When I arrived to Cusco I took a taxi to Chalex's house. The taxi in the bus station would cost 8 soles and the drivers were extremely rude so I walked out of the station and I found a taxi for 3 soles. There was a French girl who asked me if we could share the taxi because she was afraid to travel on her own. I was wondering why.... until I heard Chalex's story.
My host lives in quite basic conditions: no heating at home and no hot water (so there is no way I am going to take shower for the next 3 or more days, sorry!!....). I just asked him for a lot of blankets to be able to sleep at night. He seems to be a nice, smart and trustworthy guy. He welcomed me at 7 am with a cup of coffee and breakfast. This time I didn't feel obligued to pay for it which is unusual in Peru. We were chatting for a long time when I arrived and he told me that Peru is very dangerous. I would never think of this. I suppose the majority of people in Europe just know Machu Picchu in Peru.
Chalex was kidnapped and almost killed. He got on a taxi and after a short ride two men with guns entered the taxi, punched and kicked him all over, and kidnapped him. They kept him in a garage for 3 days, with a sack on his head so he could see nothing. They were kicking him hard until he gave them the pin number for his card. Within 3 days they took out all his money and his bank account became empty. His head and body were covered in blood because of the kicking. On the third day they told him they would let him go. He got very nervous because he thought it meant taking him to the desert and shooting him. Luckily, they freed him. He was hospitalised with the wounds.
When he was telling me the story, I remembered that my host from Arequipa, Raul, was kidnapped as well but the saga lasted "only" few hours. They got his money and let him go (it all started with a taxi driver too).
Wow.... Chalex is having councelling now as the impact of the kidnapping is huge and it left him with many fears (no wonder...).
Cusco is small and beautiful. I am going to Machu Picchu tomorrow or after tomorrow. People say that MP is a magic place and I am very curious to see if it makes the same impression on me. So far I have seen two magic places in my life: Petra in Jordan and Amazon river and forest in Brazil. "Magic" for me means: you go to a place and suddenly, unexpectedly, an immense feeling of happiness hits you and everything starts to feel surreal. You feel vastness of space, freedom and hope.
Here are my pictures from Arequipa:
Arequipa
