South America, Day 7: Aguas Calientes, Peru

South America, Day 7: Aguas Calientes, Peru
by Oliver Butterick

I'm about to lose it. We just checked into our room and there were two twin beds and one larger bed. I was the first one in the room, so I grabbed the big bed. Tesh then declared that we should have a "fair" way to determine who gets which bed, even though at each of the two previous hostels, whoever got into the room first got first choice of beds. I brought this to Tesh's attention, adding that I had been given last choice each of the first two times, and that in Cusco, I felt like I had the worst bed.

I back down and we pick numbers. I picked "3," which meant that I had last choice of beds, AGAIN. Actually, this was the best situation, because had I been given first choice, then my travel companions would have felt that I no longer had any right to be upset, since I got my way. Whoever got the first choice decided that he would wait until later that evening to make his selection.

We ventured into town to buy our bus tickets to go to Macchu Picchu the next day. I had been rather quiet after we picked numbers, and Tesh decided to confront the issue, asking me if I was angry. I replied that I had come to the conclusion that he and I had different ideas about what "fair" means and that I was fine with that. This does not go over well.

Tesh launched a tirade about how he and Rocky had done all of the work in planning the trip and that I had never expressed my appreciation. I couldn't believe it--apparently, he was bringing up some issue that had been bothering him during a conversation that had nothing to do with that issue. Again, something that I do not view as "fair." This gets me so fired up that I cannot stand to be around Tesh at all.

So, when he and Rocky decided that "we" were going on a hike, I told him that "I" was going to stay in town and do some journal writing while I grabbed a bite to eat. If Tesh thinks that I'm going to blink, then he has another thing coming. I have no intention to apologize for anything because I don't think that I did anything wrong. Sure, maybe I was a little passive-aggressive in dealing with the bed issue, but I don't think I was wrong in speaking up. Perhaps I should just address Tesh's issue and suggest that I find my own accommodations in Ecuador. That might be the best solution--although I couldn't care less about what Tesh thinks of me, I don't want my friendship with Rocky to be jeopardized because of some stupid argument I had with his cousin.

I did some writing in my journal, but found that I was too upset to eat. So, after 30 minutes or so, I headed after Rocky and Tesh on the trail that lead to a summit that afforded a good view of Macchu Picchu. From the start, the hike was rather difficult--much more difficult than the hikes I've done in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area during the past year. About 15 minutes into the hike, I reached a primitive-looking ladder, about 15 rungs high. I climb up it and about a minute later, I pass a woman who was heading down the trail. She told me that she had turned back when she reached a ladder that was about 50 rungs high, but that her husband went on, so I should catch up to him before long.

I reached the second ladder. It was so high that I couldn't see the top. Determined to get to the top, I start climbing the ladder. I had to rest twice on the ladder, and by the time I reached the top, I had counted 109 rungs. Good lord!

Ten minutes go by and I realize
that up to this point, although
difficult, the trail had been
blanketed with the shade of
a jungle canopy, and now I was
under the scorching sun. Luckily,
I had remembered to bring a hat
and a large bottle of water with
me. I finally passed Jack from
New York, the husband of the
woman who I had met earlier.
He was a bit of an older
gentleman, but seemed to be
in excellent shape. We
exchanged a few minutes
of conversation as we both
rested and I took off again.

A few minutes later, I have to
rest and I realize that Jack did
not have any water with him and that I had been drinking from my large bottle right in front of him. It reminded me of a scene from "The Three Amigos." I resolve to share my water with him when I see him at the summit. I continue up the steep terrain, taking a break every few minutes. Each time, I feel bad for not sharing my water with Jack.

Over an hour later, I catch up with my travel companions at the peak. I am so tired that I don't have the energy to be upset anymore. I think Tesh feels the same way because we started being pleasant to each other.

The view of Macchu Picchu is amazing- the pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.

View of Macchu Picchu courtesey of Rakesh Khullar.

Jack arrives at the peak and I immediately offer him some water and apologize for not doing so before. He happily accepts my offer. After taking several pictures, we head back down. Although going downhill is less strenuous, it is much harder on the joints and a lot more dangerous. When we make it back to town, we see the couple that we had met at the hostel--they're finishing up with their meal and with their recommendation, we decide to have lunch there. We split a large pizza, but it wasn't very filling since, instead of dough, the Peruvians use tortillas for the crust.

Back at the hostel, we showered and napped before venturing back out into town for dinner. We found a restaurant that had a cheap dinner menu (around US$5). Each of us ordered the avocado appetizers, which were good. Then, the soup course came--Rocky ordered Cream of Onion, Tesh got Cream of Mushroom, and I got the same soup that I've ordered several times over the course of our week in Peru: Creole. Apparently, Rocky's soup was nothing more than heated pureed onions, and after a few bites, he began to feel sick. We lasted a whole week before any of us got sick. Not too bad. Rocky was able to avoid vomiting long enough for Tesh and I to finish our meals and to share the wonderful chocolate pancake that Rocky had ordered for dessert.

Somehow, Rocky made it back to the room while Tesh and I made a stop at the internet cafe. Tesh left before I was ready to go, so on my way back to the hostel, I stopped by the main square to watch some of the Peru V. Chile soccer match. Assembled there were a few hundred of the townsfolk, huddled together watching three small television sets. I watched for about 15 minutes, seeing two near-scores by Peru, before returning to the hostel a few blocks away. As I lay in bed approaching slumber, I could hear the cheers of the townsfolk when Peru scored each of their two goals, but must have dozed off too early to hear the people rejoice the end of the game when Peru's 2-1 victory was final.

Speaking of sleep and my bed, I ended up getting the big bed. I don't know if Tesh and Rocky found some merit in the other beds that I had overlooked, or if they simply wanted to reestablish tranquility in our group. Either way, the problem went away without ever really being resolved, and, thankfully, it did not resurface throughout the rest of the trip.

We all got to bed relatively early, tired from the day's hike. In the morning, we'll venture up to what will be one of the main highlights of the trip: Macchu Picchu.

Oliver can be reached at oliver@babblog.com.