La Paz to Cusco

Hey everyone,

We are currently in Cusco, an old city in eastern Peru. Tomorrow we are taking a train high into the Andes to the ancient Incan city of Machu Pichu. Those who haven't heard of it will recognize the pictures that we will (eventually) put on the site, as Machu Pichu is undoubtedly the most famous example of Incan ruins in the world. We are so excited to go!
Cusco is a goergeous city filled with narrow, cobble-stoned streets, local markets selling absolutely stunning jewelery and local crafts, and grand plazas lined with old churches and museums. Also, everything is on such an incline (the entire city is built in a valley) that the ten-minute walk home leaves us breathless!

Last time we left off at our arrival in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, but didn't really say much about it. Las Paz is honestly one of the most incredible cities we have ever seen. Just like Cusco, La Paz is located in a huge valley surrounded by mountains. Everything has such history to it and the city has a character like no other. We absolutely fell in love. Also, La Paz has a stong indigenous feel to it that is missing in all the other major Latin-American cities we have seen. Spanish is the main language, but if you walk the streets, you will hear people speaking many indigenous languages that date back to the Incans! Also, many of the women dress in traditional clothing: colourful, layered skirts, cloths tied over their shoulders to carry babies or belongings, and they all wear very distinctive hats and tie their hair in long braids that reach past their bums.
While we were in La Paz we hiked to the top of one of the peaks surrounding the city (where people live in places that could only really be described as shacks) and took in the incredible view. We also visited the old "Witchcraft Market", the gold-encrusted San Franciscan Church and the Museum of Bolivian Music (where we saw pipes bigger than us and guitars made out of Armadillo shells, with the hair intact!). While we were in La Paz we managed to find an amazing Japanese restaurant (very hard to find elsewhere in Bolivia!), but we mostly ate at local restuarants. It was the same kind of concept as the local restaurant we ate in in Chile: you go up to the counter and order the one dish they have for the day. You pay, and they give you a ticket. You sit down at a table and hand the ticket to the waiter and get served. We definately ate some interesting meals! Also, for a country of just over 8 million people, Bolivia appeared to us to have an absolutely massive military and police force. They were everywhere: directing traffic, and walking (or marching) through the streets (often to the beat of a band that marched along with them). It was definately somewhat of a mystery to us...

The bus from La Paz to Cusco was slightly more pleasant than the last one we took. At least this bus had a toilet! ( I didn't mention last time that the bus we took from Uyuni to La Paz had no toilet, despite the fact that is was an overnight, 11 hour busride! Once, in the middle of the night, when the bus made a stop at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, we deicded to get out and have a pee. We were about to go and use the washrooms that a sign was directing us too, but decided not to pay the fee that they usually charge and went, instead, by the side of the road. We ended up having to pull up our pants and run for the bus, because it took off after about a minute! We were surprized that no one else was left in the toilets.... but perhaps we were the only stupid foreigners on the bus who didn't realize that the bus only stops for a minute at a time!
But that is not to say that the bus from La Paz to Cusco was without its problems. First of all, they allow passengers to drink on the buses here, and this one guy in front of us was drinking the entire journey! He was completely trashed, and went to the toilet about 10 times! He also had some problem with his passport and held us up at the Peruvian border. Also, when we passed a Bolivian military checkpoint, we had to get out and walk through a passport check. As we were waiting on the other side, we realized that we were surrounded by bags and bags of live sheep, that had their legs all bound together and were dumped at the side of the road. At first we thought they were dead, but then some of them were blinking and making sounds. It was definately traumatic. ALSO, they didn't let us stop for food and only gave us one yogurt and a few crackers the entire ride (which lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.). We were starving when we arrived in Cusco!

We will be up in Machu Pichu now for a few days, but we will probably write another entry once we reach the beaches of northern Peru. Don't get too jealous!

love

Alice and Tova