Heaven and Hell… Let’s Do Hell First
For this post I will just say that Lake Titicaca was Heaven and totally blew me away. But then I had one horrible day yesterday and I need to just get that one out of the way before I tell you in another post about the kayaking adventure. The plan yesterday at 7:00 AM as it had been for a month was to go to the train station in Puno and take a ten hour train ride through the altiplano to Cusco, check in at a very nice small inn that I had looked at three months ago and eat a nice dinner at the attached restaurant. Sounds like a pretty simple day where little could happen. Or so I thought. Looking back on the day this morning, I suppose I deserved what I got because I was flying so high on Tuesday after my visit to Heaven that I probably needed a good reality check…
After eating breakfast, I was packing around 7:00 AM when I received a call from the front desk informing me that my train was canceled. That’s a bummer I thought and told them I would come downstairs. I went down to get all the details and expected to hear about my alternative transportation. They told me that PeruRail gave them no other information except they would drop a refund at 9:00 AM. I got a bit miffed that they would cancel the train and not provide a bus service. I asked about the general bus service to Cusco and was told that they usually leave around 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. I immediately became in a great hurry to get to the bus station in order to secure a bus seat for a morning ride since I knew there was a horde of other train passengers in the same boat as me. The hotel told me which bus carriers are the safe ones… as in which ones will have a sober bus driver, a safe driver, comfortable seats and be full of gringos.
I pulled things together very quickly and got to the bus station before 7:30 AM. I could tell things were not right there as soon as I got there. First, no buses. Second, when I inquired at each company including the ones not on the safe list about buses to Cusco they just told me that there is no bus to Cusco. I finally located one that is on the safe list and there were a few gringos lined up. A discussion was going on. I was informed in English that there is a strike which has paralyzed the route. Then I found out that there is a roadblock in Ayvila about one-third the way to Cusco and all the buses from Cusco are trapped there. Why is there is a roadblock? Someone said people are demanding money. That makes no sense, why don’t the police bust it up. They want money, too. This is all from a speculating gringo who did not know what he was talking about. It became apparent to me that there was little hope of getting to Cusco. I reserved a seat on the next bus, tough, and they said they would call me at my hotel. I already paid for my night in Cusco, but I went back to my hotel in Puno. That’s when I learned that they were booked for the night and probably most of the town is, too. As I am learning, May is very busy in Peru and it only gets worse until September. Before returning to my hotel, I had a taxi take me to the train station to get my refund. There were a few people there wondering what they should do. If I had been totally clear on the situation, I would have said, let’s share a taxi to the roadblock although most of them would probably have thought that was a bad idea…
So now I understand why the train did not provide an alternative. There is no alternative to Cusco for the day. After learning that I had a real logistical problem getting to Cusco and staying in Puno I decided to get a taxi on my own. They told me it would be $120 to Cusco (480 kilometers) and I signed up for the most expensive taxi of my life. I knew it was a gamble because of the roadblock, but I decided that we would find a way around it, be allowed to go through as a private car or I would walk to the other side and catch a ride going north. Ivan was my driver and he immediately started to drive like a madman. Or just a normal Peruvian taxi driver. Except this time we were on a highway instead of on city streets where you can only go so fast. He drove between 130 and 140 kilometers per hour passing at the craziest places and zig-zagging constantly to avoid the never-ending potholes some of which would kill a vehicle going 20 kph let alone well over 100. We were making great time except I was sure we would never make it alive! Furthermore, every few meters (AND THIS IS NO EXAGGERATION) there was a roadside memorial or multiple memorials for the people that have died on this road. If there is one thing I hate about Peru… I’m living it! And hopefully not dying it!
I saw a bus headed south and knew there was still a problem because it said Cusco yet was headed back to Puno. Then we saw a pickup truck with police in riot gear. The driver passed the police like a maniac. It is not illegal to drive crazy in Peru! We reached the line of trucks and buses at the roadblock and weaved our way near to the front. The highway had been blocked by two large piles of dirt. Hundreds of people were in the highway and most of them appeared to be townspeople from Ayvila which was down the embankment and lightly ahead. I got my camera out and mingled. I eventually made it to the protesters who had rocks on the road and were holding banners saying “SUTE” and one that mentioned mine contamination. I learned that they were residents from Ayvila and they were protesting the mercury contamination from the nearby mine. The leader told me that many of them were teachers which explained why so many kids on bikes were there. He told me it would be over in a half hour. He was quite proud to get his picture taken and made a fuss to have someone else hold his banner out.
A half hour passed with nothing. The police arrived and I assumed it would be over, but then I realized the twelve police were way too few in number and they could cause a real problem. They moved on through the roadblock and I started to think this was going to go on a long time. A man started to yell something at the protesters. Up until this time things were calm and peaceful… actually, pretty happy. But the guy said something that changed things very quickly. All of a sudden the peaceful protesters started to throw rocks at the guy and I was in the middle. I was so surprised by how fast things flared that I just took pictures and watched. The friendly leader became the leader of the rock throwing and I have pictures showing him picking up a rock that would kill someone. He also thrust his banner’s pole at the man. The man was hit in the head and had a He pulled back and things calmed down except then they came after me because the man and his friends realized I had photos of who attacked him and the protesters did not like that. I had no intention of giving anyone the photos, but I said something about the man having a right to his opinion (my opinion is that the town probably has a real issue with the mine, but why are they blocking a highway other than to get personal attention rather than solving the real problem). They were on me very fast including an old indigenous woman hitting my camera with her bottle of water. It was so absurd and surrealistic that I just stood there shaking my head. A group from behind suddenly got in between us and I walked away quickly. I wasn’t there to be in the middle of their little riot and was sorry that it erupted so quickly catching me in the middle.
I eventually convinced my taxi driver that he could leave me here and I would catch a ride in a bus. Unfortunately, now I could not walk to the other side and it appeared this would go on much longer. I paid the taxi driver half of what Cusco was going to cost and looked for a bus. I was looking at one called Flores which looked nice and gringo-ish, but I ended up in the one behind it. One that had its back cargo hold open because it had dozens of cages with live cuy (guinea pigs – the national dish) in it. So now I was waiting in a locals’ bus for a three hundred kilometer ride. Eventually, the protest ended and we started to move. I was going to get to Cusco… hopefully. We drove off the highway to get around the dirt piles and then we were routed through town because dirt piles existed on the other side as well and that side also had dozens of buses and trucks backed up. Someone came up with a lame-brain idea to route us over a small river. The bus in front of us got VERY stuck. After we started to back out of the predicament I realized that bus was the Flores bus and everyone was out because it was not going anywhere buried in mud to its axles. Something finally went really well for metoday given that my bus was still moving!!!!!!
My bus was pretty full and it had lots of people coughing and sneezing never using their hands to cover their mouths. A movie came on, Cast Away, in Spanish which I have seen five times at least on Peruvian buses and, of course, it was cranked up as if everyone in Peru is deaf. The bus driver started to drive like a nut passing and swerving and I tried to just imagine pleasant Cusco. There was no way I could read because he was swerving so much, but I did enjoy the beautiful altiplano and watched the movie. About five hours later we made it to Cusco.
Zoosco is how it is now. The place is mobbed with gringos. And they are obnoxious gringos moving in packs. Mostly Americans and Brits. I immediately sensed a different vibe in this town and I was thankful that I expected this and have plans outside of town probably where few gringos will be attacking during my two days before heading to Manu. My hotel is a nice sanctuary… good planning. I miss the Cusco of February when the Inca Trail is closed. I have seen over the past two months many people telling me how they are headed to Cusco for their Inca Trail trek and have pretty much despised the whole concept. I say this because the hordes are killing that area by following the same trail in such numbers. Others, taking alternate trails, I applaud, even though they are usually disappointed that they did not get reservations. Nonsense, I tell them saying that Cusco area is too nice to want to be on a packed trail. Zoosco is grotesque, but I have seen Cusco and I have seen plenty of non-gringo-loved-to-death areas around here to know that this is truly a special place.
I went to dinner at the restaurant called Tika Gourmet Bistro that I have enjoyed twice before. There were four other people – from Britain and obnoxious. I ordered the beef which is unusual, but I had a craving and I was starving. My entree was the only one going through the kitchen. The beef came out RAW. I could tell that just from the feel of my fork, but I cut the end anyway. I sent it back wondering why on earth that would happen. It came back out in less than one minute. I felt my blood pressure go up. They must have microwaved it. I cut right into the middle and ate a piece and, of course, it was ice cold RAW. Why I did that, I am not sure. I called the nice waitress over and told her to take it back and give me my bill. I went to the lobby and asked to speak to the restaurant manager. She showed up and I was seething. I calmly told her what happened, she had already seen the RAW meat, and told her she has one very serious problem with her “chef”. I told her I was totally pissed off that it came out the second time as if the chef disagreed with my assessment on what cooked means. She was very apologetic and totally agreed, but that made me feel no better. I went to bed hungry. What a crappy day. I can only hope that the protesters are thinking about their rock-throwing actions and a “chef” is looking for a new job… maybe as a bus driver. It’s like a little bit of Bolivia bled over into Peru today!
Tags: peru, south america, Travel
vagabondrick
Rick, it sounds like you are having many, many adventures. Something new every day, which is what you were hoping for.
Hope to see you when you are back in Sonoma County or Sacramento.
Terry and DiAnn
Hi Rick,
As crazy as this sounds, I was cleaning out my “favorites list”, since it had become totally unmanageable, and I saw your link from over 1 year ago that was tucked “secretly” (unintentionally) away.
I’m so glad I found it, and enjoy hearing of your adventures. I’ll catch up and read all the blogs some day when I have more time.
Did you lose weight doing this adventure of a life time? Sounds like going to bed hungry is an invitation for weight loss! Hope you have a good supply of vitamins and minerals, that is if you believe in their value.
I have a friend at work that talks about taking off and traveling. I will surely show him your blog, and let him know you are a real-life success story.
Take Care,
Bessie Eisenhauer