I had finally splurged and purchased the ticket with a bed. Ya know, it is a 22 hour bus ride, and I figured I could get some sleep on the way... no chance my friend! Thats because the bus to Cusco from Lima winds its way through the jagged Andes mountains. It is basically the windiest and least direct route ever. Don't believe me? A flight to Cusco is one hour from Lima. That means that in normal terrain the drive would be about 4-5 hours, but those clever Peruvians found a way to extend that reasonable journey to its present 22 hour state.
To qualify my complaints, Peruvian busses are awesome. You get lunch, dinner, and breakfast. You get electricity and wifi (is no place sacred anymore?). You even have an optional (if very very limited) onboard library. Did I mention my seat reclines nearly horizontal, making it almost like a bed? They beat American busses by about 100000000%. That is not even hyperbole. Look it up. Pure science. But come on Peru, 22 hours? Blast those sacred mountains back into their place with a liberal dose of dynamite!
On arrival on Cusco, I crawled into a coma and slept for hours in order to fight off the sleepless night and the creeping altitude sickness that was trying to give me a hearty embrace at 3,400 meters. After waking, I grabbed a Pisco Sour (I mean, seriously, what else would you drink?) and set off in search of the best way to get to the famous Machu Picchu!
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| Sunrise over a foggy mountain valley where the campesinos were already out in the fields working. |
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| Tearing through the desert coast of Peru on the way to Cusco.... this desert can make the moon look extremely fertile at times! |
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| I awoke (kinda, I you dont every REALLY fall asleep on this bus ride...) to the foggy, twisting, mountain roads. |
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