Fri 19th Dec: Back in Cusco

Today was a relaxed day. I sorted out a bus ticket to Lima for tomorrow and then had a last look around Cusco. In one of the museums I bumped into Juan again. We swapped tales of our experiences on Macchu Pichu. Thankfully Juan had managed to get some decent shots from the top of Wayna Pichu in the rain. He said it had taken him over an hour to come down off the peak. The torrents of rain making the descent highly dangerous on bare rock. As we parted we wished each other well. After looking around town I took a last look at Saqsaywaman and the views over the city.

By 4pm I was back in the hostel. I lay down for a couple of hours intending to get up for food and a look around town in the evening. However I didn´t wake up. I slept solid through the night for 15hrs.

More shots of Macchu Pichu

Thurs 18th Dec: Macchu Pichu

Up at 5am for the 5.30 bus up to Macchu Pichu. I awake very tired and have to drag myself out of bed. I felt like this many times in America. Leaving the hostel its raining. I´ve been there for 6hrs. The rain is disappointing. I was hoping for good weather for this visit. I arrive just as the queue for the buses is beginning to form. In a matter of minutes there´s a large crowd waiting. A line of buses pull up and fill up inturn as the tourists pile in. I get onto the third bus away so there are few people on site when I arrive. It was 6am. The rain has stopped as well which is a relief. The place looks fantastic. After all the photos of the site that I´ve seen over the years there´s still no sense of anticlimax. The surrounding mountains are so dramatic. Perched on a sheer sided mountain it feels as though the city is supended in the air. Clouds sit on the mountain tops and swirl in wisps around the sides only add a sense of mystery to the place. You get a tingling feeling on first seeing the place. You don´t talk, you don´t think, youjust stay quiet and gaze over theviews. The place is certainly a showstopper.

I was talking to Italian guy when mist began to appear as if from out of the ground and soon enveloped the whole city in thick fog. The fog shrouded everything for most of the next 2hrs. I was supposed to join a tour of the site at 8am but I decided to stay where I was. I had found a good place to get shots of the site if the fog lifted. Given a choice of getting good shots or taking the tour I wanted the photos. By nightfall I would have forgotten most of the 2hr tour anyway. Eventually around 9am the fog lifted and I got my shots. Good, bad or indifferent I have them now and will treasure them.

3hrs after arriving on site I entered the city and began to wander. It has clearly defined sacred, residencial and agricultural zones. I cocked an ear to tours I passed to hear what was being said. As there is no recorded history of the site there are many conflicting theories as to the age function and duration of settlement on the site. I can read up on it when I get home.

After looking through the city for a while I climbed Wayna Pichu the peak you can see directly behind the city in all the photos. It too contains buildings and terracing which tower above the main site perched on vertigo inducing cliffs. The mind boggles as to why they built houses in such a location. It took 45 mins to climb the rock cut stairway to the top. It rained heavily as we climbed. Mercifully the rain stopped when we reached the top in a sodden state. Again the fog rolled in so views were non existent. Another wait of 90 minutes elapsed on the top of Wayna Pichu before the fog lifted to give mist shrouded glimpses of the city. A buzz of excitement rippled around everybody on the peak as the fog lifted and there was frenzied snapping of shots in case the fog descended again. We were lucky. Many others had climbed to the top but couldn´t wait due to time constraints of the tour they were with and had to leave seeing nothing. All that effort and not one photo. I had all day so I waited for as long as it took.

Climbing back down I bumped into Juan the Peruvian guy I´d spoken to last night making the climb. We spoke for a few minutes before continuing on our ways. I got back to the city and continued to wander around, determined to make the most of my time here. Very soon, however, the rain came down again. This time in torrents. I ran for shelter. I felt sorry for anbody on Wayna Pichu. It was going to be a thoroughly miserable experience and no views to be seen. The rain continued for an hour so I sat in the shelter with some others and watched and waited. Eventually the rain lifted and the surrounding peaks reappeared through the mist. Every time that happened there was a tingle of excitement as you were never sure the fog would lift again. In many ways the poor weather added to the experience. There was a sense of mystery as the mist swirled around.

By 3.30pm, nine and a half hours after arriving I felt it was time to go. I was getting tired. I was damp. The fog had descended again and my train back to Cuco was at 5pm. So it was time to leave. Irinically, back in Aguas Caliente the sun began to shine. I had enough time to buy some snacks before heading to the train. It took over 4hrs to do the 120km back to Cusco. Tired and restless I couldn´t wait to get off that train. I took a taxi back to the hostel, hit the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Inca Ruins of Pisaq and Ollantaytambo

Wed 17th Dec: The Sacred Valley

This morning I head for the sacred valley on my way to Macchu Pichu. We ascend into the mountains and 40 mins later arrive at a small town with a "tourist compound" specially for bus tours. This is a "buy stuff" stop with nothing at all of interest. Leaving this town we progress through very scennic valleys. Passing through a narrow gorge we emerge to a stunning view of the sacred valley 1,000m below. From here we descend into the valley to the market town of Pisaq, renowned for its markets. There isn´t a market today so we proceed another 7-8km up the slopes of the far side of the valley to the old Inca settlement of Pisaq. Perched high up on the mountainside overlooking the sacred valley old Pisaq is stunning. I didn´t know what to expect and I´m blown away by it.

We get an hour to explore the ruins and it simply isn´t enough. As we leave the bus I fall in with an English lad Matt Baker, born in the eastend of London. A sound lad we chat away as we ramble over the ruins. A self contained city with agricultural terraces stepped into the mountain slopes. It has a residencial area, a sacred zone with temples, an observatory and housing for the priesthood. Its all linked together by narrow pathways which cross steep cliffs. It was an amazing location for a town. Wandering around the place both Matt and myself wondered how impressive Macchu Pichu could really be after this. Would it be an anticlimax? Reluctantly we went back to the bus. Driving back down into the valley everybody´s gaze was drawn back up to the old town. As the road switched over and back as it descended we wondered what was it like to live in such an awe inspiring location. What made the people build a city halfway up a mountain on the side of a cliff.

Back in the valley we passed through modern Pisaq and made our way into the valley following the course of the Urubamba river. Its a very fertile valley, devoted to crop production. The valley floor is full of fields cereals and vegetables all hemmed in by high steep mountains on either side. We passed through some small town before stopping at Urubamba, a fairly nondescript town in the middle of the valley. While the rest ate in an upmarket restaurant I had to organise my own food. So I stroled down the town and into a busy looking locals restaurant. I sat down and ordered fried trout from the lady who ran the place.

This lady appeared to fill the roles of manageress, grandmother and matriarch all in one. Though small in stature she looked formidable. She wore an apron over her clothes and looked as though she would throw her hand to whatever needed doing, including boxing the ear of a sullen son who was unenthusiatic waiter requiring "encouragement" to go about his work. She clucked after a small grandchild who seemed intent on all kinds of gleeful mischief which eventually had the old lady tutting and scolding after her.

The room was full of locals having their lunch and it seemed to take a few minutes before they noticed the gringo in their midst. Every sooften over the next while 3 or 4 faces would gaze impassively at me. When my meal arrived the looks I got made me feel uncomfortable. While they weren´t hostile they certainly didn´t appear to be friendly.

The meal itself was certainly worth a photo. The fried trout, with head attached, was accompanied by grilled banana, rice decoratively arranged, salad and chips. All washed down with Inka Kola. Happy after this little culinary adventure I rejoined the group and we made a 30min trip to Ollantaytambo, another town with a dramatic Inca ruin. Again myself and Matt teamed up to explore these ruins and while not as dramatic as Pisaq they were impressive nonetheless.

At the end of the visit I left the group who were going back to Cusco. I stayed on to run around the ruins for a little longer. I had some hours to pass before catching a train up to Aguas Caliente where I´d stay tonight. Ollantaytambo was a pretty little town and it was easy to kill time here. I was on the train by 8.30pm. A peruvian guy, Juan had the seat beside me and we fell into chatting ae we waited for the train to depart. Juan was from Lima and was bringing his parents on a trip to Cusco and Macchu Pichu. He was a sound fella, into his sports and was curious about rugby in Ireland. We also discussed the prospects for Ireland and Peru qualifying for the next world Cup....... Peru won´t be going!

The train journey took longer than expected and it was after 11pm when we arrived in Aguas Caliente. Here the train stops in the main street!! Its funny to see the train stop alongside shops and restaurants and souvenir stalls. I was met by a person from the hostel I was to stay at. I was shown to my room. I had a quick shower...... with lovely hot water! I went straight to bed for an early start in the morning.

Tues 16th Dec: Around Cusco

I´m up and better today. I don´t have much for breakfast just tea and bread. I meet Nicacio to sort out a ticket for Macchu Pichu. I´m not going to do a trek, not with the way my stomach is. Instead I´m going to visit some sites in the sacred valley on wednesday on my way to Aguas Caliente the closest town to Macchu Pichu. Stay there on Wed night and get up for the first bus up to the site and stay as long as I can at Macchu Pichu on Thursday before heading back to Cusco. I´m trying to get the cheapest deal on offer but I can´t help thinking there´s some big profits in ti for Nicacio. I get the ticket sorted by 10am and head over to a bus station to get a local bus to take me 6km out of town to 4 sites close to Cusco.

I get dropped off at Tambomachay, a royal spa. Its picturesque but thats about it. The most intriguing part of the visit occurs when a group of Peruvian women come over and ask to have their photos taken with myself and a French guy who happened to be sitting close by. I walked up to the next site about 600m up the road, Puka Pukara. Its a small fortress that sits at the head of a valley and defended the approaches to Cusco on one of the maind roads into town during the time of the Incas. Its stunning wee site, the panoramic views over the valley beautiful. I love me castles and forts and I was in my element here. Eventhough it was small it was up there with the nicest I´ve seen.

Leaving Puka Pukara I had a 3mile walk to the next site, atemple called Qenqo. This stretch of road has been noted for violent attacks on tourists in the past so I wasn´t sure if I was taking a risk walking alone. It was early in the day so I reckoned I´d be ok. Just in case, I picked up a rock, a bit ridiculous really. I got to Qenqo without any mishap, the only thing to come near me was a cow which burst through the bushes on the side of the road followed quickly by its owner, a woman in traditional dress who was screaming blue murder in hot pursuit. With multi-coloured petticoats swirling about and accompanied by a toddler throwing stones she chased it into the fields on the far side of the road to join up with the rest of the herd.

Qenqo was ok. I moved on to the last site overlooking Cusco, Saqsaywaman. This was impressive an enormous sacred site of the Incas with a fortified citadel overlooking all. It was a major ritual site as befitting an imperial capital. Its walls were constructed of massive blocks of stone carved to fit together seamlessly. It was here that a cataclysmic battle was fought between the Incas and Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro. The spanish fortified within the citadel of Saqsaywaman allowed a force of 20,000 incas to attack. In the ensuing battle 10,000 Inca army were massacred. On this day the Inca empire was effectively lost. The myth of Spanish invincibility struck deep. To stand among the ramparts its hard to imagine the absolute carnage which occurred here. It was a theme that was to reoccur with tragic consequences for the indigenous people. Almost appropriately a thunderstorm broke overhead. I ran over to a viewing point which held views over the city. Lightning streaked down on to nearby hills and rain began to obscure the lower parts of the town. I took it as my cue to leave. Thankfully the hostel was only 300m away down a series of steps. I enterd the hostel just as the rain began to fall.

This evening I managed to have two dinners. The last time this occured I was in Delta in the Sevier desert in Utah. I was very hungry after three days of a stomach bug and minimal food. I entered a cheap Polleria there were a few people eating in the place so I sat down. I ordered a quarter of chicken and chips. The staff were sullen. I noticed the place looked greasy and grimy. The floors were slick and dirty. I was handed a bowl of soup that was only lukewarm. When the main dish arrived it made me cringe. The chips were terrible, I had to force myself to swallow. The chicken? I reckon it was only half cooked. My stomach began to turn. Between the dirt of the place and state of the food I left the meal half eaten before I began to gag.

I walked 50yds down the street to Polleria Los Angeles. Immediately this place felt a lot better. It was clean, it was busy, the staff smiled. Why didn´t I come here in the first place? I sat down and ordered the same as before. Just as in Delta the second meal had much larger portions. After the soup I was beginning to fill up. The main course arrived with a mountain of chips alongside a well cooked chicken. Very soon I was struggling. I was still feeling quesy after the first place. I was quite full aswell but out of respect I didn´t want to leave a full plate behind me. I force fed myself and managed half the dish. By then I reckoned I could get away with leaving the remainder behind. I hid most of the remaing chips under the chicken, paid up and left. Feeling queasy and afraid of the possible consequences of the first meal I lumbered back to the Hostel.