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So we are back on the road, ready to complete our journey through South America…
We practically retrace our steps and depart Perth on Friday 14th October, fly through to Brisbane - wait - fly on to LA - wait - fly on to Mexico - wait - fly on to Lima - wait - fly on to Cusco - ahhhh plane turns around and heads back to Lima!
Hang on that wasn't meant to happen… After 3 days traveling and 33 hours in the air, not counting the waiting at various airports around the world our final destination of Cusco, Peru did not wish to welcome us as we had hoped!
We had braced ourselves for what we had been warned was one of the "bumpier" flights you would take, apparently landing an aircraft in the Andes at altitude is trickier than it sounds. So when the plane started descending into Cusco, both Matt and I held on through some pretty rough turbulence, we could see the airport, we could even see the run way and then out of no where the engines make a huge noise and we are heading straight up into the air again… I looked at Matt and we both were a little shade whiter - an aborted landing is never much fun but on an aircraft where you can't actually understand the announcements and the little old lady in the seat opposite you starts crying makes things even more nerve racking!
We circle around Cusco for almost an hour before another announcement comes over, and we can basically translate "sorry folks we are headed back to Lima". It wasn't until we were on the ground in Lima that we are able to understand that there was ice on the runway in Cusco and that it wasn't safe to land a plane as it was to slippery.
Cutting another 4 hours short… LAN Peru eventually gave us our new flights for the following day, put us up at a really fancy hotel in Lima for the night, gave us a 3 course meal and breakfast with airport transfers for nothing!! Working in the industry I was extremely impressed by how the airline handled having to ground all flights that night and although we were 24 hours late into Cusco we got there eventually safe and sound!
Cusco, Peru is just beautiful - actually putting into words how the tradition, history, architecture and atmosphere of the city encompasses you from the moment you arrive is extremely difficult.
We checked into the Wild Rover Hostel dropped our bags and went exploring! It was like we were fresh faced new back packers again - having had a month of real showers and beds we had an unfair advantage over most!
On our first outing around the town we experienced the locals intermingling with the tourists, going about their day to day life as though we almost didn't exist. Women with babies slung on their backs wrapped in the most vibrant hand sewn cotton blankets, old men sitting in the Plaza de Armas discussing the day, women herding llamas back up into the mountains, we were presented with a culture so unlike our own it was hard to think only 3 days ago we were in Australia.
Cusco is the town were tourists base themselves before heading off on the trek through the Andes along the well worn Inca trail to finally be blessed with the sight of lost city of Machu Picchu. To get to do the original Inca trek you have to book at least 4 months in advance and as we weren't sure where we would be when we decided to do things a little differently. We spent 3 days wandering around Cusco and then caught a bus for 3 hours through the mountains to the small town of Ollantaytambo, where we then got on a Peru Rail train which wound its way along the river beside the trek all the way to town of Aguas Calientes.
Aguas Calientes is the town at the base of the mountains where Machu Picchu is found. It is quite touristy and there are more hostels, restaurants, and market stalls than you can imagine. Although when you think they have limited capacity into the lost city at 2500 people per day - this must be one of the most visited sites in the world.
We made ourselves comfy at our pretty basic, pretty over priced hostel and then went and had dinner, beer and a game of jenga or 3 before we headed to Macchu Picchu the following day.
We were up at sunrise and on a bus that takes you up and over some of the most windy, steep mountainside we had faced. We arrived at the entry to meet our guide at 7am. If you are headed to see Machu one day keep in mind we went in low season and there were still literally hundreds of people there - the lines reminded me of Disneyland just minus the crying children!
We entered the site and you are greeted instantly by jaw dropping scenery. It is quite literally one of the most calming, peaceful, awe inspiring views I have ever experienced. It was actually almost as if it wasn't real - the lush green of the mountain, the incredible infrastructure that had been moulded into some of the harshest terrain in the world, the sheer amazement that an actual city could be built at this altitude let alone to the degree it had so many thousand years ago was breath taking and then the morning mist started to rise and the back drop of Huyana Picchu was presented in all its glory - this is a part of the world that has to be seen to be believed.
The guide toured us around the site, explaining in great depth the architecture, the positioning of the buildings, and a little insight into why the Inca's chose this site as their own. She also advised that some may not feel it but the site will give you a renewed energy and a peace within, both Matt and I must have had our hippie in tune that day as we both commented that we definitely felt something different.
At 10am we were taken over to Huyana Picchu as we had purchased extra tickets to allow us to climb to the top - only 200 people a day out of 2500 get this opportunity. Now have a look at the photos to get an understanding of just how huge this mountain was, the steepness of the climb frightened me and I almost backed out, but with Matt assuring me it didn't matter how long it took to get to the top we would do it together and it would be the most amazing experience. I trusted him and we started the climb!
It is said that the high Priest of the Inca's lived at the top of Hyuana Picchu, and they would climb to see him for different blessings. However, to actually reach the Priest you had to not only climb the mountain but close to the top crawl through a small space, that they referred to as the 'Pacha Mamma' or Mother Earth as we now call her and in doing so you would be reborn and your blessing come to fruition.
Matt and I crawled through the Pacha Mamma and made it to the very top of Hyuana Picchu and as Matt had promised at the bottom the view was nothing short of blissful. You were literally sitting on top of the world, up amongst the clouds with a view across the entire site.
We sat down on a little grassed area at the top, where a local Peruvian man was playing the pan pipes, quite funnily he was actually playing Beatles covers and 'Hey Jude' was playing as we sat down for our little picnic. We sat together and shared our picnic of vegemite and cheese sandwichs and orange juice when Matt took my hand, looked me in the eye and said I make him the happiest he has ever been, that he would love nothing more than to build a future together and grow old with each other and would I like to marry him… At this point I burst into tears and gave him a kiss and agreed - nothing would make me happier than knowing we will be together forever!
Peru, Macchu Picchu, Hyuana Picchu that day, the 22nd October 2011 will be remembered by us both as one of the most perfect days we will ever have!
We climbed back down the mountain and as most girls I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and just wanted to ring home to tell my Mum I was getting married!
We left Cusco a day later and headed for Arequipa which we had been told was as nice as Cusco but a little more modern. All reports were correct Arequipa was a nice town, clean and actually quite up market, we found there wasn't a lot there for us and after Cusco and Machu it had big shoes to fill!
We did decide to do as most gringo's do and trek the Colca Canyon - the world's deepest Canyon, even bigger than the Grand Canyon in the USA. At the bottom of the Colca Canyon is an Oasis of lush green, fresh water pools and a place to spend the night.
We booked the 2 day trek - 1 day down, sleep and 1 day back up!! You again take a lengthy bus ride over mountains to reach your intended destination. The big difference between Colca Canyon and Machu Picchu was the weather conditions - Colca is basically desert, dry, hot, sandy, cactus' everywhere - desert!!
We were dropped off to start our trek at 10am just when it was starting to get nice and warm and we advised by our guide today we would cover 14kms - we would hike for 4 hours have lunch and then finish with another 3 hours trek before finally arriving at the Oasis somewhere around 5:30pm that night. So off we go…
I could go on and on about the next 2 days - the trek down and the trek back up but in short it was one of the harder adventures I have agreed to and boy oh boy didn't I wish I was fitter than I was on the way back up!! The Canyon is steep - bloody steep and at points it is just you, a cliff face to your right, enough space to put one foot in front of the other and a sheer drop for hundreds of meters to your left - so you don't look down, you hurl abuse at Matt and keep walking!!
To be honest in the end although I was b*****ed and had found muscles in my bum that I never knew even existed, I was quietly proud of myself, I may have been the last one to finish that day but I did it and it felt good to know that!!
We headed back to Arequipa and rather foolishly gave ourselves only a few hours sleep and then on another bus (you truly learn to love bus rides) and embarked on the 6 hour journey to the boarder of Peru and Bolivia.
This boarder crossing was easy, quick and gave us a moment to reflect back on what had been a monumental few weeks…
We will never forget Peru and I know that it will hold a special place in our hearts for years to come - the start of our journey, the true start of our lives together, and a country that surpasses your expectations and still takes the time to thank you for visiting.
Viva el Peru!
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