So where was I? Ah yes, on the way to Cusco. Ah Cusco; beloved Cusco. I’m officially a little in love with Cusco. We arrived after another fairly shite bus ride late at night to find the hotel we'd booked and paid for no longer had room. After a small argument relating to whether we were in fact going to be refunded we hightailed it the Point hostel which some girlfriends from home had insisted we stay in (so I was quite pleased) as they'd worked there for two months. We had a fantastic time at the point and it was nice to see the place I'd heard so many stories about and to meet Ben the owner who had been helping me out via email for a while.
The next day we organized to meet our cousin Susie who had driven a ridiculous distance from Ecuador to ensure she was in town in time to meet us. We met Suze for dinner and then headed to Paddy's, the local Irish bar in town. It was so fantastic to see her after all these years and we had a great night reminiscing and hearing about her amazing travels (9 years on the road and still going! Insanity! Or is it???). I had been quoted as saying I was going sans alcohol in Cusco prior to the trek but I'm sure it comes as no great surprise to many of you that this didn't quite eventuate. The beers and conversation were flowing and the night ended up being quite large. Money and time exceptionally well spent I must say, and was very sad to say goodbye to Suse the following day.
The next day we hunted around and booked our 5 day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu for about half the price they advertise if you book in advance. For anyone planning to come, don't be suckered in. A lovely young Aussie guy Matt who was on Uni holidays and on our trek paid $600 US dollars from Australia and we got it for $230 US. When he asked what we paid I didn’t have the heart to tell him; I muttered ´oh a little bit cheaper´ and changed the subject. Poor bugger!
The night before our trek we met our guide Yuri who again was pocket sized and busting with enthusiasm. We organised to have an emergency horse with us in case anyone got altitude sickness (hike to 4800m) which quite a few people do. I was feeling a little nervous actually due to a knee injury I've had for a while which gave me a little grief when I climbed Villaricca and has popped its head up at random times since. Falling apart at the seams it seems!
We departed at 4.30am the following morning (groan) and drove for three hours to a small town called Mollepata where we began our trek. We walked to Sayllapata on the first day. The scenery was spectacular especially the views of Mt Salkantay. Unfortunately in the latter part of the afternoon I had a problem with my hip flexor and was in a world of hurt and quite worried about my abiltiy to continue. That night it was bloody cold (about minus 5 to 10 degrees) and unfortunately Dave and I were sharing a Peruvian sized tent. Both our feet stuck out the end of the tent which didn't help the cold factor at all! I woke up quite stiff the next day and knew the first half was going to be the toughest part of the trek. There was the option to take a horse to the summit (4600m) which I decided to take as I was unsure if I was going to be up to it.
The first horse they brought me was probably the greenest broken horse I've ever seen and actually tried to strike me when I walked anywhere near him. I told the wrangler that the horse was somewhat loco and perhaps he needed to find another. He said in typical South American fashion 'No, no problem, see?' and then proceeded to try and get on the horse. The horse nearly fell over it backed up so quickly and tried multiple times to strike him. he begrudgingly admitted perhaps another horse would be best. I smiled and nodded. The next horse he brought me was the size of a child’s pony. Bloody hell. I said 'mas grande por favor!?' Again I was told no problem and there were no other horses that were larger. My horse turned out to be a gutsy little bugger and we led the charge up the slope. There was a man who was at least 110 kilos on a horse no bigger than mine and the horse was battling to say the least. I politely tried to instruct him to lean forward up the steep sections to help the horse out which he impolitely ignored. Subsequently the horse stopped and refused to go any further. The guide came up tp me and instructed me to swap with the man. I felt dreadfully sorry for my little trooper but agreed to swap. Luckily for my new pint sized steed it wasn't far to go and with a little help he did fine. The views on the ascent were breath taking. We travelled along the flanks of the Salkantay mountain and had stunning views of the glacier and Vilacamba range. We lunched that day on the banks of a mountain stream and all had a snooze in the sun before hiking down hill to our camp at Chaullay. Chaullay was warmer than Mollepata but was swarming in mosquitoes. Dave and I decided feet out of the tent perhaps not an option that evening and tried a diagonal pattern (on a slope) which didn't make for the best nights sleep I’ve ever had lol.
The third day we trekked mainly downhill into an area where the Andes gradually meets the Amazon jungle. We passed waterfalls and saw a myriad of flora and fauna. There was a man in our group who had ignored the advice to acclimatize to the altitude for few days before teking and subsequently was quite sick. Whilst he was a lovely guy it was very frustrating as he was going at about a third of our pace and the guide was forced to spend the entire trek at the back with him which effectively left us guideless for four days. What made it even more frustrating was his mis-management of his illness: not eating, not taking the rehydration salts offered, and not eating sugar during the day. He progressively got worse and worse and slower and slower. There were sections where Yuri had asked us to wait for them where we were left sitting for an hour waiting for them to catch up which unfortunately made us all stiffen up and get cold.
The third evening we camped at Santa Teresa, a tiny town at 1900m. When we arrived and saw a fridge with cold beer we all got excited. A little too excited as it turned out. The evening became epic. We drank and salsa danced with the locals and other tour groups and had an absolute whale of a time well into the wee hours of the morning. We collectively decided to catch the bus for the first half of the next leg as we were having too much fun for a 5 am rising time.
The next morning there were many a sore head and we were all relieved to not be climbing the STEEP hill to Patallacta. We bused to a the hydro electric plant where we then hiked to Aguas Caliente, a lovely small town at the base of Machu Picchu aptly named for its resident hot springs. The walk was lovely and the excitement grew as we saw glimpses of the back ruins of machu Picchu. We hit the hot springs and then went out for dinner.
We got up at 3.30am the following morning and started the trek to Machu Picchu. We had been advised that there are only 400 tickets released each day to climb Waynapicchu which is a mountain that over looks the city of Machu Picchu. We knew the first bus would arrive there at 5am to queue for tickets so the race was on! The walk is quite grueling, with more than 100 flights of stone steps (at altitude). I was determined not to miss out and absolutely flogged myself going up. I arrived to find there were only about 40 people in front of me and whilst I was pleased at the news, the body was saying 'why the hell did you just do that to me?' We were all staggered but all managed to get tickets which was great.
We entered Machu Picchu at about 7am, just before the sun rise. When you walk around the corner and catch your first look at the city it is literally breath taking. I had been waiting to see Machu Picchu for so many years that it was quite moving actually. It is absolutely beautiful and surreal how such an advanced city could exist in the unforgiving terrain and remain hidden for centuries. I won't do it justice if I try to describe the city, I will post some pictures and let them speak for themselves.
We watched the sun rise over MP and then began exploring the city with a guide who was frankly terrible. While sold as an English speaking guide his language skills weren't great and his accent was grating. His pronunciation of the word archaeological got the entire group giggling and his lack of any real tour skills quickly had us all meandering off on our own. I loved exploring the city and puzzling at different areas and their possible functions. Little is known about the city and there are many contrasting theories.
At 10am we climbed Waynapicchu which is steep and challenging. The views from the top gave an impressive birds eye view of the city and were most definitely worth the hike. I ate an astronomically priced sandwich on top that I carried and chilled out and enjoyed the sunshine and views. Going down some of the narrow and dangerously steep steps was at times a little nerve wracking. Penalty for failure here would be very high. There was a girl in front of me who in one particular section had a mini panic attack and was frozen and had to be coaxed down by other travellers.
We spent the afternoon wandering around the city and taking a million photographs which unfortunately don't do the city justice. We bused back down to Aguas Caliente in lieu of climbing down the 100 plus flights. Unfortunately the only ATM in town was not working and after our unexpected boozeathon in Santa Teresa money was a little tight and so dinner was not luxurious. After 5 days of trekking and a 3 am start we were all exhausted and crashed early.
The following morning we caught a train then bus through the sacred valley back to Cusco. We were all tired but elated and for me personally I knew that Machu Picchu would take some topping.
The night when we got home was a rip snorter to say the least. We drank at the point and then headed to Paddy´s bar to commence the kick on. I met a German fellow who I went to a club with and had a fantastic night dancing. I was pleased to find the following morning that my body it seemed had at last begun to adjust to hangovers at altitude. I actually felt relatively human! How sad that it had taken two months of awful hangovers at altitude to achieve this status and I was now headed to sea level. Figures.
It was Inti Raymi festival (second largest festival in South America) in Cusco and the city was packed full of Peruvian and foreign tourists alike. Inti Raymi is a yearly traditional festival to farewell winter and welcome the sun. For days there were locals in traditional colourful dress dancing and singing in the streets before a final traditional ceremony that lasts most of the day and culminates in ruins outside of town. We felt it was our duty as temporary Cusco citizens to celebrate Inti Raymi in style and also to sadly farewell our fourth amigo Dave who had to cut his trip short. We spent the evening holding up the bar at the point hostel before heading out. I spent the evening chatting to (and dancing on the bar with) a beautiful and very interesting French fellow who later took me out Regge dancing. Had Tristan not been slightly younger he would be in real trouble of me chasing him across the globe in a quest to have beautiful French babies who throw incredibly exotic tantrums :D.
I was sad to leave Cusco the following day, having met some fantastic people and generally had an amazing time. As mentioned in the previous post, I feel real sadness leaving some of these places as deep down I know the likelihood of me returning is slim. As much as I'd like to think I would revisit South America, it's a big wide world out there and far too much to see.
Once again not a pint sized post so will sign off with ‘to be continued´... hasta luego amigos xxxx
