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Published: September 1st 2013
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26 Aug Day 14: Aguas Calientes– Cusco
The day has dawned fine for Day 2 at Machu Picchu. After an uncertain start about having a late start for the climb up Huayna Picchu (10:00am compared to Garry and Don starting at 7am) then an earlier train, an hour and a half before Don and Garry and Maryalina, I got onto the 7 am start. The climb up Huayna Picchu is some 300 odd metres but just about straight up. While it's a hard climb, I'd recommend it to any-one. The views at the top are spectacular. I have to admit that while I don't particularly have a fear of heights I've never been one to go and stand on the edge of a drop without the security of a hand rail. There were no hand rails just a bloody long drop.
There are some buildings near the top, it beggars belief as to why any-one would build there. Obviously some-one who valued their privacy. I suppose I can understand that bit, well I mean all toilets in Machu Picchu were communal. No mention of segregation and you can be sure there were no walls between each stall.
Above
this were just some rocks, which of course one just has to climb up to. I made sure I wasn't too close to the edge. It was getting down again that was the problem. The steps were steep - think of the steepest set of stairs you have ever been on, now make each step the WIDTH of your foot and the stairs steeper and you begin to get a sense of what it was like. Don really struggled with them. He had to walk down them rather than run. I swear the man is part mountain goat. Me, I was hanging on for dear life to every rock, tree, tree root and leaf I could find and then some. Still the experience was more than worth it.
Once down again, I had some more photos I wanted to take that I missed out on yesterday because of the weather and Don wanted to walk back up to the Sun Gate to get the shots he missed yesterday. There is one problem in Machu Picchu and that is the traffic is essentially one way. I had one particular shot I wanted to take and needed to be standing in
a particular spot. To get there though meant I would have needed to perform an entire loop to get it. Machu Picchu is about a Kilometre long and several hundred metres wide. I found the limit of how far I would go for my art and that was way beyond, particularly given the heat and my concern about getting burned. we'd been warned about this and it was certainly correct.
The return trip down the mountain was truly frightening. It turned out that the driver was in a hurry to get back for lunch. At one point we all thought we were goin to be involved in a head-on with a bus coming up the hill. Close enough for some of the women to let out a scream.
The afternoon involved the return journey to Cusco via train then bus. We (we, is Liz and me on the earlier train) had some entertainment on the train on the way back which wasn't included on the later train. Apparently we had better food as well.
All is now in preparation for the return flights back to Australia, punctuate by long waits ant various airports.
Today's Pen report
- he wouldn't come out of my pocket. I'm not sure if this was fear, regret at leaving or the fact that he was going back into cargo.
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