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Published: April 25th 2008
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We arrived in Cusco on an overnight bus from Arequipa. We had booked a nice bus and were looking forward to the trip. As we departed a Swedish bloke sat beside us and we engaged in idle chit chat. He seemed nice enough however this perception quickly changed as the bus took off. First of all he proceeded to snore like a caged gorilla and if that wasn't bad enough his digestive system all of a sudden became very active. They were not of the silent nature and would have put most blokes and perhaps animals to shame. Our sleep was impeded somewhat and when we arrived in Cusco we were feeling a bit worse for wear. Thankfully we were met off the bus by a lady that had a hostel in the centre with cable TV. This made Colm very happy as he could watch Dr 90210 on the E channel and catch up on all the latest Hollywood gossip. I myself was looking forward to looking at CNN and catching up on world politics.
Cusco is a beautiful Colonial city (I´m sure this sentence is in each of our blogs) and is one of the nicest (in my
opinion) that we have been to to date. It is where most people begin or organise their treks to Machu Picchu and this was our first task in hand. What Peruvians are great at is offering ´free touristic information´. What this basically means is that when you book into a hostel seven people from the one tourist agency, usually friends or relations of the hostel owner, will knock on your door and almost bully you into booking their trip. Luckily we had the strength to say no and politely declined. We then set about plodding the streets of Cusco to find a suitable tour. After talking to approximately 87 agencies and wasting the whole day we decided that perhaps it was best to book with the agency associated with the hostel after all. We had already decided to do one of the alternative routes to the Inca Trail, not only because you need to book the Inca Trail months in advance but also because there are alot less people on these alternatives and sometimes they offer more spectacular scenery. The trek we chose was the 77 km Salkantay trek, a five day trek reaching altitudes of 4600 metres. It is
one that requires the most strength and endurance. With a promise of a donkey to carry our bags, some one to set up and take down our tents each night and a cook to prepare 3 two course meals plus snacks each day we knew this trip was going to be tough and we would need some extra reserves. So we bought 16 Granola bars, 8 twixs, 2 bags of peanuts and hoped that we would get a shop on the second day of our trek.
The next day we arose shocking early to begin our 5 day trek and we met the 16 others that were doing the trek with us. The group included another Irish girl, some English, French, Swiss, Argentinean, Chilean, Canadian and Americans. We drove about two hours to the town of Mollepata to the beginning of the trail. After a breakfast of copious amounts of bread rolls we began our walk. On each trek they bring what is called the 'emergency mule', this is an extra mule to carry anyone in case of an emergency, hence the name. After about 20 minutes walking the emergency mule was occupied by a Frenchman. I´m not quite
Misty Morning
Walking through the mist on the second morning of the trek. That´s Niamh with the hands on the hips. Standard uphill pose. sure if it was an emergency or he was just tired but he pretty much rode the mule for the remainder of the trip. That day we walked about 16 km through some amazing scenery, to a campsite called Soryapampa. That night we were glad we had our super light, super small sleeping bags as it meant that we could stay awake the whole night trying to keep warm. The next day we got up at 6 to begin the toughest day that would take us to the highest point of the trek at 4600 metres. It was on this day that there were spectacular views of the snow capped Salkantay mountain followed by a descent through the jungle. When we arrived at the campsite that night it was comforting that we could sit around in our t-shirts as it meant there was some chance of sleep that night.
On the third day there was an easy enough trek through the jungle and we slept in a small town called Santa Teresa. It was here where we went to the Aqua Calientes (for those of you who are not fluent in Spanish like myself this means hot springs). It
was a welcome reprise after three days of no showers and alot of walking. That night in the campsite a bit of a party kicked off and Colm wooed the locals with his break dance moves on the dance floor.
The next morning breakfast was accompanied by the sound of a squealing pig just about to be slaughtered. The local abattoirs was right beside the campsite and the noise would turn most carnivores vegetarian. While the noise was bad it did not stop us eating our beef lunch, after which, we were told to follow the active railway line to our next destination (health and safety is always a top priority in Peru). This took us to the town of Aqua Calientes, the stop off point to Machu Picchu, which we visited the next day. The place is truly exceptional and I think the photos speak for themselves. That evening we returned to Cusco and spent the next day wandering around a few of the shops.
While wandering around the shops we happened upon a shop called Magic Hands. When we tried to open the door it would not open, however, a few secondss later an indigenous bloke
Old Woman Selling Dyes
Add water and the colours are completely different. called Jesus came to the door and told myself and Colm to come in and look around. Sensing correctly, that I was the most balanced, he focused on Colm and told him that his aura was yellow and green. I sensed problems, big problems. Apparently his body was in conflict, mainly his head and his heart and this stress was all stored in his shoulders. It stemmed from something that happened when he was 16. I asked Colm had Leo ever hit him hard on the head or did he refuse to spoon him one night while listening to Chris De Burgh, but he couldn't pinpoint an event. I looked to Jesus for the answer and some help. It came in the form of a necklace for a sum of $180. Colm laughed, politely declined and made for the exit, while I frantically searched for the wallet wandering should we get two just in case. I had more questions and needed more answers. What about my aura? What could he possibly do for me? Apparently Jesus had no interest in me so we left the shop.
Happy to live with Colm´s internal conflicts the next day we went to
the local markets in Pisac. I bought a ridiculous hat, that was briefly funny while I wore it in the shop for ten seconds, now I wonder how I am going to carry it around for the next 2 months. Maybe I will give it to Leo as a present. After the Pisac markets our friend Brett called to Magic Hands shop to see what Jesus could do for him. Funnily enough his aura was yellow and green too, his head was in conflict with his heart and all the stress was stored in his shoulders, apparently it also stemmed from something that happened when he was 16.
Our final day in Cusco we went white water rafting on the Sacred Valley river, the Urubamba. The rapids were apparently grade 3 and 4 which did cause some brief excitement, but being the thrill seekers that we are it would have been good if they were a bit faster. We managed to remain in the boat the whole time which is probably a good thing as it meant we could make the bus that night for Peru's capital, Lima.
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