Peru I learnt, is, in the geographical sense at least – from endless, horrific, bus journeys - just about the most varied and exciting of the South American nations – with a combination of mountains, Inca relics, immense desert coastline and vast areas of tropical forest. Dividing these contrasting environments, the Andes – over 7000 meters high and 400 kilometers wide in places – cross the entire length of the nation. Stunning it is.All of which I was completely oblivious to as I flew into Lima, via Costa Rica, late at night...The following morning I ventured into Peru's sprawling capital city. I think it is, again, best described as 'once beautiful'. Home to over 8 million people, over half of whom live in poverty – without decent water, sewage or electricity – despite this I'm one of the few, that I have spoken to at least, that liked Lima - it's full of life, and elegance and I spent the day wandering around different markets, where I picked up my first alpaca jumper...I'm now dripping in alpaca.
Moving on from Lima – after just 2 days – I travelled by bus, through the Andes to Cusco and the start of the mythical Inca trail. Before I get to that though I can't just pass the bus journey bye...it was the worst! Twenty four hours at over 5000 meters high, twisting, turning and bouncing every foot of the way – the first, and only stop, came 17 hours in – by which point a number of people had been violently sick. Never ever again.
It was with massive relief that we arrived at Cusco – known to the Inca's as the 'navel of the modern world'. Cusco is a wonderful, colourful city, built by the Spanish on the remains of the Inca temples and palaces. It is still unspoiled, with whitewashed streets and red-tiled roofs, and as I found out is home to a wealth of of traditional culture, lively nightlife and an endless variety of museums, walks and tours. I enjoyed all of this, and the hostel I stayed in (Loki – South Americas self proclaimed 'party hostel') for several day's, acclimatising to the 3500 meter altitude – it sounds daft, but it really does make a huge difference, and just walking around town, up and down the steep paths was a real effort. This didn't exactly bode well for the trek to Machu Picchu, and it wasn't my only problem...having started in Buenos Aires, and moving north into Brazil, I had pretty much dressed like Mowgli, wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops...my thinking had been that rather than dragging boots and clothes around that I would buy everything I needed in Cusco. Fine in theory, but in reality the average Peruvian is 5ft 6, 8 stone and has size 5 feet – I literally could not find a single store, or market stall that had anything that would fit me (I'm now in Bolivia, 2 weeks on and I'm still searching) – the upshot being that I started the mythical Inca Trail in a combination of East London skinny Jeans and leather jacket, and borrowed hiking boots. The tour guide just shook his head.
So – the Inca Trail. Well, the first thing to say is that I didn't do the classic Inca Trail – few people do nowadays, as you are required to book your space 6 months in advance – the Peruvian Government now limit the number of people that are allowed access to this particular path. What I did, instead, was what the vast majority of travellers do – an alternative trek, that traced its winding, astonishingly beautiful course down the sacred valley to the north west of Cusco, and specifically to the point where the Rio Urambamba begins to race and twist below Machu Picchi itself – the most famous ruin in South America – a place, that once we had finally, painfully, made it, was certainly not a disappointment!
The first day we were driven high into the mountains – Carrizales – where we started our 5 hour and 50km descent, by bike. It was fantastic, the first part freewheeling down the mountain roads, the second off road - the scenery up there was beautiful, although my lasting memory will be binning it right at the end of the day, into the guesthouse we were to stay at – it was a hell of an entrance. That evening we had a few beers, ate rice and fish – standard - and crashed by 9 o'clock.
The second day was hard. We walked for 8 hours, steeply up the Inca trail, and got our first real sense of what the Inca's had achieved, and also how difficult the altitude and incredible heat made climbing – the other thing was the mosquito's – every time we stopped for a breather, hundreds would appear and by the time we made it to day 4 everybody was covered in bites – they just love gringo blood. So, it was hard work, but again the scenery, and sense of history, I guess, was breathtaking – Peru really is amazing – and that afternoon we made it to the natural hot springs. High in the mountains, and with the sun setting, after a long day it was a pretty special evening, relaxing with a beer in the thermal springs.
Day three was all about making our way, another 20km, along the trail and down by the river, to Aguas Calaientes – the town where you start the climb to Macchu Picchu. So, day four started at 3 am, where we began the assault on Machu Picchu – maybe it was the previous 3 days efforts, maybe it was the altitude, maybe it was the rain, and it definitely was the hour an a half of steep climbing in total darkness...anyway, and I'm not to proud to say this, I struggled – big time, and by the time I reached the entrance to the famous 'lost city' I was broken. In fact the first thing that greeted us as the darkness cleared was a thick fog, but as the sun broke through Machu Picchu was revealed – if anything the mist made it all the more special.
Once up there, and breathing again (kind of), I joined a tour group, and learnt that the Incas started building Machu Picchu around AD 1430, but that it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire – nobody really knows why it was abandoned, but the most likely theory seems to be that the Inca's were wiped out by smallpox. Although known locally, it was largely unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by an interesting chap called Hiram Bingham, an American historian – who between1912 and 1915 excavated treasures from Machu Picchu—ceramic vessels, silver statues, jewelry and human bones—and took them from Peru to the US for 'further study'. Yale has retained the artifacts until now...
Like Iguazu or the jungle its just not possible to capture or sum up somewhere like Machu Picchu – how they built that place, and what it stands for, are just remarkable...but, to give an idea, it was designated as a world heritage site in 1983 when it was described as “an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique and testimony to the Inca civilisation”, and in 2007 was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the world - so, it was a pretty intense, special week. Machu Picchu once in a life time...but only once in a lifetime!
