South America

Monday 21st November 2016 – The rocking of the bus and headlights of passing cars blended into our dreams as we drove through the night. When we woke the thin orange light of dawn was falling weakly on the featureless landscape. Soon we entered the outskirts of Lima; wrecked cars, windowless breezeblock buildings and abandoned machinery lined the roadside. Everything was covered in dust and Alysa thought it looked like something out of a Mad Max film. There were no buses out to Cuzco until after lunch so we holed up in a cafe above the bus station and waited. Eventually we were off and on our way to Cuzco – gateway city to the legendary Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

Tuesday 22nd November 2016 – Finally, seventy seven hours after leaving Quito we arrived in Cuzco. We were 3400 metres above sea level and I soon had an altitude headache. Looking online we soon discovered visiting Machu Picchu isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Firstly you have to pre-book your entry tickets online or buy them in Cuzco. Next you have to actually get to Machu Picchu and assuming you aren’t doing one of the Inca trails this means a pricey train journey or several hours in a minibus followed by a 10km hike along the railway. We opted for the pricey train leaving the next morning. Once all of our preparations were done we celebrated with a delicious meal of ceviche, homemade ravioli and tiramisu.

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 – First thing in the morning we took a taxi to Poroy, 13km from Cuzco (you might expect the train to leave from Cuzco but that would be too simple). For three and a half hours we enjoyed panoramic views as our carriage wound its way at a stately pace through beautiful mountain scenery. By the time we arrived in Aguascalientes we were feeling like nineteenth century Victorian travellers rather than slightly grubby 21st century backpackers. We found a hotel, explored the town a bit, had some food and slept.

Thursday 24th November 2016 – We reached Machu Picchu around 7am. We walked to the Guard Tower, to the vertigo inducing Inca Bridge, up to the Sun Gate, took pictures and gazed at the awesome scenery around us. Llamas wandered amongst the ruins and the Urubamba river sparkled in the valley far below us. Eventually we made our way back to Aguascalientes to catch the afternoon train back to Poroy. We picked up our bags from our hostel back in Cuzco and by 10pm we were on a bus to La Paz in Bolivia.