Here is the first part. Emphasis on sweets and Danes and oh yeah, Woody's dragon blood ideas of staving off his 32 parasites. We all have them folks, get used to it.
"from cusco to puno. after returning to cusco from machu picchu 3 days later than i had planned, i was ready to head south once again. on monday morning i packed up the bike and ran into my danish friends, ****** and *****. they had just gotten back from machu picchu as well, and were also planning on leaving cusco on monday. we were informed, shortly after seeing one another, that the road to puno and bolivia was blocked. protestors. traveling in south america, one must expect such happenings; inconveniences if you choose to see them in that way. for me it simply meant another day with allan and stine, which would be great, another night in an uncomfortable bed and one more cold shower (when there was water at all). not too bad. so the three of us were off--walking the streets of cusco. lucky for me, both of them have equally large sweet-tooths--those who know me, know i have a hard time resisting anything sweet.....
we ate and walked and laughed and ate and talked and walked. it was a grand day. our time together had ended, as they had been informed that their bus would indeed leave at 7p.m. for copacabana, bolivia. we said goodbye and i went back for my cold shower and too-soft bed. i did not sleep well. around 4 a.m. my stomach woke me up, very unhappy with me. apparently i had indulged in something less than appropriate. i had news later in the morning that the road was still blocked, no passage possible. i walked, stomach rolling, to the market for my morning smoothie made by carmen. she is a sweet lady, standing up high over the aisle, with her mountain of fruit and capable blender, and her little baby sleeping in a make-shift crib at her left knee. it was a daily event for me--and nice to be a ¨regular¨ 10,000 miles from home. on my way there, however, i was distracted by a woman carrying a basket full of empanadas. i followed her up the street, trying to catch a whiff of what might be inside. for some reason, i could not seem to catch up with her, nor did i seem to care that i could not. i turned around, taking a different route to the market, and passing by a bench upon which allan, the dane, sat. their bus did not fly by night, but they were told, once again, to be there at 7 p.m. turns out neither of their stomachs were too happy either, but that did not stop us from walking the streets once again, peer-pressuring one another into a piece of chocolate cake, sugar cane juice, and everything else that looked new, exotic, and possibly delicious. as a back-note, allan and i, during our first day spent together, shared a ¨cuy¨--that is, a guinea pig......yes, a guinea pig just like the one some of you had as a pet--we ate one."
[Sidebar: Bz had a hedgehog that could have been eaten had we known how to prepare. Fortunately we were too young to try such things.]
"we said goodbye one more time in the plaza, and headed our ways. for me, yes, another cold shower, another uncomfortable night. and another early morning with a screaming stomach and the news of a yet-blocked road to puno. i took it easy most of the morning, sitting in the sun, reading, and not eating anything. by early afternoon i had some new information from a nutritionist staying at the hostal, about a possible cure for parasites. so i was off to the market to buy ¨sangre de grado¨, ¨dragon´s blood¨, and begin stomach therapy. after i had found it, haggled my way down to the going rate for the dragon´s blood, i headed back out through the crowd. believe it or not i walked out right behind the danes. our paths, cross, once again. lucky for all of us, it was after 4 pm and their bus was slated to leave at 7pm, once again, so we did not have time (nor the stomachs) to push one another up and down the streets. we settled for a cup of tea and a game of cards in the sun, followed by a short walk to the plaza in order to say our proper goodbye and head in opposite directions. still not feeling too well, i was bound and determined to get on the road, and decided i would take a chance at puno in the morning. the information i was receiving was spotty--no one had solid answers, only guesses. i did a bit of research to find out what the protests were about, and to get a sense of what had happened in the last week and a half.....unfortunately i learned that the indians are angry, and that their anger is at least connected to america--seems as though the peruvian president had just handed down decrees (which were part of a trade agreement with, yes, the united states) which the indians viewed (clearly and justly) as opening the door to the exploitation of their lands and their resources (water, mining, timber) to forest interests (u.s.). so they are not happy, as i learned that 23 police officers and an unconfirmed amount of indians had been killed in the clash in the preceding days. on the road to puno, no less......."
to be continued........
Woody wrote that, not me. Stay calm parentals. He is obviously okay since he has the time and the nerve to remind ME of father's day and being kind to you. Seriously, this kid. He is in the middle of South America and yet, I'm answering to him? The younger brother without a forwarding address.
If he doesn't write the next installation soon, I'll tell the story of his week sojourn to my home for respite and unfettered hypochondria growth. It is funny and it involves the film Dying Young if that helps...
- luludilly
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