Sun 22 May - Waking up in Peru

After a good nights sleep I feel ready to take a look around Cuzco. Look for breakfast - everything's closed!! After walking around the streets a little, I find a 'kooky' little cafe, where I get a sandwich, and some juice. Thought it would be a nice little spot to sit in, and learn some spanish, but it just doesn't feel like the kind of think I'd like to do...

Instead, I take my iPod with my audio course in learning spanish with Michel Thomas (http://www.michelthomas.com/), and go find a place a little more comfortable for me to sit in, and learn some of the local lingo. I eventually find a nice little spot, overlooking what looks like a park. And after about an hour, of sitting there, learning spanish, and looking at the greenery, I decide it would be nicer sitting on the grass instead of watching it... Unfortunately, as I make my way to the open front I find that there's a sign prohibiting entry, saying that it's reserved for 'tourists on a tour'... I figure.. who's gonna stop me? It seems a nice enough place, and even though all the locals are only sitting on the side, I'm sure I can make my way to a nice quiet secluded spot where no-one would see me... No sooner than I started walking onto the green do I start to hear someone blowing a whistle, and looking around, I see an old man, pointing at me, and walking towards me... Afraid to take on a local, I decide it wiser to accept my lot in life, and walk back upto the bench overlooking the park... wondering at the same time where do the locals go if they want to visit a park?? What would people in the UK do, if a park was made for only the visitors?? Strange isn't it??

Well eventually, after completing a whole CD, I decide to take a break from the intensive concentration learning Spanish takes, and take a bit of a walk... wondering along, I eventually find myself in the main square, with two big cathedrals... Or is a cathedral and a church? I don't really know the difference... Well there seem to be lots of people sitting in the main square, just chilling, not necessarily doing anything, and eventually, I decide I might as well try just sitting in the main square...

It's amazing how people are all just sitting there.. some with other people, talking. Others, just sitting there, alone, watching.... I don't know why, but for some reason I chose a bench with a 'foreign' looking guy sitting on it... Eventually, I ended up chatting with this fella.. who also turned out to be from England. His name was Mark, and he was from Cardiff - though his accent wasn't!

He was in Cusco with a group of gap year students from England, taking them around South America... and in a few days, his responsibility for them, as a group leader would be over, and he'd be travelling with a friend around south america. It seems he'd been to Cusco before, and it was real interesting hearing his story. When I told him a bit about my story so far, of being in Peru, and not quite knowing why, he seemed supportive of just letting things unfold, and trusting my instincts... which I guess was nice to hear... especially since I wasn't so sure of myself, having turned up in Cusco, with no plans, and only a few contact numbers of people I barely knew, walking the streets, without any idea of where I was going or quite why... But his support seemed to come at just the right time!! Exchanging emails, I then started to make my way back in the direction I thought was the hostal I was staying at.

On the way, I ended up finding myself buying a Poncho made of natural Llama wool, and with natural colours. I even get a hat to go with the outfit... I always like to blend in with local clothing, but everything looked so typically touristy, I ended up just trusting my instincts, at least for the practical fact of it being cold at night, and me not having a coat!

Ready to find some dinner, I decide to not return to the vegetarian restaurant, and instead start looking for something a little more 'local', or authentic. Wondering up a steep slope, I find myself just wandering, almost a little aimlessly, a little in the spirit of curiosity, and exploration. And I end up standing outside a restaurant, reading the menu, when these two ladies come up and start taking a look, they decide it's too expensive, and would rather go with the cheaper looking restaurant next to it, and before I know it, I tag along, and get invited to join them.

It turns out these girls were visiting from Canada, and had been in Peru for a while... They could speak Spanish, and had just arrived back from Macchu Picchu. It turns out of the two ladies, Christine was studying alternative medicine, and was an energy worker of sorts.. she was planning on studying acupuncture on her return, and when I shared with her and her friend the nature of my travels, they too were really supportive.... if I'd had any doubts before today about what I was doing in Peru, and whether I was really going in the right direction, it seems the universe had stuck a few comforting voices into my path that day... and I felt that much clearer that I was completely supported in this journey, in ways that I wouldn't be able to imagine, but would just have to learn to trust!