The fourth and last day of the Inca trail began during the night. It was a classic case of "hurry up and wait". We gathered our gear then made a short walk in the darkness to a closed checkpoint where the crowd kept increasing. The reason for this zombified early start is not to catch Machu Picchu at dawn as suggested by the itinerary. The checkpoint wouldn't open in time for that. Instead, it was so the porters could catch one of the two daily local trains. That reasoning was fair enough, but the extended period of time in an unmoving line seemed a bit pointless.
The sun rose, and the gate had yet to open. Finally the crowd started to shuffle through as paperwork was stamped. The trail quickly resumed its beauty. Part of it was on the edge of a steep mountain. The pole-assisted walkers funnelled into single file, like a shopping sale rush with zimmer frames.
The steepest part of the whole trail is the accent to the Gateway of the Sun. From here I caught my first glimpse of the destination and it was a powerful sight. The group rejoined here, spent a bit of time taking in the view and then carried on.
From this point we were heading back to a merge with airport-stupor tourists. As the bus loads of gawkers poured in, I had the impression of ants hollowing out a dead bird. The ruined city had a hard time sharing its magic as a theme park without any rides.
We tiredly entered the official boundary of Machu Picchu and our energy raised in anticipation of exploration. That feeling was quickly snuffed by our self-absorbed tour leader. He had the group sit down on a cold rock wall while delivering a lengthy and somewhat rambling monologue. He turned a facinating topic into haemeroids.
I'd noticed that he wasn't entertaining any questions either. His avoidance method was to just start talking over the top of the question about something else. That made me determined to pin some good ones on him and make him earn his peanuts. We were near the King's chair and an altar. He had exhausted his next rant and we were about to move on. It took a couple of goes but I got to ask "Did the Inca practice human sacrifice? ".
He said "the Inca sacrificed guinea pigs, llamas and", he held two fingers apart to indicate something really small, "some human sacrifice."
"So that would have happened right here?" I pointed to the altar before us.
He gave a single nod of the affirmative "Sí", he replied. Wow! How was he going to miss that juicey detail?
Before we were finally let loose in the ruins my phone battery flat lined, putting an end to my pics for the day. I hadn't really appreciated the size of this former capital of the Incan Empire until I started exploring.
The city was abandoned in 1572 when the Spanish were kicking arse in these lands. It would have made an excellent defensive position due to its strategic location. Add some medieval tactics to the mix and an invading force would have quite a boggle. But not so.
The leading theory for the purpose of this place was its religious significance. It also contains carved stones aligned to the compass points and solstice, used as an astronomic clock and observatory. After self-exile, this mountaintop city remained lost until its rediscovery in 1911.
From the Machu Picchu ruins, I caught a bus that zig-zaged down the mountain to the town of Machu Picchu, otherwise known as Aguas Calientes. This allowed the comforts of a shower, massage and meal. We regrouped here then caught a late train back to Cusco.
That left an extra day and a bit to re-re-revisit Greens cafe, explore some more and have some good conversations with a couple of friends from the group. Cusco now felt like a different place - like a city on a fuse.
The last scheduled tour group activity was a flight back to Lima. At the airport, I waited near the mouse maze while others lined up to check in their luggage. It took until the first person reached the front of the que to realise the spanner in the plan. The plane had already begun boarding and it was too late to check luggage. A futile arguement ensued. With my web check-in in hand, I wasn't prepared to go down with this ship. My journey still had an important mission and no buffer time to compromise. I said some quick goodbyes and rushed to the gate.
"You're late." At the boarding gate, my check-in printout scanned with a red light and disapproving beep. I was unfazed. "You're late" she repeated.
"How can I be late if I'm standing right here?" There were at least 20 people for the same flight in the que behind me. I wasn't going to miss this flight by association. I was an independent once again with no more flexibility left in my travel schedule.
It took them a while and an extended phonecall wait, but I was eventually let through. The others unfortunately made no appearance before the wheels left the tarmac. Another payoff for travelling light.
Lima airport again... such an interesting place...
I arrived in Iquitos at night. Deep in the jungle, on the shores of the Amazon river this city has the distinction of being the largest in the world that can't be reached by road.
My first (and lasting) impression was that this place is wild. Leaving the airport I entered a "mototaxi" - a modified motorcycle rickshaw with a passenger cabin on the back. There's a Mad Max element to public transport. Motorbikes and mototaxis rule the roads in a river of swerving chaos. Optional road safety extras such as helmets, indication and attention to lanes are all absent. Phonecalls, text messaging and even breast feeding were all shown to be possible with one hand on the handlebars. It was time to hold on and enjoy the ride.
A light turned red and there was a pause in the swarm. A couple of gringo hippie chicks ran out in front of the stationary vehicles for some impromptu performance art. The lights changed and they stood narrow while bikes raced past them.
I arrived at my accomodation, explored just enough to get some dinner, then crashed fully clothed on top of my bed for a handful of hours before an early start the next morning.
A unique phase of my journey was about to begin.
The sun rose, and the gate had yet to open. Finally the crowd started to shuffle through as paperwork was stamped. The trail quickly resumed its beauty. Part of it was on the edge of a steep mountain. The pole-assisted walkers funnelled into single file, like a shopping sale rush with zimmer frames.
The steepest part of the whole trail is the accent to the Gateway of the Sun. From here I caught my first glimpse of the destination and it was a powerful sight. The group rejoined here, spent a bit of time taking in the view and then carried on.
From this point we were heading back to a merge with airport-stupor tourists. As the bus loads of gawkers poured in, I had the impression of ants hollowing out a dead bird. The ruined city had a hard time sharing its magic as a theme park without any rides.
We tiredly entered the official boundary of Machu Picchu and our energy raised in anticipation of exploration. That feeling was quickly snuffed by our self-absorbed tour leader. He had the group sit down on a cold rock wall while delivering a lengthy and somewhat rambling monologue. He turned a facinating topic into haemeroids.
I'd noticed that he wasn't entertaining any questions either. His avoidance method was to just start talking over the top of the question about something else. That made me determined to pin some good ones on him and make him earn his peanuts. We were near the King's chair and an altar. He had exhausted his next rant and we were about to move on. It took a couple of goes but I got to ask "Did the Inca practice human sacrifice? ".
He said "the Inca sacrificed guinea pigs, llamas and", he held two fingers apart to indicate something really small, "some human sacrifice."
"So that would have happened right here?" I pointed to the altar before us.
He gave a single nod of the affirmative "Sí", he replied. Wow! How was he going to miss that juicey detail?
Before we were finally let loose in the ruins my phone battery flat lined, putting an end to my pics for the day. I hadn't really appreciated the size of this former capital of the Incan Empire until I started exploring.
The city was abandoned in 1572 when the Spanish were kicking arse in these lands. It would have made an excellent defensive position due to its strategic location. Add some medieval tactics to the mix and an invading force would have quite a boggle. But not so.
The leading theory for the purpose of this place was its religious significance. It also contains carved stones aligned to the compass points and solstice, used as an astronomic clock and observatory. After self-exile, this mountaintop city remained lost until its rediscovery in 1911.
From the Machu Picchu ruins, I caught a bus that zig-zaged down the mountain to the town of Machu Picchu, otherwise known as Aguas Calientes. This allowed the comforts of a shower, massage and meal. We regrouped here then caught a late train back to Cusco.
That left an extra day and a bit to re-re-revisit Greens cafe, explore some more and have some good conversations with a couple of friends from the group. Cusco now felt like a different place - like a city on a fuse.
The last scheduled tour group activity was a flight back to Lima. At the airport, I waited near the mouse maze while others lined up to check in their luggage. It took until the first person reached the front of the que to realise the spanner in the plan. The plane had already begun boarding and it was too late to check luggage. A futile arguement ensued. With my web check-in in hand, I wasn't prepared to go down with this ship. My journey still had an important mission and no buffer time to compromise. I said some quick goodbyes and rushed to the gate.
"You're late." At the boarding gate, my check-in printout scanned with a red light and disapproving beep. I was unfazed. "You're late" she repeated.
"How can I be late if I'm standing right here?" There were at least 20 people for the same flight in the que behind me. I wasn't going to miss this flight by association. I was an independent once again with no more flexibility left in my travel schedule.
It took them a while and an extended phonecall wait, but I was eventually let through. The others unfortunately made no appearance before the wheels left the tarmac. Another payoff for travelling light.
Lima airport again... such an interesting place...
I arrived in Iquitos at night. Deep in the jungle, on the shores of the Amazon river this city has the distinction of being the largest in the world that can't be reached by road.
My first (and lasting) impression was that this place is wild. Leaving the airport I entered a "mototaxi" - a modified motorcycle rickshaw with a passenger cabin on the back. There's a Mad Max element to public transport. Motorbikes and mototaxis rule the roads in a river of swerving chaos. Optional road safety extras such as helmets, indication and attention to lanes are all absent. Phonecalls, text messaging and even breast feeding were all shown to be possible with one hand on the handlebars. It was time to hold on and enjoy the ride.
A light turned red and there was a pause in the swarm. A couple of gringo hippie chicks ran out in front of the stationary vehicles for some impromptu performance art. The lights changed and they stood narrow while bikes raced past them.
I arrived at my accomodation, explored just enough to get some dinner, then crashed fully clothed on top of my bed for a handful of hours before an early start the next morning.
A unique phase of my journey was about to begin.
Atacama desert next?
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