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So from Arequipa to Cuzco. Another bus journey where the bus companies swear blind it will take 8 hours when your guide book says 12. So 12 it is. The bus actually broke down in Juliaca for an hour after which the driver drove like a maniac around these winding roads to make it in 12 hours. Not very reassuring when the local newspaper is all about a bus having overturned with 67 passengers and numerous deaths had incurred.....
Arrived in Cuzco tired and fed up to be accosted by people offering accommodation. This is not such an unusual sight in South America. It is just these were very persistent with a woman grabbing hold of Jessica after I had politely told her No Gracias 3 times. Little was I to know that this would be the phrase of our time in Cuzco.
Arrived at a highly recommended hostel and were rewarded with more hot water and cable TV. (At the beginning of the trip I could not understand the obsession with people discussing hot showers, now I get it! Trickle of hot water or no hot water is the norm. Not fun when it is cold and your
Sexy Woman
AKA Sacsayhuaman - I am talking about the fort not me! ;) hair needs washing. My hair is longer and thicker than ever and I will go complain enthusiastically when there is no hot water to be found). Anyway back to Cuzco....
Cuzco has a large Plaza des Armas with a large cathedral and church. It is prettily set up with park benches in the sun. It should just be renamed Tourist Trap. In the late afternoon the ladies come out in their full local dress regalia and little lambs and puppies in their slings on their backs. Whereas in Bolivia and provincial Peru these would be the real McCoy here in Cuzco they are for the tourists. Once glance in their direction and you will be rewarded with a "Photo for 1 sol". Actually you don't even have to glance. Three of us were sitting on a bench minding our own business and an old lady approached us and kissed us hello! After a couple of questions of how do you like Cuzco etc she got down to business and asked if we wanted to take a photo of her for a fee! Erhhh - no thanks?
Ok I wont moan about Cuzco anymore... On the positive side there
Ollaytantambo
Not bad for the Inca Ruin at the end of the village! is still a to see near and around Cuzco. We got a local bus to drop us off 10 K out of Cuzco and we walked back taking in a couple of ruins along the way... the most major being Sacsayhuaman (Sexy woman) which was a huge Incan Fort. As someone stated - when the Incas built, they built big!
It was then time to figure out how to see the great site of all - Machu Picchu. The greatest majority will do it as a day trip from Cuzco. Of course I was having none of that.... especially as you miss out on sunrise and having the place to yourself (well almost). The alternative way is to go to Ollaytantambo and from there to get the train to Aguas Calientes. The train schedule is different and allows to get to Aguas at night for an early morning start.
Ollaytantambo itself is a lovely little village in the Sacred Valley. I wish I had stayed there a night myself as it was so chilled out. At the end of the village literally there is the Inca ruin itself. Agricultural steps and housing and temples at the top. Magnificent
Machu Picchu
First ray of sun hitting Machu Picchu. Total magic which no picture will ever do true justice..... and well worth visiting. Then it was time to settle in to a local restaurant to watch the sun set over the ruins and tuck into vegetable soup that everyone kept raving about.
It was then a 20 mins walk down a fairly badly lit road or a 5 mins ride on a motorcycle taxi. Of course I took the taxi and had my heart in my mouth as he whizzed down this road with all the oncoming traffic of the train pounding in the opposite direction. We were inches from a sheer drop. Just my kind of ride.
The train journey itself was like the UN with every nationality aboard and everyone excited about the day ahead. I quickly got myself to my prearranged hostel and set my alarm clock for 5 am.
So literally at the crack of dawn I am on the bus being once again whizzed up inches from a sheer drop on the way to Machu Picchu. The early mist is still around as we go up this heavily forested mountain. It was easy to see why Machu Picchu was lost to the outside world for so many years and why they still continue to search for other sites around the area.
I was not the only person up at the crack of dawn unfortunately but all said there were not too many people. You pay your entrance and climb further up and..... there it is in front of you, Machu Picchu in the early morning mist. Total and utter 100% pure magic.
I still got to see most of the site on my own. It is large enough to accommodate everyone who was there early. What was as impressive as the site was the view. The Incas certainly knew how to pick a place to build and it truly takes your breath away.... oh to have lived in a place like Machu Picchu - lucky lucky people. You can understand why it was a religious center. It truly is a spiritual place....
More photos at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/foodiefloozie/my_photos
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