the last day in peru

plaza mayor in lima

the last day in peru was nice and quiet—just as i had wanted it to be. there were no crazy climbing up mountains. no rushing to join some city tour. no haggling with locals to save that nuevo sol. instead it was easy-going with much time to slow down and observe and immerse myself in the culture for one last full day. some last-minute packing up in the early morning. a light breakfast at the cuzco hotel, sipping my last cup of coca tea. and by 820, my van was waiting for me. a 30 minute chitchat with the driver (in my broken spanish of course) on whether they get a lot of filipino visitors and i was at the airport. while checking in, i bump into a fellow traveller who i met in one of the city tours—an aussie on his way to lima as well to spend a night there and then make his way to london for 5 days.

fellow travellers in aguas calientes

an hour or so of waiting and i was boarded, seated next to a family from venezuela. the daughter tried talking to me, only to realize that i didnt get a thing she'd said. the mom came to the rescue and translated for us. while the son seated a row behind us, tried his best at english, "do lou yike... do you lyike... do you like chicken?" laughter all over as we waited to deplane. felicidades, we'd greeted each other as we made our way out of the lima airport gate.

up at saqsaywaman

i had left my luggage at the airport locker and i took a taxi to the main city center. i was expecting a rough ride with the taxi driver trying to con me into some ridiculous price (as they generally do to tourists in nyc) but i was wrong. the fare was fixed and i got to where i needed to be. i was dropped off at plaza mayor, where some schoolchildren seemed to be on a fieldtrip. it was such a great scene. tons of pigeons all over with tons of students trying to either feed them or chase them away. i sat and watched for a bit. stayed on in the plaza mayor for a bit, killing time and content at just sitting around as the locals do. when i had had my fill, i headed to a nearby park where another group of schoolchildren were running around while some of them enjoyed their packed lunch of rice and chicken stored in tupperware containers. it was great to just observe and be immersed in the everyday culture. sure, its great to do all the city tours and the climbs up machu picchu but somehow there's an even greater charm in being so close to how people really live.

driver at lima

watching those kids eat their packed chicken and rice with no pretense, i was reminded of how great the past week had been with tons of opportunities to meet other people. i had certainly come accross several fellow travellers from different parts of the world and never was there a moment when i had felt as though i was travelling on my own. and i had definitely experienced quite a local hospitality where i was not made to feel as though i were some visitor. despite my very basic spanish, i was able to engage some locals in conversation and it was great overcoming language barriers to gain better understanding of the local culture. some of the most memorable ones were the ones with the drivers where our chat went from the where are you from, to current events, to my opinion of their country and people (with my often reply, las gentes del peru son muy amable. the people here are really friendly). memorable as well were the conversations with the local sellers where id manage to progress from getting a better bargain to knowing where they studied and whether they worked everyday to watch the store.

at a store in cuzco

but perhaps, the most memorable encounter was when the bartender who worked at my hotel offered to take me out to some bars and clubs on my last night. we had met up with one of his other friends, miguel, who works as a cook at a nearby restaurant. it was great being able to see the night life from the eyes of a local. but at the same time it was a bit depressing coz i had witnessed first hand the everyday local workman's life—the holding off on buying drinks til happy hour because the tourist prices are just unaffordable for locals, the jumping from one bar to another to see where the good prices for drinks are, the spotting of some hookers and chicas who are out to get a good time from them out-of-towners. and though it felt uncomfortable experiencing the real local's view, i guess it was what i had really travelled for—to immerse myself in a different yet somehow familiar world (as i was reminded of the great economic divide back home in the philippines). nevertheless, it felt great experiencing hospitality similar to that of filpinos as well, as ernesto and miguel had offered to walk me back to my hotel at 2 in the AM just to make sure i dont get mugged or fooled around with by some locals who'd notice im really not from there.

fried guinea pig

i had about an hour more to go in lima's main center before needing to head back to the airport. and there was one thing left to do—have dinner. a meal i had been saving for a special occasion. i had learned at the start of the trip that the locals ate guinea pig, however they save such a dish for special occasions as birthdays or the new year. i wasnt going to eat such a meal just because but at the end of the trip, i felt i had earned it. i was leaving peru a new man—with a whole new world of experiences, quite a bit of lessons learned, and a human spirit somewhat reenergized. the cuy frito was quite tasty actually. it was a cross between duck and goat and a little bit of pigeon. it was really good. quite a filling meal, enough to fuel a long flight back to new york. and quite a satisfying one, perfect for capping off a great week's worth of adventure in an entirely different yet somehow similar world. muy rico. muy bien.

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peru journal

3 and a half days back now here in new york. its great to be back with fresh perspective. i realize that there's so many things i can really live without. and several that i can afford to have more of. i got back 1030 AM on thursday. and from the airport, i went home to take a quick shower and lunch. after which, i headed straight to the office where of course everyone was saying what a crazy fool i was for coming to work. i couldnt help it though, i got tons of stories and photos to share. and a box of truffles with pisco to share (which elicited quite a range of replies actually). its great to be back. up next, manila in december for christmas. but before that i hear the flying dutchman will be back in town for a week in november. dat is prima!!!