Machu Pichu
Trip Start
May 07, 2008
1
71
90
Trip End
Jan 06, 2009
Machu Picchu,
Sacred Valley,
Peru
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Well, the train journey was really interesting, through rolling countryside and primitive mud farming villages and stray dogs looking for a Bitch. It was a lovely train with breakfast provided. (David: There are two ways to get to Machu Picchu from Cuzco: Train or trail. The train takes four hours, and the trail (only one letter different) takes four days of camping and hiking. We took the train, because the trail needs to be booked up to a year ahead. You can only do it with a guide and several porters carrying your bags, like a Victorian entourage!! and they only let a limited number of people do it a day.)
We were actually staying in a small town at the bottom of Machu Pichu, called Aguas Calientes, which is the nearest point of civilisation to Machu Pichu, 3.5 miles away! Most of the town's tourism is kept alive by Machu Pichu visitors and the plethora of restaurants and souvenir shops vying for your custom. Our Hotel was fantastic but bizarre. It was right slap-bang in the middle of the train tracks!! Seriously! You accessed it by a concrete walkway
PeruRail
. Well, one of their restaurants was here. The accommodation and the other restaurant, reception, bars, gift shops are all located over the tracks and up the steep stone steps, that wind through the jungle of wild plants and flowers and tiny waterfalls trickling down the rocky walls. Absolutely beautiful. No sooner had we dropped bags in our room then we trekked back down through the wild Hotel garden, back to the station to find our guide for our afternoon Machu Pichu tour. Our guide was fantastic. His Peruvian English was excellent, he had a sense of humour and what he didn't know about Machu Pichu proably wasn't worth knowing. I honestly don't know where to start talking regarding Machu Pichu. It is just the most incredible, amazing, stupefying place ever. I had only heard of it briefly and although it interested me, I didn't have a torrid fascination whereas David's interest and knowledge ran deeper. I never ever expected it to blow me away as much as it really did. I am nodding from side to side because I can't find the words to fully express how incredible Machu Pichu is.
Ok, basically, in a nutshell...it's approx 2,500metres above sea level in the Andes Mountains. (David: Lower than Cusco, by the way. The Inca trail from there is all downhill...) It was constructed about 1460 but many of the buildings sadly stand half-built possibly due to the Spanish Invasion and so the rapid fleeing of Inka residents. Although, some say it was due to a smallpox epidemic too
Our Hotel in the middle of the train tracks!
. Lots of rumours abound as to why it stands half-finished. No one will ever really know. Machu Pichu was then re-discovered in 1911 by archaeologist Hiram Bingam. When he discovered it, he was working at Yale University but came over to learn about the few natives that still lived on site. Bizarrely, the Machu Pichu City was completely swathed by a forest of trees and hidden away. Only the terraces remained visible. These many terraces were used for agricultural purposes for the Inkas to cultivate local produce. So, then the swathe of forest was gradually hacked down and that's when the extraordinary vast City was finally un-earthed. The Inkas built the 5-mile City on the top of Machu Pichu Mountain using granite from the Mountain top. The site contains not only temples, palaces and storage rooms but also private houses and public baths. It is completely hidden from the bottom of the mountain and must have been completely self-sufficient at the time. Basically, an entire city, on the top of a mountain. (David: The most recent evidence suggests that it was a Royal retreat.) In 1983 it was declared a World Heritage site. Although the wheel was invented then, there is speculation that they never used this as a device for carting the hundreds of stones up the mountain. Likewise, apparently, there seemed to be no sufficiently strong animals to transport the necessary materials. So, how exactly they got all the stones up the hundreds of metres to build a City is just staggering and an on-going enigma
A bastard-sized moth!
. That, is it, in a nutshell without plunging into a thesis about the place! (David: It's a mountain, most of the rocks where there already. I remember growing up with the idea that the Inca's never invented the wheel (other than as an ornament) and that's always presented simultaneously as an indication of how backwards they were but also how clever they were to build so many amazing things without it. But having been to some Inca sites now, I can fully appreciate that even if they did have carts and wheelbarrows, what bloody good would they have been to a people that live above 2000 metres up on the top of mountains! For all we know they invented cars and bus' and all sorts of thing... all of which totally useless.)So, we walked around with our guide, going into half-built rooms, marvelling at the mountain-top vistas stretching over the trees as far as the eye can see and just making lots of "oh god" noises as we trekked over this incredible place. I got talking to an American woman in our tour who did Reiki, so we shared some titbits about Reiki and she told me that she regularly went to Egypt and came to Machu Pichu because of the spiritual vibrations and visions she gets from stones and landmarks.
That night, at dinner we had a Spanish lesson back at the Hotel! During dinner, the kitchen porter?? Barman?? Came over to chat to us. What started off as an initial bit of advice on Spanish phrases turned into him regularly visiting our table with a bit of card with handwritten phrases on, until he got told off by his supervisors and was then ordered to stay behind the bar! His role was then replaced by the head waiter who then also provided us with phrases
Machu Pichu
. So funny. The next day, we got up at some disgusting hour of the morning, before the sun had risen, as we decided to climb Wayna Pichu. This is another sky-reaching mountain next to Machu Pichu. It is approx 2,720metres above sea level or approx 350metres higher than Machu Pichu. To climb it, a popular feat amongst stupid people, entails getting there as early as possible as they only let 400 people climb it a day. 200 people before 10am and 200 people afterwards. We got there at 07:30am and we were only number 73 on the list! I had sweated frigging blood to get there! Rising from my bed after a night of Pisco Sours, looking like the mad woman in the attic in Jane Eyre! Typical! The day before, I growled and grumbled with David about climbing it, dropping hints that I would only severely hinder his climb because I was so unfit or because I simply couldn't be bothered. But David repetitively pointed out a part of my characteristic which I despise him for being so flaming perceptive about: That I would enjoy it once I got into it! Yes, yes, he's right, of course. But that's me. All hot air and no substance!!
No sooner had we started the walk then my heart was pumping and I was hanging onto the rail on the edge of the mountain, wheezing and gasping. David, as usual, was the epitome of patience and support. (David: Punctuated by: 'hup, hup, hup, one two three four... who do we adore...', with the faithful response of: 'shut it!! You can onetwothreefour-off!') The ascent involved steep stone steps, winding stone paths and climbs involving hitching your leg up around your ears
flowers!
. It was hard. Really heart-pumpingly hard. (David: Made me appreciate what the Incas were all about, since all of this was man made... and why a wheel is totally useless here) But the views as you ascended were absolutely staggeringly stunning. Of the Andes mountains beyond, of white, fluffy clouds silently gliding past you and of Machu Pichu below slowly diminishing into a tiny model village. Actually, as we climbed, we noticed excavators below, unearthing a further part of Machu Pichu from within more of the wild woody forest, a part of the City that seemed it might stretch right down to the river below. This may indicate that the River could have been an integral part of their transportation. Standing within Machu Pichu's City walls, you could not see any excavating work going on at all, only from the heights of Wayna Pichu. We were privileged to witness the early stages of this. (David: There's another 30% or so to be unearthed. But they're doing it properly with modern archeological techniques, rather than 1910s hack and slash. I'm anticipating them finding an Archimedes screw, which would raise some eyebrows... not least Archimedes' himself.)So, we climbed higher and higher. Other mentalists with backpacks and swinging bottles of water passed us, exchanging pleasantries. Frequently, I would ask myself why the flaming hell I was putting myself through this as I yanked my ankles up around my ears to climb up more steep stone steps. (David: We'd also given our bottle of water to a French Canadian who'd forgotten his in his rush...leaving us with a small bottle of coke...) FINALLY we got to the top
Inka genius stone-carving
. And a random Australian woman and I agreed that after such a good workout our bum-cheeks better be rock-hard! The vista was incredible. Beautiful. Stunning. Magnificent. The peak had more mysterious half-built stone walls and rooms. To get to one part of the peak you had to physically crawl through a small cave with pools of water. Lots of photographic posing was done and then we decide to go back down. It had taken us about 3 hours to climb. We spent just 1 hour up there, ooooing and ahhhhing. So, that was the climb up. Now all we had to do was get back down. There, lay the rub. Depending on your view of the world, you will either sob uncontrollably with laughter at my attempt to climb down this frigging mountain. Or you will tut and sympathise with me. All sorts of emotions and expletives arise from me at the memory. It is not one I shall forget lightly.
So, to get from the peak's 'top level' to the 'next level' down, involved one way only. A steep yet short rocky slope best tackled by sliding down on your bottom, as demonstrated by the hords before us. Instant memories of stupidly descending Hellvellyn the 'quick way' via a landslide muddy path on our bottoms that you can now see from Space, sprang to mind. The Australian woman I had laughed with earlier was displaying the same panicky wobbly voice commands to her boyfriend as she slid down that I had displayed to David when I was descending Hellvelyn on my bottom. As you slid down, all you could see beyond was the sheer 2000 metre drop down to a body-smashing death
Machu Pichu looking towards Waynapichu
. Nice. (David: You forget the safe grassy meadow before the body smashing death. 'Gun focus' some people call it... an overwhelming focus on the danger despite lots of fluffy safeness all around. In this case the safe grassy meadow where people were eating their sandwiches and looking up mid chew at all the commotion. Still... it's a scary position to be in.) Lois: actually, the grassy meadow was in fact a rocky stone plateau where people sat and not really a grassy meadow that you visualise as a Sound of Music backdrop......Then the rain came. Or Mountain mist. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was severe. All hoods went up and suddenly everyone was a mass of shiny multicoloured anoraks! The way down, involved the same stairway negotiated on the way up. Steep, stone, steps, with nothing to hold onto. The pelting rain now made the steps glisten. So assume the look of terror folks and believe that the rain has turned the steps into Slippery Hell. There was a long line of people descending the steps and at the front was a woman climbing down on her hands and knees with her husband? Companion? Supporting, encouraging and praising. Behind her was a sheer 2,000 metre drop down to the forest. "Oh bless her!" I said to David and sympathised with her fear. Hmmm.....
These steps were fine for me....until....I got halfway...and then I froze as the vista of skeletal-smashing death loomed before me. I decided to go down on my bottom instead. The steps were wet, I would get soaked but sod it, I'm doing it and the line of people descending, grew behind me as they patiently waited for me to bottom-bump down
A city in the clouds
. My bottom got saturated. This was ridiculous. I would have to walk around looking like I had sat in a quagmire. I froze. Panic-stricken. It was raining. I was terrified. David suggested I also go down backwards, holding onto the steps as I descended. So I did. This was fine until.........I caught a glimpse, through my legs, of a sheer brain-cracking freefall down over the edge of the mountain. I saw visions of me slipping backwards in the rain, plummeting, my body a wreckage at the bottom. Complete irrational fear rose up in me and although I continued to descend, my voice cracked and David's support meant nothing to me. I was going to die, I was going to die...... (David: Just play Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky to get an idea of Lois' entire emotional and vocal experience... you'll find it as track two of Far Side of the Moon.)Finally, we got to the bottom of the steps and to a level platform, which involved a short walk, thankfully, but then............yes, more steps. As if the first steps weren't bad enough, these were like flaming endless rocky steps that just descended down and down and down with more heart-stopping views of the edge of the mountain before you. The rain still pelted down. The crowd of people increased as we all wanted a cup of tea at the bottom and some shelter. Again, I climbed down backwards while everyone above waited patiently. I was convinced the steps were treacherously slippery from the rain. I was like a toddler coming down the stairs backwards
More flowers
. I was absolutely petrified, voice cracking, tears flooding my eyes...I was going to die, I was going to die, as I glimpsed in between my legs the plunging drop over the mountain's edge. I shook like I had Parkinson's! David was fantastically supportive but what was funny was the American man sporting yellow Ali G sunglasses and a flowery bandana standing at the top of the queue of people on the steps above me. He could obviously see my tears of doom as I shook like a Jelly on the steps and he shouted down to me (in front of frigging everyone!!) "Go on girl!! You can do it!!" and gave a piercing bout of thunderous applause. If I wasn't so obsessed with my body plummeting down to the forest where I would lie crumpled forever, abandoned and smashed up and of the stupid tears streaming down my face, I would have cringed with utter embarrassment!FINALLY I got to the bottom of the stairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was alive!! Alive, I tell you!!!!!!!!!! It was a great feeling but the rest of the rocky descent still had to be got through yet, but this was mainly winding paths. As we negotiated the rocky path down, S-L-O-W-L-Y, the bandana-sporting American Man passed us. He slapped me on the back and said "how you doing, girl?" he was really lovely actually. As he bounded down the uneven rocky path, 2 mins later he slipped over and was luckily caught by his companions! Ironic. As if that weren't enough, right near the end of the trek, we heard applause coming from around a corner of the mountain
Inka terraces
. As we turned the corner, lo and behold was the flaming American man again with a friend and they stood applauding me!! I didn't realise this until they said "Well done! You did it! How'd ya feel, girl?" I was both embarrassed but touched. Crazy men!We got the bus back to the Hotel and collected our luggage. We were getting the train back to Cuscoe. The train journey was as it was going to Machu Pichu. Only far more entertaining. To keep our spirits up, the train staff decided they would put on a show. First of all, we had the traditional Peruvian dance. This was basically a man, in a ski mask, looking like a burns victim, skipping up and down the passageway with colourful tassles, bells and streamers swinging from him. It was so funny. Next, two of the crew members who served us teas and coffees were now 'models' and strided up and down the passageway, modelling the latest Peruvian fashions for us to purchase later in the trip!! The female crew member had removed her glasses, shaken her long hair free and put a bit of lippy on. She looked very glam indeed. The woman's clothes were actually really nice - pashminas, dresses, sexy jumpers. The man's clothes looked like something out of Littlewoods Catalogue!! Vests, white shirts and zip-up jackets! (David: He wasn't too happy in his work. I was reminded of a thunderbirds puppet as he swished his way up and down the corridor)
The next day we were going to the Sacred Valley. I had no idea how difficult walking would be for the next 4 days though!!!!!!!
Love, us xxxxxxxxx
