Loco pero feliz en el Perú

Machu Picchu, Peru

Tomorrow morning I will be taking the train to Machu Picchu.  I am in Peru and have been for the last four days.  The first two days were spent in Lima.  The last two days have been spent in Cusco, acclimatizing to the thin air of the Andes.  I think I am ready to take on MP.

I am a little stunned by the experience so far.  The trip was suggested, confirmed and planned within about 3 weeks of take off and two of my friends are with me.  Two friends that did not know each other before this trip.  Two friends that are now probably life long friends after the last 4 intense days and the remaining 5.

There are internet cafes everywhere in this very tourist centred town and I am sitting in one right now.  A TV is blaring downstairs in Spanish.  A spanish radio station is playing in the cafe.  There are traditional dancers in the small plaza up the road.  I just negotiated two solas off of the purchase of a universal adapter for charging my new battery for my camera.  I know about 20 words in Spanish - which is an increase of about 15 words from 5 days ago....language is not my forte!!  Earlier this evening, we all enjoyed a 1.25 hour long full body massage (without the ´happy´ ending that a young man offered one of my young travelling companions earlier! :).

I am literally overwhelmed by the new tastes, sounds, smells, experiences and interpersonal and individual growth I am experiencing.

I met a 64 year old woman from Calgary at our hostel in Lima.  We felt sympatico in our mutual sense of adventure.  She was about to leave after spending six weeks in Peru, including three weeks homestaying and learning Spanish in the area I am now in.  I feel, like she did, that to pick up and go on a whirlwind cross planet trip (she did hers with six weeks notice for her six week trip) is either a real sign of insanity or of joie de vivre.

Or both :)