores to Cuzco. Was lucky to get an upstairs front seat which allows for panoramic views. Was also very luck to have Chris the Canadian provide a lot of invaluable advice and we will be travelling together. Planning to go to Macchu Picchu from Cuzco and then will go to La Paz in Bolivia. Had my washing done - it was brilliant - they do not have the sort of laundromats we are used to - instead you drop of the washing and they wash, dry and fold it for you and charge by the kg.