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Published: November 24th 2010
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Fri 12 to Sat 13 Nov – Cuzco, Peru 06:40 start this morning for an early flight from Lima to Cusco.
Said goodbye to Lillian and the dogs and the wonderful Second Home Peru. Lillian's brother Carlos met us at Lima airport to take us to his b&b – Second Home Cusco. This is a much smaller enterprise – only three rooms – but still has some Victor Delfin art and is also a great place to stay.
Cusco is a mixture of picturesque squares with colonial buildings and steep, narrow cobblestone streets lined with massive Inca built walls. It's quite touristy but we liked it and would be happy to return to perhaps learn Spanish.
The altitude (3310m) hit us by the time we collected our bags at the airport – we both felt quite dizzy. At the b&b we were given coca tea which is supposed to help with altitude sickness. I(Ken) felt worse than Bernie and I had to lie down for a bit … having a bit of a hangover didn't help I guess. I didn't feel very well at all … it's like a mixture of dizzyness, nausea, headachy and low energy.
That evening the heavens opened and we dashed into a little cafe and were stuck there for quite a while as the cobblestone streets quickly turned into rivers.
The next day we just explored. It's a lovely place but unfortunately every few steps you are offered massages, shoe shines, paintings, knitted finger puppets and loads of other stuff.
Picked up the laundry (we had no clean clothes) and we really struggled to carry it up the steep steps back to the b&b. This altitude stuff is hard work ! Crashed for a couple of hours.
That night we found our first Irish bar – Paddy Flaherty's - and it would have been rude not to have a Guinness or two.
Sun 14 Nov – Aguas Calientes (Pueblo Machu Picchu), Peru 05:45 alarm (tired isn't the word) to catch the 0742 train to Aguas Calientes which is the starting point for Machu Picchu.
It's a great but slow train journey, it should have taken 3 hours but actually took 4 as we had to stop a couple of times to wait for a train to pass going the other way on this single track
route. The train passed through valleys with people toiling in the fields just the other side of the train windows. The valley turned into a ravine with mountains hemming us in tighter and tighter. All the while following the course of the winding Urubamba River. The foliage turned greener and greener as we neared Aguas Calientes which is much closer to the rain forest. It was nice to see greenery after so much desert.
To get to the hostal, this was the first time that we had to carry our backpacks for more than just a few steps and it was an uphill climb. The altitude was slightly less here but it still killed us !
Had alpaca for lunch, it tastes like a cross between pork and turkey.
Sun 15 to Mon 16 Nov – Machu Picchu Even earlier start – 03:30 alarm, breakfast at 04:00 and in the bus queue at 04:30 to get on the first bus at 05:30. We got our tickets stamped at the entrance to allow us to climb Waynapicchu.
Gates opened at 06:00. The first sight of Machu Picchu was breathtaking, you simply have a feeling of awe.
It lives up to all expectations! It was really green, as this is the rainy season, so looked even more spectacular.
Its hard to describe the setting; this Inca site nestling between mountains with the River Urubamba seen far below on the valley floor. Waynapicchu towers over the site, and green jungle peaks provide a backdrop to the whole majestic scene. The terraces going down to the main square are amazing. Any photos just do not do it justice.
The climb up Waynapicchu was really, really hard! In some parts you are scrambling up steep uneven stairs/rocks. There are no safety barriers and many sheer drops down the cliff face as you walk. Just before the top, you have to clamber through a tunnel and then up a makeshift ladder. It took us 1 hour 45 mins to reach the summit – again just some rocks and no guardrails and sheer drops on either side. The view was spectacular and we really felt a sense of achievement, although totally exhausted.
The descent was even more scary at the start, as again you are going down steep, narrow stone steps with no guardrails or handrails. You definitely couldn't
do this if you suffer from vertigo :o( We started the descent around 1pm, It was boiling hot going down, we'd exhausted 3 bottles of water and were starving as we hadn't really eaten since 4 am (we survived on a couple of snack bars each).
We finally reached the bottom and had a cold drink outside the monument and the slice of pizza and quiche we ate was the best pizza and quiche we had ever tasted!!
We got the bus back to Aguas Calientes and dropped out backpacks off at the hostal and went out for a couple of drinks (and had the worst Mojito we'd ever tasted during happy hour). The heavens opened, there was thunder and lightening and it poured with rain … we were so lucky with the weather at Machu Picchu!
Next stop is Ollantaytamba, Sacred Valley
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lucy Holgate
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Amazing!
Photos are amazing, everything looks so neat and clean as if they have had a gardner in to sort it all out! x