Well I have to come straight out and say that I thought that Cusco and our trek to Machu Pichhu were just fantastic!
Cusco, the ancient Inca capital, is situated in the south of Peru at over 3,000 metres above sea-level and is one of the highest cities in the world. Hence, the amount of steps that have to be negotiated in order to get around the city were quite problematic and had to be taken one at a time! The weather was pretty good during the day but very cold at night so the layers had to be put on. The first thing I noticed about the place was how many other backpackers were there - it really seems to be the gringo capital of South America! This of course has led to the problem that the main square and the nearby streets are filled with locals trying to sell everything from city tours to handmade finger-puppets! Not to mention all the guys who followed us every evening trying to get us to come in and watch movies on the big screens in their night-clubs!
We spent the first couple of days relaxing and strolling around the city, visiting the local markets and doing some research re. getting to Machu Pichhu. The original and famous Inca Trail, a 3 day trek, was completely booked out (for preservation purposes, only 500 people per day, including guides and porters, are allowed on the trail) until sometime in August so we had to come up with an alternative. We could have gone on a trek immediately the next day but we needed to wait around in Cusco for a few days in order to see the Heineken Cup Final! Luckily, we found coverage of this game in Paddy Flaherty´s Irish bar and thankfully they managed to cross the line at last and capture the Holy Grail!! I was quite envious of everyone who was in Cardiff! We spent another day doing white-water rafting on the nearby Rio Urubamba which was actually tame enough - over 30 people altogether went on the day-trip; us two Irish, a few Aussies, one American and about 25 Israelis. I might have mentioned this before but it´s a tradition for young Israelis to travel after their compulsory time in the army and they are everywhere in South America, everywhere. We have met some really nice people but when they are in big groups (normal), then they are difficult to bear!
Our trek to Machu Pichhu kicked off with a four hour bus-ride to the top of a mountain. There were only 2 others in our group which was good; two lads from Chile, Alberto and Francisco. They didn´t have much English and we didn´t have much Spanish but we made the most of it and got on well! Our guide, Ozzi, was super and kept us well-fed which was obviously quite important for us!! Once off the bus we pulled our bikes off the roof and sped off down the other side!! Our cycle lasted about 5 hours and was lacking in incident apart from Gretta taking a bit of a tumble! Luckily, she was able to get up and carry on although she was very glad to reach the end! Next day we were up early and off on foot up and over a mountain. One of the highlights of the day was stopping in a local´s house for some water and watching the pet monkey messing around with the dogs - upon leaving we noticed a plastic bottle with ´
´Tips for the monkey´ written on it!! Hilarious really, I thought. We spent about 7 hours walking and were delighted to arrive at some natural hot springs in the evening! These were quite magnificent I have to say and an added bonus was the easy availability of beer and other refreshments! After a good sleep we were up and off to cross the nearby river. No conventional bridges here I tell ya! The transport across consisted of a wire high above the river, on which an apparatus vaguely resembling a tin-can slid across with two or three people inside! We got safely across anyway! From here the trek was easy enough with a walk along a river-bank for most of the day followed by walking on the train-track until we reached the town of Aguas Calientes, the base-camp for Machu Pichhu. Our guide banged on the door at 5am the next morning and after a quick splash of water on the face we were off on the steep ascent!
Buses go from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu practically every 5 minutes but our guide decided it would be better for us to climb the infinite number of steps up to the ancient ruin! The whole place was dark and shrouded in a thick mist so the climb took on an eerie feeling for a while! It took us over an hour, and a few pit-stops, to reach the ancient ruin but it´s great to say that it was really, really worth it!
Machu Pichhu is a complete ancient Inca city which was hidden in the overgrowth of the jungle for centuries, only being discovered in 1911. It is amazing the way it is built on the side of a mountain with perfectly formed terraces supporting the various temples, staircases, fountains etc. It was great for us to arrive there so early in the morning before the arrival of the trains from Cusco and the hordes of other tourists! The mist eventually lifted after a couple of hours and it was like a sheet being pulled from over a master-piece! I don´t know if the pictures can do justice to what a spectacle it was but it was really jaw-dropping! After completing our exploration of the ruins we began the climb of the nearby mountain, Huaynu Pichhu - the legs were beginning to give-out a little at this stage but when we met a 70 year old man with a walking stick on the way-up, we felt ok!! The views of the site from up here were better again and we could have spent the whole day there just looking around!!
We got the bus back down (much easier!)to Aguas Calientes and after a few hours, caught a train back to Cusco. This trip was made more interesting by the fact that we were siting next to a Morman from the States - he was in town to spend time with his Peruvian fiancee, who he had met through a Morman internet dating service!
We are going to spend another day or two here in Cusco before packing the bags again and heading for Bolivia & Lake Titticacca! Peru has been great but it´s time to go!!
Ciao for now!!
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