this morning the friendly receptionist at machu picchu inn let me use their wifi for free (…a good thing, since rooms start at $200). at that time, i was able to read erik’s recommendation to climb up putukusi (the mountain directly across from machu picchu).

the hike up had some cool sections (climbing up ladders on steep rock faces in a jungle-like environment) but can best be described as steep, tiring and boring (for most of the hike, you can just see the trees and vines). i lost my respect for erik during the 1 – 1.5hr hike….but after sitting up top for a little while, he regained my respect. the view is very nice….and has a cool perspective on machu picchu. it was so nice that i sat up there for about an hour. i also met chuck, an engineer from texas who warned me about the dangers of socilaism in america (he also asked me to take a picture of him under the huge gay flag of the inkas…not sure if he realized the double-meaning of the flag). later on, i met carlos, a school teacher from lima who shocked me by suggesting that my spanish accent sounded brazilian…without knowing that i was brazilian (i had earlier told him i was american…but apparently i now sound more brazilian than american!)

Question Of The Day: Are peruvians surprised to find that san francisco’s (homosexual) castro district is not full of inca’s?

PICS:
1) aguas calientes from mount putukusi
2) a ladder on the hike up mount putukusi
3) i wonder where they stole this logo from?
4) the bus mechanic / underwear drying facility (i never thought about it before, but maybe theyre related businesses)