Machu Picchu

Michael at Machu Picchu

Michael at Machu Picchu

There has been a two day strike (protest) against the government across Peru. It was related to the proposed privatization of the water supply and fears that costs would go up four fold. The protesters effectively closed down all intercity travel by blocking roads with a crazy amount of debris and threatening those who still tried to travel. We were fortunate to be based in Cuzco, and rushed in trips to nearby towns on our first full day here before the strike started. To still see what we had hoped to while staying on schedule we took a private transfer bus in the evening the day the strike was to end. It was only 67km to our destination. We left at 7PM and didn’t arrive until midnight. In the pitch dark we drove in a convoy of vehicles driving off the road over and over again to get around obstacles. We could not believe the extent of the blockade that had been done. Every 50 meters or so there was a significant blockage of some sort. Boulders created from dynamite blasts, full trees toppled, large rocks spread everywhere, broken glass and more. We even drove by something burning. We were told to close the drapes in the bus to hide that we were inside and to prepare to move to the middle of the bus if necessary. Our tour leader had a call midway along saying another bus ahead of us was attacked. It was a bit stressful thinking we could be putting ourselves in danger. While some on the bus found it exhilarating, and I know I too would have felt that travelling on my own in the past, I now found myself finding the situation a bit unnerving.

some of the debris blocking the roads

some of the debris blocking the roads

We arrived at our destination around midnight knowing we needed to be up at 4AM the next morning. With very little sleep we got ready in the morning for the first train ride of the day to Aguas Calientes. We took a bus from town to the Machu Picchu just as the sun was starting to rise over the mountains. Our harrowing drive the night before paid off as we practically had Machu Picchu to ourselves for the first few hours of the morning. It would have been nice to have explored it a little more rested, but it was still a good visit. We wandered up the Inca trail towards the Sun Gate for some panorama views, and later in the morning we had a tour with an excellent guide that had us enthralled with the impressive Incan culture. The ruins themselves are not necessarily that impressive, but the location of them certainly is. I could not get over the scenery of this high perched place surrounded by chasms and other mountains. In the late afternoon we caught our return train and took the same bus back to Cuzco. On the return trip the roads had been completely cleared, which must have been a massive undertaking. And as for the bus that was attacked, a rock had been thrown at the road from a hill above and broke a window. No one was injured and there was no confrontation of any kind. Closing the roads is apparently the norm during strikes and they appear to be well organized as we knew in advance when it would start and when it would end. It was an exciting adventure.

More photos (brace yourself for an unpleasant one from the local market) are posted here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97386&id=673382190&l=26a4c811f0

May 22. Updated the link above for the album, not just the photo.

Leave a Reply