Letters Back Home: Peru

     That sucks that I spent $300 already in just one week in BOLIVIA. That makes me feel bad. I guess it was from all the stuff I bought which I sent home today. I suppose I'll do a spending freeze.

     Cusco is a pretty cool city. Its the oldest continuously inhabited city on the continent, since it was once the Incan capital then the Spaniards later took it over and settled it, so much of the modern city is built on old incan built walls, and the streets in the city's center are all cobble stone laid by the Inca. Today we went to all the museums where they have quite a bit of artifacts and a lot of mummies (that look pretty creepy - they are all bent in the fetal position with their hands on their faces and they look to be screaming). The English translations can be pretty funny. In spite of being a huge international tourism sight, they could not seem to get a native English speaker to make the translations. Thus you have lines like, 'The mummies liked to spend a lot of time together.'

     This is the first place we've been were there are actual tourists instead of just backpackers - whole families with dorky out-of-place kids and fat women. There are also ALOT of old American women. Thus, it’s quite touristy in places, and quite expensive. You know, to go to Machu Picchu you have to play in US dollars, the train trip costs $70 round trip and the park entrance costs $25. That's all taken care of, but it was a pretty big expense.

     Luckily George and I steer pretty well away from the tourist parts. In the center, you can get a half pizza for 17 soles (one sol is US 0.35), and where we go to eat, you get soup, an entre, and a tea for 3.

     Tomorrow we are leaving early for the Sacred Valley which has many Incan sites, and then taking a night train to a place called Aguas Calientes, and leaving real early in the morning up to Machu Picchu. You and dad should definitely come here some day; it’s a pretty cool place to see. Some of the tourism level is a bit disappointing, though. They have a 'Disney Adventure Tour Package.' Yes, Disney has come to Cusco.

     As I told you, we are 3 days ahead of our itinerary, hoping to put those extra days in Ecuador, since travel may be a bit easier there (Ecuador is about half the size of Texas, so there wont be so much bus time).

Tell dad he is weird.