Cusco, Machu Picchu

Cuzco - already seems like ages ago (4 nights). I arrived in Cusco with an Australian girl, that I met on the bus. She likes "Predator", "Alien" and "Terminator". We checked into a branch of "LOKI" hostels. During my days in Cusco I didn't check out many of the turist attractions. The loveliness of the city lies in the city itself anyway. I ate at some of the best places and some of the best food in town. Hideki - a Japanese-American was able to stimulate me on an intelectual basis. In Loki's it's not difficult to meet new people - even for a guy like me. Local people were continuously demonstratiog about some planned reforms. Above all the privatization of water and the licensing of multinational companys to search for oil in the jungle in the NE. That meant that there were costantly people walking through the streets with some banner.
After hasseling to look for the cheapest tour agency I finally found a dumping price to go to Machu Picchu. On my tour were 4 Israelis, 2 colombian girls and a dutch guy. The Israelis were cooking more or less their own soup. The dutch fellow was in his late 30's and colombian girls young and funny. The tour was organized in a - even for peruvian standards - bad fashion. Responsibilitis were as unclear to us as to the various guides. People ended up without traintickets, hostels, transport and in my case without breakfast and enrty ticket for Machu Picchu (40$). After getting drunk with the dutch guy we got up at 4 AM to climb the seemingly endless uphill battle to the ancient fortress of Machu Picchu. The ruins are great, but the sight itself makes this place to the most famous turist attraction in South America. This extraordinary place is almost worth the 110$ you have to pay to get there. By far the most expensive tour on the journey so far. In the village nearby - where you sleep - there is no decency or whatsoever . Waiters put an 30% tax on things, promis discounts and don't deliver at all. Gringos pass through this village for one night all year long - and they know it. After the visit to MP we encountered some indigenous people blocking the railroad - once again because of the water situation. This meant we had to walk along the railroads for 3 hours and then take the microbus back (thats when I lost the camera I bought in Mexico). Arriving at 10 PM in the evening in Cusco, we just had enough energy to get some beers. Thats when the colombian girls left and the Daniel (dutchman) flew to Lima. Once again I was by myself and organized a busticket to Arequipa. At the busterminal I encounterd some people I knew from Bolivia. We shared a cab to get back to the citycenter. Indigenous people were twrowing stones towards us - so we had to change direction a few times until we were close to the main plaza. A truly amazing cabride for 50 cents.
After that I met two Americans with whom I watched the Campions League final. The locals strangely liked the team of the Conquistadores and got there satisfaction.