Cocoa Leaves and Macchu Picchu

I left on Sunday for Cusco, the city where everyone stays to get to Macchu Pichu. I am going to go ahead and apologize for the continual misspelling of Machu Picchu. Jonathan was able to get a medical plane back to South Carolina where his family is and Kirstin went with him. I just got word from her that he got an MRI and the doctors in Peru did everything U.S. doctors would have done which was a relief. It looks like after some major rehabilitation he might be ok. I was planning to be in Cusco for just a few days but since they weren´t coming back I¨m staying here until Friday. Cusco is at a very high elevation and as soon as you arrive you feel your chest tighten as the air is much thinner. They customarily give you either cocoa leaves to chew on or cocoa tea, which helps prevent altitude sickness that many people get when they arrive.

On Monday I went to Macchu Pichu, a 4 hr train ride from Cusco. It was discovered less than 100 years ago and had escaped the same destruction that Cusco faced by the Spanish conquistadores. Two Inkan families had been living there for years because they didn´t want to pay taxes in Cusco. Then of course the white man comes along discovers Macchu Pichu and kicks them out. Those legendary families are now living in the jungle somewhere, nobody knows where.



I met two English girls on the Macchu Pichu tour and we have been hanging out. We met another girl from California last night at the movie bar. You have a list of movies to choose from and everyone in the movie bar votes and all you have to do is buy a beer. We all voted on Syriana and everyone got lost. Anyone with the cliff notes please pass them on. The city of Cusco has a lot of swanky restaurants and bars, it is a pretty hip place if you know where to go. The only thing is I am having a hard time being swarmed by people, harassing you to go in their restuarant. I am going to have to get used to it and enlist a little patience as that is what Thailand will be like.