. . . LAND ROVER OVERLAND EXPEDITION

Sitting here in a row of backpackers, shoulder to shoulder, typing on sticky keyboards, mindful of the escalating fees - seems like Africa was just a few weeks ago. Excellent, Junglerunning again. Delays this summer have been out of control, so our 30 minute wait on the runway "to avoid thunderstorms in the south" felt like a reprieve. Half an hour delayed into Miami, rushed through the terminal, ...pause at the b/w photo displays... oh yeah, and rushed through the terminal to the wide-body 767. Packed. Arrived in Lima at 4am. 

Not purchasing the ticket to Cusco on Travelocity turned out to be a shrewd move. The $200 fare in the States cost us $60 at the counter. Flights left almost every 15 min, so we had no wait at all. Thanked our tourist guide, paid the $4 departure tax, and boarded a Soviet era turbo-prop (seemed like a rip-off of the DeHavilland Beaver). Two hours and we were at altitude in Cusco. 

Located in southern Peru, Cusco is the jumping off spot for the Machu Pichu trek - South America�s premier hike. The town has evolved into a tourist mecca; gobs of stores with handcrafted stuff (not enough room in the backpack to buy as much as I'd like), restaurants ranging from inexpensive good food to truly dirt-cheap local grub, and plenty of cheap hostels. Touts are everywhere, "buy postcards", "you go rafting, yes?", "very nice Italian food"... Italian? 

Inca History
The Inca empire was founded in Cusco around AD1100 by the first Inca, Manco Capac, both a historical and mythic figure. Cusco owes much of its early development to the great Inca Pachacuti. Under his reign, Cusco supposedly took on the shape of a puma - the symbol of courage and commitment. Cusco become the capital of Tawantisnsuyo, a vast empire that in subsequent years would stretch from southern Columbia to Chile and Argentina. However, with expansion also came division and civil war. The Cusco faction thought lost, leaving the city in disrepair, but when a strange man named Pizzaro landed on the coast and executed the usurping Inca Atahuallpa, many in Cusco thought they were saved. And so began the Spanish conquest of Peru. 

Pizzaro entered the city a hero in 1533, looted Cusco�s temples, and installed the puppet Inca Manco Capac II. When Manco realized that the Spanish weren't leaving, he amassed an army of 150,000 and in 1563 attacked the colonists. During his siege the Inca�s army set fire to the city�s thatched roofs leaving Cusco in ruins. Manco�s subsequent defeat at Sacsayhuaman sent him retreating into the jungle at Vilcabamba, the last capital of a then-shrunken empire. In 1572, after a number of costly attempts, the Spanish finally took Vilcabamba bringing back the very last Inca, Tupac Amaru, whom they beheaded in the Cusco Plaza de Armas, extinguishing the once-great Inca empire for good. 

Acclimatization
We settled into a $15 double at a local hostel, scraped off the travel grime and hit the town. Cusco is at 11,000 feet so we'll spend a couple days walking around to get acclimatized. The 4 day Inca trail winds through some pretty extreme mountain terrain, the views are reputed to be spectacular, but we've had plenty of warning about altitude sickness and we have to carry our own packs (why did I bring a shortwave radio, madness). I was out of breath after putting on my boots this afternoon, darn McKinsey life of luxury - so its all slow and easy right now. I'm on the trip with David Berger, a friend from Wharton who actually played more golf than I did over the summer. Good grief - gotta get them platelets reproducing quickly. Here's looking at you kid... from the Mama Africa Internet cafe overlooking the Plaza de Armas. 

Hasta luego, 
jeff