i love coca tea...

i love coca tea, basically for three reasons:

1) it tastes good
2) it´s the same leaf they make cocaine from (and that´s a cool claim to fame)
3) it beats altitude sickness

what´s not to love?

i´ve been suffering really badly from altitude sickness lately, in essence because cuzco sits 4000 miles above sea level. but gee it´s a hell of a town. i´ve met so many trippy people in cuzco. most of them americans!
the boston boys; jason, tom and blair... so funny! we went out for tea and drinks in cuzco and they were so laid back and a lot of fun. they just got back from exploring easter island. the lucky things. wish i´d thought of that! it was just really nice to sit down to dinner and shoot the breeze and have a couple of beers and take it easy. i´ve been pushing really hard lately because there´s so much to do here, but now i´ve had a few days to take it easy i feel much better. (except for my cold, i blow my nose about 850 times a day. at least!)
anyway...

jason from washington d.c; jason is 21 and this is his first trip o-s. he´s been reading all these books about mythology and he said something really profound to me the other night. he told me that he´s look for his animal skin, a la´ hercules. he told me flat out that he´s on a quest. i love that. so i had a think about what i´m questing for... i came up with it. i know this is the thing my likfe has been missing. paddington bear! he´s from deepest darkest peru but i can´t find him or his relatives anywhere! so i will find him, he is my fleece :) ok maybe not, but i´ll find something i hope...

and then...
the colarado girls;
i actually met them not in cuzco but where i am now. we´re heading up to machu pichu tomorrow and we´ve spent some time chilling and stuff today. they´re a lot of fun, it´s good to hang out with girls. although i am suprised by the number of chicks my age traveling south america, some of them alone like me and they haven´t had any trouble either. south america is awesome. it´s much easier to manage than i had anticipated and i´ve really enjoyed everything so far.

there are only three things that really anren´t so crash about south america, particullarly peru.

the poverty: is absolutely heart breaking. particullarly in cuzco, kids who are hawking things in the street to make enough money to pay for somewhere to sleep and the money to pay their school fees. a lot of them live in a local orphanage, but they have to pay their own keep there, so they have no choice but to work. i´ve donated a lot of money to various kids over the last few days, but it makes e so frustrated that i can´t do anything else about it.

the showers: i have had two hot showers the whole time i´ve been gone. this is not good for my soul as anyone who has lived with me can attest, i shower about three times a day. not so in south america.

the toilets: peruvians use toilet paper... HOORAY! however the surage system can´t handle the paper, so it goes into a handy dandy little bin next to the toilets. and they smell! bad... really bad kid!

other than that everything is peachy keen. the people here gringos and peruvians alike are lovely, warm, friendly and fun. the scenery is amazing! i went to the hot springs this afternoon (ok, spade a shovel, the tepid springs) and just layed there looking at the mountains and the clouds rolling in and hearing the river crashing over the rocks. very zen. there is a lot to love about this place.

anyway, i´d better motor. i have a meeting with my tour guide for tomorrow in an hour and i have to work up the nerve for a much needed cold shower. and of course a cup of coca tea never goes astray ;)

let me know if you´re reading this hey guys? and mum, did you post my police check thing? isit back? did you send it to andre? (a, my mum´s sending you something for me.. ok? thanks bird :P)

talk to you soon,
love
simone xxx