Mega Man

I am starting to remember some of the details of my Huayhuash trek. One night, at a campsite deep in the wilderness at 4000 meters plus, I suddenly heard a familiar song, the last song I expected to hear in the backcountry of Peru: the theme song from Mega Man. Our guide Heimer had his radio on, and apparently the local station had recycled this video game music for use as station identification. Weird.

I met a lovely British couple the other day who were having their own crisis. One of their bags was stolen in Cuzco, right off the husband´s shoulder, and they lost their money and their passports. Like me, they had to cancel part of their trip and return to Lima to deal with the problem. Unlike me, they didn´t have any time to lose, so, despite their good cheer, I felt bad that they had to miss out on the jungle-trekking, bird-watching portion of their holiday.

The doctors tell me there is nothing wrong with me, so I am free to continue my adventure (as long as I take medication three times a day for the next year and avoid alcohol--groan). Actually, he said chicha might be ok... hmm... I already bought a bus ticket to Arequipa, and I depart on the 15-hour journey tonight. The buses here are quite nice, with reclining seats you can sleep in and meal service. Hopefully, we won´t be hijacked en route.

I ought to be at Machu Picchu by the weekend.

Today, I will probably head back downtown to finally check out the alleged burial site of Inca empire-conqueror Francisco Pizarro.