We arrived in Cusco and for the first time, were ripped off. An airport attendant chancer introduced himself to Peter, and we believed he was our guide. He wasn't, and luckily we spotted our real guide, but not before the chancer had wheeled our luggage out of the airport and demanded a tip.
We were dropped off at our accommodation (Casa Esmeralda), so we unloaded and took a walk into Cusco town. That's when the altitude hit us, and world began to wobble, not unlike after imbibing way too much sloe gin. A good meal, plenty of drinking water and lots of coca leaf tea improved things somewhat, and our spirits were lifted by a noisy, colourful and vibrant parade to celebrate Santa Rosa. Apparently, parades like this are frequent occurrences across Peru. Back to the hotel, and an indulgent hot shower.
August 30
Still feeling a bit wobbly but OK. We took a coach ride to the Inca ruins in Pisaq, and then a stop at Pisaq market - full of silverware, colourful polished rocks and expensive alpaca garments. Our guide was of Inca descent and very knowledgeable about local history We were amazed to see lots of eucalyptus trees. These were planted when some of the native trees died off and have been successful in providing a means of income and construction materials for locals. Very odd to see though. We had a delicious buffet lunch at a local restaurant and then onto Ollantaytambo to the Inca ruins there. Most of the best-preserved ruins at both Pisaq and Ollantaytambo are the Inca terraces. The Spanish Conquistadors destroyed pretty much everything else, but they never found Machu Picchu because of its isolated location. Machu Picchu may not have been a particularly important settlement (Cusco was the 'navel' of the Incan empire and a very important city) but it survived pretty much intact.
We took the train (IncaRail) from Ollantaytambo to Machi Picchu village through the jaw-droppingly towering and beautiful Andes. Here we stayed in Rapuwasi Lodge overnight. The village is a tourist hot-spot, located among near-vertical mountains, a fast flowing river and huge rock boulders.
August 31
Up at the crack of dawn, herded onto a coach and taken up to the entrance to Machu Picchu. Our guide informed us that the 3-5,000 tourists every day were wreaking havoc on the environment and that it's likely that Machu Picchu will be restricted or even closed to tourists in the near future. We steadily climbed up the track until we reached the classic viewpoint of the Inca town. Despite the volume of tourists and the specified route we had to follow, this was still a humbling place to experience. The architecture, the houses, the Sun Temple, the alignment to the stars, the earthquake protection, the samples of crop plants, Temple of the Condor and of course, the fabulous terracing - all incredibly perched on a mountain. Hard to describe, but a truly awesome spiritual environment. We chickened out of our pre-booked climb of the Waynapicchu mountain (the classic vertical mountain behind Machu Picchu) because it was very hot and humid, and my eye sight was too dodgy.
We returned to Cusco via coach, train and car ride. It was a lot of travel and we were hit by altitude on our return to Cusco (3399m compared to Machu Picchu at 2430m). The train ride back was with PeruRail and was quite upmarket. Beautiful Peruvian tablecloths were on the table, and the cutlery was neatly laid out. We were fed a sandwich and a chocolate muffin, both delicious, and then the crew came and collected the unused cutlery! Next a very colourful 'demon' came dancing down the corridor, engaging some of the other passengers in dance. Very corny, but taken in good grace and with lots of cheers and applause by those on the train. Then there was a fashion show, with gorgeous and expensive alpaca clothing modelled along the corridor runway to the beat of lively music. As Peter said, you don't get that on British Rail. The sun set on the Andes as we chugged along. It was an unreal but very lovely experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment