Meet up with Natasha and Mark outside of McDonalds at 10:15am, we are going to visit one of the Inka ruin site - Sacsayhuaman - which is actually only a 20 mins hike up the hill, although the road is quite steep. So, by the time when we arrive at the site on the top of a hill, we sit by the ticket booth for a while before we go on. Cuzco has this thing called Boleto Turistico - a combined tourist ticket for 16 museums and archeological sites, it is valid for 10 days. For adult, it costs 130 Soles (US$43), while student ticket costs 70 Soles (US$23). To buy an individual ticket to go to only one site or museum is actually quite expensive. Officially, I am no longer a student, but of course, I intentionally carry my North Park University cap, also bring my old student card, hoping I will get a student discount. And... indeed I get it today. Only pay 70 Soles for the boleto turistico, while Natasha and Mark get the one site ticket for 35 Soles each. Well, Natasha is leaving tomorrow, and Mark is going to spend another 3 months here, so both of them have no reasons to get a 10 days pass.
It is a sunny day, luckily I have my cap, or I probably would get sun burn on my forehead, the sun at this altitude is extremely intense. We bring some foods along for a kind of a picnic. Mark gets banana, nuts, mango, some local cheese, and bread, while Natasha and I contribute more bananas, crackers, water, maracuya (a type of fruits I have eaten the first time, you will see the picture), and another kind of fruit (in green) that I can't remember the name but it is white inside, with black seeds and it tastes quite good. We walk to the first spot where we settle down on a big rock, start eating some fruits and nuts and amaze the views in sight. Some of the rocks might weight hundreds of tons. How the Inka civilization was able to cut and mobilize such massive rocks remains a mystery to me.
After having some foods to fill our tummies, we move to another location, where we are looking at the structure from sort of slightly above. We sit at this place for quite a while, maybe 1-2 hours, I read my guidebook a little, eat some more, Mark lays down by the rock, while we talk about the stupid things in the world, in the United States, the rich and the poor, the tourist visas...etc. Interestingly, so far the people I encountered in South America, I mean the travellers and the backpackers, a lot of them actually have a similar kind of attitude towards the state of the world, governments, and the social structures. Many of them are between 25-35, they are actually very smart people and want to do goods in their lives, but somehow there is a disconnection between them and the society where they come from. Travels give them a chance to stay away from places they don't fit in, but also give them a chance to meet other people who may share the same mindset about many things. If you meet people who disagree with you on the road, it does not matter either, you won't see him or her ever again the next day or the next week. It is not like you are bounded to travel together forever. Surely, this observation cannot represent everyone, there are also a lot, just want to experience something different and widen their horizons before going back home to start their careers. This type of people tends to be younger, just graduated from university or still in university.
As we continue talking, a guy just slowly walk closer to us, he speaks Spanish to us. Among the three of us, Natasha speaks Spanish the best, so this man starts talking to her, I guess it is about the site, the Inka cultures and coca leaves...etc. When he pulls out a rock from his bag to show her, I know what this is about. He is one of those tour guides, just starts chatting up with people, telling the whole scripted story about the site and the local people, and then he will ask for money. Indeed he is. Although I despite this kind of self-inviting guides, he seems to be a nice man and the stuffs he tells us seems interesting. I have to say though, I actually don't understand a word, I can only pick up the numbers, but seeing the pictures and the facial expressions of Natasha and Mark when they are listening, it seems to be something interesting. Natasha does explain a little what the guy says afterwards. Mark says he understands about 60% of it. At the end, they pay him about 15 Soles (US$5). I feel relectant to pay when I don't even know what he is talking about, so nothing from the Chinese.
Tomorrow is probably a day of museum hopping, since I get the boleto turistico now!
Photos here: Day 11-12
