I warn you now that it is unlikely that you will believe that the following actually happened, I am having trouble believing it myself!

Got up at 6am on the 31st March in order to get a minibus to Machu Picchu in time for the day it opened. It was going to be a 6 hour bus journey, followed by a 4 hour trek, getting us to Aguas Calientes for about 5.30/6ish. We met at the tour agency at 7am and had a FOUR HOUR wait for the tour guides to buy the tickets to Machu Picchu. Of course they kept saying, just another 30 minutes, so we couldnt go anywhere, so sat on a street curb for four hours! Aparently the tickets had only been released that morning and anyone could buy them for any day from 9am.

We got going, made it to Ollantaytambo for lunch and then drove onwards. About half an hour before Santa Maria the driver started asking for directions, even when there were no turnings in the road. He even stopped and asked a three year old boy at one point! We got to Santa Maria at 5pm, instead of about 1pm and discovered that the next road, which we needed to be on, was closed because there had been a landslide at 2pm that day and they were waiting for it to be cleared. Our guide decided it would be a great idea if we drove to the landslide and helped dig it out! So onwards we went, while EVERY other tour group stayed in the town.

We got to the landslide and the plan once again changed, we would simply walk over it and a car would meet us on the other side to take us to Santa Teresa, where the 4 hour walk started. It was just before 6pm at this point and sun set came very quickly. And then the heavens opened. So before we knew it we were walking uphill, in the dark and pouring rain... for about 30 minutes until the car came. Of course 30 minutes turned into 2 hours because landslides kept happening and the car couldnt reach us. The tour guide stopped at every house we came across in these 2 hours (about 3!) to ask directions to the next town. We continued walking, uphill the whole time, until at 8pm he announced that we might have to sleep in the village school overnight....

Couldnt find the owner of the school though so we were taken to a little old lady´s house who managed to put us up on the floor of the room she keeps her garlic and dogs in. Imagine sleeping in a garage with windows with no glass in and dogs at the door the whole night because you stole their beds! She did have a little shop though, full of tins of tuna, tomatoes, pasta, chocolate, herbs, etc. She lay out rugs to lie on, but nothing to cover us. We sat in this room, ten of us, a little shocked at what was going on. And the shocks continued! At one point the guide came in to change the light buld to an energy saving one because it was costing too much to fuel the real light bulb (of course changing them while it was on!). We actually felt the temperature drop when the light was changed. We used a pallate of toilet papers to block some of the draft from the window, the roof leaked, the rugs smelt like damp dog and we were all in damp clothing we had walked hours in.

At midnight the lady managed to rustle up some dinner, something which took her TWO HOURS to cook - half a plate of rice each, a handful of chips each and a fried egg, followed by a sugary cup of tea. Considering how stocked the shop was this was a major disappointment! The tour guide talked us through the next day and mentioned something about rugs and was actually shocked theat we wanted more! He found one more which we put in the middle and covered all our feet as we slept in a circle around this. The light was turned off at 12.30 and we tried to sleep. I had my travel towel to cover my body which I shared with Jarred who I was with.

We woke up (I say woke up as a lose term.... we started talking again) at 1.30am to the sound of a vehicle and got excited that we might be getting out.... then listened as it drove away. Shortly after that the guide came in and told us to pack quickly as there was a vehicle an hours walk away which could take us to Santa Teresa. Great! Of course it was still raining but we trundled on, finding ourselves at 2.30am looking at a cattle truck, with no roof, in the rain so we couldnt sit on the ground. Better than nothing though so we got in.

Of course the engine wouldnt start. Off we get again, push the truck through a three point turn on a road only just bigger than the truck, with a sheer drop on the edge. Push start the truck eventually and set off at 3am. Standing in the rain, bashing my head on the overhead metal poles and looking at the road which was only just bigger than the truck contemplating whether we would make the front page news in London if the truck went over. In the end I took my glasses off so that I couldnt see where we were going!

After about two hours of this we met a traffic jam and discovered that this road also had been blocked due to landslide and wouldnt be cleared until morning. So we sat under a shelter, while all the people who stopped in Santa Maria until that landslide was clear we sleeping in their minibuses. Sitting on a concrete step we realised that our minibus was in the queue so mentioned to the tour guide that perhaps we should be in it since we had paid for it (cant say it was quite as polite as that). The tour guide once again looked like this had not occured to him so trundled off to talk to our driver, only to find out that there were only 5 seats in the van since the driver had picked up others. Well, we got in anyway. I sat on the floor, there were four people on seats designed for two, etc. Attempted to sleep but of course could not and at about 5.30am we started moving forward.

At 6am I found myself looking at the landslide, which was still falling. Rocks the size of my head and bigger randomly falling down at speed, and being told that I was meant to run across it. I dont think so. We hadnt even made it to the town we were meant to be doing the four hour walk from and according to the itinerary we should be in Machu Picchu at this point. Most of the group had to get back for trains, buses, flights and for us a wedding all on the 4th andwere starting to get worried about the return journey. We werent too bothered about crossing the landslide, though realised that it wasnt amazingly sensible, and were really annoyed to give up at that stage since we had gone through so much already. But lack of sleep, no signs of food and a need to get back to Cusco meant we made a group decision to throw in the towel and return.

We got in our minibus as drove for about 20 minutes before coming across another landslide, though luckily a dumper truck came within 20 minutes and cleared it. We were on our way again. Drove for another 30 minutes or so before getting stuck in mud. And ever time we tried to move forward we slide more towards the edge (the road still only the size of a car and with a sheer drop). We bailed. I have never seen ten people run out of a minivan as quickly as that. Honestly convinced that we were about to die if we didnt get out of that van. The van managed to get across and we walked behind it for a bit.

Drove for another 10minutes before coming across a bridge which was being mended because come of the wooden slats making up the floor had come out. We made it across, all the time looking at the speed of the water underneath, which was quick!

We made it the rest of the way back without incident, though the driver looked like he could fall asleep at any point. The tour agency are trying to sell our tickets at the moment to get a little money back and fed us last night with free beer, since we had paid for x amount of breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Still cant believe it all happened. We drove past so many rock slides and bit of tarmac road which had fallen down.

So over Machu Picchu! Ive seen older rocks in Egypt!

Over and out and happy to be alive. xxx