Travel

So far things don't sound too great, but then things start to get better. Suddenly some new nicer bread appears from one of the many mysterious cupboards in the kitchen, eggs have been cooked and arrive and after this and a nice cuppa coca tea, things seem much better. Normally at this point the sun hits the sky and lights up the garden, the humming bird starts to buzz around and the kittens (bob and aby) are let loose and start to race around the garden, kitchen and the rest of the house.  Then having grabed machete or chalk its either off to the terraces or down the school, whichever it is the machete always comes in handy.

Life in Cusco is very different.  When you arrive street kids swarm around 'postcard meestar?',' shoeshine?'. They chorus, spanish answers are restricted to 'no gracias'.  After a while i get to know some of the steet kids, who are always around and can always find you. They have an enate ability to track you down when you're drunk and likely to spend money on useless tat. I also get to know the bar staff very well. Norton rats, mystique, and some of mama africas bar staff soon know me by name, as does the owner of Jack's cafe, the best breakfast spot in Cusco.  This has its advantages, free drinks, being welcomed warmly every weekend, but it also means that it is impossible to have any anonymity, which can become tiresome. Fortunately theres lots of other TAPAs and eventualy some other people start to get to know the bar staff which takes the weight off me a bit.

Travelling round i never found another place like Cusco.  Its a strange place with its spanish casas and inca foundations, tourists swarming everywhere, mostly clueless. We have absolute disdain for the tourists which we will eventually become, because 'we live here'. So we stride around confidently, we know where we're going, and its usually the pub. Cusco is littered with pubs and restaurants, We go to the ones which are small with good staff. Therefore Norton rats is better than Cross Keys, and Paddy's as most tourists hang out in Paddy's or the keys. That's part of it actually the need to avoid tourists. Maybe it's because they annoy us, particularly the Israelis and Americans, maybe its because it means we have to accept that one day we will back up our rucksacs and become just like them.

When you travel around you find out that most nationalities find Yanks annoying. Infact if you meet a intelligent american (yes they do exist) they'll understand why Yanks piss everyone off. An american friend in Peru, who didn't fit the normal american mold, gave this conclusion ' people hate yanks, they see them as the bloke on the bus with the huge backpack, turning round and hitting people in the face with his pack while wondering why everyone is making a fuss'. I think thats pretty much spot on. People also hate Israelis, i can hear the israelis crying anit-semites, but no! Israelis take over everything, they have their own hostals, cinemas, bars, restaurants. WHY? what makes them so special, you have a state religion? so do we! You have a problem with terrorism? err so do we! You drink too much beer and like to get paralytic at the weekend despite your parents objections? well so do most of us! so stop taking over hostals, bars and cinemas throughout the third (backpacker) world, its not funny and it just seems frankly american (thats the worst insult i have).