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Published: July 23rd 2010
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After stuffing as much as possible in to the Galapagos islands and seeing a few lovely places around Quito, it was time to move on to Lima in Peru. We were in the airport just about to board the plane when a frantic LAN supervisor offered us a day in a hotel and $500 of flight tokens if we would travel on the evening flight. After some careful consideration we bit her hand off.
So after poshing it up for the day in a *very* fancy hotel with more food than we’d eaten in the last week, we ended up in Lima, crashing in a hostel overnight before catching an early morning flight to Cusco (thank you LAN, that saved us a 20 hr bus journey). If we really had won the Honduran lottery we would most definitely be staying in fancy hotels all the way. Crisp white sheets, fluffy towels, places to unpack your clothes… dreamy dreamy.
Anyway, back to Cusco. When we arrived in Quito we were pretty cold, but it was nothing compared to the cold of Cusco. There’s no heating in the place we’re staying, so after nicking a couple off the spare bed we
finally got warm under five blankets! Cusco is quite high up (3300m), it’s a bit like the crisp sunny winter days back home; very cold in the shade, t-shirt weather in the sun.
We decided to stay for a few days to acclimatise to the altitude. The air is quite thin up here which makes you breathless and dizzy doing normal things like walking. Some people can suffer quite badly but both of us have adjusted quite well.
Cusco is a beautiful town with tiny twisty streets and old crumbling buildings. The place is so full of tourists, however, that there are people touting for your business every corner you turn. We’ve ventured out a little, but have stayed pretty much central soaking up the atmosphere in the market and local restaurants.
After a few days we headed over to Aguas Calientes, a tiny little village at the base of Old Mountain (Machu Picchu). To get there we took our first train since leaving home. The journey was through the Andes with snow capped mountains and farming settlements dotted along the train tracks. The poverty is vast and although we’ve been surrounded by it for the last
five months, seeing children in the freezing cold with half built houses was quite moving. There’s a combination of shame and helplessness when sitting on a train where a ticket costs more than some people could make in a month.
Machu Picchu is situated high up on a mountain with a few access possibilities; one is to do a three day hike along the Inca Trail (bit too hard), another is to catch a bus up the steep side of the mountain from Aguas Calientes (too easy), helicopter in (silly) and finally leave at 4am to walk up the mountain to arrive in time to watch the sun rise over the Inca ruins (just right). So at 4.00am with woolly hats, gloves and torches we headed off for the hour and a half walk up the mountain making it to the entrance for 5.40am along with about one hundred other people.
It’s difficult to describe the views from the top, the dizzying feeling of being so high up looking over the magnificent peaks of the Andes. Those Incas were pretty amazing people to create a village in such a wondrous place.
There is a peak that can
be accessed from one end of the site called Waynapicchu. Only the first 400 through the gates get to climb it per day. Luckily (?) we were one of those and after watching the sun rise over the mountains and spill across the site we headed over to Waynapicchu. The warning on the board says ‘only for the fit and healthy’ and ‘steep, narrow paths’. Totally correct on both counts.
All the sweat and puff was worth it though. The view from the peak was breathtaking, it felt like being on top of the world. From this angle and distance you can see that the Inca site was built in the shape of an Andean Condor. Somehow those clever Incas had managed to build up here too. They must have had wings, how else could they construct these buildings on the side of such scary sheer drops without falling off?
Coming down was hard. The steps weren’t so much steps as piddling little stones barely big enough to put your foot on. After a few ‘I hate you’ mumbles and scary nearly toppling over moments we made it safely back to the site. By this point we were
exhausted and thirsty. Walking back down to Aguas Calientes seemed way too much for our knees to take so we hopped on one of the buses.
We’ve made it back to Cusco again. Unfortunately, yesterday I ran quite a nasty fever so we had to call the doctor. After a shot in the bum and some antibiotics for a throat infection I’m feeling much better today. Our plans to move on to Lake Titicaca, however, are going to be put back for a couple of days for some bed rest. Luckily we have a TV with a channel that plays nothing but NCIS, CSI, CSI-NY, CSI-Miami and Criminal Minds continuously. Excellent.
Hope you’re all enjoying the summer at home, have a beer garden pint for us!
Lots of love
S&S
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You've outdone yourselves
Seriously, there is not one single photo there that doesn't make me sick with envy, it looks absolutely STUNNING. Peru is def going to the top of my to do list. Totally feeling the "I hate you" grumbles, Sheryl, I know exactly what you mean ;) Miss you miss you, can't wait for Inja!