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Published: July 17th 2013
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After our return from the Bolivian Amazon we headed for Copacabana, not quite the white beach town of the famous song, but nevertheless a pretty town alongside Largo Titicaca where we spent a day walking along the coast and Stu enjoyed some of the lakes famous Trout (while I had an omelette that resembled scotch egg like deep dfried balls).
We took the boat across to the Isla Del Sol, a popular pilgrimage for Bolivians as the Island was of great importance in Tiwanaku and Incan culture, when they worshipped the sun god. The boat drops you off on the Norh of the island and you can spend the day doing a lovely walk to the Southern point of the island, passing the remains of incan buildings and walking down old stone steps. The lake is so vast that you feel like you´re looking out to sea, then you notice the faint line of snowy topped mountains at the otherside.
We spent our last day on Bolivian soil in Copacabana then headed for Peru, crossing the border to the other side of the lake and having an unplanned stop in the town of Puno due to road blockades (as
we have discovered...a common occurence). We eventually arrived in Cusco in the early hours of the morning.
Cusco is a beautiful city, dotted with pretty churches, beautiful buildings and pristine plazas. In many ways it feels similar to lots of Bolivian cities we have visited, but slightly more organised and developed. On the downside, and probably as a result of its many attractions, it is littered with tour companies and you cannot walk 10 metres without someone trying to sell you a souvenir; a massage; a meal in their restaurant and even a photo with a baby Llama (the latter was hard for me to resist!).
We ofcourse, like everyone else, wanted to visit Machu Pichu. We´d decided agains booking on the Inca Trail trip as information tells you it needs to be organised far in advance and we just didnt have a concrete enough plan. But saying that, every agency in Cusco advertises some kind of trek to Machu Pichu. But with a little internet searching we came across a campsite in a village not far from the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu; on a small farm ran by a family that also offered acommodation and home
stay.
So we headed for Quellomayo (meaning Yellow River in Quechua) on a 5 hour bus to Santa Maria, on which a man did a sales pitch for a series of health drinks, followed by a short taxi ride along a sketchy winding road, which dropped us at the top of a trail surrounded by nothing but trees. Luckily at the bottom of the trail was Tatiana and Andy´s house, along with an idylic campspot by the river, surrounded by coffee plants and passion fruit trees. It was perfect.
Tatiana´s dad ´Papi´ took us on a walk to the nearby hot springs, running into the river. He pointed our fruits and trees along the way and asked us about our travels. I think he took a shine to us as he brought bananas to our tent and when we left walked with us up to the road to ensure we got a fair taxi price! With the help of Papi´s hand drawn map and Tatiana´s instructions, we set off on a days walk to Aguas Termales, the town below Machu Pichu.
It was one of the best walks we have done so far, walking through green forest,
along the beaches of the river, and at times nervously along narrow cliff top paths across land slides! However the most memorable part of the walk was definitely the ´basket´ across the river, Tatiana had mentioned this to us, saying ´Dont turn around and come back, locals use it every day!´. As we reached it, I could see why some people might think to come back, we looked up to a small wooden ´basket´on a wire high up across the river. I got in first, mainly because I thought this would be easier than being on the platform on my own and having to go in second. So I climbed in and Stu pushed me off into the unknown...but the rope pulling system was simple enough and it felt pretty secure, but what I didnt expect was the hard work it took in pulling myself all the way across. By the last few pulls I was giving myself motivational talk! Stu had to pull the basket back across to his side, then pull himself across, he did this in about a third of the time it took me, but as a result still had rope burns on his hands!
We reached the small town of Santa Teresa and took a Micro to Hidroelectrica, where we walked for a few hours along the train lines to Aguas Termales, joined by many others unwilling to pay for the train and wanting to walk, it was like a backpackers pilgrimage. Arriving at Aguas Termales was like arriving at a holiday resort, full of restaurants and hotels, but surrounded by iconic mountains. We had per bought our entrance ticket and had an early 5am start to get to this Wonder of the World. We arrived, along with bus loads of tourists, it was anything but a lonely planet; But, I guess you have to share sights this magnificent with everyone else.
I guess I have seen so many images and photos of Machu Pichu that I knew what to expect, but it didnt dissapoint. It´s a huge sight, full of impressive remains, demonstrating the great intelligence of the Incas and at times baffling ability to build such great things in such a mountainous environment! You can imagine the steep terraces, covered in growing veg, and the Incas worshiping at the temples as the sun rose. To my delight the place was also
dotted with the most peefectly groomed Llamas Ive seen.
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