Well things didn't quite work out for me on the trail (this is Lee) so I travelled to Machu Pichu by the other way. Forrest left on the Sunday (April 26) in the morning. Once i got myself together i booked extra days in the hotel (the staff were so wonderful through this ordeal) and then went down to the Andean Treks office to make sure the Machu Pichu part of the package was still available to me. They arranged so my transportation within Machu Pichu (and that i paid for) was still valid and my entrance ticket into the site. They arranged a local representative to walk me around the city to all the agencies and offices so that i could secure a train ticket for wednesday to the site and another bus up to Machu Pichu and admission for Wednesday. I got the Wednesday train ticket and since the "Vista Dome" was only $15 more i booked on that. It is one step above the "Backpacker" and comes with steward service, a 180 degree view of the scenery (since everything is vertical on the trip) and is very comfortable. I was lucky and had a whole table section to myself.
When Wednesday finally came (April 29) i got up early and the hotel had arranged one of their drivers to take me to the station the train pulled out from. It was a half hour drive. The station was beautiful and very well maintained. I don't know what it is but i love travelling by train and this was going to be a treat. By that morning i had pretty much gotten over the disappointment of not going on the adventure hike. I was ready to go on this one and as the owner of the hotel we had been staying at mentioned, Peggy, I could blog about another aspect of Cusco and Machu Pichu.
The ride to Machu Pichu took us through canyons and valleys that were narrow and wedged between huge mountains that were in reality the peaks. One thing that is always difficult to remember is that when in Cusco you are on top of the mountains or nestled away in valleys that are very far up (between 7 and 13 thousand feet up to be exact) and so what look like massive mountains in the middle of no where, and are stretching up an additional few thousand feet, are actually mountain tops. I would always have to remember where i was geographically. And if i didnt consciously then my body would remind me as the physical effort you have to exert at sea level for the equitable activity is so much more and different at 12,000 feet.
The valleys were beautiful and the scale of the landscape breath-taking. All along the trip i saw lush, arable valleys fed by mountain run-off and large white-water rivers. Their were large and small estates, plantations, and ranches that had mass tracts of land with seemingly whole villages used to work the land. There were also the small plot farmers who tended to use the terraced tracts along the mountain-sides and rivers banks. One thing was certain the land was very arable even at this height and ALOT of food is produced in the Andes. It became clear quickly that the same terrain provided both a challenge and an advantage to the those who settled these areas. It was not hard to see, especially when you witness the pure scale of the construction of the Inca sites, that it was the largest Empire in the new world before the Spanish.
All along the valley there were citadels, forts and remains of outposts and towns. Some were Spanish, most were from the Inca. All were impressive and the precision of the stone work is not even fathomable until you seem them up close.
We eventually arrived in the small town at the base of the mountain that Machu Pichu sits atop. The town is called today, "Machu Pichu Pueblo." It is a small town winding its development around the base of the foot of the peaks and along the white-water river. When i arrived i took a ride into town and dropped off my luggage. I then proceeded to get on the first bus up to the Machu Pichu. I have to say i am not afraid of heights and i have gotten used to the Central and South American way of driving (especially public transportation). It isnt for the light-hearted and when you are speeding up the side of a mountain at 90 km an hour (as a reference 100 kmh is equivalent to 60mph) with no guard rails and very little foliage to catch anything, oh and its one lane with bused speeding both directions. i kept my eyes closed for the entire trip up there. and when they meet another vehicle head on by the time they both stop there is literally only feet between the two before one has to back up. Usually the one coming down the mountain. To the driver's credit they are used to the driving conditions, very seasoned drivers, and seemingly well trained.
At the top of the mountain just outside the ruins is the gathering area for tour groups. I was not part of tour group that afternoon but i nevertheless had to fuel up (eat) as no eating is allowed in the park thank goodness. There are also no toilets so you need to use the ones in the gathering area. They are spotlessly clean and only cost one Solei to use.
That is something you notice right away is that EVERYTHING is well maintained. The money that they get from tourism definately goes back into the infrastructure. The buses are modern, the trains are very comfortable (ran by the same company who runs the Orient Express) and the site, with as many tourists and groups who go through those paths, trails and the ruins they reduce the impact on the site. It's very impressive.
The site itself was breath-taking. To describe it would not do it justice. We all know the pictures from school and travel logs but to stand before it and witness its placement amidst a geography that is vast and its scale unfathomable you understand the sacredness of the spot and the energy the location much less the site exudes. I would not truly grasp Machu Pichu's influences until the next day when exploring the main site. But that is for a later blog entry.
My goal that afternoon was not to go into the main ruins (the ruins that you see in travel books and on television) but the upper ones that sit up higher and are terraced. I wanted to wait to go into the main parts for when Forrest arrived. So i explored the upper areas and then decided to walk to the Sungate (over an hours walk each way) to see where Forrest and the rest of the group would enter the site.
The whole trail up to the Sungate was beautifully paved with stone. It was an arduous task (i didnt bring the right hiking boots) as the unevenness of the path made for a fight and the altitude was not helping. By the time i got close to the Sungate i was worn out and ready to turn back. I hoped at that moment that the entire Inca Trail was not paved as such. I came to find out later on meeting up with the group that it had been. I am glad i walked up to the Sungate because i would not have known the true challenge and sense of accomplishment the group made. I had only had two and half hours of it they had four days and their climbs and descents were much more technical and challenging than the path to and from the Sungate.
I looked at my watch and tried to gauge my ability to stay another three hours without going through the main site, before they would arrive (the Inca Trail group and Forrest). I decided as much as i wanted to wait, the altitude was starting to get to me and the unintended exersion of the sungate trail had taken it out of me. I had seen enough and communed with the sacred mountain (that incidently sat across from the ruins and to which i was drawn to before i even knew its significance). I decided i should go back into town and check out the hotel.
I waited at the hotel for several hours (the group was a little later than expected). Forrest got into the hotel and immediately said the group was relaxing at the hotsprings at the edge of town. I imagined some rustic area of hot springs but when we got there it was a very well developed area. There were changing rooms, the springs themselves were four pools of varying degrees of temperature and intensity. There was bar and it seemed EVERYONE was enjoying the water. I have to say it was very refreshing and i wasnt the one who went on a hike. I cant imagine how it must have felt for them.
I was surprised to see how well everyone was doing. I expected them to be wiped but i think the adrenaline of walking into Machu Pichu, much less the four day technical hike, had a lot to do with their state. They were all smiling, all reminiscing and everyone of them seemed to value what they had accomplished. You can tell that they had developed a strong camraderie of accomplishment. The whole group was very nice and encouraging and had a great sense of humor. I was glad this was the group Forrest had to do his dream trip with. Afterwords the group went back to camp and Forrest and I went to go get a good meal in him.
We both crashed that night.
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