Not quite Machu Picchu (well, for me anyway)

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I´ve decided Machu Picchu doesn´t exist; it´s a myth propagated by tourists.

I´m convinced of this after my second farcical unsuccessful attempt at visiting! So after having to cancel my Inca trail I arranged to get a bus there on 30th December, stay overnight in nearby town Aguas calientes, and visit Machu Picchu first thing on New Years Eve to see Phil there. So after a bit of a raucous night out, the bus picked me up at 8am from Cusco, and I settled down to sleep all the way to Aguas Calientes, about 8 hours away.

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7 hours in, however, I was jolted awake as the bus violently swerved sideways, ending up with one wheel off the edge of the tiny mountain path to avoid rocks and boulders falling across the road from the mountain above. The bus was longer than the road was wide, but our driver did a very quick and dangerous three point turn and skidded away from the falling rocks. So from a relatively safe distance we watched the road quickly become covered by a landslide, including, at one point, a whole tree and the soil it was attached to came sliding past us.

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After an hour there was no road for about 500m in front of us, and after four hours, when it still hadn´t stopped, our tour guide declared the road might just be closed and we should head back to the nearest town for food. From there we went back to Cusco where I walked the streets trying to find a bed for the night, an impossible task the day before new years eve in a town like this, and ended up sleeping on the sofa of a lovely local Peruvian woman for free (luckily we have reservations on new years eve).

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It mostly worries me that I have absolutely no way of getting in touch with Phil, who is supposed to be meeting me at Machu Picchu today (31st). I wonder how long he will wait before coming back to Cusco; I am notoriously late for everything in his eyes, but I have an excuse this time! Landslide!

These beautiful photos are his, and I´m very jealous. He had a truly wonderful time, which no doubt he´ll tell everyone all about himself.