Cusco & Machu Picchu

Like most bus trips in Peru, arriving into cities in the early hours of the morning is part & parcel. Usually I just go to the first hostel I see or with the people toting at the station....it doesn´t always work out though. On this occasion I ended up in a complete & utter s***hole....now it wasn´t expensive but you couldn´t pay me to sleep here. So after a few minutes I loaded up again in search of somewhere that would be less offensive to all the senses!! And I did find somewhere. The city of Cusco itself is a major tourist hub......the buildings in the city center are so impressive-it has to be up there as one of the nicest cities so far. In all of the cities & towns that I´ve been to in Peru there is a strong police presence.... so you never feel particularly vulnerable. It´s nice to take a wander around the city...along the streets where the locals shop because that´s when you see the interesting stuff. I nipped in one day & got my hair cut.......again she tried to razor my hair off but I was quick to tell her no before I was completely scalped. It cost a euro. Suppose I can´t complain. I figured I had at least a month of hair growth before I got home if things went drastically bad......& wigs I´m sure are easy enough to come by!!

After 2 days of adjusting to solid foods (mainly cake & popcorn) I headed on a 5 day trek in Salkantay. The Salkantay trek passes through snowcapped mountains over 5 days. It might sound long but really the only difficult part was the pass on the second day when we had to hike uphill to about 4800m on a steep incline. The way I keep myself going is simple....one foot in front of the other & you eventually get there. I try not to stop unless severely gasping- otherwise it´s just long & murderous. So I tend to be the first one to arrive at campsites.....& also the one walking with the smelly farting donkeys as they race on to set up camp early.

On the 4th day we arrived in Aguas Calientes.....a bustling tourist town full of Inca trail & Machu Picchu chasers. Machu Picchu is a major tourist attraction in South America & is a relatively newly discovered Inca ruin (1911 public discovery I think). They don´t know for certain what significance it held. We were told that it was it was a place where the hierachy of society resided.....mainly nobles & educated people. It consists of temples for worship, a palace, places for entertainment, teaching & living quarters. To those of you who have never been there, it is the terracing that jumps out at you first & the stone walls without roofs. It is a massive area. The whole construction is quite amazing. The symmetry achieved in archaic times is impressive & the symbolism used throughout is very interesting. The condor is a symbol that represents the future- it embodies the importance the Incas placed in the elements of the sky; such as the sun & moon & rainbow. The puma represents the present & life on earth & the serpent represents the past & mother-earth. I probably haven´t explained correctly so google it if you want a proper explanation. The rainbow & a 3-step design feature heavily in the designs to symbolise these fundamental beliefs.

I think the hardest part of trekking is the extremes in temperature that you experience. You always leave or are up early in the morning before the sun rises so it is always bitter cold. Sleeping at night is just a notion cause as yet I haven´t ever had a decent warm night sleep. It´s mostly spent shivering. That is after I´ve layered up with 5 t-shirts, a jumper, heavy winter-coat, tracksuit bottoms, socks++, hat & gloves. I have never worn so much clothes & still been so cold......& I´m not a cold person!! Then during the day I can´t take enough clothes off while trying to cope with the heat......so you pretty much have to pack for all weather. But in fairness to me, if I´ve got anything out of this year it is my ability to minimize my packing now to the bare essentials.....which is a major feat!!

SO on the 5th day we joined the hordes on the pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. At 5am, torches in hand, we set off in the dark. Despite the early hours, it wasn´t long before I was sweating bucketloads as we climbed the gazillion steps to the ruins. I think my overloading on bread that morning was a bad idea in retrospect.....because I felt like a furnace for Bord na Mona....I was burning up. And as you climb the steps you see the buses wind their way ahead of you....without the sweat & .......nearly tears. I really found the climb that day difficult......& if I wasn´t so stubborn I would have loved to have taken the bus up.....& down but I had to finish the way I started!!!

I did make it back that evening to Aguas Calientes, lead legs & all. I also climbed Waynapicchu that day- it is a mountain overlooking Machu Picchu that only 400 people a day can ascend. I decided to take a different route back because I hate going back by the same route but it wasn´t long before I realised that it was a much longer way. I was on my own & was considering throwing myself off the side of the mountain so that I wouldn´t have to climb anymore steps & it would all be over.....I really had enough of walking, enough of Machu, Wayna Picchu & just wanted to be finished. So when I got back to the town that afternoon it was all carbs- on- board & no more trekking for a while!! I know I sound like a very unappreciative tourist....that´s what a million gazillion steps do to you...it makes you bitter!!! But it´s ok.....I appreciate the experience better now because I have my rose-tinted glasses on again.

The next day in Cusco, needless to say, was a go-slow for me. I treated myself to a massage from one of the countless ladies on the street. So for over an hour, she rubbed, prodded & clapped ever pound of flesh.....the muscles felt much the same afterwards....tired.... but the hour of relaxation was nice & I really didn´t have the energy or enthusiasm for anything else that day.

Before I finish on Cusco I have to mention Jack´s Cafe.....I never ate there but they do one of the best hot chocolates I´ve had in a long time. Wouldn´t mind one now but I´m afraid what I´d get here & that it wouldn´t live up to expectations so I´ll stick with the jugos (shakes)!! I never got to the Sacred Valley....more ruins near to Cusco.....not because of a time restraint but because I wasn´t particularly interested. Time for a change of scenery.

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