Back in my Cusco home

Lima was great. While there, I had a a good time with my new friends, Yana from Czech Republic, Mariella from France and Ulises, my host. Ulises has traveled a lot on bike and enjoys fixing them up, so he has quite a few around the house. One day, Yana, Ulises and I took a bike ride around town, to Old Callao, Chucuito (the original fishing village before Lima-city existed), La Punta (an upscale waterfront neighborhood). The smell of the salt water was nice, and I stuck my hands in, to make this an official Pacific to Atlantic trip! We then ate lunch at the Central Market in Callao.

Also while in Lima, I met up with a good friend of mine, Dante. He is one of the best percussionists in all of Peru. We met three years ago when both of our bands played back to back on a music festival called Quechuanol, in Cusco. Ever since, we have written letters from time to time. One night, I went with Ulises and Mariella to see him play with a rock band in Barranco. The next night, I saw him play with a flamenco group in a fancy bar-restaurant in Miraflores (probably the nicest neighborhood in Lima, looks like upscale first-world). The concert also had interludes with Arabian dances! My last night in Cusco we met up with three of his older friends (they are all probably in their 60´s and he considers them to be his musical ¨family.¨ They pulled out photo albums from when he was a little kid playing percussion with them, it was pretty funny. It was one of the guys birthday´s, so we hung out at the house and played Cuban music all night long. It was a great time, just guitar, bass, cello, percussion and the three guys singing.

One day in Lima, Ulises, Yana and I set out on a mission. First we had to find the International Geographic Institute so that I could buy some topographical maps that I need to plan my trek around the Ticlla mountains in the Central Andes. After that, we went to the Agrarian University to try to find a scientist. Yana is studying tropical and sub-tropical agriculture and needed some more information from this man before she heads to the Amazon to study and write a thesis about a fast-growing tree. It was quite the adventure trying to find this man, but he was very interesting to talk to, and to hear about the process of investigating these trees. When I go to the Amazon, I will stay at the house where Yana and several other students and their professors are staying.

Tuesday night I took a bus to Cusco. It was the peasant bus, which means that my knees hit the seat in front of me the whole time, the bus droped off and picked up people whole way, it went th ecrazy route through the mountains, a million switchbacks and lots of people puking! It was also much cheaper than the tourist bus and they let me take my cello up top with me. I sat next to a very very nice deaf man, and we conversed the whole way, him talking and me writing. The altitude was rough, a lot of the time we were above the tree line. When the bus stopped for lunch though, I ate a delicious plate of fresh trout from the river and instantly felt much better.

I arrived in Cusco just in time for the most important party of the year called Inti Raymi. Yesterday there were parades from 8 am to midnight, which meant that I had to walk a long way with my backpack and cello to my hotel. It´s nice though. I am staying in the same place that I have stayed at since 2001, the family is like my Peruvian family and it is vrey close to everything. Unfortunately, my favorite rooms are under construction because they are adding a third floor, so I will probably stay in a room which has an Incan wall, but is a bit colder.

I will try to post some pictures tomorrow. I just downloaded them to a DVD and this computer can´t read DVDs-. Plus I don´t want to miss any of the festivities!