After the most strenuous hike of my life between 3700-4450 m (12,139-14599 ft) yesterday, I slept like a baby back at 3700 m elevation from 8:30 to 5 am. As soon as we had our dinner and retreated into the warmth of our tents and sleeping bags, a peaceful but steady rain commenced. It was a lullaby not only during my end-of-day meditation that put me to yet another delicious sleep, but also throughout the night every time there was a break in my sleep cycle. As I wake up to the “agua caliente” treatment of the day, "the room service" as our guide loves to call it, our campsite is much more appealing:
The fog and clouds have cleared away after the purifying rain. I can now appreciate much better that the lovely meadow we are on looks down on Ollantaytambe and much better, yet, the mountains to its west covered with glaciers are on display before our eyes! Chief guide and Chris are already making plans for a trek to go to the distant glaciers that are cherry on top of the cake for all of us this morning. Ollantaytambe is established in the Urubamba Valley just like Qusqo. The river that traverses the valley is naturally, Urubamba River that will find us down below Machu Picchu after our train ride to Agua Caliente.
Our guides will tell us how fast the glaciers covering the peaks of the Andeans around the Urubamba Valley are receding due to global warming. I wonder if Donald Trump ever visited Machu Picchu, or Greenland, or any of the countries that are being hugely affected by global warming. I wonder if any of his tour guides told him about global warming… How am I going to apply equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and joy based meditation practice to this man, I still don’t know. Maybe I should go and do a childhood interview with him to understand what kind of trauma he experienced that led to his loss of empathy, led to this level of self-centeredness and afflicted him with his narcissistic personality disorder comorbid with pathological lying.
As I come back to the moment and look up, I can’t help but deeply appreciate the inexplicably majestic grandeur of the glaciers before our eyes. My companieros must feel the same: Whoever comes out of their tent, can hardly catch their breath in a gasp, goes back in, grabs a camera or a cell phone to memorialize this breathtaking view. No wonder…This view reminds me of Grand Teton and my campsite right across the mountain some years ago. Similar elevation, similar relationship between the campsite and the glaciers. The only difference is that here below the glaciers, there is a city stretching her arms in all directions, Ollantaytambe.
Below Grand Teton on the other hand is the elegantly wild and charming Jane Lake. How can some people not see how important and essential it is to preserve the earth with all its resources and beauty? I think of what a visionary Theodor Roosevelt was and send him my thanks across decades one more time. His litigation of the national park idea way back I believe preserved millions of acres of wonderland in the USA. Another kudos to UNESCO that does the same for the earthly heritage of the world among other places.
This morning the delivery of hot water cups and plastic bowls to our tents is set for 6 am, since we have little left to get back to Ollantaytambe. I don’t know how the crew slept in the dining room tent, when we were all “semi-frozen” before going to our tents after the side zipper had broken last night. Chief’s defense against our worries for the crew is again “they have sleeping bags”. We learn more about their income today. Apparently, in Peru minimum wage is 750 soles. Intrepid reportedly pay the crew 1200 soles a month and with the tips they get from once a week treks like this, they may make up to 1500 soles a month (twice the minimum wage). Looking at the math, it sounds like a win-win. But I am still not able to shake off this feeling of being ashamed of enjoying their services when they work under such harsh circumstances.
We finally arrive back in Ollantaytambe. We pick up our bags at the river and carry it to the train station where we catch the Peru Rail train to Agua Calientes. It is the last town before Machu Picchu. We are all excited that we will have a shower! These luxuries of modern life that we take for granted… It’s been 3 days since I haven’t taken a shower, I will so appreciate one this evening with another good dinner. The railroad is at the bottom of the valley parallel to the river. Sometimes the mountain rises right alongside the train, sometimes at a distance allowing some cultivated land, mostly with multiple layers of terraces that Incas created. It is a beautiful ride.
Agua Calientes is clearly a touristic town. The crowd is almost like those we see on TV in China or India. Other than shop keepers, everybody is from a different country. My travel book tells me 2 million visitors pass through Machu Picchu every year, pretty much all of which must go through Agua Calientes: This is probably true looking at the crowd in town this afternoon. Peru must be generating significant revenue through the Inca culture. As soon as we get to town, we are placed in our respective hotels to meet at a particular restaurant in the evening.
I first take a walk in and around town to get a true sense of it. It is indeed a tourist center catering to tourists. I find a local farmer’s market in one of the buildings very similar to the one in Cusco and Ollantaytambe. The main street, which is on a very steep slope, some half a mile long is lined with souvenir shops and eateries. Our guides are right that everything here is double the price of those in Cusco. Satisfied I go back to my hotel to rest and get cleaned up. When we meet at dinner, we are all unrecognizable to one another.
Railroad along the river all along the valley to Machu Picchu
Hats and caps gone, hair washed and let down, faces shining with cleanliness, we all have been transformed into different beings, which one is real, who knows. I can’t help thinking “The beauty may be in transitioning from one another gracefully and peacefully when the situation calls for it”. I also feel like we have indeed become a family as our guides have come to call us. We are acquainted to other members of various tours run by Intrepid. Some did Inca trail, some Quarry trail, some just took the train to Agua Calientes. Among the people who have done the Inca trail are my peers! These are men and women of my age with quite an experience in hiking and trekking, who had acted much earlier to secure a spot on the Inca trail for themselves. We all laugh together on some stories, occasionally smaller groups of twos and threes confide in something privately just like one young man confides in me with his conflicts with his girlfriend. I hope I was able to give him some guidance on how he can try to understand her better to be able to resolve the conflicts.
Everybody is comfortable with one another, we have gone through quite a bit and helped each other out to make the best of our experience. Looking around, I can easily see the shining good core in each and every one of my fellow hikers and guides. I go to bed earlier than the young people, who are planning to go out and drink chicha or pisco sour, both Peruvian national alcoholic beverages. Our set time tomorrow morning is 6 am at the bus station to catch the bus for a half hour ride to Machu Picchu. Our chief guide will be with us until 11 am and give us a guided tour. Then we will be on our own until 4:30 pm to catch our train to Ollantaytambe.
Waiting in the bus line is an experience in and of itself! At 6 am, the line, at least 3-4 people wide, goes up the hill for at least two blocks. I am smiling to myself thinking “I would never believe there are this many ‘crazy’ people on earth”, good to discover that I am not alone at age 58! Apparently this bus company has 25 buses and the first shift is at 5:30, running all day long non-stop. UNESCO apparently recommends no more than 2500-3000 visitors per day, but our chief tells us this limit is definitely exceeded. Since Intrepid handled all travel expenses, this is the first time I am noting the prices associated with each ticket:
Train ride from Ollantaytambe to Agua Caliente was $67 one way! The short bus ride costs $12 one way, and the entrance fee for MP is $45! Wow, Peru must be generating quite a bit of revenue off of this valley and Machu Picchu.
I turn my attention back to the human scenery. In the line there are all colors, all ages, all ethnicities, all nationalities, all of any identifier you may think of except for the poor. They are on the streets working: A man pulling almost a wheel barrow loaded with a dozen of huge bags of who knows what: As he passes by our disbelieving eyes, I can tell his load is unforgivingly heavy; he is folded into two.
Another man is pulling a cart loaded with a dozen or more steel wires of 3-4 inch-diameter that extend off the cart by some 30 feet dragged by a tractor like vehicle with several men on top or around the wires all collaborating to get the load up the steep slope. Most likely carving the road to a certain extent with the weight of the wires, who cares! The buses make a U turn at the top of the street we are lined up, with 1/3 of their back hanging off the sidewalk onto the river bringing a gasp to my chest when I see the first one doing it. I wonder if any bus landed in the river with this practice… As the natives work as they did in the Inca time, we, the lucky minority in line, are heading to the most exceptional place to visit in South America...
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| In half an hour we will be there after a beautiful ride as the sun tries to rise above grand Andean peaks |
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