16 October 2023 Cuzco

In search of… shoe repairs

“The thing that humans get wrong is that we think that we have time… everyone dies, but not everyone lives.”
Aralyn Doiron talking about ‘Death and Aliveness’ on Julia Neumann ‘Radically Alive Women’ podcast

I had a good breakfast at the Hotel Monasterio San Pedro. This hotel is right next to Cuzco San Pedro station, so I won’t have far to walk tomorrow to catch the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu). The hotel was once a monastery with very pleasant grounds.

After breakfast I had some essential website maintenance for kunphen.center which couldn’t be put off, but it only took 30-minutes or less.

I started to walk around San Pedro Market, and saw a very busy shoe repair shop, where people were having belts, handbags and shoes mended. I noticed yesterday that the soles of both my shoes were starting to come apart. I was going to buy some superglue for a quick fix, but maybe a proper repair will give them another lease of life. I really should have asked ‘cuánto cuesta?’ before I handed over my footwear. The cobbler took an absolute age to do a repair that I am sure will not last until I go back to Ireland. The cost was 60 Peruvian soles which is about 15 euros!

I had to wander around the older part of Cuzco in my rejuvenated shoes and stopped for coffee and cake. I then walked back to the hotel and took up a nice spot in the garden to join a ‘Sit-and-Share’ meeting on Zoom. And, very pleasant and agreeable it was too.

I had been warned about a lack of ATMs in Aguas Calientes, the small town at the bottom of Machu Picchu, so I left the hotel in search of a cash machine and an early dinner at the Inka Grill. I walked back to the hotel via the Orion supermarket where I stocked up with snacks and drinks for tomorrow’s train journey, and to take to Machu Picchu the following day.

In various Buddhist traditions, there are practices that cultivate and promote an awareness – or mindfulness – of death; not to make me afraid, but to increase my appreciation of life and to make me ask what is it that is really important… what matters most?

My alarm is set for 5.30 am so time for another early night.

Budget Costs: