Psycho-Cuzco

Cuzco is a split personality. There is the north end of town filled with gringos of every persuasion. The Armed Forces Square (appropriately) separates the gringos from the locals. To the south of town are all the meals at reasonable prices, the markets, etc. I found that out only after breakfast today.

Almost everywhere in Latin America, breakfast consists of toast and coffee or tea. This morning I walked out of my hostal high on the hill and walked down looking for a cafe for breakfast. The first one I walked into I asked for a "continental breakfast," a fairly common expression throughout Latin America for toast and coffee and sometimes juice. The nice lady said they didn´t have such a thing and offered me a menu that looked like something stolen from Denny´s. This is supposed to be Peru! For only $15, I could have had eggs and pancakes and bacon and toast and coffee and juice. But this is Peru! If I didn´t order one of these huge breakfasts, I would have to order the juice, and coffee, and toast, etc., a la carte, which ended up being about $10 anyway. "But this is Peru!" I thought to myself. I was wrong. This is not Peru. This is Cuzco.

Cuzco is to Peru as Venice is to Italy. The natives commute from some distance into the city in order to provide services for rich gringos. At least the northern part of Cuzco does not belong at all to South America. It is a harbor for Americans and Europeans who continue to live their lifestyle while waiting for the train to Machu Picchu.

When I was in Peru, back in Puno, I spent part of one day touring islands on Lake Titicaca with a man my age, his daughter, and his grandson. They were from Lima and I think relatively well off. He said it´s sad that 90 percent of the Peruvians who live in or near Cuzco have never seen Machu Picchuand never will see it. They haven´t seen it because they can´t afford to see it. What a shame! Imagine if only Europeans could afford to visit Yosemite!

Also, another thought. The irony here is I´ve seen the ruins at Tiwanaku, which go back 2000 years. I´ve seen the ruins at Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca. I will see the ruins at Sipan, and other great sites before I leave South America. The Incas only arrived in about 1500 C.E. and these ruins were built a century or more later. They´re not even OLD! There are some houses in Quincy we might be able to label "Ruins" and charge admission to. What makes the place special, and there´s no getting around it, is its setting.

Getting into the ruins costs $20. Peruvians, I´m told, earn an average of $200 per month. I mentioned to my Lima friend maybe they could do like in Costa Rica. There, the ticket price to the zoo of exotic birds might be $12 for foreigners and 75 cents for nationals. Why not do the same with Machu Picchu? The problem is that it´s not just the entry into the ruins that´s expensive. It´s everything else. There´s one hotel at the ruins. According to my guidebook, which is 3 years old, you can get a room there (without a view) for only $547 a night. What a deal! Regrettably, there is no road to Machu Caro. There is only the train. First, a little perspective.

The main means of transportation throughout Latin America is the bus. There´s no getting around it, buses are dirt cheap by European/American standards. Long distance buses charge an average of about $1 per hour of travel. You can up this to $2 or $3 an hour if you take the super-deluxe bus. Some of these buses have full reclining seats, offer a meal, a flight attendant, a movie on a tv screen, and a bathroom.

The train ride to Mucha Moolah costs $140 round trip. It´s four hours each way. By the way, that´s the "economy" seat. Otherwise, it´s $170. That´s absolutely outrageous! However, you can understand how gringos, having already spent hundereds, if not thousands, of dollars to get here, are willing to pay the extra bucks to go the last sixty miles. The locals know that only too well. Also, I can understand how the Peruvians, after suffering from 5 centuries of exploitation at the hands of gringos, feel that it´s time for paybacks!

So, do I turn my back on Gringo-land and the newest ruins in South America and head elsewhere, or succumb to the internal pressure that to travel this far and not see them is a shame?