Road to machupicchu...or a roller coaster ride?
Trip Start
Oct 05, 2008
1
7
9
Trip End
Apr 03, 2009
Cusco, Peru
Monday, November 17, 2008
cusco, peru was unreal...and way too much fun! it is party central and a huge tourist gathering, for both machupicchu and the night life! we spent about 5 days here and partied more than i ever have in calgary...which i know, isnt saying much, but still...thats like two nights out in a row for me...it must be some sort of a record!! jay and i stayed at a hostel 4 doors down from mama africa (one of the main bars in cusco) it was awesome to be so close and not have to worry about taxis or how we are getting back to the room!! my only complaint would be the amount of attention we were getting there!! i know i know...a girl complaining about attention...unheard of!! but honestly, i dont remember the last time i got my ass grabbed that many times...good thing im a scary intimidating girl who noone wanted to mess with (i wish!!) but really...i think i scared them off a bit with some carefully chosen words and shoving them away...the reason this happened: when you walk in the plaza you get bombarded by people trying to get you to come into their bars...and when you are surrounded by people...some of them get handsy...one time jay ran ahead and some random grabbed my poor bum, so i stopped in my tracks and said some things (that i will sensor since my parents read this) basically i told them off...told them to walk infront of me, pushed a couple, and then waited until they were well ahead of me (although they kept looking back) before i continued walking...nice!! oh...and i got burnt by a cigarrette...it has been a while since i was in a closed area where people could smoke, so i wasnt really ready to be looking out for burning cigarette tips.
the day we went to machupicchu we woke up at 7am because the tour company said they would pick us up at 8...well...much to our surprise, for the first time ever, someone was early!!!! but too early...they showed up at 7:30am and expected us to just get up and go...well...not so much! when the van was finally on its way (we decided to go in car because it is about $60 cheaper than the train...bad idea) we started off on a dirt road that winded a bit through small villages, cows, sheep, goats and locals!!! soon the road turned into cement...which was very welcomed at that time...but, it didnt last long!! you see, the road to machupicchu by car is 7 hours through winding mountains, on a one lane dirt road where two way traffic drives, on a cliff with no railings!! add in one crazy peruvian driver and you have a roller coaster! water runs down the mountains and so over several parts of the make shift road...making driving through it extra scary because the water is actually running fast enough to maybe drag the car with it!! everyone got so car sick...i mean...jay normally doesnt get car sick and she had to get the driver to pull over (and by that i mean stop in the middle of the road because there was nowhere to pull over, cliff to the left, mountain wall to the right) so she could get out to throw up!! it was unreal!!! then, we were rounding a turn and we heard a pop!! yep, thats right...exploded tire! not a flat tire, oh no...exploded!!!! we all got out of the car, hoping there wasnt a car coming from the other side, because you cant see around all the winding corners and any second another car could be whipping around it without the knowledge we were there!! in the 5 minutes it took to change that damn tire, i got attacked by these stupid little black bugs who bit, hard, and then the bites became so itchy...growl...stupid rainforest machupicchu bugs! if you go...wear jeans, socks, and running shoes...trust me!
by the time we got to aguas calientes (the town you stay at for machupicchu) the two texan girls, one english guy, jay and i were ready to go sit in the hot springs for ever and ever! jay and i quickly got into our swim suit and headed up to the springs (which have nothing on radium or fairmont hotsprings, but were happily welcomed all the same)...the walk from the entrance to the pools was the most gorgeous walk i have ever seen...it all looked so fake, like when you are eating in the rainforest cafe and it feels like you are in the middle of the jungle but you know its fake, except for here it is all real and so beautiful!!!
the next morning we woke up at 4:30am to meet everyone at the bus stop at 5 in order to head up to machupicchu and catch the sunrise!! well, it doesnt really help when it is torrential downpour and you cant see 5 feet infront of you!! our entire 2 hour tour in the am was in pouring rain...but eventually the skies cleared and i was able to see machupicchu in its full glory!! what a sight!! there is really no way to describe it, but, it is something you have to see! jay went and climbed the main mountain, wayna picchu, and i went off on my own in search of llamas and a quiet place to talk to God! it was alot easier to find a place to sit and think than i thought because of all the tourists, but i quickly grabbed a hot chocolate from the cafe at the bottom and made my way up to the little house where you can get the best and most well known pic of the inca city!! pictures will be up soon...hopefully!
after machupicchu we got back in that damn car and headed back to cusco, not knowing what was in store!! i mean, we were well prepared this time around for the motion sickness (pills and water) but we definitely werent expecting crazier driving than before...almost actually getting swept off the side of the mountain by fast flowing water, or a mudslide!!! there had been a huge mudslide/rock avalanche that was covering the main road to and from cusco! if you imagine a mountain with a little lip where the road is...now imagine no lip at all, it just looked like the side of a mountain where no cars had ever driven!! i cannot put this experience into words. it was like being in the middle of a national geographic special that documented mudslides and how people react and turn into everyone for oneself savages!!! people were pushing, yelling, and panicking...rocks had not completely stopped falling, and people were trying to run across, possessions in hand (live chickens in bags)...there were a couple men who had taken charge...but it wasnt doing anything when they just continually yelled ''its going to collapse again'' ''run run hurry up'' and so on!!! well, our tour guide decided he was going to round us up and get us across to another car from the same company on the other side! there were tourists in that car trying to get to machupicchu, and us trying to get back, so we were just going to switch cars...good plan...not so fun!! the adrenaline of running along the side of a mountain with the knowledge that it was collapsing under my very feet and some rocks were still falling from above my head was more that you would ever be able to pay for (eg. skydiving or bungee jumping)! i got a pic of the mudslide, but i wanted one of jay running across, but all i was thinking about as i ran after her was getting to the other side...so im sorry folks...there will be no action shot of the actual crossing!!
and thats about where i wrap it up!!! we got back to cusco in one piece...flew to la paz yesterday (flying is great after way too many long bus rides) spent a night here, and were supposed to fly to rurrenabaque this morning at 8am...but of course, it wasnt our time to leave this city just yet, the flight was 'delayed' 8 hours...even though it is an hour flight there and an hour back...someone tell me, how could it possibly be delayed 8 hours!?!?! so, we are killing time on the internet until we get to fly to the jungle at 4pm!!!
thanks for reading! and ps. to anyone going to machupicchu...take the train from cusco!!!!!!!
Comments
Crazy!!!
YAy I am the first to write a comment! And yes this is all true