Hotel Cahuide at Cuzco was far from plush. The lobby was wide and sparsely furnished with high-backed chairs and rosewood lamp-stands. From a series of floors and landings emerged a group of pale and bleary-eyed adventurers whose presence filled the lobby with an undeserving sense of confusion. Most of the dishevelled had taken the precaution of an early night, except Rosy, Mark and Vanessa who had just returned from Cuzco's bars following Mark's birthday celebrations. Rosy was still drunk and in a moment of madness she overturned her decision to stay behind. As always, her timing and preparation were perfect; we planned to leave in thirty minutes and none of her gear was ready. She returned to her room in a state of panic, threw a massive tantrum and burst into tears. After six weeks on the road, her story was inexplicably familiar.

Cuzco at Dawn

The old bus grumbled out and above the back streets of Cuzco shortly after seven o' clock. The city shone like a jewel in the early morning sunshine, its orange-tiled roofs still damp after overnight rain. Etched into a hillside beyond the city's perimeter is the inscription 'Viva El Peru' and in light-hearted fashion, to the tune of Elvis Presley's 'Viva Las Vegas' we chanted its optimistic message.

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We progressed slowly through the ancient villages of Chinchero and Ollantaytambo, the driver seemingly perplexed by the crunching noises emanating from the gearbox. Ironic peels of laughter relieved the tension as the bus crawled towards the crests of steep, winding roads. The driver, a crusty-looking grey whiskered man in late middle-age remonstrated with us, but we comforted him with stories of depressing incidents in our own truck. Mark, our driver, remained fast asleep on the front seat.

 

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