Letters of Thought

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Walk Like the Inca

On Thursday, Tzom Gedaliah, we went for a walk . . .

Despite the general fatigue of the fast, and the thin arid are of the city, we made the hike to Sacsayhuamán (Pronounced Saksay Waman -I kid you not), the Incan walls perched high above Cuzco.

We started at Plaza de Armas, the center of both the Incan Capital city of Cuzco, and the old Colonial town as well . . .
During our walks around the Plaza we've been hounded by children selling hats, ladies offering massages, men giving out fliers for clubs -and one guy who offered to sell us the "green stuff" or the "white stuff".

Despite the banter from the locals, the square is a very relaxing place to hang out -I personally would like to be able to set up a Sukkah there next week -we'll see what happens.

M. with local school children

Near the top of the stairs we stopped to take a few pictures on an outlook over the city's rooftops . . .

Another Swastika for my collection

. . . Where we bumped into Eric from Flatbush, a friendly gentile who offered to take our group picture. (Tourists are always pretty friendly and make for great conversation).

After the photo break, and the much needed chance to catch our breath, we went further up the stairs.

We made it to the top of the stairs . . . only to now have to walk up the winding road!

More locals in colored clothes

Petting a baby Alpaca

. . . and the lady who said she used it's hair to make her goods

This lady wasn't as friendly, she wanted to be paid for her picture

And we made it to the wall!

We found a 'guide' named Jose, who offered to take us horseback riding for 25 Soles a person (that's 8.31 USD a person for the hour)

On my horse Santiago (It's not a pony, and in any event they don't like being called Ponies -that isn't PC, I've been told that they prefer the term "Little Horses")

The Fool on the Hill -with his didgeridoo (or something Incan that looks like one) and his alpaca coat too!

Hi-Ho Santiago -away!

The three Amigos

Back by Sacsayhuamán (as Jose reminded us it's pronounced Sackay Waman

A view at night

Technorati Tags: Peru, Cuzco, Sacsayhuamán, Swastikas, Horse Back Riding, Llamas, Travel, Photography

Rosh Hashanah at 10,800 Feet

Despite a vigorous Twitter debate about the VP Debate -I'm going to write about happier things -Rosh Hashanah here in Cusco! (With pictures -from before the chag- too)

Click on the link to see the post!

View from the Chabad House

At close to Four Thousand meters above sea level, it takes some time to adjuste to the altitude . . . I'm not the fittest person out there -but when singing and dancing leaves one out of breath, it's somewhat unnerving!

After a day of rest, and some Coca tea, I was in running order -though even now I still loose my breath when running.

Thusly acclimated, we set off on Erev Rosh Hashanah to look for Israelis . . .

. . . a task far easier then one could ever imagine. High in the Andes, Hebrew really seems to be a second language -with signs in Hebrew plastering the place.

A sign advertising an Israeli Rosh Hashanah party -with a free drink with admition and the first 100 girls coming in at half price . . . Sad aint it?

With all the Hebrew, it's almost like Tel Aviv

We soon made our way to the market, where our senses were assaulted by all kinds of strange sights, sounds and smells.

The market

In need of a 'new' fruit for Rosh Hashanah, we seemed to have come to the best place in the world to get one -there were dozens of fruits that I had never seen before -and for all extents and purposes, may never see again!

As walked around the vendors, we were offered, sometimes rather forcefully, various items . . . Other such visual treats included old ladies with pig tails and white top hats, corn in 30 different colors, and
a dog eating pig guts (there are tons of stray dogs here)

People were very friendly, many of them in awe of the three padres walking down the market aisles (our Yarmulkes seemed to make them think we were bishops of some sort -and several people even went so far as to call me Heisus).

Despite the statements of certain political parties, in Cuzco at least, everyone seems to love Americans (Personally I think the only people who dislike us are crazed nationalists and fanatics (such as certain groups of Russians and Arabs) and snooty-nosed Western Europeans who think that they ought to be the bastion of the world's culture and deciders of policy (such as the French and the city of S. Francisco))

"USA A. Ok!"

As we were leaving the market, we saw a familiar face -an Israeli one!

A great picture (except for the fact that I have such a weird look on my face)

Rosh Hashanah:

The new year began in Cuzco, and after prayers led by Chaim, we went down for the meal . . . 400 (mostly Israelis) strong!

The groups were divided into three groups, and mine -consisting of 137 Israelis and three South Africans- had to be the wildest of them all.
Such interesting guests graced our presence such as Roei Sadan -an Israeli who is biking around the world (He started in Alaska last August, and will be in Tierra del Fuego by November!), an Israeli who during the last war in Lebanon was hit with shrapnel in his left eye, lung and other fun places -the doctors worked on him for 45 minutes to bring him back to life (They gave him five shocks from the Defibrillator, the normal amount, but were unable to revive him -the doctor went for a sixth and he came to), and a guy who went to school with a cousin that I never met before.

After davening the next day, we went around to blow Shofar for the Israelis in the various hostels . . .
Coming into one of them, we were greeted by a pungent, earthy smell and a group of red-eyed, giggling, Israelis.
We distributed Yarmulkes to them, though one of them -with dreadlocks that would make Bob Marley proud- explained to us that he already had one on -he quickly produced it from the forest of dreads on his head.

A Motzei Yom Tov picture with some of the guys

Technorati Tags: Cuzco, Peru, Rosh Hashanah, Israelis, Travel, Photography, Shlichus