Throughout my trip I’d heard many bad things about Lima. It seemed to be that one place where everyone has to reluctantly go at some point for a flight or a passing through on the way north or south. They tend to spend the minimal amount of time there before quickly moving onto somewhere else. I was curious about it; a part of me was wondering whether it could really be that bad, some of the coolest people I met on the clowning project were from here which made me wonder about a different perspective.
We decided that we would avoid the touristy area and instead go to the central area with hopes that it mite be a wee bit cheaper. While we were approaching Lima on the plane Alex told me that the taxis near the airport are notorious for ripping gringos off. As soon as we set foot into the airport we were swarmed by hungry taxi drivers, trying to make an excessive profit. After a small walk from the airport to the road we were able to find a taxi for nearly half the price.
We ended up spending two days in Lima. I enjoyed the basic comforts of the hostel which I’d gone without for nearly two months. Having a hot shower and a comfortable bed were two great pleasures of life which I’d nearly completely forgotten. I really didn’t mind Lima at all. It was a very chaotic place which is to be expected, but I enjoyed the cooler climate after spending the last wee while in the Amazonian humidity. I was recovering from a stomach bug, so one thing I did miss out on was the local food, but I’m sure it was no different to the typical Peruvian cuisine of chicken, chips, and rice. Two days was plenty of time for me. The energy of huge cities is fun for me, bit I can only take it for so long. Huacachina was meant to be a very chilled out place so I was looking forward to arriving there.
On our final day we decided that it would probably be a good idea to arrive at the bus station a wee bit early. We checked in our bags and decided that with ten minutes to spare we would have time to go and buy a couple of things for the bus ride. As we walked back to get on the bus with five minutes to spare we realized that the door was shut and the bus was pulling out. Alex ran up to the bus drivers’ window and started banging on it yelling that it’s our bus, but the driver just ignored him and took off anyway. I instantly became stressed and yelled at the ticket man, telling him that his bus just took off with all our bags. Then about 200 meters up the road the bus pulled over and the guy yelled at us, “run, run hurry up, your going to miss it!” it was very strange and could have worked out to be a very awkward situation, but in the end we managed to get on the bus.
Huacachina was nothing like I expected. Tucked in amongst huge sand dunes, it was basically just a small oasis which served only for the purpose of tourism. The only locals there were those who ran hostels or tour agencies. The massive dunes make this place perfect for sand boarding. The hostel we stayed in had its own tour agency as well so it made it easy. The following day we organized a tour, only costing $20 for a dune buggy ride and a few sand boarding attempts. It ended up being quite a thrill, at the end we went up to the highest sand dunes to catch the sunset before returning back to the hostel. After that there wasn’t really much else to hang around for. I was eager to get to Cuzco so the next day I booked a night bus. It was here that I split ways with my fellow traveler from California, Alex. I’d heard many good things about Cuzco so I couldn’t wait to check it out.
Cuzco was the first city that I’d been to in the South of Peru. Despite its very touristy feel, it still managed to maintain a strong traditional feel. It was very clean and from a distance, all the houses seemed to blend into the brown hillsides. I could see straight away how this place could suck tourists into staying more time than they originally intended. There was just something about it which allowed me to relax, if anything a wee bit to much. It was here that I was supposed to catch up on all my blogs, but after once again ending up in a party hostel, I never really quite found to time where I felt like doing it. The local people of this city are also obviously very used to tourists. As I walked down the streets I would constantly have people coming up to me trying to sell me anything from massages, to “charlie.”
Like everyone else my main reason for coming to Cuzco, was to visit the famous Machu Picchu. There are many options for getting there and I still didn’t know how I was going to get there, all I knew was that I was going to try and find the cheapest way possible. I’d met several travelers who had told me about a rout that costs next to nothing. It was more of a DIY way of doing it, and it sounded like a great adventure so I decided that it would be perfect for me, all I needed was a group of people to do it with.
One of the main topics of conversation in the hostel was always, “how are you going to visit Machu Picchu?” through several of these conversations I found a bunch of people who were interested in doing it the same way as me. We all decided to team up and after a couple of days of procrastination, we finally settled on a day to do it. The group consisted of two English guys, an English girl, a Swiss guy, an Argentinean guy, and I. The way of getting there involved taking a couple of buses & collectivos through several small towns before arriving at this hydro electric dam in the middle of no where. From there we had to walk up the train tracks for a couple of hours until we arrived at a place called Aguas Calientes, a small tourist town at the foot of Machu Picchu.
The morning of departure involved a frantic rush around to withdraw cash and buy food, as we were told that Aguas Calientes if notoriously expensive, especially when it came to food. The bus went for six hours, and wound through the Sacred Valley until we arrived at this little town called Santa Maria, where we were to catch our next ride. After trying our luck with some haggling on the local drivers we all pilled into a small van for the next part of the journey, a two hour ride to Santa Teresa. The trip was as spectacular as it was scary. The driver was driving as if he wanted to get back in time before his dinner got cold. On my side there was an intimidating view of a share drop of over 100 meters into a canyon which held a weak looking river, obviously feeling the effects of the damn further up. The country was very rugged but it was unlike anything I’d yet seen in Peru. As we wound around further we eventually dropped down into the canyon. After we arrived at Santa Teresa it was just a fifteen minute drive to the hydro damn.
By the time we finally got ready for our walk it was about 5.30pm. It was looking very likely that we’d be doing a large part of our walk in the dark. Luckily the track was very easy going, and also it was a full moon so we barely even had to use torches. We didn’t really know exactly where we were going, or even exactly how long it would take. Doing things like this without a guide became something that one of the other guys and I adopted further along the trip also. After just over two hours of walking we finally arrived at Aguas Calientes. As we walked in I first noticed a bunch of very high class hotels. I was wondering if we were going to get anything close to what I was hoping to spend. But with six people in our group we had great bargaining power, and because of that we ended up getting one of the best deals that I got in Peru.
As we were getting closer towards the center of town we walked past a slightly cheaper looking hostel. After enquiring about the cost the ladies eyes lit up with interest at the prospect of six new clients. When she offered 20 soles we said “thanks but no thanks,” and kept walking. She then eagerly followed us and said “ok, you can have it for 15,” we gave her the same response as we carried on walking. She then started jogging to keep up with us and said “12.” We still weren’t convinced and gave her the same reaction. The lady then let out a big sigh and said, “ok then, you can stay for 10 soles each, why don’t you come and have a look?” ($5NZ) We all looked at each other, knowing that we would never find anything cheaper than that, then after initially walking on we decided that it’s worth having a look. It turned out to be one of the nicest places that I stayed in Peru at one of the cheapest prices.
After settling into our hostel the next step was to sort out what we were going to about getting up to Machu Picchu the following day. There were two options. The first one was to walk up the hill, or the second was to take a bus. The issue that most people face with Machu Picchu is whether they want to climb up the famous Wayna Picchu. This is meant to be the place to catch the most spectacular view of both Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains. Out of the thousands of tourists that enter the site every day, only 400 are allowed access to the mountain. This means that every morning there is a mad rush up to the gate to get there soon enough to be given a stamp. The gates at the bottom open at 5am, and after that it’s just a mad rush up the hill to be one of the lucky few who get there soon enough. The other option is to line up in the early hours of the morning in order to catch one of the first buses up there. We decided that the best option would be to try our luck with walking up the hill. We set our alarm for 3.30am the following morning and packed our bags ready for the race up the hill.
We ended up reaching the bottom gate at about 4.30am. When they opened it literally became a mad rush for the top. Some people decided to run off, while I was content enough to go with the majority of people, taking it at a steady pace. I’d been told that there are 3000 steps to climb up, but after about an hour we’d made it up to the top. It was defiantly pretty hard work but nothing like what everyone had talked it up to be. As I waited in the line and official came up to me and gave me the Wayna Picchu stamp. It was nice to be able to relax after that, knowing that we’d confirmed our spot for the mountain.
As we walked into the site of Machu Picchu I was immediately struck by the scale of the ruins. Whilst I’d seen many pictures which had depicted the magnitude of it, it wasn’t until I arrived there, that I was able to fully appreciate it. The place was already quickly filling up with tourists, but that didn’t seem to tarnish the awe of the whole site. We had about an hour to relax and enjoy the site before making our way up Wayna Picchu.
It wasn’t until halfway up the climb that I realized I’d used most of my energy up during the first climb. By the time we reached the top of the hour climb I was ready to collapse down for lunch. We found a place away from the hoards of tourists that had a good view to take in the scenery. We were also lucky enough to do it on a perfect day. Part of the impressiveness of the site is where it is located. Surrounding the site was a series of mountains, towering over as if they were guarding it. I didn’t know beforehand if it would meet up to all the hype, but from this view I could easily agree with, and justify every bit of hype that Machu Picchu receives. After climbing back down we had the great opportunity to look around the site for a couple of hours.
There were many things that left me pondering for hours about the site. The location in which it was constructed, the size of it, but perhaps most impressive is the precision in which everything was put together. Every rock seems to fit perfectly together, every wall is perfectly square with each other, and where ever there were natural obstacles, they just built around them. They also built it so that it was in perfect harmony with the natural landscape; even water seemed to effortlessly drain from all areas. It’s defiantly very easy to see how people become obsessed with this, dedicating much of their time to unraveling the mysteries that still surround it.
By early afternoon the combination of the hot sun and all the climbing that I’d done earlier pretty much drained my energy completely and I was well ready to make my trip back to the hostel. It was very tempting to pay for the ridiculously overpriced bus to go back down the hill, but I decided that I probably did have enough energy to make it back to the hostel. The hill seemed to be so much bigger walking back, but eventually we made it. After the climax of visiting Machu Picchu there didn’t seem like much point in being in Aguas Calientes for much longer. We decided that tomorrow would be the day to make it back to Cuzco. The rest of the day was spent sleeping and catching up on energy for the return trip.
As we walked back down the train tracks the following day it was great to be able to see the view that we’d missed from the night walk a couple of days earlier. The way back went pretty smooth until we reached Santa Maria and arranged a cheap ride back to Cuzco. After about half an hour the driver stopped just outside this tiny town in the middle of nowhere, saying that we can’t carry on for another three hours due to road maintenance. We managed to find one shop which sold room temperature beers in which we entertained ourselves for the meantime. Then when we finally got on the road again, it was as if the driver was trying to make up for every minute of lost time. Every time we went around the corner there would be screeching tires. The drivers here also get very annoyed when people try and overtake them. Every time someone made an attempt to overtake him, he’d franticly speed up and try and cut him off. Everyone did the same to him when he tried to overtake them as well. This made it a very difficult ride to catch up on sleep.
Once I was back in Cuzco I had to make a decision about where I was going to go next. By this stage I was starting to get itchy feet with Peru. I’d been here for nearly three months now and I was looking forward to some fresh new culture. I’d made to decision to go to Copacabana, A small town on the Bolivian side of Lake Titikaka. It sounded like a great place to relax for a while before I entered into the chaotic vibe of La Paz. However my plans were very quickly changed when I was walking down the stairs to hand over one last load of washing.
Two guys that I’d gotten to know at the hostel were sitting at a table, as I walked past one of them said to me, “hey Rob why don’t you come camping in Colca Canyon with us?” I’d already made my decision but then I realized that there was nothing stopping me from changing it again. I asked them what the plan was and they simply replied saying, “ah well we don’t really have a plan, we’ll just make it up as we go. We could just use your tent and make our own way, camping out along the way.” (While I was in Lima I swapped my hammock for a tent with a Belgium guy who was trying to lighten his load for his return trip back home.) The idea of going on an adventure of this kind through the second deepest canyon in the world was just too good to turn down so I gladly took them up on the offer and joined the team. The team consisted of two guys from England, Gareth & Yani, and I. Just like that my plans were changed, and within five hours I was on a bus to Arequipa.
This was the first time that I’d had the freedom to completely change my plans and go on a crazy adventure. I was sitting in the bus rubbing my hands together with excitement. It was completely unorganized and that was the most exciting thing about it.
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