Cusco, Machu Picchu and Goodbye Peru

Dear all,

After the whirlwind tour of Lima, Pisco, Ica and Nazca we travelled on to Cusco, ancient capital of the Inca empire. With cobbled streets lined with alpaca-wool clothing selling Peruanas (Peruvian ladies), inca walls, colonial architecture and cosy restaurants, Cusco is the perfect place to spend few days acclimatising to the altitude before setting off on various treks to Machu Picchu, lost city of the incas. Despite there being more tourists than you can shake a stick at and it being freezing cold at night, I really loved Cusco as a city. Unfortunately, however, we contracted some kind of violent stomach bug there and Ruth, Pete and I spent two of the four days before our trek in bed. Matt was sadly so ill that we had to call a doctor out and he couldn´t join us for Machu Picchu. Such a shame, particularly as we had been organised enough to book our 4 day classic Inca trail in January!

Nonetheless, Ruth, Pete and I set out for Machu Picchu, rucksacks on our backs, cameras in hand, and still languishing from the illness. The first day was a designated ´training day´ - supposedly easy and reasonably flat, serving to whip us into shape for the following days´ hiking. And although it was easier than the following days, 8 hours of walking in high altitude with backpacks proved challenging to say the least! Still, in comparison with our porters, who carried towering packs of our stuff, tents, cooking equipment and goodness knows what else, and who ran ahead of us at super-quick speed to set up camp for us, the difficulty of our task seemed pretty laughable. The spectacular mountain scenery we witnessed and the company of a great group soon made our woes almost pale into insignificance. Over the four days we trekked through four ecosystems, including cloud forests, jungles and mountains, seeing snow-capped peaks and awesome river valleys. I got to see some rare orchids and was even lucky enough to have a humming bird hover by a flower just 6 inches from my face. Along the way we also met numerous llamas and alpacas, encountered some of the most ´interesting´ (read revolting) toilet facilities I have come across, and saw several inca remains. Some were simple lookouts, a few were shrines, and many included inca terraces. These rather splendid step-like constructions built into the mountain sides were used for agriculture. The incas used to plant seeds on different levels of the steps, experimenting with what could be grown at different altitudes. They would then transfer crops from site to site across the mountains as the plants adapted to different climates, altitudes and ecosystems - basically an early form of genetic engineering! Incredible! Once such terrace site was Wiñay Wayna, which also included a few inca houses and a collectiong of 16 ceremonial baths built down the mountain side. The water flowing through has been doing so since the baths´construction over five hundred years ago. Another highlight on the third day was taking part in a traditional ceremony to Pachamama (mother earth). We fanned out three sacred coca leaves, blew on them in the direction of each point of the compass to sk protection from the mountain spirits, and collected rocks and placed them in a pyramid form on a high mountain pass. It was nice to experience a snippet of the significance the trail had for the incas, and understanding something of their religion was enlightening.

On the fourth day we reached Machu Picchu. After three freeeeeeeeeeeezing nights (even investing in an alplaca sweater, llama wool hat and gloves and a sheep named Juan didn´t keep me warm!), several excellent meals (the cook deserves a medal, or at least the cordon bleu), Pete being attacked once again by the illness and forming ´Team Slow´ who ambled at a leisurely pace some 2 hours behind the rest of us, and being coerced into getting up at 3.45 so as to hit Machu Picchu before the crowds did, we finally got there. Even though I was knackered, sleep-deprived, cold, my knees hurt, my legs ached and I had caught a cold, it was well worth it. We arrived at the sun gate at around 7am, and walked down to the lost city, watching as the sun rose behind the mountains and illuminated the ancient buildings and streets. Inside the city were houses, temples, a factory area, a plaza, and much of it was constructed according to astrological and orientational significance. One temple has windows in it through which the sun shines directly at summer and winter solstices, another has a sundial carved with an eye, which is lit up at certain points of the year. I am still utterly awestruck by the sophistication of the inca culture, and the intensity of their faith in their religion, a faith which drew them not only to walk so far to reach the city, but to build it in its remote mountain location in the first place.

Anway, after a brief stop in Aguas Calientes we returned to Cusco to meet a more recovered but rather lonely Matt, to meet up again with Klaus and Patrick, say farewell to Hannah and mooch around the city for a day. I managed to find a ring with an Andean cross on it (a cross which signifies the upper, middle and lower worlds and the father, mother and spirits in incan religion) and treated myself to a massage for my legs (which felt as though they had been tenderised, repeatedly pummeled with a mallet and were ready for roasting). I also got some thermal trousers as my aplaca clothing fetish simply isn´t sufficient to withstand the night-time temperatures. The next stop was Arequipa, where I visited a rather eerie ice mummy called Juanita who was sacrificed to the gods some 500 years ago, nosed around a few churches and soaked up the white-stone architecture and splendourous main plaza. I also enjoyed seeing yet more Peruvian flags marking Independence Day, flags which are mandatorily dislayed on every building in the country. We also went on a 2 day tour to the Cañon del Colca, which is supposedly the world´s deepest canyon. It really was rather grand, particularly with the condors swooping majestically up and down it. Photos to follow soon. Other highlights of the tour included seeing some traditional dancing and relaxing in some hot spring baths in Chevay. Very nice.

And that, really, is it for Peru. Tonight we head to Puno by Lake Titicaca, where we will stay just for the night before bussing it to the other side of the lake in Copacobana, Bolivia. Peru, so far, is my favourite country - varied, beautiful, steeped in history and culture, and friendly. I am sure Bolivia will be great too though - I am already looking forward to being able to sing Barry Manalow´s ´Copacabana´ when arriving there!

The tantalising tales of your intrepid traveller continue next time....


xxx