Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Well - we´re in Huacachina, safe and sound. That was pretty much the worst possible bus ride, so we figure it can only go up from there (fingers crossed). Originally, we were supposed to be on an earlier bus, which means we would have missed the strike and everything, but the bus company double booked, so we got booted to a later bus.
The music started almost as soon as we got on, and vacillated between music that you would expect to hear in a Mexican-themed lounge in Vegas and music which would work quite nicely for a Latin American video game (with a video of Olga, who seems to be the Peruvian equivalent of Celine Dion thrown in for good measure). I was sad about the music, but if that had been as bad as it got, that would have been just fine. About an hour later, we stopped to pick up a few more passengers (dark by now, so couldn´t really see them. Sadly, though, we could definitely smell them, and they sat directly in front of us - where else?). Another 10 minutes after they got on, we learned that there was a baby, since it began screaming its head off around 7 in the evening, and continued to do so for the next 33 hours. We all felt rather sorry for it at first, since we figured it must be gravely ill to be able to scream at the top of its lungs for more than a day, but later found out that it was actually just throwing one long, drawn out temper tantrum.
The bus stopped around 11:00, which is when we found out that some teachers were striking early (the national strike is supposed to start tomorrow). It was dark, and we noticed a few buses going through the blocades (although after seeing the conditions of the roads after, I don´t know how), but no luck for us. We turned around and headed back to Abancay, which was the closest big place around, and parked at the bus terminal there. I managed to block the demon child out long enough to get a couple hours of sleep, but not much. There was talk of us leaving once it got light, but by this time we couldn´t go back to Cusco, either, since the roads were blocked that way, too, so we were stuck in Abancay. Everyone stayed at the bus station, since we had no idea when we would be able to leave, and didn?t exactly want the bus taking off without us. This meant long hours sitting on the pavement, drinking the cheap Peruvian version of Gatorade, and staring out the chain-link fence. I passed a bit of time talking with one of the guards, Josef, with my limited Spanish (he knew no English). Otherwise, not much to do, other than enjoy the fact that the smelly people had taken the devil´s spawn off somewhere else, so it was probably as peaceful as it would get for quite awhile (they actually had 3 small children with them, the tantrum-throwing one was about 2, and after awhile would set her sister off every time she started screeching).
We got the go-ahead from police around noon. The roads were completely covered in rocks - they were cleared from one side of the road, but it was a huge mess, and I´m really glad that we went through in daylight, because there are a lot of sharp turns on that roads, with some very big rocks around the corner, as well as an entire tree at one point.
The worst part is that the teacher´s union seems to be making the attitude toward all of the strikes right now worse, because they?re getting really violent. Basically, the government has opened up the teaching profession, so that anyone with a degree, not just a teacher?s degree, can apply to be a teacher. All of the teachers have to take standardized exams, and if they fail 3 times, they lose their ability to teach. Apparantly a lot of the teachers here are really awful (as in, math teachers can?t do basic math) - I was speaking with a girl who had just finished volunteering in a school, and she said the kids weren?t learning anything. Obviously these people are really upset, since a lot of them know that they?ll lose their jobs, but it also seems like a good idea to help deal with the country?s failing education system.
We got through the first strike area, and promptly blew out a tire when the driver took a sharp corner too fast (it was either the tire or we were going to tip, so I?m rather glad it was the tire). It happened right beside a really pretty river, though, and some people came up in their car and sold us some strange but tasty fruit, which made the hour long delay a little more bearable. We passed some more areas where they were protesting - they did a pretty good job of making the roads unpassable.
The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Dinner, for Erika and I, was a potato and pork mixture from a large cauldren over a fire on the side of the road (pretty tasty). Oh, the bus did overheat at one point, so we stopped for another half hour so that the driver could pour cold water over the engine, in the middle of the desert. It was really cold, too (snowing at one point in the evening). The scenery was really pretty, at least - kinda of what I would expect in parts of Colorado/Nevada - big rolling hills covered with fairly dry brush, and the greenest river running through the valley, with rust-coloured rocks. Saw a few heards of alpaca on the hills, and it was a good way to see Peruvian country life. We stopped for cows to cross the road, and later for donkeys.
Near the end of the trip, pretty much everyone had turned on the kid. The parents were doing nothing effective, and a girl who spoke English and Spanish spoke to the mom and found out that there was nothing actully wrong with it (technically it was a little girl, but nothing that makes that much noise for that long can be called anything other than ?it?) and that it was just throwing what could possibly be the longest tantrum known to man. Erika commented at one point that it was like a scene from a horror movie - we?re all standing in the desert, tired, bitter, and angry, and everyone was glaring at the parents and the kid. It seemed like only a matter of time before things went horribly wrong. Mostly all the mom did was bounce it and offer it treats and water, which it promptly threw on the floor. Dad stood by uselessly. While we were getting off, people were actually yelling at the parents. By the end, Erika and I were so tired that we were pretty much in hysterics (one of those if you don?t laugh you?ll cry situations), laughing uncontrollably about how we?d met the spawn of the devil, and how the kid would shut up if one of us got our hands on it. Not my best moment, but we feel as if we were driven to it.
We arrived in Ica at 2:30 am (awhile after our planned 10am arrival). We were a little nervous, as we?d heard that Ica can be dangerous, and we didn?t have a hostel booked. Luckily, there was a really nice cab driver waiting for the bus, and he took us to Huacachina (5 minutes outside of Ica), and went so far as to knock on different hotels to see if there were rooms. He found us a really nice one, and, while we didn?t care how much it would cost at this point, since we were so tired, we were quite pleased to find out it?s the equivalent of $20 a night.
We?ve decided to stick it out until we know we can get out on buses, and then head straight for Ecuador. Things seem a little volatile here, and although there?s more that we wanted to see, I?d rather get out. Huacachina is really nice - it?s a tiny little oasis in the midst of huge sand dunes. The people are so pleasant, and it?s lovely and sunny during the day. We went on a tour of two wineries today - one large one that grows 15 different types of grapes, and produces wine for export as well as wine that is sold only in Peru (they tend to like sweeter wines here), and a very small one that only produces one regular drinking wine, a sweet wine, and a variety of Pisco (kind of a tequila-whisky mix). Tomorrow we?re going sand-boarding and dunebuggying and enjoying the sun. We?ll let you know once we?ve decided it?s safe to move on.
Love to everyone,
Hil
PS Hilary was scared of me but at the winery tours I stocked up on tetrapacks of sangria and bottles of wine (3 dollars each and yummy yumm) for the bus ride ahead. Everything is better and easier to deal with when you have a wine buzz on. Some of you better hope it doesn´t get too bad or I will be breaking out the hard alcohol I bought as souveniers...
PPS I really admired hilary´s restrant on that trip...check out the pic I got of her at the eleventh hour...
- comments