Meeting King Kong in Peru

In May I flew into Lima International Airport from L.A. at around midnight and my flight to Cuzco was scheduled to depart at 7am. - so I was planing to spend the night on a bench in the airport building. Ehhh - ... not in this town! There is so much poverty and therefore such a high crime rate that I would have had no luggage by morning - or so I was told by the locals.

I ended up spending the night in a downtown hotel and arrived in Cuzco well rested the next day. At the airport I was met by a young entrepreneur, who wanted to sell me his mother's wool. He was quite persistent and called himself 'King Kong' after the only movie that was playing in the only movie theater in town.

I stayed at the Alhambra II Hotel, a beautiful Spanish style building and a good tourist class establishment.

The altitude really knocked me out, so I again took the advice of the local people and drank lots of Mate Coco (cocaine tea). Actually it tasted quite good and definitely helped get my energy back. I decided to check out the town, and there again was my little shadow King-Kong. In Cuzco I heard only Spanish and Quetchuan, but King-Kong could speak a little English. He took me to a good Bureau du Change and showed me where to get a great meal. I had fillet (of what - I wasn't sure) and the best Lemon Meringue I ever tasted. All for less than $3. The next day I took the tourist train to Machu Picchu and stayed overnight at the Turistas Hotel - which I highly recommend. The crowds go back on the train in the afternoon, and it gave me a chance to inhale the atmosphere of this wondrous place. In the morning I climbed up Wynu Picchu to watch the sunrise in peace, and felt privileged to have been here. I also visited the Sunday market at Pisac - about an hours' drive from Cuzco and guess who I ran into again ... King-Kong, still selling wool!

When I returned to Lima I stayed at the El Pardo Hotel in Miraflores - a lovely suburb at the coast with much less crime than downtown Lima. The Gold Museum is worth a visit, as well as the old colonial City Center.

I thoroughly enjoyed Peru - it has much to offer.

For more information e-mail Chris Boecker