I lose track of days now. But I arrived just yesterday in Cusco. May be 4-5 days ago in Lima.
The minute the flight landed in Cusco - Peruvian Airlines - the effect was just transformational. Back in Lima airport, I had mild back pain after lifting my bags or something. Prashanth had warned! I was thinking. I was in one odd mood - wrote some reactive stuff in the airport about stuff of the past. So mood was ok-ok.
Flight was ok. I was reading Age of Kali - William Dalrimple. I liked the first sight - it's like green velvet over the mountains.
Then when I landed. The air. The mountains. My god - it was blissful. Transformational. A boost of energy suddenly. I became surprisingly just joyous of finally being here.
It's been a long journey I thought. I associate this region with Bhaskar and that Utpal Datt movie - Agantuk - stranger. I took pic of the plane standing next to the security person.
Outside Martiza met me - from the hotel. She took a pic of me - I wanted her to. Then I sent it to everybody via whatsapp. I wondered why. But I sent it anyways.
We drove to Rumi Punku hotel - I chose it for the name. I imagined Cusco to be much smaller than it is - the center of the town is exactly that way. Cobbled stone paths, up and down. Just beautiful. It has the vibe of a Lukla in Nepal or the smaller towns above Manali or McLeodganj. Something about it.
I'm sipping Inca Kola now. Coca Cola makes it. People seem to like it here. I don't like colas that much. I just wanted to taste it.
That night, I ate at Organica or some place like that - the best and tastiest food I've had in a long time. All organic. And people - the waitresses - they were glowing. Fresh.
I could feel mild altitude stuff - so I've taken it generally easy. And it's nice. I've been working though on and off. I keep thinking when will I fully disconnect. It's been awhile since Stok Kangri. So I must've not passed a single day (except during advance course yes) without a device in the last 2 years may be! Wow!
Today is my second day in Cusco. It's really nice. Lunch I went to Pachapapa. Found it bit expensive but something interesting happened. I sat at the common table. There was a group but we soon got talking. Masun from Guatemala, Kerby from Atlanta, Estefiana from Peru, Linda from Latvia. Remember Latvia - there was the father-son from Latvia on the Stok Kangri trek. We had a nice chat and an enjoyable meal. I resisted sharing contact. I thought about it. Why.
We meet so many people in our lives. They come and go. Some stay longer. Some want you to stay longer. They asked me many questions. While answering I realized - while saying - I do like coming by myself. It's a joy. I like leaving large spaces in my time (I couldn't explain this to Dr M when he asked what would you be doing there - well, nothing). I really like doing nothing. It leaves me enough freedom to do anything. And there's joy in that.
Just before lunch I walked into Peru Shamans. Before that I chatted with any seller who wanted to chat with me. People selling paintings. One lady who came from 30km to sell woolen kinda things.
Richard - Michigan alum - whom I met in Lima told me about Ayahuasca - he said go to Sacred Valley - go to Melissa Wasi. Ayahuasca - I read one article about it in NY Times too. Long back. In Peru Shamans, I chatted with Janet and Betty - who seemed to run the place. Betty was very calm. She went through everything in great detail. Slowly. Many things about the ceremony. About the spiritual significance of it. It's almost religious. May be fully religious. The shaman is from the Amazon jungles. He keeps going back to his family there. I saw the pic - I felt he would be accustomed enough the travelers. I signed up for after the trek.
So that's my Cusco. I just love how everything forms around me.
It's on my mind to write my articles for the following two weeks. Let it come. I wrote the last one on the plane and I must say it touched a chord with people.
I keep working in different places. Like this hotel. Then the Museo Larco - I visited that on my second day in Lima (it's a wonderful museum - I spoke to cynthia from there re Sw). I did the quarterly call from the 511 Lima Hostel. Life goes on actually. It's all in our head that we need to limit ourselves to workplaces.
I know already I'll miss Cusco. Some places are you. Because they belong in your life at certain times. And the memory gets deeply associated with it - makes all these connections in the brain. Detroit too. I went to downtown last week sometime. Looking for the places I used to go many, many years ago.
The minute the flight landed in Cusco - Peruvian Airlines - the effect was just transformational. Back in Lima airport, I had mild back pain after lifting my bags or something. Prashanth had warned! I was thinking. I was in one odd mood - wrote some reactive stuff in the airport about stuff of the past. So mood was ok-ok.
Flight was ok. I was reading Age of Kali - William Dalrimple. I liked the first sight - it's like green velvet over the mountains.
Then when I landed. The air. The mountains. My god - it was blissful. Transformational. A boost of energy suddenly. I became surprisingly just joyous of finally being here.
It's been a long journey I thought. I associate this region with Bhaskar and that Utpal Datt movie - Agantuk - stranger. I took pic of the plane standing next to the security person.
Outside Martiza met me - from the hotel. She took a pic of me - I wanted her to. Then I sent it to everybody via whatsapp. I wondered why. But I sent it anyways.
We drove to Rumi Punku hotel - I chose it for the name. I imagined Cusco to be much smaller than it is - the center of the town is exactly that way. Cobbled stone paths, up and down. Just beautiful. It has the vibe of a Lukla in Nepal or the smaller towns above Manali or McLeodganj. Something about it.
I'm sipping Inca Kola now. Coca Cola makes it. People seem to like it here. I don't like colas that much. I just wanted to taste it.
That night, I ate at Organica or some place like that - the best and tastiest food I've had in a long time. All organic. And people - the waitresses - they were glowing. Fresh.
I could feel mild altitude stuff - so I've taken it generally easy. And it's nice. I've been working though on and off. I keep thinking when will I fully disconnect. It's been awhile since Stok Kangri. So I must've not passed a single day (except during advance course yes) without a device in the last 2 years may be! Wow!
Today is my second day in Cusco. It's really nice. Lunch I went to Pachapapa. Found it bit expensive but something interesting happened. I sat at the common table. There was a group but we soon got talking. Masun from Guatemala, Kerby from Atlanta, Estefiana from Peru, Linda from Latvia. Remember Latvia - there was the father-son from Latvia on the Stok Kangri trek. We had a nice chat and an enjoyable meal. I resisted sharing contact. I thought about it. Why.
We meet so many people in our lives. They come and go. Some stay longer. Some want you to stay longer. They asked me many questions. While answering I realized - while saying - I do like coming by myself. It's a joy. I like leaving large spaces in my time (I couldn't explain this to Dr M when he asked what would you be doing there - well, nothing). I really like doing nothing. It leaves me enough freedom to do anything. And there's joy in that.
Just before lunch I walked into Peru Shamans. Before that I chatted with any seller who wanted to chat with me. People selling paintings. One lady who came from 30km to sell woolen kinda things.
Richard - Michigan alum - whom I met in Lima told me about Ayahuasca - he said go to Sacred Valley - go to Melissa Wasi. Ayahuasca - I read one article about it in NY Times too. Long back. In Peru Shamans, I chatted with Janet and Betty - who seemed to run the place. Betty was very calm. She went through everything in great detail. Slowly. Many things about the ceremony. About the spiritual significance of it. It's almost religious. May be fully religious. The shaman is from the Amazon jungles. He keeps going back to his family there. I saw the pic - I felt he would be accustomed enough the travelers. I signed up for after the trek.
So that's my Cusco. I just love how everything forms around me.
It's on my mind to write my articles for the following two weeks. Let it come. I wrote the last one on the plane and I must say it touched a chord with people.
I keep working in different places. Like this hotel. Then the Museo Larco - I visited that on my second day in Lima (it's a wonderful museum - I spoke to cynthia from there re Sw). I did the quarterly call from the 511 Lima Hostel. Life goes on actually. It's all in our head that we need to limit ourselves to workplaces.
I know already I'll miss Cusco. Some places are you. Because they belong in your life at certain times. And the memory gets deeply associated with it - makes all these connections in the brain. Detroit too. I went to downtown last week sometime. Looking for the places I used to go many, many years ago.
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