Author: Bob Benz

Spending time with Hernan gives great insight into what a capricious bitch the English language is. His English is excellent. But still he gets tripped up by the language’s lack of logic and consistency.

“Miss” and “lose” are particularly troubling. Hernan can’t get his head around why it’s “miss the bus” and not “lose the bus.” I try to explain but eventually resort to “It just is.”

We also get amusement when he tries to translate a menu item and it comes out “rolling chicken.” I start stabbing the table with my fork, trying to spear the tumbling entree, which really is “rolled chicken.”

Hernan speaks English, Spanish and Quechua fluently, and my presence gives him a chance to learn new words and ask about meanings. It works both ways. My Spanish has always been piss-poor, but I’ve been taking this opportunity to exercise it, sometimes with horrible results. Once the conversation drifts past three-word phrases in present tense, I’m in trouble, as bartender Marcello found out when he tried to talk to me about futbol. When it was all said and done, I tipped him profusely, mostly out of guilt for the way I had just savaged his language.

A few other interesting linguistic gymnatics …

(May 2) — I’m sitting here at the Inkaterra hotel in the Sacred Valley, watching a hummingbird molest a encarnada cantuta flower while I sip coca tea. This mornin we catch the train at Ollatantambo and ride to Aquas Calientes, where we’ll be a 25-minute bus ride from Machu Picchu, the high point of the trip.

Tingling with anticipation and coca tea, I’ve elevated Machu Picchu onto a sort of pedestal. I keep saying we’re going ‘up’ to Machu Picchu, and each time Hernan dutifully reminds me that in fact, Machu Picchu is at a lower elevation than Cusco and Ollatantambo.

When our guide, Hernan, said we were going to see “sexy woman,” our driver, Aldo, smiled knowingly.

Imagine our disappointment when we realized our destination really was Saqsaywaman, which does indeed sound like “sexy woman.” Quechua names can be really tough to get your tongue around, so this helpful pronuniation guide was much appreciated. In Quechua, the name means “satisfied falcon.”

Saqsaywaman is where Manco Inca, the Incan king who started as the Spaniards’ puppet but went on to lead a full-blown rebellion, almost wiped out an army led by Francisco Pizarro’s brother, Juan. But the Spaniards prevailed against long odds, prompting an Incan retreat to Ollatantambo and ultimately deep into the jungle.

There’s a sprawling parade ground at Saqsaywaman, and Hernan says he and his friends used to camp and play futbol there when they were children. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to grow up in the stone embrace of these Incan ancestors.