Our adventures into Peru started well and don't get us wrong.... We thoroughly enjoyed our Peruvian experience immensely, however you could say the trip rapidly turned to crap!
Now when I say Peru was 'crappy'.... It is meant in a very respectful but literal way. Even down to the snack boxes they give us on the plane between Peruvian cities (see photo). Our arrival into Cusco was a pleasant experience on a comfortable tourist bus from Puno. The trip took 10 hours and you may well think that does not sound fun... But really it was fantastic as we stopped off at various small villages and saw the most interesting sights and markets along the way and interacted with other tourists swapping stories and picking up hints.
On our first full day in Cusco, which is the most delightful quaint city full of culture and eccentric artwork, found us on a bus trip to the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley is one Peruvian marvel not to be missed. The all day bus trip saw us picked up early in the morning around 7am in a small bouncy mini van with about ten other tourists of various nationalities. The roads are incredibly windy so unfortunately Bruce did not cope well with the drive. (He felt a little topsy turvy in the tum). We stopped at the most beautiful scenic restaurant for lunch which boasted a buffet spread any restaurant would be most proud of. The food selections seemed fresh and the restaurant was spotlessly clean. Unfortunately with the great number of other tourists at the coach stop restaurant, chance of cross infection of viral gastrointestinal diseases increase considerably. We do not at all for one minute blame the restaurant..... It's just that the law of averages and probabilities weren't on our side. After leaving the restaurant we felt fine....back on the windy road Bruce closed his eyes and wished he was back in our hotel room so that his travel sickness tum would just disappear. We arrived back to the hotel in Cusco around 11pm. We hurriedly re-packed our day pack for the following early morning pick up of 6 am to catch the scenic train to Machu Picchu.
We woke early to the unwelcome screech of our alarm and feeling just a little bit uneasy in the stomach, showered, dressed and attempted to go to breakfast to give us some sustenance for the big day ahead of us. Bruce attempted a small piece of toast with jam whilst I just couldn't bring myself to open my mouth. We decided to abandon the idea of breakfast and return to our room and clean our teeth before our pick up was due. When we opened the door to our room, Bruce hurriedly raced for the bathroom and firmly anchored himself on the white porcelain fixture. We are a very close couple but usually I give my husband the privacy he needs in the bathroom but all that went out of the proverbial window that morning as I burst open the door and started heaving violently into the sink, propping myself up as best I could. After many deep breaths, a thorough clean of my Scungy teeth, and only ten minutes to spare, we composed ourselves and waited in the foyer for our transfer. We were on a very tight schedule and due to fly into the Amazon Jungle the following day so postponing just wasn't an option. At this point Bruce wished me a Happy 43rd Birthday as our day was to involve the pinnacle of the reason we had travelled to the other side of the world.....Machu Picchu. We hoped we could enjoy our day the way we had dreamed and imagined for years leading up to the moment we were about to embark upon.
The scenic train trip to Machu Picchu was about 3 hours in duration, and we coped quite well deliberately denying ourselves the complimentary snacks offered along the way and talking to some interesting locals from Lima, Peru. On arrival to the entrance gate of Machu Picchu, after a half hour bus ride up the fascinatingly tight oneway spiral cone of a mountain, we ever so patiently waited in the long line of frantic tourists keen to use the only facilities on offer at the iconic 'new 7th wonder of the world'. When it was our turn, we each paid our 1 Peruvian Nuevo Sol (38 cents Aussie) and attended to our needs. There are no such facilities once you enter the Inca icon, so do what you can when you can was our motto.
We entered the ancient Inca site grounds with anxious steps (hoping we didn't disgrace ourselves along the way). The afternoon went smoothly as we took our time climbing the uneven stone blocks and llama manicured terrain despite feeling rather light headed and faint. Upon completion of our guided tour, we had a number of hours until our train returned to Cusco so we sat, lay and meditated in the serene ancient surroundings watching little wrens playfully flitting about unaware that they live in one of the most beautiful and fascinating parts of the world. The llamas grazed unbothered by the tourists and my crappy birthday was complete! An amazingly crappy day had by us both....and I'm sure a few others (literally).
Moral of this story: there is always sunshine however crappy your day seems to be!