Surprisingly, a sunrise over the Andes seen through a million micro sleeps is just as stunning as if one is fully present. I'd go so far as to say it's even more stunning, as the experience takes on a dream like quality. Probably because this chick really was dreaming. 24 plus hours with no real sleep makes one prone to napping through important events. What I did see what beautiful. You've seen sunrises, you know what I'm talking about!
It's not long before the plane starts its glide down. The descent is a quick one. Cuzco is at 11200 feet. One minute you're cruising along above the mountains and the next, you're flying strait toward them. Houses appear along a valley scattered up the slopes of the mountain, then congregate tighter and tighter together until there it is, Cuzco.
I was far too exhausted to be excited at this point, sadly. All of my energy went into memorising the things I saw so I could write about it later.
Stepping off the air plane was interesting. Right away I could feel the difference in temperature. It was delightfully cold. My fellow passengers were hurrying to pull on sweaters and hats while I strode forward in relief. Ahhh! For once I wasn't boiling in my own skin! I wasn't striding for long though. A curious sensation began to over take me. It felt as is every drop of moisture in my body was being sucked out of it, along with my oxygen! Oh high altitude, you are a strange fellow.
I saw ladies layered in sweaters and shawls, wearing long skirts, selling coca leaves by the bagful as I followed the other passengers to the departure gates. There was a large crowd of people calling out to me and the others. Some were selling goods, others were selling rides. I was being met by my very own driver -included in my hotel rate-so I didn't have to worry about any of that. I ignored the calls and scanned the crowd for my name.
There was a huge variety of signs. Some were on chalk boards, but most of them were on homemade signs. Signs made of paper and cardboard, signs made of pieces of wood and plastic. There! There I am. Or at least I think it's for me : Leal Miller. Ha Ha Ha! Even in Peru, my name is misspelled! Nothing like being kept humble.
My driver is very congenial, he takes my bag right out of my hands and leads me quick as a wink to his car. He's handling me with such care that I feel very safe. He chats a bit with me in broken English as I slide into the car (which smells of something vile, I'm not sure what) and is a really pleasant fellow. We move forward out of the parking lot and holy hell he turns into a maniac! Mach ten would not be an exaggeration. The street scene is flying by so fast I'm having trouble making out what I'm actually seeing. I think I see people selling stuff. I think I see garbage left out for collection being rifled through by numerous dogs. I think I see houses in various states of repair and disrepair.
I know I see my life and the lives of others flash before my eyes as the four wheeled box of death hurls down the road, narrowly missing other cars, dogs...people. Am I scared? Nope! I am freaking loving every minute of this! Obviously the lack of sleep is affecting my mental cognition but in this moment, I am so fucking alive. Who gives a shit what happens next.
We drive past places I'm starting to recognise from my research, pull up behind a tour bus that almost backs into us and park in a no parking zone. The driver of the tour bus jumps out and starts yelling at my driver in rapid fire Spanish, my driver returns the verbal assault as he's opening my door and leading me down a cobble stone alley toward my hotel, like a gentleman. Twas hilarious and surreal. He deposits me like everything is normal in the lobby of my hotel and literally hands me off to the care of another man. He places my bag down on the floor, shakes my hand, then holds my hand and places it in the warm and waiting hand of the hotel manager.
Where am I? Unaytambo Hotel , my base for the next few days.
LOVELOVELOVE!!
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