As the breathlessness from the altitude eased slightly it cleared a view of the fact that we were in Cusco, or Cuzco as it sometimes appears in perhaps a more original spelling, and that we truly were on our way to Machu Picchu, a place I had on my dream list from history lessons at school together with Pompeii. I managed Pompeii whilst fighting through crowds and totally expected the same sadly at Machu Picchu.
Directed to Bus number 1 at the Inca Rail office, we boarded with me hoping my nausea preventing wrist bands would do the job. The bus moaned and groaned it’s way up the winding steep hills out of Cusco and then down and up and down and up and down winding it’s way eventually (with a brief ‘rest stop’ at the top of another stunning hill) to Ollantaytambo the train station which would take us along the Sacred Inca valley to Aguas Calientes the stop over town for Machu Picchu (as described by David in his last journal entry).
We disembarked and were met with ‘Inca Valley by Disney’. I’m guessing maybe they were students making a bit of holiday money and bless them they were certainly making the most of it. Wonderfully ‘authentically’ dressed in the beautiful Inca colours, to the sound of pipes playing the inevitable El Condor Paso and accompanied by booms from their conch shells, we were gathered up by the young Incas and led, to the astonishment and amusement of the locals, to our waiting Inca Rail train.
With our young band still dancing, booming and waving, we set off along the Sacred Valley. Passing steep hills marked with ancient terraces, ruins half covered in the reclaiming jungle, footpaths leading to farms and the Urubamba river charging over rocks carving out it’s path to the Amazon…but an announcement…‘Ladies and Gentlemen we will shortly be giving a recital of a traditional Inca love poem’…and at that a man and a woman clad in full Inca costume stood in the aisle, and began to act out and mime the words from the song coming from the speakers in the carriage. I’m sure it was very beautiful but I really just wanted to take in the scenery. With thankful clapping they disappeared into the next carriage and I went back to my wondering imagination.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen’… another announcement, ‘please feel free to go to our Panorama carriage where you can take beautiful photographs to the accompaniment of our live band’…Disney was still with us. As our carriage emptied out I was able with the rhythm of the rattling train to go back to my wonder at the incredible scenery and the fact that I really was fulfilling a long held dream of going to see Machu Picchu.
After a meal of an excellent Ceviche and a good nights sleep at last, our ‘essential’ guide (part of our ‘inclusive’ package) picked us up at 6.30am at our hotel and ‘escorted’ us to the Inca Rail Machu Picchu bus stop. We soon realised why our guide met us so early (we were booked for 8am) turning the corner a snake-like queue wound its way almost back to where we had just come from (visions of Pompeii crowds came to mind).
As the bus zigged and zagged its way up this part of the Inca trail, my dream list was becoming a reality, in spite of the crowds nothing was going to spoil it.
