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Cusco, Peru
It was Hugh's good fortune in 2011 to visit the historic capital of the Inca Empire - Cusco, Peru.
His mother Dr. Catherine Lindell, a restoration biologist and ornithologist at Michigan State University was scheduled to present research at the IX Congress for Neotropical Ornithology held November 8th to the 14th. It was his grandfather John's good fortune to be invited along to hang out with Hugh while his mother was professionally preoccupied. Then 9 years old Hugh was intelligent, articulate - an outstanding soccer and basketball playing violinist. I write this as a dispassionate but informed observer. The question - what can two individuals, sharing they believe keen intellects but separated in age by three-quarters of a century do together to occupy the day in a UNESCO "World Heritage Site ?*
Peru's constitution recognizes Cusco as the "historic capital" of that nation. It has a resident population of 450,000 and 2,000,000 visitors annually. Positioned in the Andes Mountains at 11,200 feet altitude sickness is a deleterious possibility for any tourist. While Hugh and his mother adjusted rapidly to the thinner atmosphere John did not. Medical literature lists eleven symptoms of common altitude sickness. John experienced nine of them including profound weakness, skull busting headaches and explosive diarrhea. (Hugh thought the last symptom was pretty hilarious.) Cusco residents offer visitors hot coco leaf tea to ward off the effects of oxygen deprivation. While enjoying the tea immensely John derived little benefit and drained of energy sought less demanding activities.
Hugh, Goat y dos Muchachas
He would lead Hugh on walks to nearby parks. The Hotel Machu Picchu is located across the street from a city focal point - the Plaza de Armas. So the two would slowly proceed to the Plaza and then sit on a park bench. After John had rested they would set off over granite brick streets three additional blocks to another park - Plaza Regocijo (Place of Rejoicing!). John would find a bench and they would sit again. He tried to make it lively for Hugh by pointing out the number of seemingly stray dogs wandering about (three or four at one sitting!). Hugh would nod out of politeness while successfully masking incredulous boredom. John would somewhat recharge and they would push off across San Teresa Street, up San John de Dios Street to the Plaza San Francisco and another bench. Occasionally they would enter a building that was inevitably crowded with shops and stalls - all selling alpaca knit goods. Listlessly they wandered to and fro and would then exit. Hugh would later remark that he did not like " that tourists were so targeted to sell stuff to". It was true - so true but John and Hugh weren't buying anything. Once they stopped and purchased three ice cream cones - the extra for a dog lying on the sidewalk. The dog sniffed at their offering, refused it and went back to sleep.
In the Hotel they would spend time lying on the beds watching televised soccer games from Mexico, Spain, Italy and Germany - betting nuevo sols (1 Peruvian nuevo sol = $.30 US) on each game. Then to speed up the action placed side bets on which team would score the next goal. This was fun. Hugh understands the value of money and was always an excellent winner. So then money was infused into other activities. Bordering the Plaza de Armas is the Basilica Catedral, a "working" church with an immense collection of religious art. One day to expose Hugh to fine art and religious ideas simultaneously John purchased tickets to La Catedral. Intuitively understanding that a 9 year old male might be bored by hundreds of paintings of angels, saints, martyrs and deities, he decided to make it financially worth his while. John promised to pay Hugh 3 nuevo sols for every art work he discovered containing someone with a smile. Over the next hour among the array of paintings and sculptures they found one definite smile and five "maybes". A heated discussion of the enigmatic "maybe smiles" ensued - perhaps it was simply a smirk by a cherub or baby contentedly passing gas. Finally Hugh was awarded 17 nuevo sols ($5.00 US).
When Professor Lindell was available the three of course did things together. Each Sunday in Cusco there is a parade of surprising duration - two to three hours. Groups of happy, uniformed school children, patriotic and religious organizations as well as military units wind their way through the core of the city passing La Catedral. From our Hotel we crossed the Plaza de Armas and had a fine view. The marching military included a platoon of snipers in fringed camouflage along with army and police units. Of minor interest but nevertheless noted - the army units were equipped with M 16s while the police carried Kalashnikovs - a sign perhaps of intra-governmental competitiveness? The police were also led by a strikingly attractive female officer in beige riding britches and shining boots.
At the end of the Congress they planned to take a day tour to the remains of Machu Picchu. Tickets were purchased. But neither John's mind or body would cooperate - the thought of awakening at 5:00 AM and climbing down stairs to begin three hours of travel was painful - the thought of climbing up anywhere at the site seemed masochistic. He gave his ticket to one of Professor Lindell's graduate students and they went to visit "a wonder of the world". Later that day John went to the Plaza Regocijo, sat on a park bench and counted stray dogs, alone.
Recently Hugh was asked what he liked about Cusco. "I liked the scenery and the liveliness of the town . . . what I didn't like was the chaos in the streets". John was pleased he did not remember boredom.
* See Cusco, Peru - Wikipedia
Photos - Dr. Catherine Lindell
