day 12

oh no!
right after i got in bed
a train rumbled by
shaking everything..
but i guess it didn´t wake jim up..
i slept well
dreamt well
what was happening?
i don’t know
but i felt very rested when Jim got up and turned the light on
saying
“it’s nearly 9… what time were you supposed to leave”
the first group, which was supposed to include me, left at 6:15, the second at 7:15
OH NO!
what am i going to do now?
the whole day fuct..
and we’re leaving town at 1 today..
damn!
then, i looked at my watch
and realized it was actually 5:40…
so
breathed a sigh of relief
and told Jim..
see
i was banking on that, perhaps foolishly
but Jim ALWAYS wakes up really early
as he did today.
OK
jim was sick though
sniffling and sneezing and bowels
.. i was worried
so i gave him airborne (those effervescent tablet things) and E-mergen-C
that vitamin C stuff
and told him how to take them
then ran down stairs
stuffed eggs in my mouth
poured him a glass of orange juice
and grabbed two bottles of water for him
ran back up stairs..
he was sleeping again
i ran back down
time to go!
but 5 more minutes
ok..
more eggs!
three bananas in my pockets
and an orange (thing)
off we went
to the bus
up the mountain
(1,200 feet from the town)
so excited
though it did look like it would rain today
the clouds were just heavy.. not falling
we walked across the city
signing our names in a book at the check point
Deetmar, Elizabeth, Luis and i…
E led the way
as we wound through a forest
down from the chin to the nose
then up
up up up
windy narrow steps
sometimes just boulders layed together
past beautiful flowers..
then i saw wild strawberries everywhere!
still in the flowering state, but ! Wow !
how did they get up here?
and Plantain! (the leafy thing on the ground, not the bannana type thing)
which i have been looking for since we got to Peru and not found it.
HERE
how the hell did they get up here?
birds?
the ruins at the top were…
and they felt so!…
looking down
the water falls
the spectacular view of Machu Pichu
we took pictures of eachother
and looked and looked..
then E rushed us along
— we wanted to take the Inca Trail up to the Sun Gate as well
— we made it up here in about 38 minutes, faster than the Hour that was expected
and we still stopped to smell the flowers..
so down we went
down down
winding narrow steps about a foot wide and maybe 4 inches deep
having to walk with ballet feet…
then back to the trail
down, winding around
passed a 3 year old boy with his mother, damn..
then.. it started to rain.
glad we were almost down
things started to get slippery
by the time we were back to sign our names in the book (we’d been gone 1 and a half hours. first to sign back in… but our guide would Not take us to the great caves or the moon altar)
the rain was pretty heavy
and the tourists were packed in the little thatched houses avoiding the rain..
but i had the rain jacket on that my mother had given me in brazil last year… that dad had given her..
it kept me (and, more importantly, the camera) dry enough
so i didn’t understand why we were standing around…
Luis pointed out a big rock that was the same shape as the ridge of the mountain behind it
called a sacred rock
you could see where people placed their hands in prayer on it..
E suggested we try and clear the rain off the mountain… as a joke
but i thought it was a good idea
so i walked up to the rock and placed my palms on it
yeah, power as it was
i felt my energy merge with it
and raised mine to accelerate
taking myself into the mountain
the sky
the clouds..
— they would stay here, they said
but they appreciated me asking.
so i told them “let´s go”
and E and D decided they would go back to the Café and have some Coffee
yeah, whatever
i left them and wandered around
heading up: towards the Gaurd house..
thinking i would try and find the Incan Bridge
which i had been told was a very tretcherous trail along a sheer cliff face
Yeah!
when i saw the first sign for a bridge
i heard someone call my name
looking around the corner
i saw Judy and Pancho!
i said ” want to come with? ”
they said ” yeah, we were going that way anyway ”
a guide stopped us and asked where Luis was… and the others of our group
i explained
and he warned us about the bridge trail
..we set off..
J&P asked me where we were going..
they thought we were going to the sun gate
but i figured it would be too cloudy to enjoy it
so.. let´s have an adventure
— they came along.
a long a long a long
winding up the terraces
then back into the jungle
under trees and vines
the rain started subsiding
but there was a cloud tucked in the valley
grey wall over the cliff edge
i had been told it was a treaterous trail
narrow and sheer
but it wasn’t, really
not at all
it was a nice trail
fun to walk
higher and higher
but gentler than the one i’d just been on
when we got to the end of the trail
there was a gate over the trail
with a sign with skull and cross bones on it
— i took a picture
and tried to capture the bit of the trail i could see through the fog
kept moving into different positions
trying not to let the camera get wet…
— i could see where the trail had fallen into the valley, far down
large pieces of rebar sticking out of the rock face..
guess that technique didn’t work
i turned around to look at something else
and Judy suddenly exclaimed ” OH LOOK! ”
back around
i saw the bridge clearly: the fog had mysteriously lifted.
we could se everything
the trail along the mountain,
the bridge foundations
the long drop down
the river
the rock wall above
we took lots of pictures
and i climbed around the fence to get a better shot…
all this took a few minutes
then the clouds rolled back in and covered everything up
so we hiked back along the trail
telling that story
to give the other hikers faith:
maybe it will clear for you too.
back at the terraces
i left them
and went wandering around..
just checking out the rest of the city..
trying to walk in stride
feel the past catch up with me
fill it with presence
but it wasn’t there
i wasn’t there
i just walked around the buildings in a wet awe
crawling in houses
and caves
pulling out trash other tourists had left there
and asking tourits for trash bags
which they gave me..
i was tired
and wet
and getting cold
and didn’t want to get a cold
so i headed back..
and it was nearly time to go anyway..
i only waited about 5 minutes
and caught the bus down with Walter and the rest of the group that had come up..
american girls on the bus
talking in that “you know” kinda way
made me wish i didn’t understand english
so
back down in the town
i bought a few more things
clean pants: all i have is dirty
two more stone balls…
some hats and scarves..
then to lunch
ate a bit, mediocre
then set to writing..
but we had to leave before i was finished
so i left this note in my journal:
”
…
— gotta go
catch the train back to the sacred valley to meet up with Guillermo
to catch the bus back to Cusco..
i should be able to finish this tonight
”
everything seemed rushed
but it really wasn’t.
the train ride was nice
most everyone else was sleeping
i was staring at the mountains going by..
really hard to imagine that we just came this way yesterday..
all this stimulation makes the time so THICK
we switched from the train to the bus
ahhhh, Guillermo again.
winding up and up and up
and going from sleeping at 6,500ft up to 12,500 in just a few hours
really fucking spun my head
we went to a place that is sponsored by the tourist organization we are here with: Grand Circle / Over Sea Adventure Travel
a place that teaches the local indians the old ways of weaving..
drop spindaling their yarn
back-pack looms
astounding work
and though i had already bought my ponchos
i bought a vest from them
and am so proud to own it..
and a hat for my mom..
then
more bus
and into cusco.
Jim was really sick/tired
and went directly to bed
i came out to the city
looked for an internet cafe
and managed to upload almost 100 pics from today in the /peru folder
looks like the shut the computers down at 9pm, coz that’s when the last one got in.
then dinner
conversation
oh
i’m a bit tired
so am calling today’s entry quits
coz even this cafe is closing in about ten minutes
and i need to get some sleep.
three nights here in cusco
then a bus down to lake titicaca
hmmmmmm