Ollantaytamo

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Wednesday 14th September

I was just thinking a few days ago how lucky we had been that neither of us had been the least bit affected by the food,hygiene or altitude challenges here - and then it hit me!
Yesterday saw me laid up in my little ol' single bed (because Shane prefers twin rooms these days lol ) with a good dose of the squirts! Eeeww. Shane met a couple of nice blokes upstairs so he came back to check on me a few later and asked what I felt like for dinner. Now I wasnt feeling too bad at this stage, things had slowed down if you know what I mean, and I felt ok. So we shared a delicious pizza from across the road. Bad move, and this is why we find ourselves doing a catch up 2 days later.
Yesterday we caught a little mini bus from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, me wanting to shart and Shane busting for a pee. The minute the bus stops for fuel, Sixto is out of the cabin like a bullet. The bus is refuelled, and the driver starts tooting impatiently for Shane to get back on the bus as he starts driving slowly out of the petrol station with Shane in pursuit. LOL

This is the most beautiful little town, and I have been looking forward to coming here for so long, so I was really disappointed in myself that all I could do was lie on my bed most of the afternoon and sleep while Shane got to explore the town and drink beer for hours.
Yeah, he came back and told me how he had a great street food lunch, and climbed to one of the ruins and then stopped in a restaurant with a great view of the town and had a couple of beers. Actually it turns out he had 3 beers, but who's counting. I couldnt bear it, so I got up and went for a tentative walk about. I can't believe what a toll this had on my stamina! A soup dinner for me and an early night for us both. No TV here so we watched some reruns of the Young Ones on the hard-drive- thanks Dave!

So here we are in the lovely Hotel Sol. Not the hotel I had originally planned on staying in but it worked out really well. In fact it was our third choice but it turns out all three hotels were sister hotels, and because one of the sister hotels referred us, we got a great discount!
Our room has a little balcony, which has a stream backing on to it, and a great view of some of the restored ruins. Tourists come in droves to climb them, but we have gone one better than that.
Over the other side of town are a small group of ruins. A Free climb!! Shane climbed to one of them yesterday, and ever so kindly saved the other one for us to do together. The steepest one but the most picturesque!
It took us about 45 mins because I was so slow but it was a magic view of the town and of the same ruins we could see from our room. They aren't a climb! THIS was a climb and there were only 2 other people up there. So glad I perservered :-) Shane went one better and climbed another couple of hundred metres, but I happily sat on my own pretending I was the only person in the world with the breeze blowing through slowly my greying hair. If I dont find a decent hair colour soon I dont know what I'll do! A little Reiki and a little shut eye and I'm getting my energy back :-)

Oh, I forgot about the "short cut" that Shane found yesterday while I was laid up, for us to use going down this hill today. I'm not sure what I was thinking even considering this could be possible. The man had only been on the walk once! Perhaps it was a combination of the gastro and lack of oxygen. But it worked out as it usually does. With me screaming that this was harder than the other way and that I couldnt go any further as it was too dangerous!! And...he...is...laughing at me! THEN he realises it wasnt the way he went yesterday so we have to turn back. Grrr
So our time here is up tomorrow, and we head to Aguas Calientes for the night, and then all my dreams come true when we hit Machu Picchu at 6am Friday morning. Now thats one early morning start that doesnt have hairs on it :-)

Shane says: It was so funny, Sharl's hanging on for dear life (no present danger really), me laughing so hard, saying it's alright, it's a good short cut. Don't have to head back up, just cut through the shitty bits. Look, really I had been on the track the day before. Knew it like the back of my hand I did. Lol
Must say though, I was really proud of her today. Climbed a hell of a way up some steep goat tracks. All this after a day and a half of spewing, shitting and coughing. Some of these aforementioned things at the same time. I cant get one of them in the toilet, let alone two. haha
To tell the truth though she must have been really sick. She had a Snickers bar in her bag that had been there for four days.

Sharls says: Well I suppose I could honestly say now that only one of us is full of shit!

Shane says: Yes and the other one doesn't have any shit left in her system.

Sharls says: Yeah and I'm guessing about three kilos lighter!! Woo Hoo!

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Photos

Ollantaytambo
Ruins views from our room

Ollantaytambo
....slow climb

Ollantaytambo
...view from the ruins we climbed to

Ollantaytambo
view of hill climb from town

Comments

[Peterd]

unbelievable
Until yesterday I read all your bpogs on your mums computer then she told me to go to your travel blog on the internet as I will not use facebook. Keep up the good work and enjoy. All I can say is that this a shitty trip !!!!!!!!!!!