Samaipata

In SF life is non stop. Work, choir, school, bike coalition, jam making, farmer's markets, dates and friends. Before the volunteer job starts in Urubamba, I have a single goal: relax. Samaipata, 3 hours southwest of Santa Cruz was the perfect place to do that.

Buried high in the mountains Samaipata is the closest town to "El Fuerte", an Inca Fortress cum ceremony site cum intersection of Andean and Amazonian cultures. The dark green hills are dappled with fog and the climate is comfortably cool. Abandoned ruins, a not oft touristed town makes for a tranquil hideaway. You run away to Samaipata when the world's tide comes in too fast. Thus the preponderance of ex-pats here. Voluntary refugees from Europe who open tour agencies, french bakeries or bars called "La Oveja Negra". Making finding a good croissant easier than a good internet connection in this Andean mountain town.

Not just a town for Incan fortresses, cheap produce, and french pastries but also a beautiful street dog population. No flea ridden, dread locked, dirt covered, scabbed, pus dripping and drooling mongrel curs roving the streets. Instead Dalmations, Saint Bernards, chocolate labs, poodles, and golden retrievers. Is this were all the beautiful dogs of our childhoods run away to?