According to most of my friends and especially my family I was simply suicidal. To travel to Mexico in times like these was irresponsible and dangerous. I mean haven’t you seen the pictures of the streets flooded with people in mouth masks, full hospitals, suffering everywhere…???
Strangely enough when I got to Mexico, I haven’t witnessed anything of this. No panic nor fear to become the next victim of the vicious virus. I don’t remember seeing anyone with a mouth mask, not even at the airport! In the beginning I thought that this safety was only the case for Mexico DF, but the further I got into my discovery tour, the stronger one question emerged in my mind:
 

What country did they actually show us on TV?

Maybe there was a horrible mistake and they have accidentally mixed up the subtitles in the media? I mean, nobody is perfect, it could happen to anyone. Just be brave and admit it!  Such a wonderful country did not deserve to have its image destroyed.
As a result of the impressive images that had made their way around the globe, the number of tourists decreased significantly. The beaches, hotels, restaurants were empty. Something you would usually never see during the high season. Many people lost their jobs: either because of the crisis or the worldwide paranoia. In Cancun, the fiesta capital for foreigners, I stayed in a dorm for 14 people – ALONE!!! The other guests got eaten up by the Media monster I guess…    

OAXACA
After the enormous DF, it was a nice change to see some of Mexico’s rural areas. Oaxaca was the state with the highest percentage of indigenous population and therefore a perfect start of my exploratory tour.  Fortunately David’s sister was showing her boyfriend around Mexico at the same time and Oaxaca was their next stop too. So I got to stay with a real Mexican grandma and drank real home-made horchata!
We took a night bus there to make it in time for the Guelaguetza, a huge dance and music festival. Once a year all the different regions of the state Oaxaca were coming together to celebrate this holiday. It was so popular, that the tickets were sold out months in advance. I had no idea how to get one yet, but I was sure to figure it out upon arrival. Basically I was determined to use the most powerful and destructive weapon of all times: female tears. So when at the ticket office I got explicitly told that there were absolutely no tickets left, I simply bursted out crying:

“But… I came… (deep breath and loud sob)… all the way from Russia just to see thaaaaaaat…(another loud sob)…”

After a few phone calls there was an order from the governor of Oaxaca to let the Russian through. I got an incredible seat with an excellent view and free drinks. Some things simply never fail…
The festival itself was amazing! Each dance taught you something about the Mexican culture: a wedding, a baptism, the end of the harvest season. I am a big fan of the dance in folkloric costumes and this show was simply great. It was also very interesting to watch the audience: everyone was wearing a sombrero and a white blouse with typical Mexican ornaments.



Unfortunately due to the fact of not having enough foreigners around, the food was not really adjusted to the weak European stomach. It looked so delicious, but very soon I felt sorry for having tried anything at all. There seemed to be a huge biological difference between a European and a Mexican stomach. I would add 1 drop of a sauce, a Mexican 1 spoon. Chile seemed to be the base ingredient for every dish and made everything taste the same: burningly hot!   
Next day I got to see Tule, the biggest tree in the world, and swam in some natural mineral pools high up in the mountains. On our way we passed several villages with donkeys in the front yard and fences made out of cactus plants.



We also stopped and had a degustation in a mezcal factory, a drink similar to tequila, made out of agave roots. It was the perfect place to buy souvenirs for my Russian relatives!
In Oaxaca you also had several pyramids and ruins that required attention. We decided to visit just the biggest one: Monte Alban.

TUXCLA
From now on I really was travelling alone. My flight to USA was leaving from Cancun and I basically had 5 more days to cross Mexico. There was way too much to see and way not enough time! So in order to make it all, I had to take 3 night busses in a row…
Tuxcla was the capital of the state Chiapas and that actually appeared in my Lonely Planet guide. Ok, I now have to admit something really embarrassing: I arrived in Mexico with a guide on Central America…. The first night in Mexico DF, Davids sister started complaining about how nobody knew that her home country was part of North America. I laughed with everyone else about the stupid foreigners too embarrassed to admit that I have just carried a completely useless guide with me all the way from Europe. Only Yucatan, the home of the mayas and main tourist attraction, was mentioned in my book. I guess to make dumb tourists like me not feel that bad afterwards.
I left my bags at the bus station and went on a tour through the Canyon del Sumidero. It was an amusing boat ride with some real crocodile spotting! In the afternoon I went off walking through the colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas. I really loved all the bright colours of the local houses! 


In the evening I got on my second night bus still cheerfully hugging my sleeping bag.

PALENQUE
I arrived completely dead. The ride was 6 hours only and the seat was extremely uncomfortable. I really was longing for a shower and a cozy bed. In my search for a hostel, I got caught by a travel agent, who managed to sell me a day tour for the main sights of the area instead. 
I got to see the famous Maya ruins hidden in the forest and several waterfalls, where I took a looooong swim to somehow make up fpr the missing shower. 



In the evening I quickly had to get on my next bus. Every single cell of my body was refusing to spend another night under such inhuman conditions. But then again, my time as a backpacker was slowly coming to its end. So I decided to fully “enjoy” it while it lasted!

CANCUN
It was hot. Mexico seemed to be the country where simply everything pricked: the climate, the food, the plants... I mean they even have a cactus pictured on their flag!
In terms of communication I simply outdid myself in Cancun. Due to already mentioned lack of tourists and other backpackers, I actually managed to team up with 2 Coreans without having any language in common. One of them spoke a bit of Spanish and the rest was done in sign language. Together we went to the beaches in Isla de las Mujeres, Playa del Carmen and to the world wonder Chichen Itza. Unfortunately I have seen too many pyramids in the last week and my senses were getting numb towards all the archeological sites. The WOW-effect came only days later when looking through the pictures.



One day I had a very interesting acquaintance with an American girl, who had just spend 6 months studying in Cuba. She described me the way of life, the problems and the current situation of this country. I felt like I have gone through all that before. There were simply too many parallels to my childhood in the Soviet Union: the cheap books and theatres, the missing concept of “property”, the fact of just having 1 party… I decided that Cuba should definitely be on the list for my next trip. Are you interested in joining me? Please send your motivation letter to my hotmail account! )
I had to say good-bye to Mexico way too soon. It was so sad to leave Latin America already… Only the fact of having my wonderful American family waiting for me in San Francisco motivated me to get on the plane to the US.     

…is the highest point of anything. A moment of true and intense pleasure...

Like a person, every trip experiences one. A place where you arrive and just stay overwhelmed with emotions realizing that this is exactly what you were looking for.

If you come to Russia you can not miss the Red Square. Well, and if you happen to be in Peru, then Machu Pichu is your must. I have heard a lot about this place, but what I actually saw and felt simply went beyond the imaginable.

CUSCO

The choice from Lima was between a cheap bus of 20 hours OR an expensive flight of 1 hour. I was still hesitating, when the Peruvian government decided to pass a new law that somehow gave them access to the indigenous land. This provoked a wave of strong protests from the indigenous people and they decided to hit where it hurts the most: tourism. All roads were suddenly full of stones. No busses could get through and on the news you would hear horrific stories of tourists walking along the highway for 12 hours because of the blockades.

Two of my friends from Belgium got actually stuck in a little village in the middle of nowhere and were surrounded by quite agressive locals, who only spoke Quechua. After I have witnessed their adventurous rescue, there was only one option left: the plane!

Right after the landing I felt the altitude again. Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, was located 3400m above sea level. The headache, the breathing difficulty and the walking speed of a grandma. Here we went again...

Also the temperature differences were hardly bearable. Every day I prepared myself 2 outfits: a summer version for the day and winter one for the evening. I even purchased a nice folcloric hat made of alpaca because I was so cold. Although every time I was wearing it people would offer me marihuana on the streets.  

The first night I took the courage to try a pisco sour in a local bar. I have been honestly chewing on my coca leaves the whole day, so I felt strong and brave. Unfortunately already the first sip made me fall of my chair. I guess being adjusted to the altitude did not mean being ready for alcohol consumption.

The city was impressively set in a valley surrounded by green moutains. Tiny streets, old Inca constructions, amazing churches, souvenirs and travel agencies everywhere. I was also quite fascinated by the local market: freshly squeezed juices for almost nothing, ladies in national costums sitting right on the vegetables they were selling and the most disgusting meat stands ever. Every piece was basically covered with flies and when a vendor tried to catch my attention by peeling of the skin of a frog, my stomach went through the most unforgettable experience ever.

All tourists going to Machu Pichu passed through Cusco. You probably saw more foreigners on the streets than locals, which meant that everyone was annoyingly trying to sell you something. “Yo no espanol” did not help in this case. Almost all vendors had a perfect base of English.  

INCA TRAIL 

My initial speed plan to spend just a few days in Cusco and then move on to Puno and maybe to Bolivia had to be changed. Because of the blockades it was impossible to get a bus ticket anywhere. I was basically trapped for over a week in Cusco until my return flight to Lima.

- “Why don.t you do a track to Machu Pichu? It is definitely worth more than the 1 day you plan to spend there!”

Enthusiastic and energetic me followed this advice from the hostel owner and a couple of hours later I was signed up for a 4-days Inca trail.

Day 1:

Early pickup and meeting the group. As the guide put it:

-“Your family for the next 4 days!”.

We were 9 in total plus the guide. All aged between 22 and 30. 4 boys from the States and 5 girls from France, Switzerland and indecisive me, who just kept confusing everyone with the languages and countries, Fortunately everyone in the group was quite... an individual, so soon my biography was perfectly fitting the rest of the “family”.Here are some of the members:

A French artist living in London, who was on her way to a seminar with the local shaman. It involved some hallucinating sessions with a Peruvian plant ayahuasca.

      Her website is definitely worth a look: www.setdesignandmore.com     

An American anthropologist, who was specialised in old bones. He came to Latin America to dig out ancient skulls and analyze the diet of a particular tribe, that died out centuries ago.

      After I had introduced myself to everyone I saw an unhealthy spark lighting up    

      his eyes. Something that made me feel like a guinea pig. It turned out I was a

      great victim for an anthropological experiment. There was this theory that your          

      strategy of playing chess depended on the language you were thinking in. Now,          

      what happened if your brain was able to switch the language of thoughts?

            Fortunately I did not know how to play chess, so the experiment never

            took place.   

An absolutely gorgeous American poet and an ex anti-smoking model, playing the guitar and constantly looking for an occasion to get high. He was ready to chew on anything that would promise some ilusions and fantasies. Although I bet every girl on our trip wished it was her he would chew on!   

   The activity of the first day was mountain biking. The bus dropped us off in an altitude of 4600m and we had to descend to 2300m on bikes. I have never done it before and it turned out to be the scariest thing ever! The fact that the guide had told us a story, most probably a fairy tale, of an American girl who went too fast and fell of a cliff did not help. I was on the brakes the whole time and even managed to fall off a standing bike.

We spend the night in a little village, where we had some Quechua lessons and dinner. My vegetarian options turned out to be full of crawling beasts smartly hiding in the cauliflower.

Day 2:

Walking for 9 hours through the jungle! The guide gave us an introduction to different plants and animals that had a special meaning to the Incas. This time flying beasts almost killed me: the mosquitos were attacking us from everywhere!

Since all tours passed through exactly the same places, you had “official stops” where in the middle of the wild forest you would find hammocks, ladies selling soda and chips hanging of papaya trees. Some domesticated monkeys and other weird animals were trained to ask you for money.

The action ended in some hot springs, that were naturally heated by a volcano. This night we also stayed in a little village, where the hotel receptionist was simultaneously our waitress in a restaurant and the DJ in a bar.

The last place was quite a joke. Like in a safe cage we were completely cut off from any locals. There was absolutely no one in the bar besides us. But, hey, with good Peruvian music and some cheap cocktails even the worst hole turned into a party place.Especially if you had such a crazy “family” celebrating its reunion...

Our hostel this night had remarkably thin paper walls, so you could hear everything that was going on in the other rooms. This was how I happened to witness a quite interesting conversation of our drunk guys: 

“I would definitely go for the crazy Russian with all her languages! Man, we are in Peru! You´ll never get a chance like that again!”

“I don´t know... I heard the Russians bite and scratch in bed quite a lot!”

Pardon me? I felt like in a summer camp being 16 again! And that statement about the Russian love techniques was not true, believe me!

Day 3;

Walking the whole day again. This time the landscape was less charming: we followed the railway tracks for hours.

In the afternoon we arrived in Aguas Calientes. This town was the closest place to Machu Pichu. Over-priced and full of tourists!

After lunch we climbed the Patakusi mountain, where you had a great view of the famous Inca ruins. Even though the climbing part was killing! 2h of steep stairs and half-destroyed Inca trails.

Our guide got a food poisoning somewhere on the way and was in quite a bad condition. There was absolutely no salvation from his constant mood swings!

Day 4:

Getting up at 4am to walk up the Inca trail and conquer the Machu Pichu. Naturally everything had to be done in the dark since the Incas haven´t invented the street lights yet. The way took us 1,5 hours!

Our group was one of the first to enter the ruins. Just one word came to my mind: magical! Full of fog, lamas and ancient constructions.... You really had the feeling of entering another dimension. The view was captivating and truly hypnotizing. I have never sensed anything like that before!

Once the place was filled with more tourists, the magic started to disappear. Although you still could feel the strong aura of this place.    

We also walked up the Waina Pichu. It was another mountain with an absolutely breathtaking view! Only 400 people a day were granted admission and you had to line up at 6am in order to be lucky.

My experience of Machu Pichu happened to coincide with the 4^th of July. Since the majority of the tourists were American, you were always greated with the unusual:

“Happy Independence Day!”    

We spend the whole day in Machu Pichu. After so much climbing and walking my legs were almost falling off. I really had to fight the desire to sit down and start crying.

From Aguas Calientes we took a train and then a bus back to Cusco. Despite my strong fatigue, I still decided to join the anthropologist and the poet for a 4^th of July celebration. We stayed in a club until 6am!

LIMA

Back from Cusco, I only had a couple of days left in Peru. The time went flying by with the speed of light. I managed to visit the National Museum with a great photo exhibition on the years of terrorism in Peru and go shopping with Mama Diana. Silver was incredibly cheap there, so I ended up in a huge shopping mall with jewellery only. Thanks god there was a limit on my credit card is all I can say...

Before I could think, I was already in the airport saying good bye to Ronald and taking the flight to my next destination: Mexico.