day 11

ahhh
at least i slept well last night.
when i left the internet box up the street
the hotel’s gates were locked..
i walked up and down the block… wondering..
it was about 10:30
and the streets were mostly empty..
what do you do
late night
friday? what the hell day is it?
was it..
after realizing i misunderstood the orientation of the hotel
i turned around and went to check out the other direction…
knocking on the main gate again
a man appeared half way down the block
“Aqui!”
ah… si..
up stairs
and to bed
slept like a log
on my pillow body bolster
rooster still waking me in the middle of the night
but went right back into sleep
woke just before 6
some yoga
body not as sore
but just filling it with life
then brushing the hair
shower
oiling
jim was off at breakfast
i packed his chachka bag
then my own
then i headed down for breakfast
bannanas and papaya
and coco tea
and conversation with Christine about how some people just can not take care of themselves at all
as if paying attention to their lives would be way too much for them
they ask everyone else around them the questions
they are unwilling to look inside or anywhere for the answer for themselves
yeah..
well
then a bowl of kiwichi (amaranth… quinoa)
with yogurt
more tea
more papaya juice
more water
fine
out on the bus
to ride little motor cars around Urumbama
to see the old cemetary
where you have to pay rent every year
or they excavate the bones and burn them…
or you can buy a plot.. but that’s usually too expensive to do in one go for most…
people prefer to be buried above ground..
in stacks sometimes..
the lower classes: underneath
we jumped in the car and headed over to a church
suggested to buy candles and make prayers with them
i know how that works
so bought 8
and made my prayers for my friends and family and planet and self.
then back to the main square
to catch the bus
to the train..
the RailPeru!
owned by the Orient Express..
see
all this Inca Ruin stuff is generating a lot of income
i just fear that most of it isn’t staying in the country..
going to china or USA or germany or great britian..
i just don’t trust it
but the train was designed well
narrow gague track
with windows at the bend in the ceiling
… felt like a fancy subway car..
beautiful beautiful mountains, of course
decending from 9,500 ft to about 6,500 ft to the town of Aguas Calientes…
run through a large track of vendors..
beautiful town
huge cliffs surrounding them
hell bent on tourism
Hell Bent.
we checked into our hotel and Jim and i just lay on our backs and talked..
he told me about his dad building the garage on the wrong side of the house
coz he wanted to!
covering up two windows
and never cementing the floor
coz you don’t have to pay taxes on a room if it’s not finished..
he told me how much he is like his dad..
i explained that i was too..
my dad got me this watch/compass/thermometer/light/file/carabiner thing
it is SO him
and so me as well..
certain things fit
gotta love them
but jim is so fucking angry
i said
“Jim, you cuss a lot”
— i really love talking with him
he said
“yeah, my dad did too”
we were late for the group
less than ten minutes
but they all left
our new secondary/training guide was waiting for us
“Luis”
nice fella
not such good english
not as charasmatic as Walter..
but we got to our restaurant
and Jim was fucking tired of walking up steps and walking around everywhere
so complained the whole time
the food was pretty good
fresh fried potato chips, like you’d get in a bag,
much better
with garlic and … parsely?
walter and jim and i sat at the table together
walter and i had a good conversation
after Jim broke it to him much more directly…
our sexual status
so walter was interested
i told him how i lived
what my life was like from now til then..
he was very interested..
oddly
the Cusco district flag is a rainbow flag, slightly different than ours..
but he found the relation quite funny..
after lunch
i ran into that guy Jim, from MN
snapped a picture of him
and told him that we’ve ran into eachother twice
out of all the people in the world
so i´m bound to see him again
he seemed shy
.. i wanted to hug him
but what can we do?
we, the group, jumped on a bus
and headed up the hill
13 switchbacks
up and up and up
fantastic mountains and waves..
throngs of people
everywhere
and all so excited
walter gave us some info
then walked us along a small path
around a bend
down some steps..
i asked him if i could go down to the bottom (though we were cutting across the middle as a group, and he was waiting for the rest)
he smiled
and said yes
the llamas let me through
and i looked over the steep cliff edge to take pictures of the road we drove up
then turned around…
Machu Pichu
wow.
i can’t really spend time telling you what it was like
anyone who is interested has seen pictures and read bits about it
so you know..
and i have been seeing ruins here
and many other places
but something about it just..
struck me
.took my breath away.
whatever
i just stood and stared
mouth a gape
one of the women from above called down to me
telling me to catch up
so i walked up the steps
and began the tour
what was going on?
were they trying to hitch their culture to the sun?
trying to stop time?
trying to fly?
Here To GO?
so much knowledge and experience
wiped out in less than a year by 165 Spainards they mistook for the children of god…
the spainards hunted down the last incan and killed him in the central square of Cusco
and melted down all of their gold
obliterating the culture..
undoing the ties…
or?
did they escape to the last hidden city?
Vilcabamba?
dissapearing into the earth
or the sky?
like the mayans?
like any of our dreams..
it was the will of god
any god
their god
ours…
the will for the native cultures to be wiped out
the aboriginals
the mayans, the incas, the Native Americans all
as our culture is steadily destroying china and japan
who will, in turn, devour us
this place (earth) is so strange.
anyway
Machu Pichu
yeah
amazing views
amazing feeling
the workmanship fantastic
up and down stone steps
using up the battery on the camera
he showed us the temples
we all sang into the niches
which reverberated around us..
we’re here again tomorrow
(though Jim says he’s not comming: he’s taking a day of rest)
early in the morning
then leaving around 1:30 for Cusco
two days there
then down to Lake Titticaca
or
whatever
future
i just wanted to jabber a bit
i guess i’m pretty tired
but mostly feel displaced
and
as ever
existentially confounded.
now time for dinner
and then some sleep
———- after dinner ——-
jim slept through dinner,yeah
D and E were drinking wine by candle light
down by the river
roaring behind the glass
dinner started
and i got seated be Judy (CO) and regina,
no one else within ear shot because three peruvians arrived in full costume and loud amplification
playing crowd pleasers like Guantanamera
which made D&E dance
which made me happy that they were dancing
— she has flow
… he’s a bit self conscious
and i feel like i should like them..
i should like everyone, right
but..
the group kinda bugged me
i guess i was feeling grouchy
they tried to sell me their CD, of course
and i just took a look at all the hack on there and said NO
gave them one Sol
and walked out
to walk…
the hot springs close at 8:30.. and it was quarter past when i got there
so i just wandered down through the streets..
this town has been called “Aguas Calientes” for YEARS
probably over a hundred
and
that name
most likely
to attract some sort of tourism..
well
they have just changed their name to “Machu Pichu”
which just seems silly
and sad
there are 8 million restaurantes here
gift shops everywhere
most of everything empty
feels like they are all selling out as much as they can
but can you blame them?
not a fault, just the flow…
i refuse to buy things in Dollars
it really pisses me off and scares me that a country would convert all its currencey to another countries currencey..
but Ary told us that the most used currencey in Columbia was also the American Dollar..
sick
so i do my best to set my example of what i think is right
but it just is what it is
where do we go to find something More Wild?
i never would have come here if not for this tour, i´m sure
— it occurred to me today
i never do “tourist things” because they bug me so much
so
though its been fascinating seeing all this stuff
it’s turning my stomach..
yet
inspiring me to go further to wild interesting places
… maybe this place in Cambodia?
(21:48)