Backpacking

Since our arrival in Cuzco last Friday, We heard the buzz around town that the largest and most anticipated soccer match in all of Peru was going to happen on Sunday afternoon. The two largest cities in Peru were going head to head: Cuzco and Lima. Peruvians are HUGE soccer fans and worship this sport as a religion. They are completely obsessed. The entire country shuts down when there is a soccer match on the tele.

Rich and I decided that we needed to be there to get the full South America experience, so we bought tickets the night before the match, right on the street from a very nice and earnest-looking scalper. He warned us to get there two-three hours ahead of time so that we could score the best seats. We followed his advice and were at the stadium at 11:00 am (the game started at 1:00). Little did we know, there were 45,000 other fans there all dressed in bright red Cuzco colors waiting in all types of lines, running, screaming and trying to get into the stadium any way possible. There was a guy giving away t-shirts and there were ten people swarming him, grabbing his cardboard box and trying to pull it away from him. The police had to rescue the guy and get the people to back off. That was a small introduction into the sheer chaos and melee that is Peruvian football.

When we got into the stadium, it was awesome! The field was enormous and everyone was buying meat on a stick (with a potato of course), people were cheering and the entire stadium was doing the wave. They had a humongous soccer jersey that the fans were sending around the stadium. The fans were setting off red smoke bombs, fireworks and throwing confetti everywhere. You´d think that they had just won a war, but the game didn´t even start yet! Our scalper was actually honest when he told us that we would have excellent seats. We doubted him because our ticket was a two for one so both of us got in for 25 soles (only 8 bucks). Super cheap! Our seats were very close to the goalie and next to some friendly people.

Before the game began, the crowd started to whistle (which we learned means very bad!) when the Lima teams´s fans took their seats next to our section.´ There was riot police all around the Lima fans, fully armed with attack dogs and machine guns. There were even riot police on the field. All of a sudden, the crowd got wild. The Lima teams fans were so high energy and to be honest, freakin nuts to be in the middle of this Cuzco crowd. They brought an entire marching band and did not stop jumping and screaming the entire game. The people around us started hollering at the top of their lungs (tu mama es tu papa), they were throwing anything they could find, and did not stop taunting them the entire game. Rich´s favorite part was when a Cuzco fan sitting next to us lobbed a large plastic bag full of Inca Kola down twenty rows and exploded it on the head of an annoyingly obnoxious Lima fan.

The game didn´t even begin yet....stay tuned for Part II

Last night we said goodbye to 11 volunteers and the entire Tinkuy family. It is very difficult to leave a house full of people who are so amazing. It was a great experience to live with so many well travelled, international volunteers and a family of artesans. We learned so much from the family and culture of Peru. Our stay was so rewarding and a great introduction to Peru. Before we cought our 11 PM bus to Lima, everyone formed a procession line to see us off. The Irish girls gave us an Irish Blessing sign to hang in our home and Gerry and Salina gave us some tasty candy from Canada and Scotland for the bus ride. Thanks everyone for a warm and unforgettable send off!

Tino and Jesus drove us to the bus station and we drove through downtown Huancayo one last time. It felt like we were leaving home. The bus ride was, well, we don't know. We slept the entire 7 hours. When we woke up, the sun was rising and we were back in hectic, overcast Lima. We took a taxi to the airport. Our driver was nice, but he comfirmed our belief that taxi drivers in Lima are on a death wish. Have you ever driven 60 miles per hour and swerved at the last minute to avoid a large bus and then come to a complete stop inches from the next car? Well, we did that more than once. It was too early for that shit. haha.

The airport felt like a sanctuary from the craziness of the streets. It was so clean and modern. We checked in and got some food at Dunkin Donuts. The coffee was a nice treat, but the egg sandwich was greasy and just plain gross. Sorry Dunkin Donuts but you have no place in Peru. We missed our usual breakfast that Maria made back in Huancayo!

We paid our airport tax (5 dollars US) and headed to the terminal. After a short wait we boarded the LAN Peru jet plane. It was interesting to board the plane because we walked onto the runway and entered the back of the plane instead of the front. The ride was really smooth and only lasted 55 minutes. They fed us a nice sandwich and some mate de coca. Outside the window we saw the Andes mountains poke through the top of the clouds. The rocks were so colorful and dry. Occasionally we could see some snow caps and deep blue lakes. We imagined what it would have been like to have taken a bus from Lima to Cusco through those mountains. It would have taken at least 20 hours! We were happy with 55 minutes of flying.

The landing in Cusco was perfect. The best landing so far on our trip. Inside the airport we were welcomed with an interesting mix of traditional Peruvian musicians and in your face travel agents ... all by the bagage claim area. One thing we quickly realized about Cusco is that there are many tourists here and it is a World apart from Huancayo. It is an absolutely beautiful city full of ancient history and beautiful stonework. The city was built by the Incas in the shape of a Puma, and it was thought of as the naval of the world. The original Incan name of the city was Qosqo, which in Quechua (Incan language) means Vital Center since we are in a valley (altitude 11,000 ft.) surrounded by the Andes mountains. The Incans regarded Qosqo as the center of corporal energy where feelings reside. The Spanish later changed the name to Cusco.

click here to learn more about the history of Cusco. It is really fascinating.

Our hostal is located in the San Blas area of Cusco. This area houses many artist galleries, cafes and plazas. All of the streets are made of cobblestone and are just big enough for one small car to squeeze through. We have really nice hot water in our shower and a tall wood planked ceiling with a sunroof. There is so much character and charm to the hostal. It beats any Holiday Inn in the states!

Tomorrow we plan to walk around and get a feel for the city. There is just so much to see and do that we want to take our time and absorb as much as possible. This area is known as the archeological capital of the World so we plan on visiting many ruins. We also want to learn about the history of the Incas and how ancient Qosqo became the modern city of today.

Today a group of students from the Andean school came to the house to receive clothes that were donated by our friends Denise and Zoelle. They were so cute as they walked in. They each gave us a hug and we could tell they were excited at the anticipation of the gifts they were about to receive.

The students that received the clothes were from very poor families and their eyes lit up as we began to hand out their new clothes. They each got 2 items and they were so grateful. It felt really nice to share something with children who are so in need. As they walked down the street toward their homes, they stopped at least 5 times to look at each others new clothes.