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Published: November 29th 2006
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Postcard shot
The Classic shot taken from the Caretakers hut. Firstly let me enlighten you as to the title. Unfortunately we didn´t rub shoulders with the ´Moonlighting´star himself. While in Cuzco, when paying for the bill the waitress went all coy and then blushed as she told me I looked like Bruce Willis. Emma just about wet herself laughing. I had always thought I was more of a Brad Pitt, but I´ll accept B.Willis for now(!).
Cuzco was an absolute breath of fresh air, by far the most pleasing place we´ve been to thus far on our trip. An absolute tourist town, but after being gawped at in many a backwater it comes as quite a relief. A very picturesque town made more so by the ´Traditional´ladies carrying llamas wrapped in colourful blankets, or children in colourful blankets, or both- who really don´t mind having their souls stolen by our evil cameras so long as you pay them. The main problem here is hawkers selling tat and trying to get you to eat in their restaurants, take their tours or take their drugs. You can even get T shirts with ´No Gracias´printed on which may have saved a lot of breath. All that said it is a captivating place full
of history and that and a good place to kick around before facing the horrors of Lima.
We did some of the sights around and about the place including Inca ruins and temples made of masive stones that are so precisely joined that they must surely be the work of a higher force with laser beams. A lot of these sacred sites have been ravaged by the Spanish to make Catholic churches. It is refreshing for once that it wasn´t the English who spoiled the party.
The obvious main attraction is Machu Picchu. Now there was an awful lot of pressure for Machu Picchu to be impressive seeing as though pretty much the only reason for us being here is my having seen Machu Picchu on a travel show and based the whole trip around that 2 minutes of TV. Slightly rash as decisions go but there you are
We did try to get booked on to the Inca trail, honestly, but fate was against us and with it being rainy season we weren´t too put out. Instead we took the soft option of the train up to Aguas Callientes. A very picturesque trip if you´re sat on
the correct side of the train which predictably we weren´t. That side was taken up with a particularly stupid group of Americans who were more interested in the snack options and giving their guide a hard time. Aguas callientes is a funny little town nestled in amongst the massive mountains that make the whole area so impressive. We elect an early morning trip to the ruins to beat the crowds.
We are met at 6 the following morning by a humourless little bugger called Ruben who proceeded to fanny about meaning we missed the first couple of buses up. Determined not to get wound up, we are up the hill by 7 where Ruben promptly dons a silly hat and is transformed into our passionate Quechuan spokesperson.
First glimpse of the site was absolutely breathtaking, evrything you would imagine it to be and more. Frankly impossible to take in for a good while. We learned about the history and of the American guy who made the existence of the place public knowledge ( it was also hinted at that he stole all the Inca gold with pursed lips from Ruben ). Confusingly Ruben refused to accept that they were Inca
ruins. Fair enough the people were Quechuan and the Inca was merely the leader ( as In a Pharoh for the egyptians ), so maybe not Incan as such. The crumbling and frankly ruined buildings, however, seemed irrefutable but Ruben saw them as a work in progress, for some people the glass is always half full. We were shown all the important places trailing round like sheep in our tour group but the real fun of the place is after you get cut loose.
Our first task once free was to climb the steep sided Wayna Picchu which forms the famous backdrop to the site. This was our token hiking effort and proved to be no mean feat as it is incredibly steep and there is no form of warning before you embark. Fine for us but we did pass a large unit on the brink of a heart attack on the first flight of steps. 45 minutes of lung straining later finds us peering at Machu Picchu from a birds eye vantage point. We thought we had done well but those hardy Quechuans built a bloody fort up there. Coming down was hairy and Em discovered that she could
add vertigo to her list of fears. One older french woman with perfect makeup, who I can only assume got choppered up there, mistook Em for part of the fort as she proceeded to lean on her to catch her breath.
We spent about 7 hours there in total just trying to take in the majesty of the place and the awe vinspiring scenery, those Quechuans certainly had an eye for a good view. It was with no small regret that we finally left to return to Cuzco. Without a doubt the highlight of the journey so far and I fear it will be hard to beat.
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Julia
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I'm soo jealous
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am planning to go to Machu Picchu with a friend in April or May so this is totally giving me something to look forward to! Glad to hear you enjoyed this leg of your trip even if you did have to endure some "stupid Americans". ;)