Peru – Part Tres (3)

By: Jeffrey Berk

Cuzco, Peru.

August 25, 1999.

It has been an incredible 48 hours. Here we go…

Tuesday morning we woke early and caught a local bus to the town of Pisac, about an hour away from Cuzco. There, we watched as the locals got ready for their market day. Market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Steph and I ate breakfast overlooking the central courtyard and soon entered the market once everything seemed to be up. Steph quickly purchased a shitload of items – hats, beads, bracelets, shawls (pashminas), postcards and fruit for the road. Jeff watched.

From there, a local taxi to the ruins (don’t miss!) overlooking the town. At the ruins, Jeff managed to find a guide who was leading a tour. Jeff and Steph tagged along and spent the next hour exploring the magnificent Incan ruins of Pisac. The view over the Andes and the bright blue sky were stupendous! A clear highlight was the hike down the mountain on narrow pathways and stone steps built into the mountain.

Most fascinating were the complex system of terraces and irrigation channels. The scenery was spectacular and there were few other tourists as they seem to like taking buses everywhere. Try to pursuade your guide to let you walk down the mountain through the ruins rather than taking the bus back down with your lame tour group. Turns out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. Beautiful scenery and ruins!

Lunch at a local cafe where we hung out with a nice young Englishwoman who is living in Cuzco. After lunch, boarded another bus for Urubamba. Halfway through our hour-long trip, a pack of musicians hopped aboard and began playing their guitars and flutes and drums. Cruising through the Andes with this music in the background was a reminder of the pure joy and beauty of travel. The feeling you get when your blood pumps and the smiles don’t leave your face. Both of us felt that things were running incredibly smoothly. Possibly too smoothly…

At Urubamba, we transferred to another minibus which quickly got us to the town of Ollantaytambo. The town is in a time warp. Donkeys walking through town, children playing everywhere. Roosters. And the bright blue sky over it all. Ollantaytambo are very impressive ruins. We hired a private guide who toured us through the site in an hour. Most impressive was the Temple of the Sun at the top of the terraces.

Ollantaytambo was an ag-based city and the terraces were used to test various agricultural methods and conditions. Ollantaytambo also served as one of the last strongholds of the Incans. The Spanish under Pizarro fought a battle here which turned the tides of the Spanish conquest. If you have the time, spend a night here. There are not a lot of tourists and it is a very cute, charming town!

During the tour, our guide told us that there was a train strike in the

morning and that there would be no trains to Macchu Piccu. Our hearts, of course, sank like a lump of something. Could this be true? We quickly hired a taxi to drive us 1Â½ hours all the way back to Cuzco. Quite expensive but we did not want to waste time. We quickly ran to our travel agency. Our travel agent, a sweet Australian lady named Robin, confirmed the news.

STRIKE!!! The last time they had a strike up here was over a year ago. They decide to have another one the day before our planned trip to Macchu Piccu. We would have to devise an entirely new itinerary. As it was so late, we would have to figure it out in the morning.

We took a chance though and went down to the bus station where we were told that the bus to Lake Titicaca would not leave until manana at 10.00. Steph and I returned to the NiÃ±os Hotel where there was luckily another cancellation which enabled us to get a room for the night.

This morning Steph and I ate a big breakfast and headed down to the station where we learned that the bus was not leaving until 10 at night! We quickly gathered our wits, dropped our bags, and headed out to explore the Cuzco area for another day.

A bus ride later, we were at Tipon, a very interesting ruin set on the top of a mountain. No other tourists save one group and 2 mountain bikers. We decided to hike down the mountain on small paths which were very steep but very picturesque. It took us 45 minutes to reach the town of Tipon below.

We caught another bus and explored the ruins at Pikillaqta. THIS WAS OUR FAVORITE. We were completely alone in an ancient pre-Incan city that stretched as far as the eye could see. The solitude and the setting were unforgettable. Truly a magnificent site. Don’t miss this place. It is not on most tourist itineraries. It is easy to take a local bus. Just ask around. It is off the main highway, about an hour from Cuzco.

Another quick bus ride back to Cuzco and another trip to the travel agent and Robin, who is our new best friend. We have now decided to leave the city and go to…Bolivia. We leave in 1 hour. It is 9pm on Wednesday night. Our bus leaves at 10 and will arrive in Copacabana, Bolivia at 8 in the morning. At Copa, we will explore the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. Isla Del Sol is supposed to be gorgeous. From there, we will re-enter Peru and then visit the island of Taquile (where we will try to spend the night in the house of a local). The villagers have not allowed any hotels to be built.

We hope and pray that we will be able to return to Cuzco next week to visit the ruins of Macchu Piccu. We were told that if the strike continues, the only way to get there will be by a 17 mile hike over the train tracks! There are no roads and no other options. Helicopters are booked now that the rail strike is on! Could be a problem but there might be a happy ending. There are thousands of people in Cuzco who will not get the chance to visit the sacred ruins of Macchu Piccu (They can not walk the 17 miles each way!). They are the ones truly who will suffer.

The rail strike supposedly arose when the workers decided that the owners were not giving them enough benefits. This morning, 8 leaders of the rail workers were arrested. The wives of these 8 leaders went down to the train tracks and chained themselves to it. We hope it all works out and will let you know.

Eating very well. Mexican last night and Italian tonight. Cuzco is truly the gringo capital of South America. There are 15 internet sites here alone! We are giving the guinea pigs a rest, by the way. It sounds as though we do not eat any Peruvian food but this is not the case.

Our stomachs are a bit testy, so sometimes it is OK to eat foods that are a little less exotic.

Ciao all, speak soon.