THE LOST TOWN OF INCAS – MACHU PICCHU
There are two ways to reach Machu Picchu; one is to go on a few-day hike through the Holly Valley with a guide, sleeping in tents along the way and the other is to take the train there.
The first one of course is far more exciting and interesting compared to the expensive and convenient train ride, but unfortunately, my journey had taken me there during the rainy season. Besides I didn’t have much time on my hands so I had to accept my fate and buy a ticket to the iron horse. On my way there I had put it on my priority list to make a stop at Ollantaytambo – a gigantic administrative, public, religious, and military complex from Inca time, which was about seventy kilometers away from Cusco.
I headed there early in the morning on one of the local buses. The weather was beautiful, not a trace of the “rainy season” in question. It was not till five that I managed to get a train ticket to Aguas Calientes, which was a small town with mineral water springs, above which Machu Picchu is located. As soon as I got off the bus I realized I may not have enough time; Ollantaytambo was at the top of the cliff across from me and it was simply impossible to see where it ended.
A long time ago Ollantaytambo was a residence of Emperor Pachacuti. This place is believed to be the only place in Peru where in 1536 the Inca were able to push back the Spanish conquistadores. The ruins carry mostly a religious value. The temple and the fortress are located above the city. Ancient embossed drawings could be seen on the monolithic stones that had been used in the building process. Stairs, temples, and again stairs. The view at the top however was astonishing and well worth it. Irrigation systems in impeccable condition, built in the period of the Incas, could be observed in Ollantaytambo also.
I ran out of time so I headed back to the train station. Considering there was no other way of reaching Machu Picchu (excluding the aforementioned hike) the “Inca rail” line had established something like a monopole in the area. Quality was really high but the prices were just as high. The trip was pleasant and comfortable but what was even more astonishing were the views from the train window.
The hosts from the guesthouse where I was going to stay met me at the train station holding a sign with my name on it. It was starting to get dark, so I quickly left my luggage and went for a walk. The village was tiny with hotels and restaurants scattered all over the place, and further up the road were the pools with warm spring waters, which were the reason behind the name of the village – Aguas Calientes.
Machu Picchu is located at the top of the hill across from Aguas Calientes and one could easily either walk or take the bus there. The buses didn’t have a set schedule but rather made a trip when they filled up. On the next morning, I took one of those and made a promise to myself to walk on my way back. It took the bus about 20 minutes up the hill. After getting my ticket validated and walking through the gates of this ancient town I could feel my heart beating as if it were about to break out of my chest.
With its modest size, Machu Picchu can’t be qualified as a large city. There are not more than 200 buildings in it, most of them are temples, residencies, storage rooms, and other premises. Many were built using well-carved blocks and tightly fitting rock plates. Up to 1200 people are believed to have lived there, and they were all worshippers of the Sun God (Inti). They grew mostly crops on agricultural terraces. The town was founded as a sacred mountain residency for the great Inca ruler Pachacuti a century prior to the collapse of his empire, around 1140. It was fully functioning till 1532 when the Spanish invaded the territory. In that same year, most of the residents mysteriously disappeared.
What’s interesting here is that Machu Picchu remained hidden from the Spanish and it wasn’t until recently, in 1911, that it got discovered by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. He went on a search for the mysterious town after thoroughly studying the legend about it and was able to discover it with its remains untouched through the centuries.
It is a remarkable place indeed, extremely beautiful and impactful. I wasn’t part of a tourist group so I was able to enjoy my freedom. I lay in grass fields with panoramic views of the sanctuary, I meditated, and then I took another stroll through the town and explored the ruins. On the way back I kept my promise and headed down the hill on foot. It was quite interesting and despite me thinking it was going to make me feel really tired, on the contrary, I felt great.
I had dinner in one of the numerous restaurants and went to my room to get some rest. On the following day around noon was my train back to Cusco. The trip was fun mainly for three reasons. The first was the group of musicians riding in the same wagon as me who executed a beautiful 30-minute performance that set a great mood for everyone present.
The second was the guy sitting next to me who turned out to be an impressive traveler and who hadn’t gone home in a few months. Halib was born in one of the Emirates and I made the brave assumption that he had an oil well in his backyard which paid for his journeys. He had gone on this trip advised by his father. He told me many incredible stories and showed me numerous fun videos on his phone and while I was listening to his fascinating tales I started dreaming of finding an oil well in my backyard. Who knows, maybe I’d be in luck.
It was funny when he asked where I was from. Let me remind you that the past two months I had spent on the Caribbean beaches, and besides by birth my skin tone is a few shades darker so my skin had turned a creamy color mocha. After clarifying I was from Bulgaria, he got a puzzled look on his face and shared that he had always believed that Bulgarians rocked fairer skin. We both burst into laughter.
The third interesting thing was that later in our conversation I found out that the train wasn’t going back to Cusco, as I thought, but instead, it ended its trip in a small random train station 25 km from Cusco. What’s more, it was going to arrive there 2 hours past sunset. Halib smiled at my ignorance and offered to take me in the car that was going to wait for him sent from the hotel where he was staying. I lucked out!
Later as we drove through the city center we could see that some special event was taking place. There were crowds everywhere and everyone was wearing a creepy costume and a mask. We decided to stay and join the party. It was past 10 pm but to my surprise, the streets were full of people including children.
It looked a lot like Halloween but after talking to the locals we found out that it was “Dia de Los Muertos” or the “Day of the Dead”. It was a day when people beautifully decorated the graves of the diseased relatives and gathered at home or in a restaurant in commemoration of them. Around midnight the crowds started thinning out so we decided to head for our hotels. We agreed to meet once again. In the morning I realized that the previous night while I was enjoying the beautiful performances someone got to enjoy my phone, stealing it from my backpack. It wasn’t some fancy phone so I didn’t feel too bad about it. What I was more bummed out about was the fact that I had no way of reaching Halib. But Life has its ways and sometimes makes the impossible possible. Life made our paths cross the day before, saving me from a 25 km night hike back to Cusco, and a few hours after that Life parted our ways irrevocably. That’s Life; it’s hard to make sense of its puzzles sometimes, or maybe it’s not meant to find logic in it, to begin with. Maybe logic is suitable only for the brain. In life, some things sometimes appear contradictory and the best we could do is accept them.
