So the first part of the trip the bus. Most people in england feel that health and safty has "gone mad" which I'm inclined to agree with, on the bus back from liverpool to london one time we had to get off the bus and wait an hour for another one because one of the seat belt was not working even though there were spare seats with working seat belts. The driver said that if not all of the seat belts are working (even if there is no one sitting there) they can be heavily fined! So Peruvian's health and safty has been quite a shock to us. The bus journey was through the Andean mountains on a dirt road (no tar) thousands of feet up, for the most part one car width across and prone to mud slides and avalanches with a driver that didnt seem to care to much for living in a van that shold only ever be used on smooth tarmaced roads. So for the most part me and Jess were shaking on the edge of our seats, staring down a cliff edge praying no cars would be coming round the corner the opposite way, it didnt help our nevers seeing a jack knife truck at the base of the hill before climbing up it.
The walk along the train tracks - After the 7 hour bus ride we arrived at hydro electric (the construction site of a hydroelectric dam) from here we walked along train tracks that carry tourists to the base of Machu Picchu (we couldnt afford the train) through the out skirts of the jungle. The train tracks were at the edge of the Jungle flanked on one side by a very wide and powerful river and the other the edge of a thick and rich jungle, it took us two hours to get to the small tourist town of aguas calientes (hot water in spanish because there are hot springs here) the train tracks were live which made it a little exciting, but for the most part it was a pleasant walk through a beautiful and rich mountain scape, followed by swarms of butterflys.
Jess - The next morning literally at the crack of dawn we reluctantly dragged our aching bodies up and set off to find the base of the mountain. Our bellies were disatisfied with the sugary white jam balm cakes we rammed into them in the vague hope that it would sustain us for the mission ahead. It was still pitch black and the winds howled ominously through the valley all around us as we cowered in the shadow of the thing. Luckily we weren't alone and most people had thankfully brought torches to light the way, we were so unprepared.
Onwards and upwards we we went at a steady pace which before long turned into a painful snailtrail. It became apparent that this was going to be a serious test of fitness for my couch potato physyche when five minutes in I was keeling over battling nausea and heart failure.
Lyndon sympathetically soothed my fragile ego by pretending he was equally as ruined although the fact that his forehead had failed to produce even a bead of sweat gave him away. I was drenched. We stopped and started. Stopped and started. It went on like this for what seemed like days. An endless agonising monotony of pain and sweat with the occasional relief in the trees to reveal jaw dropping views that somewhat eased the pain. If it had only been us two I could have dealt with the five minute recovery intervals however the demoralising side was the hoards of latino babes bombing it past me with ease as I struggled to stay on my feet whilst smoothing back my now tight soaking wet sweat ridden ginger ringlets. We were up in the clouds, the altitude laying heavy on our lungs now but the coca leaves helped.
Finally the end was in sight. We could hear the cheers of those who had reached it and they weren't far away. Then it was our turn. After some chronic re-hydration and relieving our bladders we were ready to take in the view. And a view it was. Nothing could have prepared us for such beauty. All of a sudden memories of the climb up were dissolved in the magnificence of everything around us. The sun had risen behind us and it bathed the incredible mountain ahead in its golden haze. Every wrinkle and vein in its noble body were highlighted in the glare of mother natures spotlight. Heavenly clouds enveloped the scenery and elegantly dissolved and trasformed to reveal untold hidden wonders.
After finding and just as quickly abandoning our tourguide due to our lack of spanish and getting tired of pretending to understand, we set off to explore the most alluring place in the world. It was a relief to lose the bumbag and jesus sandal worshippers and we were able to dart around at our own pace. Not having the information from a guide we managed to create our own fictions and explanations of everything. Aliens played a key role.
The architecture was out of this world, quite literally. Enormous rocks that slotted together so perfectly, you would struggle to slot a rizler in between them - and no use of morter.
Perhaps the most baffling sight was the Inka bridge. A half hour walk around a narrow ledge on the side of the mountain brought us to it. The Inka's had somehow managed to built up from the ground thousands of feet down to support a harrowing stone bridge that led to literally nowhere. It stopped on the side of the mountain and there could have been no logical reason for them to have attempted to build the thing anyway. We noticed that there was a deliberate shape at the end of it - the same shape as seen in the Inka 'Stargate' which was supposedly a portal into another world.
After having suitably explored every crack and crevice available to us we found a cushty spot under a tree to basque in the glory of the view. We wanted to take in every inch of the aesthetics in the knowledge that it would be a long time before we found a beauty to rival it. Even the lamas had never looked so good.
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