Last night we got back to our Hostel in Cusco late at night. We left for the Inca trail 2 days ago. We got a ride from the hostel to the train station. It is such an adventure riding in vehicles here. The traffic is very free and sometimes you get butterflies in your stomach because it feels like you´re going to run into another car. Last night we were driving through very narrow alleys and going pretty fast and some of the people that are in the group were talking about how we were going to die but I think the people here are better drivers in some ways. I have not seen anything get hit or anyone crash. And the dogs are so smart. They walk in the streets and do their own thing and never get hit. They walk around the markets and eat scraps. In the town of Aguas Calientes, which is the town near Machu Picchu, I petted a dog for a long time and I picked a few ticks off of her and smashed them. She seemed very happy and I saw her get fed 2 times by different people. Walking the Inca trail was so beautiful. The landscape felt kind of like being in the rainforest, but also kind of like hiking in western Oregon. The mountains covered in trees are what was so breathtaking. I tried to stay behind the group some of the time because I wanted to experience it by myself and not feel hurried or pressured. I think that some people in the group thought that was weird. Haha, no matter who you are with, when you are traveling with the same people for more than a couple days, there will be a little drama. But actually, last night on the train, our group was laughing more than anyone else on the train. Ha!
The second night I was in Cusco, my roommate Karla and I went down the market right near here again, which was my favorite part of the whole day, once again. It is so fun to walk through the streets and hear all sorts of noises and walking through the street market, it is filled with all sorts of wonderful smells. I bought 2 more avocadoes and some tangerines and bottled water in a giant bottle. Then we ate food from a street vendor and it was sooo good! We sat on these little plastic stools around this small card table with other locals and ate rice, a fried egg, fried potatoes and really spicy pico de gallo. It was such a wonderful experience. I am glad that i have not gotten sick, but I am so glad that I´m not too worried. When we told the other members of our group some of them looked a little worried. haha! But I can understand their caution. It was so fun practicing spanish. It´s hard too. But I never feel like people are judging me for messing up, they have a happy, light hearted attitude and i laughed a lot with the locals and that felt so wonderful. Well, off to buy some more bottled water before we head for the Colca Canyon.
Love, Josie
When I was in Mexico they had these big white half spheres that were stuck in the asphalt right before all the stop lights. That way people had to slow down (5 to 10 MHP) and not run the light. It was a little strange but I guess it worked for their driving. The taxi driver said otherwise people would just run the light.
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