Alive

Flying from Lima, Peru to Cusco - gateway to Machu Picchu - requires flying directly across the Andes. The Andes have a somewhat unfortunate reputation when it comes to air travel, and as soon as I got on the plane I started deciding which of my fellow passengers would taste the best. Just in case.

Fortunately, most of the people on the flight were college-age backpackers in their prime, and not many potentially stringy old people. Of course, happily, it didn´t come to that. We made it just fine, obviously, since if we had crashed on a mountain I probably wouldn´t be blogging right now, I´d be trying to figure out how to build a radio using rocks and frozen urine.

Still, I found the flight to Cusco a touch nerve-wracking. The approach to the airport requires flying down a valley that seemed at the time to be only slightly wider than the plane itself. I suspect, in fact, that they built the plane based on measurements of the valley. It was also in the back of my mind that Cusco is at approximately 11,000 feet above sea level, which means that there really aren´t even that many air molecules to hold the plane up in the first place. Also, Cusco airport (I made the mistake of reading before I got on board) is infamous for its wind shear. I don´t know what wind shear is, but I know I don´t want anything to do with it.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we landed safely, but since I was at 11,000 feet, all that came out was a tiny little puff, and then I got dizzy from the exertion. You might be surprised how much you really notice being 11,000 feet above sea level. Let me tell you, you notice. I bent down to get my luggage from under the seat and when I came back up, I almost blacked out. I´m fine if I lie completely prone and don´t move. But as soon as I do anything (sneeze, pick up a particularly heavy cup of coffee...) I need to stop and take a rest.

Thankfully, the Peruvians, after 400 million years (I made that number up) of living at these elevations have come up with a great way to combat altitude sickness. They call it Mate de Coca, but what it is, literally, is cocaine tea. Celestial Seasonings should grab onto this market, because trust me, it´s going places.

Now don´t get the wrong idea. You´d have to drink hundreds of gallons to get high. It´s very MILD cocaine tea. But I hope eBay doesn´t institute random drug testing any time soon, either. It does work wonders on the altitude sickness, though. Before you drink it, you are dizzy and lightheaded, and after you drink it, you are dizzy and lightheaded and you think you can walk through walls.

No really, it´s not like that. But it does seem to clear up those nagging headaches you get from the rarefied air. The interesting thing is (at least for someone from the United States) is that this beverage made from a Class IV Narcotic is available everywhere. They have a big carafe of it in the hotel lobby. They served it on the plane.

It doesn´t taste too bad, either. Never having tasted refined cocaine (really, Mom) I can´t compare, but if that´s how the street stuff tastes, I´m surprised the addicts don´t sprinkle it on ice cream.

But I digress. The main reason I came to Cusco wasn´t the cocaine, it was Machu Picchu. I went today, and really there´s no point in even trying to describe it. Suffice it to say that, without exaggeration, it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. It beats the Pyramids, and it beats Angkor Wat. Don´t get me wrong, those places are also amazing, but this place doesn´t even seem REAL. You come through the entry and there it is, perched on a mountain, and you are so awestruck by the sight of it that you just stand there with your mouth hanging open, frozen to the spot.

In fact, later in the day, I entertained myself by standing near the entrance and watching other people come in. It didn´t matter what language they were speaking because I could tell from their expression that they were saying the exact same thing I said. ¨Holy shhh...¨

Those Incas had a real flair for the dramatic. It´s like they always say - location, location, location. If you can pick anywhere to build your temple complex, I say build it on the top of a mountain in the Andes. You can´t beat the view.

Machu Picchu was my last stop on my round-the-world trip, and I´m glad I ended here, because I can´t imagine anything else I could see that would compare.

Now I´m off to bed and tomorrow it´s back on the plane to Lima, then home. This time, I´m packing seasoning salt in my carry on.