As our first attempt to go to Machu Pichu was a complete failure, we had decided to try to get there, by our own means this time. So we were off last friday, taking a collectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, where we then got in a train to Aguas Calientes, also called Machu Pichu Pueblo ( How inventive). Well let me tell you, THAT pueblo is the biggest tourist trap I have ever seen, and we were so glad we only had to spend a few hours there. After chasing after our hotel reservation (Of course they had messed up the dates, of course we had to go somewhere else...) we went for a quick dinner to a French-Peruvian restaurant owned by a guy from Marseille (which clearly got me wondering why on earth would you decide to settle down in that place, out of all the cities in the World...), and then we were off pretty early to our beds, as we had plan to rise at 4.30 am to climb the camino to Machu Pichu...
Well we eventually managed to leave the hotel at 5, and we were soon at the bottom of the endless flight of steps that constitute the "walking way" up to the top... We were definitely not ready (and not sufficiently awake) for that! So we sweated our way up and eventually made it, 1hour and 45 minutes later, at the entrance of the site, where 5 buses had already arrived (5 minutes ride up from the pueblo), therefore reducing to nothing all the efforts made to get there first! We were soon to find out some people had even left their hotel at 1.30am to be among the first in front of the gate... Pure madness, you are probably saying in front of your screen... But the early climb really made us feel like we DESERVED our Machu Pichu. So when we emerged from the bushes, all covered in sweat, hardly breathing and barely standing, we still managed to walk very proudly in front of all the tourists getting out of the buses, dropping some "ridiiiiculous", "lazzy tourists", "pff, if the Incas could see you they'd be ashamed!" along the way...
Still we didn't make it early enough to be among the 400 people who would be granted the right to climg Wyna Pichu, the mountain facing Machu Pichu which top offers a splendid view over the site. No worries, if there was no Wyna Pichu, there would be something else... And so we were off to climb the Machu Pichu mountain, towering some 600 meters over the site, therefore 400 meters higher than the Wyna Pichu mountain. The climb was..... well, experimental, for the least! A very (very very) steep stairway climbing perpendicular to the mountain for about 1h30, with some passages where there was hardly enough space to put your feet (especially when you are wearing hiking boots), led us to a breathtaking (litteraly, because of the climb, and of course for the views...) mirador, overlooking the entire valley, the Urubamba river, the snowy tops of the Andes mountains in the distance, and of course, the magestic Machu Pichu, laying at our feet....
Machu Pichu is this absolutely impossible construction, located on the top of a mountain, which sides are so steep no one could ever stand on them. Well, the Incas built a city on it! And what a city... beautiful stoneworks, perfect control and understanding of agriculture techniques, mastering of astrology and season rythms, mix of traditional and spiritual life in a gem-like setting... Clearly we asked ourselves the question: How can they have possibly, without weels or any sort of help other than human hands, brought up the stones used to build their houses, since they did not come directly from the mountain...
One thing we all agreed on, Incas were no lazy people! They weren't trying to make their lives any easier either, that's for sure!
After spending an hour at the top of that mountain, shooting hundreds of pictures, we eventually came back down and decided to take a little nap on one of the terraces, Inca way, before catching one of the last buses back down to Aguas Calientes, our legs hurting like hell, but our heads full of beautiful things...
The same night, we got a train back to Ollantaytambo, where we were supposed to spend the night. Well, as it was to be expected (couldn't get lucky all the way, could we...), the hotel was a dodgy, dodgy place, with cucarachas running around, hairs left all over the bathroom, probably more pulgas in the beds, and so on and so forth. Basically, we didn't sleep at all, and were out as early a we could to get a bus back to Cusco. I was starting to feel sick and that night hadn't exactly helped...
When we arrived in Cusco on Sunday morning, we went straight to the center, with our dirty clothes and our tired looks. I was feeling quite ashamed as Sunday is the day of Mass, and I didn't like the idea that for once, I would look more dirty than all the kids together after lunch time... But when I walked into the church, it became the last of my problems.. I didn't see it straight way, but only after Celeste indicated it to me, I saw the little white coffin in the middle of the main aisle. A little girl, Luz Marina, that I had taken care of and fed many times, had died as we were away.. Apparently a bad fever, some troubles breathing and the complete lack of care of the doctors were the reason of her death. She was laying there, in a white dress, in a white coffin, with a white flower on top, looking like a little angel that had finally found her peace... Looking at her, I felt infinitely sad, but also Infinitely relieved. Finally free from a body that had only caused her pain, she had to feel like the kid she never had a chance to be in her earthly life now. That's all I hope for, that those children one day get a chance to feel free of all their terrestrial pain, and get to be, finally, just like any other child, if not more, little stars shining in the sky, for they truly shine in mine now...
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