Friday, October 2, 2009

Abancay to Cusco






It is amazing to see a country from a bus window. It’s tantalizing. We hurtle by too fast for me to understand the scenes that I catch and I am left hoping to return . . . or at least to remember that little bit I got the chance to see. The landscapes that seem exotic are familiar to those who live here, but the hillsides, homes, (over) grazing sheep all look new to me and I like getting to see a place for the first time. I’ve picked some photographs that illustrate a journey from Abancay, with it's funny Adam and Eve strolling in a park past prickly pear cactus, to sprawling Cusco. This trip crossed mountains and high valleys and offered views of countryside with improbably steep fields (not good for soil conservation), almost familiar mud-brick architecture (reminds me of New Mexico), and eucalyptus trees (an introduced species that’s having a negative environmental impact). The sky was crisp, the clouds billowy and inside the bus Saw IV was playing at top volume. Yes, Saw IV - with a most gruesome “soundtrack” and dubbed.

2 comments:

  1. Where are the gravesites in the photo above?
    Super photo!
    Gads, what is happening that even the bus in this adventure is tainted with nonsense such as that hideous soundtrack. Must have been a strange juxtaposed journey. I would have put in ear plugs. Maybe you had the ipod in your ear.

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  2. The ipod was out of batteries. Sad. But not all the other passengers were thrilled with the film choice either.

    I took that cemetery/memorial photo for you. It was on the side of the road as we rounded a curve - above fields and villages.

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