I managed to get some sleep in Cusco but was pretty out of sorts. My back was about as bad as it has ever been. I got the hostel to call a doctor. Well, they suggested that I get seen, me struggling up and down the stairs and things was getting pretty tough. He came and basically wrote me a prescription for more pain killers and muscle relaxers. And he said if I wasn't feeling better by the morning, he wanted to take me to the hospital for x-rays and the works...
I walked around town a little with my friends. Cusco looks like a great city, awesome old colonial buildings and plenty to do. However it is overrun with American/UK tourists and related stores... which does detract a bit. I eventually came to terms with a few things. I wasn't going to be able to go to Macchu Pichu, I had to be more careful the rest of this trip or I would have to quit the whole thing and I needed to just do nothing for awhile to recover. I was about to just drop the whole thing and go home but was thinking of getting to Panama and recovering there, so I could still try and salvage some of the trip. Later in the day I received the sad news that my Great Uncle Pepe had passed away. On my first trip to Panama, he and his wife Margarita, had taken me on a road trip of Panama. It really meant a lot to me and I felt like if I could make it to the mass, then I would. It turned out the service for him was going to be Friday (July 2) so I could actually make it.
So decision made, I booked a flight up to Panama from Cusco (via Lima then San Jose) in order to make it to the service. Unfortunately I had to book the ticket early in the morning for midday, that day! Then mid morning I caught a taxi to the airport for my chain of flights (which would actually go north to Costa Rica, then head south to Panama...)
But before I bid farewell, and ended my realllly short stay in Peru - where I was hoping to spend the most time..., I had to wait, because of course my flight was delayed. While we were waiting, I saw the best/worst example of tourists I had seen in awhile. I had seen plenty of backpackers who had gone "native". Growing
dreadlocks, not showering..., wearing traditional clothing (that even the natives/Indian don't wear anymore!)... Well in the airport there were 4 British tourists that were embarrassingly tacky in a similar vein. they had purchased ponchos. The best was the girl who had the oh so traditional hot pink poncho... Please if you ever go to Peru or wherever... remember you don't look cool, you look like an idiot. Put it on in the store, take a photo or whatever, but really - why buy one?!I made all of my flights and actually ran into Graham, the Scottish guy who was part of our group from Salta to Uyuni to La Paz (including the estancia and salt flats). He had a shorter time line than most of us so he had left La Paz early. He was headed up to Guatemala for more jungle treks and ruin. Small world!
Eventually I made it to Panama and my cousin Ramon picked me up from the airport.
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