Chapter 7
Rego rode past a large lake that had an old wooden sign painted in red letters. The sign read, Lago Titicaca. It took him nearly a half hour to ride around the entire lake. The sun shone brightly around the lake and he could see the reflection of the clouds on the water with the mountains in the background. Rego stopped for a moment to take in the magnificent sight.
As he rode on, the snow-covered mountain peaks were all around him as he traveled on the valley roads and up and down steep mountain slopes. The air grew cold in the mountain shadows and he was always glad to emerge from the giant shadows and into the sunlight once again where it was warm. The peaks of the Andes were so numerous, he could not count them all. Rego was just amazed at such a beautiful sight.
As he road down yet another steep incline, he felt the engine begin to sputter. He pulled over and put the last of the fuel into the tank and rode as far as he could before the engine finally ran out. He threw the scooter off to the side of the road and started to hitch-hike the rest of the way. He passed a sign that read, ‘Cusco 50km’. “That’s a long way to walk,” he thought. “I sure hope somebody comes along.”
The mountain air was brisk and the wind blew hard at times as he wandered down the mountain road. It was nearing dark when some headlights appeared over the hill behind him. Rego stuck out his thumb as a vehicle approached him. A small, beat up van pulled alongside and stopped.
A woman with long, blonde hair rolled down the window on the passenger side. “Where ya headed?” she asked in English. Rego did not understand, so he stood there silently. The man in the driver seat stared at him patiently. They were both in their twenties, not much older than Rego. “Are you headed to Cusco?” she asked again.
“Cusco, sí,” Rego said finally.
“Well, jump on in!” she said happily pulling the handle on the back door. He climbed into the van and shut the door behind him.
“Name’s Alex,” the driver spoke up. “This is my girlfriend Andrea, I just call her Andy. We’re from California!”
“Crazy Americanos. Great!” Rego thought. “What the hell are they doing down here?”
Andy turned way around in her seat. She had a peace symbol tattoo on her bare arm. Alex had a bandana tied around the top of his head. “I don’t think he speaks English, Alex baby. Do you speak English?” she asked him. Rego shook his head.
“He doesn’t speak English,” she said turning back around in her seat.
“Well see if he’s hungry. Looks like he’s been walking around out here for days!” Alex said, throwing some potato chips in his mouth.
Andy turned around in her seat again, holding up a bag of potato chips, “Tango ahmbray, amigo?” She smiled at him thinking her Spanish was perfectly understandable. Rego nodded and took some chips from the bag. “Look, he’s eating them!” she said excitedly.
“Calm down, he’s not a zoo animal,” Alex scolded her. “Give him the bag and let him be.”
Rego sat back and munched hungrily on the bag of chips. He was glad to relax for a while. He tried hard to ignore the curious American woman in the front seat. He closed his eyes and let the rattling of the van help him drift off to sleep.
Andy spun around in her seat again. “Hey, what’s your name?” Rego jumped in his seat, startled awake by the curious Andy. He looked at her like a madwoman. He closed his eyes and didn’t answer since he didn’t know what she said anyway. Andy put a finger to her chin. “Let me see if I can remember how to say that in Spanish,” she thought out loud.
“Leave him alone,” Alex said with a yawn and slapped her finger down. She ignored him, though.
“Como se llama?” she said with assuredness.
Rego slowly opened his eyes again, thinking she would never let him rest in peace. He sat up and took a deep breath and sighed heavily, then said sleepily, “Rego.”
“Hey!” Andy shrieked in delight, startling both Alex and Rego awake again. “I said it right! His name is Ringo! Alright, groovy man! He’s my favorite Beatle. I love his hair!”
Alex rolled his eyes at her. “He didn’t say Ringo, he said Reee-go! Just turn around and leave him alone, will ya? We’re almost there.”
Rego just shook his head in confusion. “I wonder if all Americans are like this?” he thought to himself. “What a bunch of strange people.”
As they entered Cusco, Alex drove slowly down the narrow streets, looking for a market that was still open. He finally found one that sold fruits and fresh vegetables and an assortment of dried peppers and jerky. They bought a few bags of fruits and vegetables and even a few sticks of fresh jerky. Andy saw they had some dusty cans of Coca Cola on the shelf, so she bought a six-pack of them as well.
They came back to the van where Rego sat with his eyes closed. Alex opened the door and put the bags inside. “Hey man, we’re here in Cusco now. You can hang with us if you want, but we’re on our way to go camp out tonight.”
Rego sat up in the seat. He had no idea what Alex was saying. He looked around the street that was dimly lit and saw the market. “Do you know how I can get to Lima?” he asked in Spanish.
Alex only understood the name Lima. “Lima? No this is Cusco, man.”
Andy came hopping behind Alex, full of energy. “Hey, maybe he’s on his way to Lima, maybe he’s not stopping in Cusco. Aren’t we going to Lima later on? That’s where we head out of this place, right?”
Alex nodded and thought for a moment and then spoke up. “Listen man, you seem pretty cool to me. We’re going to Lima but not for a couple of days. If you want, you can hang with us until then.”
Rego tried to understand. “Lima, que?” he said curiously.
Alex turned towards Andy, “How do you say two days?”
“Dos dias, silly!” she said with a smile.
Rego sat up when he heard that. “Lima? En dos dias?” Rego smiled and nodded yes to them.
“Far out, man. Well, let’s get this show on the road!” Alex said with enthusiasm. They piled into the van and headed out of Cusco. They drove for another hour and then stopped in a heavily wooded area. He found a good place to pull over on the side of the road that had a lot of tree cover. Alex and Andy grabbed one of the bags of food and then pulled an old tent from the back of the van. Andy went dancing into the trees, still full of energy. Alex grabbed a small flashlight and started to follow her, then turned around to look at Rego still sitting inside the van.
“Looks like you’ve got the van to yourself, my man. Stretch out in here if you want, we’re going to go set up our tent out there somewhere. See you in the morning!” Andy said with a wink.
Rego watched as Alex disappeared into the trees with the flashlight. He could still hear Andy singing to herself out in the night with delight. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Finally, some peace and quiet to myself,” he thought to himself. Then he shut the door and flopped down on the long bench and was fast asleep in minutes.
The next morning it was still dark when Rego heard the back door of the van open. He slowly lifted his head over the seat to see Andy putting the rolled up tent back inside.
“Hey sleepy head!” she said to him cheerfully. Rego rolled his eyes and fell back on the bench.
“A morning person,” he thought to himself. “Of course she is!”
Alex and Andy both jumped in the front seats and the van roared to life. They both looked at each other with excitement in their eyes.
“Are you ready, love?” Alex asked her with a growing eagerness.
“I’m ready, baby! Lost City, here we come!” she yelled with a howl.
Rego was fully awake at that point, for he had very little choice in the matter. He was curious at what all the excitement was about, though. He sat up in the seat and watched as they drove down the road. The van slowed down to a small narrow road that led up a steep hill. Alex turned up the hill and
carefully made his way up the incline. He drove for a little while longer and then pulled over. Alex and Andy both jumped out in joyous anticipation. They grabbed a few belongings and food and then motioned to Rego to get out as well.
“Come on, Rego! You have to go with us! Let’s get up there before the sun comes up!” Andy said with glee. She reached her hand out and encouraged Rego to get out of the van. He got out of the van with a growing curiosity to where they were going.
This was the moment Andy and Alex had been waiting for. It was the single point to their entire journey from San Diego. It was the highlight of their trip. They climbed up a narrow path that winded its way up the mountain. The view behind them as the sun came up was spectacular. As they neared the top of the path, Andy started jumping up and down with joy. Rego came up behind them where they had stopped. A large wooden sign read in Spanish, Machu Picchu – Lost City of the Incas.
The three climbers stepped to the edge of the city and looked down upon the ruins. The whole area was covered in a thick morning fog. They stood in awe as the fog slowly lifted in certain places, one section at a time, slowly revealing the ancient ruins of the lost city. Rego stood in amazement at the sight. He had heard of the name of this place in some of his old history classes in school but never gave much thought to it. Never in his dreams did he think he would ever see it.
The sun began to rise over the ancient walls. They walked all around looking at the different rock structures and walls. They marveled at the cunning architecture and ancient engineering. Each stone in the ancient walls was carefully placed, one by one, with precise craftsmanship. And, each wall had not a trace of mud or mortar. The city was an architectural wonder.
Soon, other people showed up to walk around the ruins as the sun lifted high. The three of them found a place to sit on the wall to eat some lunch. They opened the bag of food and pulled out oranges and apples from the market and passed them around. Rego sat with an apple in his hand, looking down over the marvelous site. Alex had carried a small ukulele with him all the way up the mountain side. He pulled it out and started to play a tune while Andy started to hum along with him, waving her head back and forth with her hair flowing in the air. He played a tune they had written together and soon Andy started to sing the words as he played.
So I'm singing, flying
I'm just like a bird that flies
Into your waiting arms
With flowers, daisies
In your precious garden
With the butterflies
Way up in the skies
I'm soaring with your love
Upon my lips
You kiss me
Sweetly above the ocean
Rego listened as she sang. He thought her voice sounded nice. He stared out into the open view while he listened to the tune they played. He thought about Rosa in Brasilia, wishing that she were here to see this wonderful sight with him. He didn’t find Andy so annoying any longer. He began to appreciate their excitement and shared it with them. “It was a great idea to come up here,” he thought to himself.
They spent the whole day wandering around Machu Picchu. Late in the afternoon, the local caretakers began asking the visitors to start heading back down the mountain. A light rain started to fall as the three explorers made their way back down the mountain.
It was nearly dark when they reached the van. They were all tired from the climbing and exploring the ruins all day. Alex pulled the van out and drove down the narrow road and made it back to the main road to Lima. He drove a few blocks and pulled over to the side.
“Hey man, you want to drive us the rest of the way to Lima?” he asked, turning all the way around in his seat to face Rego. Rego looked at him blankly. “You, drive to Lima?” he asked him again, motioning with his hands as if he was holding a steering wheel. Rego finally understood as Alex hopped out of the driver side door. Rego climbed into the driver seat. As he looked over the gears and pedals, Andy slipped out of her seat and crawled to the back seat and waited for Alex to get in. Rego watched as she slithered to the back with a sheepish grin on her face.
Rego pulled the van out onto the dark road and started towards Lima. He could hear Alex and Andy behind him, playfully kissing and making out passionately in the back seat. Rego immediately felt embarrassed. He shook his head as he drove and mumbled quietly to himself, “Crazy Americanos.”
Rego drove most of the night until he could see the sky begin to glow up ahead. He could tell the lights of the big city were up ahead. His eyes were weary and he rubbed them to try and stay alert. The activity in the back seat had quieted down and Andy slept with her head rested on Alex’s shoulder. Alex was asleep with his head against the window.
They pulled into the city just before sunrise. Rego found a busy square to pull into and he stopped alongside a park in the middle. He turned around to see Alex and Andy just opening their eyes.
“Good morning, friends. Welcome to Lima,” he said with a smile. Andy smiled back at him.
“Well, we made it, didn’t we?” she said smiling and stretching her arms. “I suppose you are going to leave now?” Rego gathered up his jacket and the leather satchel and opened the driver door. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said smartly.
Alex and Andy crawled out of the van and Rego met them on the other side. He smiled at them and reached out his hand to Alex to shake his hand. “Gracias, mis amigos, gracias,” he said to them. He shook his hand, and then he smiled once more at Andy. Andy then gave Rego a hug, which he didn’t expect.
“You take care, amigo! And don’t forget to write!” she said with a beaming smile.