Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Agua Calientes in Peru



Peruvian children in Pisaq

Standing by a ruin as our van is being repaired

I am currently sitting in an Internet Cafe in Agua Calientes at the base of Machu Pichu. Beautiful Andes mts. surround me, the air is clear and cool. Jacob is working at the computer next to me and all is well. Yesterday was another story . It started by us scheduling through a travel agency a 7 hour bus drive to a train station where you were then transported to Agua Calientes and after spending a night there you took a bus up to Machu Picdhu. Well, this was no ordinairy bus ride, we traveled through steep rocky dirt roads overlooking a deep canyon where there wasn´t enough room for 2 vehicles to pass. We passed through little towns with markets , children playing and many Peruvian´s in their native dress, you knew you were in a foreign country. After many bumpy areas in an van filled with 8 people our van broke down.... the driver sawed a piece of wood and put it somewhere up in the axle area? YIKES!!! It took him an hour or so and we knew our schedule was tight, he kept trying to call because he needed to purchase our train tickets for Agua Caliente. When we arrived in the town that those tickets were to be purchased the station was closed, we had a flat tire and things weren´t looking good. When we arrived at the train station we were told the train was full and that we would have to walk along the train tracks to Agua Calientes, we were told it was a short 1-2 hour walk.....(that is definitely not true if you are almost 55, had a knee replacement 6 months ago and have had foot and ankle repairs) .
Well, I will leave out a lot of the details as Jacob tried to get me on that train , we were so frustrated with the travel agency arrangements but because of our van breaking down twice we all missed the bus and began walking down the tracks at around 4:45 PM. Jacob and I laughed and talked as we started on our ¨"Adventure" carrying our back packs and all our possessions (I have some great pictures I will post later). Two hours into the hike I was beginning to tire but surely we were almost there but by now it was also pitch black!!! Let me tell you, walking rocky railroad tracks in the dark with knee and ankle problems wasn´t fun but luckily we had headlamps to give us a little light on the track if you constantly looked down.
OK, now imagine it is dark and we are in the middle of the Peruvian Jungle all by ourselves.... fireflies, birds making noises... beautiful but I hadn´t eaten since 7 that morning other than some soda crackers. To make a long story a little shorter we arrived in Caliente Aguas at a little before 9PM having walked over 7 miles, yes that little walk on the tracks was SEVEN MILES in the pitch black jungle. I only fell once and when we finally reached Agua Calientes I began sobbing. Exhausted and frustrated but oh so glad it was over. A travel agent came and met us and we arranged to stay another night so we could rest today before climbing Machu Picdhu and take the train back to Cusco Wed. evening , no more dangerous bus rides over rocky roads overlooking deep canyons .
My knee is doing great but my foot and hip is really sore today. Jacob is a loving , concerned son who is taking fantastic care of his Mom, this is such a special trip and I will try to keep updating and should be able to post pictures soon.
I will be ready for Machu Pichu tomorrow!!! This adventure to Machu Picdhu has been a dream of mine for many years. Hopefully the soreness will lessen and I will have another night of sleep and be ready. I have so much to share about this trip but this was quite the adventure yesterday!!

Walking the tracks


Starting to get dark walking the tracks to Agua Calientes

5 comments:

Marti said...

Thank you for writing. I'm thinking of you often with little prayers. Amazing. God's extravagant blessings for you on this trip.

Barbie said...

Wow, Kim, sounds like quite the adventure. I'm thankful that Jacob is there to take care of you. Sometimes those unplanned excursions make for the best memories and stories.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kim
It's Yolanda & Lourdes. Can't wait to see more pictures. You are a Super Woman!

Kurt and Alisha said...

Sounds like you two are having a blast together. I am so glad you are getting to go on these little adventures. Have fun climbing that mountain. We love you and can't wait to hear more!

Lynn said...

Kim..........So glad you were able to see the country with your son. How special. Great the new knee and ankle are holding up. Miss you. You are a trooper. I am sure this will help make up for some of the times you missed Jacob, but not quite.
Enjoy.
Lynn