Archaeologists discover many new Inca Ruins!

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So begins my experience to what many regard to be the pinnacle of experiences in South America; the Mecca of the Andes. 4 days of an incredibly well trod path, but somehow it feels like you are the first person to ever have done it. They only let 500 people a day start the trail and when you see how many gringos there are in Cusco and meet so many dissapointed people who have not booked in time you realize that you actually are quite lucky! They do let thousands into Machu Picchu itself and in the afternoon it´s choked with singing Japanese tour groups and very loud American tourists who want to make sure everyone can hear them. Fortunately the sheer astonishment at seeing something almost unreal and such absolute beauty kind of blocks out these annoyances. Don't get me wrong Americans and Japanese, the Brits are just as bad! I´m not being prejudice! After I tell you about our childish antics there you will probably be pretty disgusted! So I am also a hypocrite. Muzz and Stonell had arrived in Cusco and after some last minuite panic buying of jumpers and waterproofs and the likes, we were ready to be picked up at 4am! We were joined by a Brazilian couple called Manuel and Mariana, and an Australian called Rita. There were 11 porters and 1 guide for 7 of us! James was our guide and at first we liked him, but that soon changed! Muzz, Ston and I had decided to get some Indiana Jones style hats a couple of days before from Pisac market and we thought it would be a right laugh to pretend to be archaeologists. You wouldn't know we were in our mid twenties! Everyone had overloaded with goods before the trip and rucksacks were bursting at the seams, but me being the experienced trekker (not!) I brought bare minimum. Even our guide was impressed with how little I brought which actually slightly worried me! I was knackered enough at 3500 meters in Cusco carrying nothing, but a beer, so I knew at 4200 meters (the highest point of the Inca Trail) I'd be buggered with the thin oxygen! The first morning was a casual stroll along the river on the valley bottom. Steep, dark, green slopes, peppered with crevices and old landslides cascaded towards us as their lofty peaks loomed over us and the train track on the other side of the river wended it´s was to Machu Picchu; we were going the proper, but hard way. We saw our first Inca site called Llactapata and here we made a blessing to the Inca Gods for our trip with coca leaves and our guide filled us in on how to make cocaine from coca leaves! We put some coca leaves between our cheek and gum to give us a little energy and combat altitude sickness (it is not illegal in this raw state mum and dad and it doesn't get you high so don't worry!). The afternoon couldn't have been more different. It was solid uphill the whole afternoon, up to about 3800 meters. We clambered up a stream for hours. I thought walking in the Lake District was tough, but at this altitude it's a doddle. Manual said he always thought that the Brazilian football team were being soft when they complained about playing Bolivia in La Paz which is also seriously high, but he has nothing but sympathy now. Our first campsite nestled on a small flat bit of land in a v-shape valley and it looked across to a cone shaped, snow capped mountain that was just catching the last rays of the evening sun. I now understood why the Incas thought the mountains pointed to the heavens. The porters were already at the campsite when we arrived and these guys were incredible. They carry huge weights on their backs; gas cannisters, chairs, huge tents etc and they rocket up. There was us lot, gasping for oxygen and whinging about our tiny day sacks while they flew past us with their huge weights on their backs and they had our tents up, hot water prepared and superb food waiting for us at the top. I think maybe secret helicopters were invovled! That night was seriously cold and I was very happy for the first rays of the morning sun. Anyway after a sharp few hours climb up to Dead Womans Pass which is at 4200 meters is the highest point of the trail and the highest I have ever been (apart from in a plane, of course). We then decended to our lunch spot. This valley almost reminded me of a valley in the Scottish Highlands, I found it difficult to think I was in Peru, but it was incredibly beautiful none the less. I cannot say the same for the weather. The clouds rolled in and the rain soon fell. Luckily Muzz and I were at the front of the group and managed to get to a small cave before the heavens really opened and we smuggly smilled as the rest of the group arrived soaked to the skin! We descended further to a site called Sayaqmarca and the childish antics really began. We pretended firstly that we were the first to discover the site and shouted to the others about our new finding. We called it JD's after our first initials and pretended we were the gate keeper in the Monty Python Film; The Quest for the Holy Grail; "Answer me these questions three" before we let anyone in! We then got our toothbrushes out and put our hats on and pretended to be archaeologists! Then I wonder why I'm still single! We passed several Inca sites, but I won't describe them because I can't do them justice. Like I said with the Iguazu falls, my knowledge of the English language failed to come up to par and this is similar. Please just look at the photos, but remember that my camera is like my writing and fails miserably too. We soon arrived at our second campsite and again everything was ready and waiting. The porters were polite, but almost shy. Their first language is Quechuan not Spanish so talking to them was very difficult and I was always a bit gutted I didn't get to speak to them propely. This campsite was in the Cloud Forest and it was absolutley stunning as always. The Inca ruins dotted on the hillside behind, the cloud forest below with whisps of clouds drifting between valleys and the distant white peaks glimmering. Simply magic. On the third day, we were luckier with the weather and after a small climb then descent we got to an Inca site called Phuyupatamarca. The view over the mountains was perhaps the most beautiful image my eyes have ever seen. The rain had started to fall lightly and everyone fled to the final campsite, but I couldn't leave. I was told that the view to Machu Picchu would surpass it. It didn´t. Okay we couldn't see any Inca ruins apart from the terraces that fell away beneath us and it was cloudy, but the clouds added atmosphere and this was pure nature. I will just say that those brief quiet seconds looking over those peaks and valleys was one of the most special moments to me. I don't want to show you photos because it is an insult to those mountains and valleys. The Sacred Valley beacme trully sacred to me after that view. The last campsite was more like a campsite you would get in England; hot showers, a shop, a bar etc and we treated ourselves to a well deserved beer! We arrived early and had some relax and recovery time. Very early the next morning we awoke to thick cloud cover. The classic sunrise over Machu Picchu was looking highly unlikely, but deep inside I think we all haboured hopes of a kindly wind to drag them off, but we denied that we would be that dissapointed if they stayed. After a couple of hours treck to the Sun Gate where you get the first view of Machu Picchu the Inca Gods had decided we were not in for the sunrise. All we could see was grey oblivion. We soldiered on and as we descended to Machu Picchu the terracing and buildings appeared out of the mist, but we could not get a whole view; the cloud was still too low. I mentioned at the beginning that our tour guide, James, went from friend to enemy. All the days before Machu Picchu he was funny, but we knew he liked a few porky pies i.e. Peru was completely self sufficient and didn´t export or import anything and that apparently Mount Everest would be easy for him to climb. Anyway, while Muzz and I were waiting for the rest of the group to get there James appeared and asked us what we thought of the sight. As it was completely covered in cloud and we could only see an Inca wall about 5 meters aay, I repled sarcastically "amazing" to which he replied deadly seriously "if you take the piss out another Inca site I will kill you". Then to confirm him as a true enemy after his death threats this happened; Muzz and I had told him several times the day before, that we wanted to do Waynu Picchu which is a steep climb up a small mountain behind Machu Picchu (it´s the mountain you see directly behind the ruins in the classic photo), but we could tell he wasn´t keen on us doing this. Not sure why, but he wasn´t. We both really wanted to do it because so many people had recommended it, including Muzz´s dad, who visited Machu Picchu years ago. The only problem was you had to get in the queue really early to guarentee entry, as they only let 400 people up per day. After the death threat I didn´t care what he thought and we told him we were leaving to go up Waynu Picchu, but he didn´t tell us we needed an entry stamp too which we got right next to where we stood. After we got to the entry to Waynu Picchu we were informed of this so Muzz and I spent the next few hours cursing him. The queue was huge! Anyway I don´t know why I´m going on so much about him. We never saw him again and the Inca Gods smiled on us in the afternoon and drenched Macchu Picchu in sunshine. It was magnificent. You can´t really see from the classic shot of Macchu Picchu just how huge it was. It exceeds all expecatations and is a real treat for the senses after 4 days of trekking. After really soaking in the surroundings it was time for a bit of fun and the archaeologist hats and tooth brushes came out which the old farts who were trailing round like lemmings in massive tour groups didn´t find amusing. I decided at one point, to try and be cool and jump down one of the terraces, but I underestimated the height and in front of several hundred school children, fell flat and my bag exploded and all my belongings exploded over the terrace! The rest of my tour group were highly amused, plus my knee still hurts now and I am writing this nearly 6 weeks after the incident! We got back to Cusco a few hours later and somehow went out till the early hours of the next day and got plastered, then I slept for 23 hours solid! I am sorry if you want more description of the scenery and ruins, but I really do not want to tarnish their beauty and the impressions they left on me. Louise and I decided that a few days in Arequipa, apparently the most beautiful and relaxing town in Peru, would be a nice recovery period, but the fact that striking farmers were attacking buses on that route with bricks, kind of ruled it out so we waited for Muzz and Ston to return from their jungle tour and we would head to Puno on Lake Titicaca together. So we had spent 4 weeks in Cusco and done almost everything it was possible to do, we had exhausted the town and Inca sites around, plus I had made some women rather angry with me there so it was definately time to bail on that great city and continue our route south through the Andes toward the highest lake in the world; Lago Titicaca, the birth place of the Moon and the Sun.

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