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Welcome to our Machu Picchu on a shoestring installment!We were on our way to Cuzco (breathless and headachey because of the altitude!), weighing up how to get to the mighty Machu Picchu and counting up the pennies when we found a 'poor man's way' and thought - perfect, sounds like us….There are lots of different ways to get there - lots of people do 3-4 day treks which look amazing but can cost around 500USD, there's the train which can cost upto around 150pounds and you still have to pay the entrance fee on top - around 40pounds.Then we met a girl in our hostel called Freya who was looking for some people to come with her, the DIY way.The DIY way basically involves catching local buses and combis to various villages along the way to some railway tracks at a hydroelectric plant and trekking along the railway lines for around 2 hours to get to Aguas Calientes, which is where you catch the bus upto Machu Picchu.So we spent some time looking into this option and we were ready and psyched up for our adventure…… And then we found a bus that took us direct from our hostel to the railway lines instead and which only cost around 3pounds more, so we signed up to that instead!!So it was still an adventure but not as much as we first thought!And we still managed to save around 100pounds - good times.
So, the morning started early - we were ready with our little daypack's all packed up and ready to go by 7am and the bus eventually turned up at 8am (Wills decided to go to the toilet just as the bus arrived so we had to run after it in the end after I went to look for him!).The bus was combi style and there were around 10 other people with us.The journey to the railway tracks was very interesting, by which I mean near death experience kind of exciting.The 'roads' run all through the mountains, sometimes on single dirt tracks that 'hug' the mountains.The driver has to beep the horn along the roads to make sure that there are no vehicles coming from the other side and we passed through lots of mountain villages.It was impossible to sleep because of the rocking and swaying so the travel sickness tablets were out again (my best last minute purchase for the trip, for sure).By the time we got to the hydroelectric tracks, it was around 4pm and we knew that it was going to get dark within the 2 hours.So we set off along the tracks at a pretty speedy pace.The trek was amazing and we were so glad we chose to do it that way.It was like walking in a scene from the TV series 'Lost' with the mountains covered by the forests, the river Urubamba by the side of the tracks and rickety rusting railway bridges that we had to cross over the river.We were counting the kilometer signs along the way and we reckon we did at least 7km, but we think it was more.No idea if that´s impressive or not, but we were impressed with ourselves!It started to get dark but by that time we were around half an hour away (took around 2.5hours in total) and had caught up with some other guys doing the same thing, so we found our way to Aguas Calientes all safe and sound, just a bit sweaty and covered in bug spray.Aguas Calientes is a pretty touristy spot and has grown up around the hotspot of Machu Picchu - its Pizzeria central.I was surprised because we expected to hate it, but there's actually a bit of a community there with a school on the plaza and lots of Peruvian families around…so it wasn't too bad.Freya who was our travelling companion and a complete star, had heard that we could find cheap hostels in town if we spent the time to look and we eventually came across 'Hostel Number 2' (no jokes please).It was a bargain, you might say not surprisingly, at 15soles a night (around 3pounds50).We had a bit of a mix up with our Machu Picchu entry tickets which we had bought through the same company as the transport and who had forgotten to buy them for us!But luckily we got our money back and got ready for an early start the next day.
So at 4am when the alarm went off we jumped…or slumped… out of bed and headed for the buses.Freya trekked upto Machu and also climbed Waynu Picchu through the day, but we took the lazy options!Me and Wills eventually made it (on the 5th bus - so much for an early start) upto Machu Picchu, just before the sun rose above the mountains.Some say that the sunrise is a bit overrated but we loved it.The sky was all hazy and we watched the sun light hit the very tips of the mountains and then start to spread down as the sun rose.I actually managed to get Wills to sit still for this part (he was so excited to get down and see the ruins!) and we found a spot a little bit above the other tourists.The sight just completely took our breath away.It was one of those crazy experiences when you see something that you've only ever seen in books or tourist guides.It was magical. So the rest of the day we explored the ruins and it really did take all day, it's a vast site.We did it the cheap way (of course) and just meandered along ourselves, sometimes stopping to earwig to other people's guides!!Hehe, Wills was his usual subtle self!We heard about the one day every year in Inca times that the sun would reflect and touch the Temple of the Sun which was covered in gold and would shine out.We also saw ceremonial stones, the ruins of temples, homes, agricultural store houses and the little cottage was being restored while we were there so there were people on the roof thatching it with the massive mountain of Waynu Picchu in the background.We also saw Llamas, a lizard and this tiny bird that flew down by our feet.And it amazed me how much was going on up there - there was a group doing yoga, a guy with hydration equipment strapped to him, running up and down the ruins, we think he was training for something, and lots of people just reading books, soaking up the atmosphere.
So we came down that mountain tired out but so glad that we'd made it (and a little bit smug that we'd done it on the cheap!).After another luxurious night in Hostel Number 2 we headed back along the tracks to get the bus back to Cuzco.The journey back involved a car wash in the middle of the night, turning around on one of those single track cliff top roads so that the driver could go back and get his bag, some cocaine (we think) flying out of the vehicle, so that the driver had to rush back to find it in the dark and paying off some police who thought the driver's driving licence was fake!!!Apart from that, completely drama-free.So now we're back in Cuzco and the altitude sickness has finally passed.Must be some of that Machu Picchu magic…
- comments
Mattchu Picchu " Wills was his usual subtle self! " - I can imagine that perfectly.. haha
charly if you see my cuzco comment, wills,your role is photographer xx
Louise Sounds AMAZING!
El I've always wanted to visit MachuPicchu! Sounds so cool :)