Farewell, from Peru

It's a brisk morning here in Cuzco, Peru and the emotions working overtime as my journey here is coming to an end. Today is my last full day in Peru.

Yesterday was a good closing to my time here. Trever and I walked around town, monkey'd around on an old school playground, and had lunch in the market. I shared a traditional Peruvian meal with my landlord Carlos, Trever, and three of Carlos' friends. We barbecued some beef, made some cucumber tomato salad, boiled some potatoes, and added a little wine to top it off. There were cilantro/garlic/oil and roasted pepper mixes as garnishments. We dined on the patio overlooking all of Cuzco. It was one of the best meals I've had in Peru and definitely one I'll never forget.

Trever showing off.

Trever, Carlos and the gang

I was blessed to follow this meal up with an interesting discussion about corruption (in the govt, school, home life, and your heart) with Scott and company at The Meeting Place cafe in San Blas. Scott and his family are missionaries. They operate The Meeting Place and donate 100% of the proceeds to a local project that benefits single mothers and their children (for more info: www.themeetingplacecusco.com). The cafe staff is volunteer based and they get people from all over the world. Scott holds open discussions every Sunday evening in the cafe (closed on Sundays), followed by some prayer and worship for those that wish to stay. This has been my cell group for the last couple weeks and I feel very blessed to have come across this family and to have been able to spend some time getting to know them and volunteering at the cafe.

Scott at The Meeting Place cafe

Afterward, Trever and I grabbed a pint of Guinness at the "World's Highest Irish Pub," talked about our group discussion, speaking in tounges, miracles, and many other topics. I have enjoyed getting to know Trever and developing our friendship. He has a bright future ahead of him and I have a hunch I'll be working with him in the future.

Tonight, I'll dine on the elusive Cuy (really not that elusive) as my last real meal, walk around the plaza at bit, and maybe take one of those annoying vendors up on a fifteen Sole massage, a bag of marijuana or cocaine, and maybe buy some of the souvenirs shipped over from China. Ok, maybe just the massage and cuy.

Cuzco is becoming quite the tourist destination. You can't really get to Machu Picchu without passing through Cuzco, so most of the MP tourists will stay a day or two in Cuzco, coming and going. This has led to every Tom, Dick, and Harry opening a tour guiding office, massage parlor, night club and restaurant in every historical area near the city center. The locals, as well as the long term travelers, have also figured out that many tourists are "recreational" marijuana users and others are coke heads. Neither are technically legal in Peru, but I'm told a blind eye is turned more often than not. The legal status of these two drugs doesn't keep street dealers from marketing it to you under the guise of some other offering (ex. Tattoos? Piercings? Weed?). After a while, you wither want to tell them to remember your face when you say, "No," or start asking questions about the product. "You got that Blueberry Yum Yum? That Sticky Icky Icky? Purple Kush? Blue Dream?"

Some Peruvians are all for more tourism and it's economical benefits, while others speak out against the economical, social, and environmental downsides to a booming tourism industry. Similar to Mt Kilimanjaro, the famous "Inca Trail" is a four or five day trek, flooded with camera toting tourists from all parts of the globe that leave candy wrappers and plastic water bottles strewn about the trail and in the ruins sites themselves. Machu Picchu is likened to the Disney World of Peru. Tour buses leave every ten to fifteen minutes from Aguas Calientes headed to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World. If you are an adventurous person, you've done your research and took the 10 km "backdoor" trek to Machu Picchu from Santa Teresa and the hydroelectric plant. As you come off this route and into Aguas Calientes, you can see the impact from tourism in full swing, passing mounds of water bottles that weren't thrown directly  into the trash. Peru, or at lease this area of Peru, doesn't have a plastic recylcing plant, so every water bottle purchased and tossed in the can, goes straight to the landfill, if not already swept away by the many flowing rivers and streams. Add in increased erosion, air pollution, drug presence, traffic and govt corruption, and you'll have yourself a melting pot of reasons to be against a growing international tourism industry.

Carlos has told me on many occasions that I should stay in Cuzco and open a guiding business. He says that as an educated, English speaking adventure guide, I have an advantage over the local guide companies. Mainly, I know how to treat customers, how to run a business properly, and I speak English fluently. A few Spanish classes and he says I can take over the market. I don't believe it's quite so simple. As a foreigner, there are many political and social hoops I would need to jump through to open a business. As I mentioned earlier, there are very corrupt people in the Peruvian government, and unfortunately, the process is indefinitely extended if you aren't willing to pay the piper to get your paperwork to the top of the pile. There are ex-patriots that have setup shop in Peru illegally, and have been operating for many years, but one day they too will have to pay the piper. My understanding is that the process is so overly complicated, it can take years to go through the system and become legal, assuming you don't flash the right person a few hundred Soles. Besides, I know one company with tenure that already has a lock on this market.

I love Peru. I love the people and all the smiles. I love the food and the rich history. I love how proud they are of their history, despite being a conquered nation for centuries. I love their traditions and celebrations, as wacky as some of them may seem. I love that the children still play outside and are content with playing with bottle caps, broken tricycles, and riding around on bikes with no tires. I love the Andes and the adventures they offer. I could pass on the biting gnats. I love the people I've met in my time here, the opportunity to guide many of them in an outdoor adventure, and to be a part of some of their fondest memories. I love that there is still a wild side to the country, something that is quickly diminishing in the United States. I love that I can walk to get anything I might need and that I know my food is natural and local. Oh, and the coffee. Can't forget the coffee!

On the Sun Gate Trail in Ollantaytambo

I've been sitting here in The Meeting Place cafe for the past four hours, clinging on to my last few moments in this place I've fallen in love with, and I'm sure Scott would love to have another table open up. I wish I had more time to say proper goodbyes to all my friends in Ollantaytambo and Urubamba. You guys (Sabrina, Analucia, Linda, Jose, Trever, Mino, Lao, Carmen, little Brittany, Inma, Jorge, big ol' fluffy Rita, Rider, Paul, The Fillipe's, Carlos, KB, Matt, Luciano, and Gato), you have made my trip truly epic and one of the best of my lives. I know most of you will never see this, but I hope I made as much of an impact in your lives as you have in mine.

Mino, Sabrina, and I

Lao, Brittany, Carmen and I

Linda Mistika!

So, as reluctant as I am to say this....

Farewell, from Peru!

-Shannon