Navidad en Cuzco

It wasn’t until she was standing in the horde at arrivals on Christmas Eve that it finally felt real; after almost a year of waiting, countless hours of planning, and one long combi ride to the airport, Becca was finally in the last 20 minutes of her wait to see her best friend, Jess. 

Becca and Jess had met twelve years earlier in the early months of seventh grade (http://bettywhiteinabearmascotsuit.tumblr.com/post/73633213931/story-of-my-life-week-3-soul-sister) and had been best friends ever since. Becca thought herself lucky to have such a talented, kind, smart, and almost criminally hilarious person in her life, and one she considered more a sister than a friend.

Parándose en el aeropuerto a las llegadas, Becca no pudo creer que después de un año y tantas horas de planear, por fin su mejor amiga, Jess, estaba llegando. Becca y Jess han conocido hace doce años en la primaria y han tenido una amistad fuerte todos estos años. Becca pensaba que está con mucha suerte a tener una persona tan amigable, inteligente, y divertida en su vida, y una persona mas como una hermana que amiga. 

After the longest, most fidgety hours of her life, Becca finally watched her Christmas miracle wander through the gate and she ran to hug her. In about 33 seconds they were chatting and all was back to normal; no one would have guessed that it had been 16 months since they’d last seen each other.

They stayed up that whole night talking about everything from oldmemories to people back home to time machines and back again. By five AM as they boarded their flight to Cuzco they were finally tired enough to sleep. And sleep they did, through takeoff, flight, and landing. 

Christmas Day was a calm day of napping, talking, and wandering about the city. They met an adorable little boy who asked if they were millionaires and took in the amazing architecture. 

Después de unas horas bien largas, Becca miró su milagro de Navidad entra el aeropuerto y les abrazaron. En solo 33 segundos, las chicas estaban hablando normal como nunca pasó nada tiempo.

Por toda la noche, la noche buena, las chicas hablaban de todas las cosas; de sus amigos, memorias, y por su puesto, machinas del tiempo. A las cinco de la mañana entraron al avión a Cuzco y durmieron por todo el viaje. Pasaron la Navidad descansando, conversando, y caminando en el Cuzco.

They finished the evening with a Chifa dinner (Peruvian-Chinese food) and called it a night.

The girls spent the following days exploring Cuzco in the markets churches, restaurants, and a lovely day hike to see a statue of Jesus on the hill. 

Terminaron la Navidad con una cena de chifa. En los días siguientes, las chicas ya caminaron de todo Cuzco y los cerros, incluyendo a un Cristo blanco. 

They woke one morning, packed, and took a two hour van ride to Ollantay Tambo, a small town closer to Machu Picchu that boasted its own ruins. After arriving at the hostel and venturing out to eat alpaca burgers, the girls took one look at the masses of tourists filing around the ruins and shuddered. They asked the waiter about local hikes and he pointed them to a large hill across from the ruins saying the view was fantastic, he was not wrong.

Se despertaron una mañana, hicieron sus bolsas u tomaron un combi de dos horas a Ollantay Tambo, n pueblo mas cerca que Machu Picchu con ruinas. Después de llegaron al hostal, las chicas comieron unas hamburguesas de alpaca y caminaron a los cerros al lado de las ruinas. 

As they watched dark clouds roll in, they decided to play a casual game of cards in the ancient ruins, like you do.

Mirándose los nubes oscuros llegando, decidieron a jugar con tarjetas un rato en las ruinas y regresar al hostal. 

The following morning was MACHU PICCHU DAY! They awoke before five AM to pack up and walk to the train station.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been on a train,” Jess noted as they entered the “B” car and found their seats. At about two hours, the ride was lovely, following the river and winding into the valley between the old rock giants. Aguas Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo) featured a stunning view of the mountains and beautiful bridges over the river. Unfortunately it also featured a bucketload of tourists and a tourist industry to match. Bec and Jess saw the overcrowded, overcharging buses to the ruins and decided to hike the 2.5 hours, 1500 foot elevation change, and four miles that added up to a beautiful trail of rock stairs carved into a mountainside. 

La mañana después fue ¡EL DÍA DE MACHU PICCHU! Se despertaron antes que las cinco para hacer las bolsas y caminar al estación de tren. 

“Nunca he estrado a un tren,” se notó Jess mientras entraron el tren y se sentaron. El viaje fue dos horas y bien lindo con las vistas del río y las montañas. El pueblo de Aguas Calientes tenia vistas lindas pero también muchas turistas. Por eso, Bec y Jess, decidieron a caminar los 2.5 horas y 7 kilómetros a las ruinas de escaleras de piedra.

Arriving at the park entrance felt like arriving at the gates to Disneyland so the girls moved quickly through the crowds toward Machu Picchu Mountain; their second hike for the day would be rock stairs, 1500 foot elevation change, nearly 3 hours, and 5 miles. Within the first 20 minutes they stopped and wolfed down their lunches before beginning again.

Llegándose al la entrada de Machu Picchu, las chicas se movieron rápidamente a la montaña de Machu Picchu; la segunda caminata del día de 3 horas y 9 kilómetros. 

They spent the rest of the day meandering through the ruins and again playing cards before returning to Aguas Calientes to eat dinner and wait for their nine o’clock bus. 

The following morning they woke late, showered, packed, ate a solid meal, and said goodbye to Ollantay Tambo. 

They returned to Cuzco for another day to try new foods in the market, buy a few souvenirs, and Becca had her tarot cards read. They spent their last hours of New Year Eve in a cab, a plane and two airports until midnight when they hugged and Jess ran to catch her flight. Saddened by the farewell, but grateful for the visit, Becca wandered back through the airport, unsure what else to do.

Pasaron el resto del día caminando por las ruinas u jugando con tarjetas otra vez. Regresaron a Aguas Calientes para cenar y tomar el tren. 

El día siguiente, se despartieron tarde, hicieron sus bolsas, desayunaron, y se despidieron Ollantay Tambo para regresar al Cuzco. 

Pasaron el 31 en Cuzco, comiendo, comprando y conversando hasta su avión llegó para ir a Lima. A la medianoche, se despidieron para que Jess podría regresar a los estados unidos. Triste para despedir su amiga pero feliz para el tiempo juntas, Becca salió al aeropuerto.