We are welcomed in to our hotel through a tiny private wooden doorway that opens on to a larger inner courtyard. Check in goes smoothly and after we drop our bags in the rooms we reconvene in the courtyard for our welcome drink - a cup of Coca tea. The altitude here is a sickening 3,400 meters (11,200 feet). It is literally sickening with an estimated 1 in 4 visitors suffering from altitude sickness. Our ratio was a bit higher with 3 out of the 4 of us suffering from symptoms for days. The coca tea and coca candies are a local (and yes, legal) remedy for the symptoms which are brought on by lowered air density. It is a bit like having a horrible hangover without the fun night before hand. I seem to have been having the hardest time adjusting out of our group with insomnia, headaches, and dizziness, in addition to my companions symptoms of shortness of breath, decreased appetite, and general fatigue.
We relax at the hotel until after sun down, each coping with our fatigue in our own way - napping, coca, writing, reading. I have to admit, I'm not exactly sure what we've gotten ourselves in to at this point after the view from the cab to the hotel, and now this strange sickness that started with euphoria and some tingling sensations upon landing and evolved into something a bit more vicious. We head out together in search of dinner and supplies and wander down the skinny street from our hotel to the center of town. I'm not sure the name of our street but we've renamed it ourselves to the street of internets and dentists. In a place with so much poverty, I'm surprised to find that every third or fourth business on our street is an internet cafe with another quarter of the businesses being dentists and the rest are tiny single room closet sized shops filed with what looks like boxes of whatever fell off of a truck and is on special for the day.
As we walk along in the single stream of pedestrian traffic, with cars beeping their horns and belching black and grey smoke from their backsides as they pass, we start to notice a few dogs here and there. After a few blocks and dozens of dog sightings, we realize that there is quite a large stray dog community in this area. Every few doorsteps you can find one scavenging, napping, or wandering with a friend. Most are unleashed and seem to have no interest in the people of the city. They run in groups or saunter along alone carefully checking for traffic before crossing to the other side of the street. Many are dirty from the dusty streets, some with matted hair, but none seem dangerous and in fact, they rarely interact with the people walking past. They do not beg, they do not ask to be pet, they are just independently living here, another part of a busy and simple city.
We make our way towards the city center, taking in the smells and sounds and sights along the way. I had chatted with my best friend for a bit before leaving the hotel and we were trading stories and links about Cusco - me reporting what I had seen so far and her sharing what she was finding online. From the photos linked on Wikipedia we thought we must be just outside the nicer tourist area of town. Once we arrived at the end of our street near the large outdoor market and one of the many churches, we spotted the long ancient wall leading to the gate entering the town. I had just seen a photo of this online and it did not offer a clear perspective on what I was now seeing with my own eyes. The refined and beautiful photo online managed to focus solely on the gate and cut out all of the poverty, life, and excitement along the streets and sidewalks at it's edge.
This is one of the things I absolutely love about traveling - the perspective it provides. Not only the way you look at a photo afterwards and have a complete understanding of the area, but the way it makes you reflect on your own place in this world. It helps you appreciate things in a new light, gives you a chance to redirect your passions, to let go of your own struggles and find new ways to be helpful to others. I imagine that all the time and money I have donated to causes in the past could go so much further in a place like this and simple acts of generosity and kindness can mean so much more here.
I'm inspired not only by the things I have seen this week but also by the recommendations of friends who are conscientious travelers. They pointed us at Los Ninos Hotel started by a Dutch woman who came to Cusco in the mid 90s and felt a similar pull to make a difference here so she decided to stay and help make a positive impact on the lives of children in the area.
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Learn more about Los Ninos and consider making a donation:
Learn more about the joys of altitude sickness:
Learn more about Cusco and see some of the photos we were chatting about:
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