Buenos Dias Amigos

After a few days in Cusco and a few Inca visits I write on the day I leave. The story goes on, but where to start? Actually, I'm going back to Bolivia. This place has been bugging me, as I was unable to get a kind of final feeling for Bolivia. It is such a beautiful place, full of potential where 'anything goes'. In some ways it actually felt too developed, but that I think was because of me following the Gringo Trail there. In reality it feels like a place with a lot of ongoing development and buildings, yet it is already run down. The people have not adapted and that is maybe where I feel my indifference. They simply want to live their own life, and we gringo's want to do our thing alongside, but the 2 are pretty incompatible, and this concept is completely lost to the locals. It feels as though lateral thinking is a luxury 'developed' nationals can do- we don't have to live from hand to mouth, we have freedoms and luxuries that financial strength and security give us. In some ways we also lose out as life is too easy, it just is, no thought needed about the next meal and therefore a divorce from living in the most base and basic sense of the word. So we are seen simply as a walking purse for the social and financial woes of a first world country. We are rich and nothing we can say will be believed, especially as most travellers are young and seem to have unlimited funds, a huge appetite for alcohol and partying, highly visible. I also realise that in fact the local people are unlikely to be able to speak much Spanish and that in trying to do so I simply highlight feelings in them that they are inferior, so get a none or even a negative response. Nothing serious, but not welcoming either. This is similar here in Peru even though it does feel more advanced. Maybe off the beaten track Bolivia is more welcoming, I think it would be. Maybe another visit beckons.

One thing all of S.America has is an overabundance of beaurocracy and police. Even signing in to a hostel or booking a bus ticket you need to show your passport, leave UK address and job title, age, nationality.... The police are everywhere, and there are always so many different types of police, not a simple single police force. None seem to like each other either. They all have whistles and seem to blow them for no reason, other than to say 'I am here and in charge....'

I am still in sunny Cusco. The centre of the Inca civilisation. Cusco is a beautiful city, well the centre where we all are is. We being the whiteys, the gringos. The architecture is glorious. It is clean and although most is Spanish colonial buildings built on previous Inca palaces and religious centres, the Inca side can still easily be found and marvelled at. It is so ornate and intricate, delicate while being massive. Amazing in its quality and its resilience to all the abuse of the Spanish invaders. The Spanish history here is hated more than I have felt elsewhere. I can understand why this is. There are lovely plazas with benches to sit around, fountains, statues and architectural details to surprise and delight at every turn. There are also so many street hawkers it has become wearing. You simply cannot walk alone and be left alone. And there is no understanding between hawkers- you say no to 1 and the one standing beside him or her immediately asks if you want the same thing... I think there is a BIG market for some gringo to print T shirts with all or some of the following slogans in Spanish: 'I have been to Machu Piccu', 'No I don't want to but your stuff', 'No I don't want a massage'....

Anyway, enough ranting. Cusco and the Incas. This place is so busy essentially for one thing, or more accurately place. Machu Piccu. A dream, I'm sure not simply for me. One I never ever thought I would get to see. Needless to say I now have, but before I describe it, how did I get there? By adventure of course . The choices are the traditional Inca Trail. Fully booked and not how I (dis)like to hike. Or you can take a train and bus up there. I took the alternative hike known as the Salkantay trek. This is the biggest hike I have EVER done in my life. I learnt a lot. This is the day by day, blow by blow account. You can skip it if you want to get the MP....

Day 1. An 'Oh My God 05.00' start. After a 3 hour drive we got to Mollepatta. After breakfast we started walking. In the lush mountainside we walked, eucalyptus trees providing surreal colour, amazingly overtaken by a number of other tours going up the road in busses. These became known (in turn as they went past) as the 'Lazy Tour', 'Lazy Fat b****** Tour', 'Rich Lazy Old Fart Tour' and finally a few km on the 'Why Did They Bother Tour'. This was a day of climbing from 2800m to 3800 high. Some 21km. Mainly road but also some very steep paths. Hard work with distance, 6kg backpack, altitude and the annoyance of rain at times. This is the dry season! Not. Most were ill prepared in my group, not unfit but 6 in 10 never trekked before and none planned for rain. Neither did I but being Scottish and used to 4 seasons in 1 day at least I had all the gear. Not the fitness of most of the others, but age and wisdom and practice came to the fore. I was oldest (it's my mantra ). The group were all nice, slightly matrurer than my usual, still the fun with the young. None I think I would have as friends so I won't detail them here. Night 1 was pretty cold, camping.... clouds meant we couldn't see the stars which was a shame. The setting though was absolutely stunning. High Andes mountains, snow, Llama on the hills, fresh air, peace- apart from the other camping groups around...

Day 2: I'd heard the rain in the night. An 06.30 start. But why was the tent sheet so heavy? Oh, it wasn't rain. It was sleet. It was all white, night fall of snow, some 3 inches, 7cm!! Beautiful. BUT, cold, and likely slippy for walking. Ooops. Time to put the goretex socks on as the worst thing (apart from camping) is wet feet and camping.... Yuk The food was surprisingly good, then the hike. This was by far the toughest day so I needed all my resources. Some 300m into the trek we stopped a short while. And then it hit. Snow? No, diarreha. An immediate need to go, an interesting lime green and orange colour. I would say Oh s*** but that may be a bit crude... Today the Salkantay Pass. Fully clothed for the cold. And the the snow fell. Constantly. And the pass came quickly. A constant climb. Not so much steep as reach out and touch the wall steep!!! And long. Switch back path after swtichback path. Up to a peak of 4600m. I've only been higher in a plane. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done until then. My legs wanted to stop. My lungs at altuitude puffed for their very life. Yet on I went. To the top. I made it, I always knew I would. But I didn't enjoy it, no adrenaline rush, just a sense of resignation. Yes, a limited sense of success too. But not a pleasurable one. And what greeted us at the top? Sadly not the 6270m peak of Mt Salkantay but a wee board announcing the height and a horizontal blizzard. Thank you- not. Some others were still climbing. I did not wait, I needed another toilet stop. At least I have found a true passion- going downhill To hell with the snow, the mud, the slippery rocks, the holes, the mud, the puddles. I was flying!! Everybody got out the way as they tip toed down the mountain. This was the adrenaline buzz. And a sense of relief at finding the right roack to hide behind. But the day was not finished. In total we walked some 24km. The down was long, often flattish so not fast. And I had no energy, a combination of diareha inducing dizziness, lack if fitness, length of walk, altitude. The sun came and quickly went to be replaced by rain. That gave deep mud, slippery and a bit like going down scree so actually fun... Well, fun for some of us. Then the camp. A beautiful setting. But all our gear was wet. Sleeping mats, backpacks. Bad organisation. Not happy. Imagine the cook's 2 burner stove being used to dry all this out, with damp and cold in the air. Hmmm. No fun. A beer to celebrate. Felt my bowels were ok. Immediately after eating this proved unfounded... And the toilet- the worst hole in the floor I have ever seen, worse than Africa... Timing is everything they say. At least Davy was a GP and he gave me an anti biotic. Over time this has worked and the sense I had that I had an underlying long term bug seems to have been proven and cured. Thank you.

Day 3. An 07.00 start. A 20km largely downhill walk along the mountainside through rain forest flowers and trees, sun at last, path of dry soil or deep mud, song birds and waterfalls, fresh fruit from the trees. Beautiful. Like a virgin forest. And at times fast, jumping and skipping lightly over obstacles, scaring people intent on not falling so unable to believe you can go more than 2kmh downhill. Fun (not the scaring people bit). After lunch at a small town we went to camp. Through rain forest in a convertible- what fun!! Some 30 of us in the same convertible or more accurately the back of an open lorry being battered by the overhanging tress. Trees of avocado, coffee, banana, guava and many others. Tonight a camp near town. A bar. Real seats and shelter. Still a tent. But luxury of luxuries, a Hot Thermal Pool at the end of the road (got to in uor convertible again). A choice of them in a beautifully developed centre. To be clean. To treat and relax the muscles. To lounge in warm outdoors water watching the sunset go and the stars come. Aaaaahhhhh.

Day 4. Not such an early start. An easy walk alomng a road to lunch. But before the road we needed to cross Rio Urubamba. No bridge for us but a tray on a pulley system above the water. Yeeehaaa. Go on give us a big push, we're not going to fall in and die. Sun. More fruit everywhere. Then the end of the railway. Lunch. Train tracks... Choochoo. We walk, we skip, we are trains. For a few km this is us (a wee detour for a waterfall and some plants). And occasionally a glimpse of Machu Piccu. Nearly there. A night in a hostel awaits but where's the guide? He knows where we're sleeping. Here's the square where he should be. "ALAN!!!!" It's the lads from Rurrenabaque!!! I am so HAPPY to see them again Hugs all round. They went up today. It's magic. Come and join us for a drink before the train. Join us. Natural and genuine invitations. I am home. Got my sons back. A quick shower and only 2 left but it's so natural, we are one. Irrespective of me, rather because of me, simply accepting me and being, and simply being accepted in return. Before they get the train we arrange to meet Saturday to eat Guinea Pig. Has to be done. And we may never see each other again but we want to share things. Thanks guys. Thanks so much. A meal with the group then bed. Early start tomorrow you know.

Day 5. Machu Piccu. Up at 04.45. First bus up at 05.30. Machu Piccu. The dream. It's THERE!!!!!! IN FRONT!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!! IT'S NOT BEAUTIFUL; IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT!!!!!!!! MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!! Then it hits. The pain, no Pauline, tears flow, hurt and sadness. But they go. Replaced by a sense that NO, there is no Pauline, but there is me, there is so much more me than before, and I am enjoying the me. Pauline and the love will never go, never be forgotten. But I can be a new me, a me again, rather than an us. And I can be happy with this me. I am happy with this me. And just LOOK where it has taken me, not simply here in Machu Piccu, but everywhere else in S.America, places and names that were dreams before are now a reality. So lets go. Machu Piccu awaits.

Machu Piccu. I can honestly say words cannot do justice to what I felt there. I have seen the pictures, read some history. But the truth is FAR greater than all of this. It is amazing. Possibly the most beautiful man made thing I have ever seen, especially when you take into account not simply the engineering and astrological excellence of the place, but also the natural beauty in which it is set. The beautiful mountains and the clear sky. Yes it is sunny again. I spent as long as I could there, initially following the poor guided walk. Then the real challenge. In all the photo's including the 1 attached to this blog is the mountain called Wayna Piccu (that's the tall one on the right). This gives a stunning iw over the condor shaped city. It is 400m high, straight up. We are at some 2450m altitude and it should take 1 hour to climb. It is even steeper than the pass. It is hot. There are queues of people going up and down as it's so narrow a path and it's busy. There are steps, some 60cm high, too tall for my legs. The ropes are few and far between and set for small Perunvians so you have to bend down to take them. I take a shower, a 23 minute and 32 second shower. The sweat literally pours off me. I run, jump, squeeze by, overtake, skip, heave and pull, clamber through holes almost too small for me, climb interminable steps and I get to the top!!! I have never pushed myself so physically hard. Why? Well, Welsh Andy did it before and told me the locals can do it in 10 minutes so I want to see what I can do. I think he did it in @20 mins and as he's younger and fitter I am proud of my achievement. Possibly my first sot of sporting achievement. And for once in a physical challenge I am happy with myself. I am not sporty or even fit but this was a GOOD time. The views a amazing. This is so beautiful. I am grateful, so very grateful to be here. The climb down isn't a climb at all. Initially there are around a hundred steps. A big queue of people as 1 woman is on her arse so scared to fall. Everyone else in again on tip toes. The steps are wide enough to go down the side. It's amazing catching people's eyes as I skip by- almost a sense of disgust!! I don't understand as there is ample space and equally I don't care. Then the down bit. Much quieter apart from my cries of joy. To h**l with the falls this is HUGE FUN. I didn't time the down, but guess at 12- 14 minutes..... I am so exhausted at the bottom but equally elated. Then a long walk around the ruins. Amazing and beautiful. Words fail me. A walk to the Inca bridge- also amazing in engineering if smaller than expected. I am so tired. These legs don't belong to me. Then the walk to the Sun Gate. I can barely put 1 foor in front of the other. But the view is worth it. A wee rest but I've a train to catch and my legs are dead so time to go. It's downhill. Time to play. Where did the energy come from. I feel like Worzel Gummage, a TV character in my childhood. He had different heads for different things. I seem to have 2 pairs of legs- one for going up that are okay but not champions, and 1 pair for going down which are champions.

The train back is nice. I'm reading a book called the Old Patagonian Express. The author travels some 25 years ago from boston as far south in S.America as possible by train. I read the Cusco chapter. Three train things of note- as we leave Aguas Calientes where the train is a group of young Peruvians walks besdie the train holding their middle finger up and making chicken sounds. Shame. Second the railway is simply in the middle of town. No barriers, no walls, right by houses and you Thirdly, we get lost on the way back!!! Oh yes it is possible. The train somehow goes down the wrong track and has to reverse before going forward on the correct one again!!! Bienvenudos a america del sur.

Back to Cusco. Last night I added to the previous Llama and Alpaca tasting to try cuy or guinea pig. I'm glad someone else remembered a camera. It's cooked whole, head, teeth, claws and all.... It's not a pretty sight. The lads are there as well as 3 from my tour. Five of us get the delicacy. It's expensive.. Two of us (including me) think it's okay, little meat but tastes fine. One other dissects his rather than eats it. The other 2 are about to be sick. The 3 others are also about to be sick at the sight and smell. Not a great success then. Needless to say I'm invited out by the lads drinking. The others from my group decline and it's 02.00 when I go to bed. My head seems to be turning a bit..... Had I not been booked to visit the Sacred Valley I would have joined the lads at the playpark- paintball, bungee jumpng and other tame activities. They invite themselves to join me to Arequipa if possible, and Jules from Oz wants to come visit me in Scotland. People want to be with me- young ones at that. Instead I do the tour, it only shows me what I should do over 2 days as there's so much it's all to rushed. Still, it's worth it.

And now today I leave Cusco. Overall I've been here many days. It's a place that merits all everyone says (as long as you have my gringo T shirt ). Tonight I go to Arequipa. More hiking- this time down though!! Maybe more volvano's. Whatever it'll bein the next blog. Not many left you'll be glad to hear. I leave June 4th.... Hmmm, no thoughts about that yet.

So, I leave you to go in the sun. Ciao

Alan xx