Day 11- 17th December
After a 15 hour night bus, winding up mountain roads over passes above 4000m (it was very cold!) we arrived in Cusco. I felt the effects of the altitude almost immediately and we decided to go straight to our hostel to sleep off the journey and begin to acclimatise to the altitude. Sadly our hostel had declined somewhat since the rave reviews we read on the internet but it had a bed and a bathroom so we settled in for a nap. We were staying in the San Blas area, full of steep cobbled streets and tiny alleyways crammed with shops of all kind - exactly how I had imagined Cusco to be. In the evening we wandered down into the area around the main square, which is a beautiful, colonial style plaza with colonnades and a spectacular cathedral. Cusco is full of lovely shops, selling textiles, paintings, carvings and jewellery, as well as tons of restaurants and bars. We found a cosy restaurant to have a meal and a hot chocolate. That was were the trouble started... |
| Cusco Cathedral |
Day 12 - Day 14 (18th to 20th December)
Sadly Jon and I both got food poisoning, predictably I fared worse. I spent the whole of the 18th in bed, while Jon was confined to wandering round Cusco finding internet cafes and pubs in which to spend his time. We both felt a little better on the 19th and duly went along to pay the balance on our Inca Trail trek. Unfortunately things went from bad to worse and I got sick again that night and spent the whole of the 20th in bed again!
These things happen and there's often very little you can do about them (we diligently drank only bottled water, no drinks with ice and only ate at reputable-looking restaurants), and having to spend a few more days in Cusco than we'd originally planned didn't seem like too much of a hardship. The upsetting part is that it meant I was too unwell to do the Inca trail and Jon had to do it on his own.
For the next few days there are two blogs - mine and Jon's...
Jen:
Day 15 - 21st December
After bidding Jon a rather tearful goodbye (me, not him, obviously!) and waving him off on the 5:45 bus to the start of the trek I went back to bed for a bit to feel sorry for myself! After a few hours of this I decided that would be a rubbish way to spend 3 days in Cusco and set off to explore the city. Still feeling very weak after eating virtually nothing for 3 days my progress was slow but I managed to find myself a bed in a local hostel and tick several errands off my list, including arranging my transport to Machu Picchu for Christmas eve, where I would meet Jon and the rest of the group as they entered the site to explore it with them (so not doing the trek didn't work out too bad - I still got to enjoy the best bit with them without all the hard work getting there!) I managed to eat some food and cheered myself up by buying a beautiful rug for our new flat. Safely ensconced in the new, much nicer, hostel, I curled up on a sofa under a blanket and typed this entry listening to the rain hammer down on the roof above - very British!
Day 16 - 22nd December
Feeling better I set off on a day trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The Sacred Valley is a section of the valley that follows the Urubamba river from Pisac to Ollantaytambo and encompasses the heartland of the Inca Empire. Its fertile soils are still extensively farmed and the locals claim they produce the best corn in the world! Our first stop was the town of Pisac, where we saw a silver-making demonstration and had time to walk around the market. The weather was a bit grey so I treated myself to a new jumper. We then visited the Inca city of Pisac, which is carved into the mountain above the current town. There was a large section of Inca terraces and we learnt that the Incas used these for agriculture but also for planting pleasure gardens and experimenting with cultivating new plants. The Inca ruins themselves were a collection of stone-built dwellings and temples, with an extensive cemetery carved into the mountainside - sadly long since plundered by robbers.
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| the Sacred Valley |
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| Pisac Inca terraces |
After lunch we headed on to the town of Ollantaytambo, the starting point for the Inca Trail. An impressive Inca citadel sits in the mountains above the town, reached by climbing some 300 steps up the steep terraces (it was a good job I was feeling stronger!) The city was beautiful, with many buildings and large granaries carved into the mountains opposite, sitting next to the carved face of the main God of the time. There was also a large sun temple at the top, made out of enormous 25 ton blocks of granite, which were mined over 8 kilometres away. In order to get the granite across the Urubamba river to Ollantaytambo, the Incas diverted its flow, moved the stones, then set the river back on its original course. There is evidence that the cities were never finished, some of the blocks still have the protrusions used for pulling them and slabs of granite have been found along the road leading from the quarry to the city.
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| Ollantaytambo |
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| Ollantaytambo view |
We ended the day with a weaving demonstration by the Chinchero people, an indigenous community that live in a high plateau above Cusco.
On the bus home we were treated to many attempts from local entrepreneurs to sell us their wares - a CD of pictures of the places you've just been, locally produced aniseed spirit and, best of all, a Quechua man who played us the hits of the beetles and Abba on pan pipes, recorder and drum, all whilst standing up in the middle of the bus. Sometimes it's a hoot being a tourist!
Day 17 - 23rd December
Today I made my way to Aguas Calientes. I caught a combi taxi to Ollantaytambo, with 3 other Peruvian passengers, and then boarded the train to Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu town). It was dark when I arrived and I had forgotten to bring a map, but a helpful Policeman pointed the way to my hostel. Another shared dorm, but this time sadly with the addition of snoring Columbians!
Jon:
Day 15 - 21st December
After marching Jen up and down the streets of Cusco (rather slowly) we decided that there was no way she was going on a four day trek through the mountains which is about 42km in total and I don't know how much ascent! As no changes or refunds are possible I set off on the bus. First stop Ollantaytambo for a spot of breakfast and introductions to the group (14 people: 6 Brits, 6 Americans and 2 Swedes) who were all very friendly. Fortunately at this point I recovered my appetite in full. Then another couple of hours to the normal place to start the trail, at kilometre 82 as the full original path was from Cusco. After the entry process (including an unexpected passport stamp) we set off for the fairly gentle first day, which was not dissimilar to a ramble in Wales with added Inca sites (note to the Welsh tourist board - I'm sure that with a bit of marketing you could replace Inca sites with castles and make it an international 'must do'). One silver lining of Jen pulling out is that I was able to use her porter - I was going to be carrying all my own equipment - so the first day was pretty easy. Wilfredo, our guide, was excellent and the cooking was magnificent and nearly every meal has three courses. At the first night's camp we met all the porters and the cook and exchanged Quechua greetings, which I strongly suspect I rendered in to some incomprehensible gibberish. Beautiful views and (first night only) beers to purchase, not that they were really earned that night.
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| Trail head |
Day 16 - 22nd December
If only every morning started with being woken with tea in a tent, although not perhaps at 5am. Still, given the punishing schedule that the porters go through you can see why early starts are required. Anyway - after yesterday's benign weather, the night had bought forth a deluge which continued all day really. Day two has a reputation for being the most challenging with an ascent to 4200m (about 2000m of climbing). At least the rain prevents overheating and good waterproofs make it perfectly tolerable. On this day the trail transitions from a track to proper Inca engineering and you see the effort that went in to producing endless flights of stone steps. A stop for 'second breakfast' allowed us to regroup before proceeding at our own pace for the rest of the day. The years of rowing training running up steps (and running at Portsdown where every session ended in a hill) proved useful and to be honest it wasn't too horrendous. Amazing views from just below the snow line were worth the climb. As soon as the high point of 'Dead Woman's Pass' was breached, the weather for the descent down to the camp site was much improved - even sunny. After the pass you leave civilisation and descend in to a lost-world-esque valley with lush foliage. Admittedly the fact that the path had become the river didn't make it any easier. The second night's camp site had even better views that the first and we indolent trekkers were desperately embarrassed by the provision of both afternoon tea and dinner, bringing the day's meal total to five!
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| the first pass |
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| Second Night Campsite |
Day 17 - 23rd December
This was the longest day and after a slight paucity of Inca sites the day before, we had no such complaints today and toured several trail lodges, farms and temples as we went. The drive to build in the most inaccessible places was truly impressive. Another climb to the second pass, replete with more steep steps, was followed by a no less fatiguing descent. Once the trail levelled out though it was probably the most beautiful walk I have been on. The early rain cleared to give spectacular views of the cloud forested valleys with snow capped peaks on every side. After lunch at the third pass (and a talk on Incan mysticism by Wilfredo at an Inca temple/farm) comes the 'gringo-killer' a few kilometres of steep descent, which saps the calf muscles; good training though! Its almost a shame to descent back towards civilisation and the first glimpse of Aguas Calientes was actually rather unwelcome after the beauty and solitude of the higher mountains. I really must get out to do more of that sort of thing in the UK. After exploring a spectacular Incan site I entered the third camp and awaited the others who weren't quite as suicidal down hill. |
| Inca Temple Complex |
Jon and I were reunited at the entrance to Machu Picchu, after early morning starts - mine at 6:00 in a hostel, followed by a bus up the mountain, his at 4:00 for an early walk to the Sun Gate to get a good view of Machu Picchu in the early morning light! Machu Picchu certainly deserves all the superlatives that it inspires, it really is magnificent, and much larger than either of us expected. The setting is magical - nestled beneath towering tree-covered mountains in a lush valley, enclosed on all sides and miles from anywhere -it really does feel like a lost world, despite the number of tourists. The site wasn't as busy as we had imagined it to be either, a blessing of visiting Peru in low season. Our guide, Wilfredo, gave us a very interesting 2 hour tour of the site, explaining the purpose, symbolism and construction of some of the more important buildings. We then had a few hours to explore on our own. After a few rainy days the sun came out and we were able to walk around in sunshine and relax on some of the grassy terraces. The views from every corner of the site are spectacular, both of the ruins and the surrounding valley and mountains. Machu Picchu definitely exceeded our expectations and goes down as one of the highlights of all our travels.
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| Machu Picchu |
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| Sun Temple |
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| Temple of the Condor |
Day 19 - 25th December
Feliz Navidad! Last night Jon and I checked into the hostel that ate Christmas! We decided to treat ourselves to somewhere a bit nicer as a Christmas present to each other, and this place is warm and cosy and is covered in Christmas decorations. After a candlelit breakfast and a very welcome hot shower we skyped our parents to wish everyone a merry Christmas. It's great that the technology exists to allow you to invade family Christmases from half way round the world!
We went to an English pub in Cusco for a 3 course Christmas dinner, complete with paper hats, turkey with all the trimmings and an interesting Peruvian take on the Christmas pudding. We started talking to the two British girls at the table next to us and ended up spending the evening with them in the local Irish pub. Not necessarily the most traditional of Christmases but a great day all the same.
Day 20 - 26th December
We spent a relaxing Boxing day exploring some of the sites of Cusco we had so far failed to see. The Museo de Arte Precolombino is housed in a beautiful old Colonial house and contains a fantastic collection of 'primitive' art from the Peruvian pre-Inca civilisations. There were incredibly detailed and well-preserved pots, plates, vases and jewellery from all regions of Peru dating from 1250BC to 1500AD. Some of the pieces were startlingly beautiful and could easily have been made by modern sculptors. It is easy to see where the modernists got the inspiration for their sculptures and paintings from, Picasso or Hepworth would be very proud to lay claim to some of the exhibits. We also did a bit of shopping and Jon finally succumbed to the lure of an alpaca jumper. A very tasty meal of Peruvian soup and alpaca steak rounded off the day nicely. Tomorrow we're (finally) leaving Cusco behind, having managed to book ourselves a last-minute trip into the Amazon. Time for another early night in preparation for yet another early morning...
