On arrival in Cusco I understood why it had changed, it has grown a lot in the 9 years since I last visited. There is now a McDonalds, Starbucks and KFC in the main square, although thankfully well disguised. The streets are busier, and the city seems to have spread further out, underneath it all though, it is still Cusco, with the honking horns, insanely narrow and steep cobbled streets, ladies with llamas on street corners, and the unmistakable air of being somewhere nowhere like England!
We were in Cusco for one main reason, it is after all, the gateway to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. After a couple of days of relaxation, admin and doctors visits (it isn't a trip to Peru and Bolivia unless they take several vials of my blood - although thanks to Matt and Alexa's magic list of prescription drugs to take in all eventualities, I was already halfway through a course of something that would fix me!) it was time to go.
We had decided that the Vistadome train would be a suitably honeymoon-esque way to travel, and boarded for a breathtaking view of the valleys and mountains from Ollyantaytmbo to Aguas Calientes. We were treated to a breakfast of quinoa pancakes, and met some lovely people on the train, it is a great way to travel. We passed the start of the Inca Trail, and I didn't feel a twinge of guilt, the memories of hiking up there 9 years ago were very vivid by that point, I didn't feel any need to do it again!
Aguas Calientes has grown as well, possibly even more so than Cusco since I was there last. The hill is chock a block with hotels and restaurants, and after dumping our bags (at our hotel at the very top of the hill - oops!) we went and found a prime spot overlooking the aura ameba river, and chilled for the afternoon. It was early to bed for an early start the next morning.
We had the best intentions of getting up in time for the first bus up the mountain at 5.30am, and alarms were set accordingly. On waking up, the only sound we could hear was the torrential rain coming down outside, so took the decision to go back to sleep for an hour or so... Wet explorers are rarely happy ones.
It was still wet and overcast when we got up and out, but better than it had been, and the bus queue was short so on we climbed. We'd given some thought to walking up the trail to the city, but having seen how treacherous (and long!) it looked, we were both happy to be on the bus. We arrived on top of a cloud topped mountain, with nothing to be seen other than the entrance kiosks. We found a guide and started off, climbing the hill into a cloud. This was not the plan, and I was getting quite twitchy, it is a very very long way to go to not see anything for the second time!
Uh-oh...
As we were standing with the guide pointing enthusiastically at indiscernible shapes in the mist, the rain stopped, and outlines of mountains in the distance started to become visible. Gradually, as the wind picked up, sections of Machu Picchu eased into view as the clouds retreated, sometimes only giving us teasing glances of what was behind.
This was arguably better than seeing the site on a clear day, it was so atmospheric, and the anticipation behind the big reveal was high. After around an hour of learning about the small sections we were seeing, most of the mountain and the surrounding hills were visible, and it was well worth waiting for.
Machu Picchu is a strange place, it is the purpose of the inca trail, so a lot of people there are so tired they just want to get off the mountain and have some food. It is one of the revised seven wonders of the world, so a lot of people are there simply because it is there and they can go and see it. I met one delightful lady, that when she saw that I was visibly disappointed with the weather took delight in telling me that the day before had been perfect conditions, but she'd found the whole experience to be utterly underwhelming. I was in shock to be honest - who does that?! There are also the people that are there to understand a little bit about how the incans managed to build and live in this environment - this is another example of advanced engineering and science taking place within a culture that you wouldn't have expected it from. The way that certain stones line is exactly with the points of the compass, and the placement of the windows in one of the temples meaning that they exactly line up with the solstice and equinoxes, really is incredibly impressive.
I was so there to put some demons to rest, after all it isn't everyone that manages the inca trail only to be rushed down so quickly to the doctors afterwards that they don't even have time to take a picture! Andy was there partially because he knew it mattered to me, and partly because it really is fascinating to see this ancient city perched on top of a beautiful mountain.
We both agreed that seeing Machu Picchu, particularly in the way that we did with the inclement weather, was a standout experience of our trip, up there with sunrise over Tongariki, and hiking in Torres del Paine. The sense of tranquility that you get from the top of the mountain, watching llamas keep the grass levels down and the butterflies flitting in and out of the ruins, is quite magical. Even watching he tourists snake through the ruins like multi-coloured ants doesn't ruin this, they keep the numbers down to a manageable level, and for the most part people are there to get a lot out of their visits, and to learn about their surroundings. One thing we were both very glad we had not signed up for, particularly given the weather, was the hike up to Huayna Picchu. I know a couple of people that have done this climb to the very top of the mountain, and having now seen it up close I think they are all insane!
The train back to Cusco was a similarly civilised experience, very relaxing with beautiful views of the mountains as we travelled back. A big thank you to Anne and Peter for the train tickets, definitely the way to travel!
Once back in Cusco we checked into our new hotel. We had decided to upgrade to the beautiful Monasterio Hotel in Cusco for our last 3 nights, we are on honeymoon after all, and they had offered us a really good rate as it is low season. Andy happened to mention the fact that we were on honeymoon at check in, and we were promptly given a huge upgrade to the Presidential Suite! This was so completely unexpected we were blown away, it was such a treat! The hotel is absolutely beautiful, it is as the name suggests an old monastery, with a 300 year old Andean cedar tree in the lovely courtyard. Needless to say we made the most of our beautiful room to relax fully for the next couple of days, and have now been ruined - I suspect the rest of the hotels on our trip are not quite going to live up to those standards!!
Carnaval was still going strong in Cusco, and we happened across the culmination of their celebrations on Sunday in the Plaza de Armas. This consisted of a colourful and noisy parade going around the square for a few hours, followed by every teenager and child in the city throwing water balloons and squirting foam from cans at each other. Like silly string but much stickier! We tried to avoid and just spectate, but at one point we were both absolutely soaked. My particular nemesis was a little boy of around 6... The look on his face when I went and bought some foam to turn the tables on him was a picture - he was shocked! Having covered him in foam to fits of giggles, I gave him the can and ran away before he could retaliate! So much fun, had Andy not just come from the doctors where he too has been fighting off various illnesses, we may have been tempted to get more involved!
Cusco, and Peru, are definitely up there as contenders for our favourite places so far. The city is so relaxed, while at the same time so very hectic; the food is fantastic, and amazingly good value which having come from Chile and Argentina is not something we we're laws used to. The people are very friendly, and even though you can't walk 10m in the main streets without being asked to buy something or come to a restaurant, you never really feel harassed.
We were sad to say goodbye to Cusco, a fantastic place to spend a few days. From here on in everything is new for both of us though, which is really exciting. We have just under 4 weeks left, with 3 countries still to cover, and a lot more amazing things to see :)
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