Cuzco, Day 4

Hey all you Canada-lubbers, students, workers, lovers, brothers, sisters, friends, all. I was in a bad mood last night, but today is a new day and I love this city!

Jen and I are sharing a room in a new hostel now where a lot of Israelis stay. Apparently the reason for so many Israeli travellers is that everyone is forced to serve time in the army for 3 years (2 for girls) after school, so by the time they´re out of it they just wanna get away and see the world. So in almost every city there is a hostel at which huge groups of Israelis stay, and certain cafes and restaurants that Israelis eat, and for group tours (ex. Inca trail, river rafting, jungle treks), they even get an Israeli discount because so much of the local business comes from them. Crazy! I wish I were Israeli just so I could travel more cheaply.

Anyway, this hostel we´ve landed in has a lot of Israelis, the odd British traveller, and me. It`s very backpackery though, which is why I chose it, and is open, populated, and social. We have use of the kitchen so we don´t have to eat out all the time, but although cooking for once was pretty fun, Jen and I learned quickly that it´s cheaper to eat out than to dine in.

I think the central market would be cheaper, but we just went to some general stores, picked up some pasta, veggies, and tomato sauce, and ended up paying twice what we would normally in a cheap restaurant. Ah well, lesson learned. It was actually a pretty disgusting meal, but it was nice to make it ourselves.

Anyway today I`ve been wandering around on my own more. Spend too much time with someone who has altitude sickness and is therefore always tired and rough, you run the risk of resenting the fact that you can`t explore at your own pace or get really excited about some of the things you are seeing. We get on really well, so it`s no affront to her personality or her friendhsip; it´s just that I have more energy than she does at the moment.

So after a nice breakfast of little buns, butter and jam, anís tea, and pineapple juice, I wandered down to another artesan corner of the city called San Blas. It`s quaint and cute and has a sort of European feel to it. The shops were pretty touristy, but the walk there was great because there´s this alley where you can find old Inca stones. There`s a place in the wall in which you can see the shape of a puma: the stones (I presume on purpose) are carved in such a way that you can make out the shape of a big cat. I took a picture but will have to trace the outline for anyone to see it properly.

There I bumped into this guy Danny from London, England, and we got talking about our travels. He`s been in South America for 7 months so far, through some of the places I have yet to go, and it was really good to talk to him. Colombia apparently is so so beautiful and, despite what guide books and the media say, is super friendly and warm as well. We exchanged advice and stories and email addresses in case I happened to travel to England sometime. I´ve collected so many email addresses so far I wonder who I´m going to keep in touch with!

I´m a bit peckish so I´m gonna finish up here and find something to eat. In South America most restaurants have a set breakfast, lunch, and dinner which are very cheap and are what the locals tend to order. There are also extras, which, unless you know better, is what tourists tend to order, and you get less food for a steeper price. The guidebooks tell you this, but it helps to have a little grasp on the language to make ordering easier.

¡Adios amigos!