Bout Time I Made it to Machu Pichu!

From the Hydro Electric plant I had to either walk 6 miles along train tracks to get to the town at the nase of Aguas Calientes. A town that goes by the name Aguas Calientes. However, if you had some extra coin in your back-pocket and you were feeling a bit sluggish, then the train would be the best bet. When I started walking th etrain tracks with the Lithiuanian women, we had about an hour before nightfall, yet the walk was supposed the take 2 hours. We started walking along the tracks, which meandered through dense, humid jungle. The mosquitos started to some out and our skin was a fat steak for these little insects. Eaten alive by these suckers would be an understatement. We were devoured. Darkness came. I had no flashlight. The indiglo light on my watch had to do.

After tripping and falling a couple of times on the old, loose tracks, passing through 4 pitch black tunnels, and listening to the gushing river down below us, we made it to Aguas Calientes.

The Lithiuanians were shy, had a very strange sense of humor, which meant to them I had an even stranger sense of humor. We checked into a hostel that night. I had planned on getting my own room. Yet, since the girls were sisters, and they were quite docile, I accepted their offer to just room with them for the night.

I made all of my last minute preperations that night: buying water, packign the right clothes, and reviewing my map of MAchu Pichu. In the morning I would plan on hiking 8km up a mountain of switch-backs to get to the base of Machu Pichu. For the less fit and maybe even less adventerous folks, they could take a bus to the top of the mountain, at the base of Machu Pichu. I wanted to walk it for pure pleasure. And to save the 8 bucks for the bus ride to the top.

The next morning we awoke at 3:45 am. This may sound crazy. But, if you were one of the first ones up get to MAhcu Pichu you could first of all see an emmaculate sunrise and beat the herds of day tarvelers, coming into Machu Pichu from Cusco via train. The whole point to stay at Aguas Calientes was to beat the herds of toursist-tool day travlers that couldnt tell up from down.

The girls were laggin gin the morning and not to be un-gentlemanly like, but I didnt have time for a bunch of time wasting, using the bathroom for 30 minutes in the morning, I feel sick kind of mates to hike with. I ditched them in the most gentleman-like fashion possible, wished them luck and set out to hike at 4am. I didnt have a flashlight and it was pitchblack. I was able to use the indigo on my watch but even this didnt prevent me from stumbling and falling on my face a couple of times.

I felt like my dad, in one of his 100 miles races in COloroado. I was passing heaps of people up the switch-backs in hopes of being one of the frist people to the top. If I got the a real shady, cliff*-like area, I would wait fro someone to catch up to me with a flashlight. Then I would follow them and their light until I could find my way out of the more sketchy areas of the hike.

We were hiking up a mountain through high-elevation, dense cloudforest. There were about 50 other people hiking up who had the same idea as me: they wante to be one of the first up to enjoy the sunrise at Machu Pichu and enjoy Machu Pichu in solitude. By 9 am there would be everyone and thei mom coming up to Machu Pichu and the entire experience of being in a sacred, historical place would be ruined.

A couple other travlers and I made into MAchu Pichu just before sunrise. WAlking into MAchu Pichu felt as though we were walking on clouds. In the ealry morning the entire area of MAchu Pichu was covered in dense, moist clouds. One could barely see the ground in front of them. And then, like a wizard cast a magic spell over the area, the clouds began the disspear. The sun soon rose, firey and yellow, cresting over a near by mountain. Then before my eyes, lay history some 500 years B.C.. Machu Pichu truly looked like a secret societ at the top of this massive, jungle mountain. CLimbing up the mountain and back down, one could not see anything if they looked up. It was as though their was just enough flatness atop this mountain to consctruct Machu Pichu.

Now, Machu Pichu isnt one particluar monument or stone building, it is an entire seceret city atop this jungle-infested mountain. Id say it was worth the trek yup there and the 20 dollars I spent to enter MAchu Pichu. The first couple hours I was there, I had whole, mini plateus to myself. Take life in , think about meaning the meanign of being here in such a well-preserved historical place...all of these thoughts Im telling myself as I walked around the grounds. By 845 though the buses started to arrive. Along with the buses came, 500 tousists, noeses covered in zink, floppy hats on, cameras slung over their neck, expensize titanium walking sticks in their hand. Viewing this was all humerous to me. I mean Machu Pichu was quite spectatcular, but people had the look on their faces liek they were devout Catholics about the meet the Pope. On a basic level all Machu Pichu is is a bunch of well-organized rocks, piled on top of some lush terrain.

At the time the heaps (Ive been hanging around too many AUstralians) arrived, I was ready to leave. I ended up hiking the whole way down solo, until an Australian dude caught up with me on th trail. He was one cool cat. HE was traveling around the world. He had just surfed all of Indonesia, and now he was motorcycling through all of South America. Gave some much needed advice on other areas of the world to explore.

I made it back to Aguas Calinetes by 11am. I got some food and chilled out a bit, resting my legs after the grueling hike. On the way back, I decided to take the train. It was a bit more expensive than taking the bus. But, it was first of all, faster, more comfortable, and more time efficeint. If I decided to take all of the rounds of buses back to Cusco, god knows when Id make it!

I was sitting, waiting for my tain to arrive, peeling a tangerine, when I noticed the frantic stout-looking dude. He came up to me panting. I recognized him from a hostel I had stayed at in Cusco. He gave me the low down and apparently he ahd lost his tour group and he was starnded with no money, bank cards, or passport. I felt bad for the dude, so I loaned him 200 solas which is about 50 bucks so he could make it bask to Cusco. He seemed like a decent guy and he was staying at the same hostel as me so I want too worried.

I made it back to Cusco that night and the big German fellow arrived a bit later with my money I loaned him. The legs feel liek they¨ve been hit with sledge hammers and I could sleep for days. What a damn jouney. Dusty, under-arms smelling like onions, and an appetite of a hungry lion, I made it to Cusco that night.

written by  kipmaddog on September 24, 2009 from Aguas Calientes, Peru
from the travel blog: adventures from down south
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