My Mum and me met in Lima on Valentines day. We never travelled together "just the two of us" before. Without any plans and with just a lonely planet book we started our adventure. After a day in Lima and a day at the beach we decided to go on a interesting tour through the Andes, the highlands of Peru all the way down to the Machu Picchu Ruins. The lonely planet book wrote that it wasn´t a trip for the faint hearted. Well that was the truth. Especially in February when it is rainy season and there are many landslides and road gets very muddy. It could get really tough! It was great that my mother was up to this trip, less touristy and more adventurous (just the way I like it).
We started with a luxury bus for the first 9 hours and passed snowy mountains at an altitude above 5000 m, lakes in emerald green colors, grazing lamas and deep abysses until we reached the village of Huancayo. It was a beautiful trip. We found a hotel and after two days we took a bustrip of 9 hours to Ayacucho. Here they told us that the luxury buses were too big to pass the track. The bus we took was old, the seats were uncomfortable, with only locals and one English couple. We had to stop three times because other buses or trucks were stuck in the mud or slided half of the road, hanging in the abysses. With a big delay, after a 12 hours the axis of the bus broke in two. We were lucky this happened on a big road were we could get out of the bus. The driver told us that there wasn´t another bus who could replace it. The poor Peruvian people waited until there was a replacement ,but we decided not to wait for this in the dark. It was amazing that after this long bus ride my mother was still laughing and after an hour we found transport to the next village and another minibus took us for one hour to Ayacucho. We were so happy to arrive at a hotel late in the evening and to find a decent meal in this lovely village.
After a day rest we had to take another old bus, without much faith, this time a 23 hour bus ride to Cuzco. We didn´t feel much for it after our last experience, but we were a little in a hurry and we had to make the whole bustrip in once. This bus was even older, with terrible seats and a broken radio that could only play the Andean Music very loud. After a 10 hours trip we had to change buses in Andahuaylas. Of course there was a big delay, and it was already dark when the bus stopped, because there was a big landslide just an hour before we reached this village. We had to stay the night over in the bus, without a meal. Sleeping in those old chairs. We stayed the night in this bus and the next day they cleaned the road as soon as there was daylight and we could continue our trip. When we changed buses we were holding our hearts for the next problem on the way. Luckily this bus (also uncomfortable) reached Cuzco and with our English friends, who were complaining much more then my mother about the 36 hour trip we found a hotel and were very tired but happy to be there. Cuzco was great. Normally it´s very touristy because it´s near the Machu Picchu, but during February there are less tourist.
We booked a train ticket from Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes, because there is no other transport in February to reach the Machu Picchu. We stayed the night in Ollantaytambo to take the first train at 6 o clock to the Machu Pichhu. It rained heavily the night before in Cuzco and the river was growing. We were sitting in the train, but it wasn´t clear if the train would go this days. What a bad luck... After four hours they canceled all trains for the day. I supposed to go walking along the rail track. We asked the people of the railway if it was possible and they told us it was dangerous, because of the danger of landslides and the growing river. When my mother saw a group of 6 Chileans walk up the rail track, we decided to follow them. It was hard walking on the big stones (its like walking in the sand all the time). After an one and a half an hour walk we found out that we had to take a bus until km 82. So we walked one and a half hour for nothing..... We took a minibus and from there it was 30 km more and it was already noon. It was amazing but my mum was such a big sport and we headed on in this crazy adventure. leaving the Chileans far behind us, to move on as fast a possible. But is was heavy... The last hour we walked in the pitch black night over the rail. At half nine we reached Aquas Calientes the village before the Machu Picchu. We stayed in the first hotel we could find, very dirty and cheap but without any energy to look further.
The next day we were rewarded somuch with an almost empty Machu Picchu, because no tourist arrived the day before with the train. In high season there are 2500 tourist a day and we reached the side with for the most 50 tourists. Yahoo!. It was beautiful. It was dificult to walk more with our sore feet.
Even though my mother had a big suitcase in stead of a backpack, I must say she is as flexible as a b
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