After leaving the Peruvian Town of Arequipa (a very uneventful adventure, so I'll leave it out) at 21:30 on Sunday the 17th of May, we arrived at the ancient Incan capital of Cusco the following morning at 07:30. The four of us (William, Adrian and Troy - a new Australian friend aquired in Arequipa) wasted no time in booking into the Wild Rover hostel. Our third and final Wild Rover. This of course meant that I had qualified myself to become a part of one of the most elite societies on earth - one who has successfully navigated and survived all 3 Wild Rovers. I received a tshirt to commemorate my success. An even more significant piece of news was that the BritsBrothers and the Australian trio would be rolling into town tonight after their 5day arduous trek to Machupicchu -the lost city of the Incas. Frederick Newton however informed me that they will only be arriving at 2am - to long a time to wait and stay awake to welcome them. All of us retired early that night.
The next day all of us, totalling 11, went to the Incan museum together. It was interesting enough - it is clear that the Incans were very fond of masonry work as well as not bothering to write down instuctions how to replicate the extraordinary masonry work! Freddie and I finished first and went to sit on the steps of the cathedral where we were approached by no less than 22 hawkers trying to sell us their wares. We got up and left after about 15min. That night we celebrated our reunion at the Wild Rover bar. Once again marked by dancing topless on the bar and crowd surfing.
Wednesday saw us a little more timid. We spent the day lounging and exploring Cusco's large local market. We had a meal there which cost us R24. This included diced beef stew, rice, fries, salsa and half an avocado! Value you'd be hard pressed to beat at home! I also got bamboozled into paying approximately R60 for a shoeshine! But that's to be expected if you do not settle on a price beforehand... We also started scoping around for a tour company who would take us to Machupicchu for the best price, but we couldn't locate one within our price range. We decided it be best if left for another day and celebrated our decision over a couple of beers...
A couple of beers later on Thursday, we finally got round to go see some better priced tour guides. We found one who for $180 would give us 4days, meals, accommodation, transportation, a guide, white water rafting, mountain biking and ziplining all inclusive. They would be picking us up at 07:30 the next morning. Today was also the day that I would be saying goodbye to the BritsBrothers for the foreseeable future, as we would not be meeting up again before I leave to Turkey end of June. It was quite an emotional day as they said goodbye to Chriswell as well - one of the Australian trio. We had one last big night in the Wild Rover's bar, including bit not limited to:
1. Singing Katy Perry's 'Firework' at the top of our lungs.
2. Telling off an annoying american girl who tried to impeach on our moment
3. Hugging numerous times
They were kicked out at 3am to go back to their hostel. Great night.
Friday. By 07:45 we were alreay on our way to our first destination on our 4day trek. We stopped at the top of a 4100m pass and were handed mountain bikes and disturbingly inadequate protective gear... I only did half before realising that I was going to kill myself. I had had to little sleep and wasn't concentrating on the road. I got off and proceeded the rest of the way in the van. The afternoon we did the white water rafting, which was pretty average considering my previous two experiences were on the mighty Zambizee and Nile rivers. Both of which consisted of grade 4 and 5 rapids. This river only had 2's and 3's...
Saturday = trek day. We did a 22km hike along the famous Inka trail. A road in the mountainside that the Incans built for their messengers to carry news to neighbouring regions. Along the way our guide proudly told us of how advanced the incas were and how they had knowledge about penicillin long before the Europeans did. One can only wonder how about 90% were killed off by spanish bacteria based diseases. Everybody lived in an equal society as well, never mind the human sacrifices and builder slaves used to build their cities. Nobody felt the need to correct him of course. Along the way we crossed the river in a locally operated pully system platform. We ended the day at a hot spring close to the town we would be staying that night. Heavenly.
Sunday = Funday. We started the day off with ziplining across the canyon we have been hiking up. It was really fun and we did a total of 5 zips, with the lines crossing the canyon in a Zigzag fashion. After that we got on a bus to a Hidro electric plant where we continued on foot for 3hrs to Aguas Calentes. The town at the foot of Machupicchu. The walk along the traintracks is mind bogglingly beautiful. You hike through a rainforest with mountains towering above you. The town itself is no less of a wonder and was reffered to many times as having a similar feel to it as a ski resort would. On top of that it wasn't nearly as expensive as we thought it would be - with a litre beer costing a measly R32 at the shop? We had a three course meal that night at quite a posh restaurant, including a starter, a soup and a main course. There the guide told us that tomorrow we had to get up at 03:45 if we hoped to be first at the first check point leading up the 1600 Incan steps to Machupicchu... tomorrow was going to be a hard day. We went to bed early at 10pm
Monday. At 04:15 we qued outside the firat check point, almost at the very front, at the base of the mountain. There was that electric feel you get before any kind of race as everybody wanted to get up there first. At 5am the gates opened and we were off. After about 10min of climbing I horribly lost the track and started off on the gravel road the busses use to get up there. After about 500m I concluded that this could not possibly be the right way and doubled back to were I lost the steps. I found myself way behind my friends and did the rest of the climb in technical solitude. If not for my phone's music blaring in my ears I probably wouldn't have made it. Climbing 1600 steps ALL THE WAY without pieces of flats in between is excruciating. The hike was worth it though as I made it up there just before the first busses arrived at the top. We went into the excavation site and took many photos and saw many exceptional masonry works. And would you have guessed it - more steps, the Incans' favourite way of getting anywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment