Cusco in a state of emergency

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For days it rained, I bought heavy boots and the rain gear was worn everytime we ventured outdoors, Cusco seemed to function as normal although the drains seemed to suffer a little under the pressure.

Within a few days we started to hear about bus delays, mudslides and worrying rumours of people stranded and possible casualties, I started to do a bit of research and realised that the surrounding areas of Cusco were in trouble, some of it deadly.

Local news reports told of 40 regional landslides, thousands of homes devastated and 2000 tourists stranded in and around Machu Pichu, The little town of Aguas Calientes (the gateway village to the ruins) was totally devastated also.

The next morning we woke up and wandered around town, a building 2 blocks away had collapsed supposedly the foundations had been washed out. Some of the houses were being supported by tree branches propped along supporting walls. Blue tarpaulin speckled the hillslides preventing the futher mudslides, We never once felt unsafe ourselves in town.

In the Plaza de Armas, Cusquena the local brewery had erected tents with officials with load speakers appealing to people to give blankets, money, tents food and other essentials to assist the displaced, I think everyone was touched by the appeal in some way. Above our heads the whirr of the helicopters droned on for days evacuating the stranded from Machu Pichu,

The bridge to Pisaq another little market town, isolating its residents and the famous rail line to Machu Pichu literally had slide off the side of the mountain.

Within days Cusco had become so quiet yet the main roads were reopened and only isolated areas remained seriously affected.

By 28th the Sun had been splitting the stones for few days yet it was sobering to think of what had happened so close to where we were, to date I believe 19 people perished. The helicopters remain in the sky but I watched the local news last night and I think it may be the army bringing supplies to the worst affected areas, everyone has been evacuated at this time.

On Thursday we decided to go for a hike, It was a beautiful morning when we left the plaza around 8ish, We started of at Q'enqo a temple were the Incans believed was the temple of fertility, from there we trekked cross country towards the village of Yancaypata an indigenous farming village, we hoped we might have been able to buy a soda but this was not meant to be, some goats milk perhaps, a soda.........no. It was quaint and it would seem time had stood still here, the pigs and hens escorted us through the dirt streets made all the more mucky due to the floods, It was strangely quiet, it was only later in the hike when we noticed everyone working in the fields tending crops of mostly potatoes.(Peru is the home of the potato with hundreds of varieties). The buildings in the village were adobe brick which I have been informed consist of clay mud, horse shit and hay, then baked in the sun.

We came to the village of Tamomchay walked through it and climbed to the top of the hill behind it where we had lunch with a 360 degree of the valley including the beautiful ruins of Puka Pukara which is thought to have been an administrative centre, a fortress (this seems viable since the views are unobscured) and a water system
to accomodate the surrounding farming terraces.

We walked back towards Cusco through the potato fields just as the locals were finishing up for the day, On the way back we found so many other ruins which are partially excavated, they are not even mapped yet, Back in Cusco we stopped in Paddy's for a beer then took our sore feet home, We had walked just under 18kms, One mistake I didn't were sunblock and I'm suffering now.

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Comments

[rprice]

Fanny Tuna
Now that you've got one, huh?!

[Jon]

Still in the process?
Wow, ursula, that sounds like an icredible few days! That ruins sound really interesting. I´ve got a few friends from christmas that I´m sending your way. Hope it´s a great day for you and John.