Cuzco

Cuzco, El Cusco in new Spanish, or Qosqo, the oficial name of the town in Quechua language is the touristic capital of Peru. A pretty town by itself, it is also a typical base for visiting the famous Machu Picchu and several other Inca ruins. Most of the historical town centre consists of Spanish style constructions built on the top of previous Inca buildings. Lots of stone, narrow streets, arcs, "soportales", plazas, churches, ... On Saturday evening, as it was raining, I had the impression of being walking in Santiago de Compostela. There are also many nice cafes and restaurants, filled mainly with toursits. Prices, although cheap for us, are still too high for the average Peruvian.The other day I was walking in a less touristy area and discovered quite a few restaurants offering a menu for the ridiculous price of 30 Eurocents. I chose the one with most people in -supposedly the best one- and had my cheapest meal ever, even cheaper than the ones in Belarus. The experience was interesting, not for the food itself, but because I had to mix with the locals. Of course, tables were shared, and I noticed that nobody excepting me wasted anything at all. Unlike me, they finished their soup up to the last drop, and left the plate almost clean. The rice, they didn't leave a single grain, and they also cleaned the meat bones eating even the fatty parts I had left aside. I felt a bit ashamed and remembered the discussions with my friend Joao about being needy and finishing your meal without leaving any leftovers.Anyway, I do not always eat in that kind of restaurants. I try a bit of everything. The day before yesterday I indulged myself with one of the local specialities, Cuy al horno. Cuy, in case you don't know it -I didn't- is like a guinea pig, and is cooked in one piece. They asked me if I wanted it sliced, and I say yes. But to my surprise, they only made two perfect cuts, one longitudinal and one transversal. So there it was in the plate the poor thing cut in four. You could see the little legs -with the nails-, the face -with the teeth, smiling-, and as I turned it over I got a first hand practical course on cuy anatomy. Quite an impressing view. I just thought of taking a picture when I had almost finished eating, so I only took as a souvenir a portrait picture of my Cuy. About taste, yes, it was good, with different flavours as you change from one part to the other of the animal. Just, cuy is not advisable if you like pets too much, if you are easily impressed, or if you like eating fast -lots of little bones.More stuff. I've come across counterfait money, both coins and notes. For the coins I don't worry too much - you can easyly get rid of them. But with notes, you really have to keep your eyes opened. And here, as well as everywhere else in Peru, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people trying to sell or do something for tourists. The all call you "amigo"; I didn't know I had so many friends here. You have taxis horning for you or stopping at your side, people selling cigarrets, drinks, etc, offering to clean your shoes (even if you wear sandals), selling crafts, touristic tours, trying to grab you inside restaurants, or sometimes posing ready to let you take a picture with them for a tip. Except for driving taxis, children perform all of these jobs as well as adults, sometimes even during school hours. I find it really sad when I see these kids, some very young, telling you in a very begging like voice "amiiigo, compreme aaaalgo", or "amigo, foto, amigo" as they open their hands asking for money. The good thing about children is they are naturally curious, and they soon forget about selling stuff to ask you questions about your country, football team,...About Machu Picchu, it is worth the visit, but it is a money making machine flooded with tourists. It is beter to visit it at 6am, but you still get an odd feeling when queueing for a bus at 5.30 with other two hundred tourists. Arent't we all like sheep? Of course, there as well as anywhere else, foreingers pay higher prices. I was lucky to bring my ULB student card and I paid 10.5 USD instead of 21 when entering the site. I still had to pay the full price of the train and bus, 75 USD (Remenber that in non-touristic areas you can have a full meal for less than a Euro).Talking about my student card, carrying it with me can turn extremely useful at times. Last night I had a deja-vu experience when the lock of my hotel room broke again (different hotel). This time I had left my knife inside, but as I carried the student card I managed to open the door with it to the astonishment of the hotel owner. I guess I will be able to do this professionally in case I don't manage to get a job when I go back. It's good to have all sort of skills, although I'm not sure I'll put this one in my CV.Finally, in case you follow my trip on a map, I'm off to Puno now, on the shore of the lake Titicaca. This , and perhaps some of the islands, will be my last stop in Peru before proceeding to Bolivia.