A Big Fat Machu Picchu Failure!

Mine and Marrik´`s attempt at seeing Machu Picchu failed miserably. We had booked a train at 3:50 pm on Monday but when we arrived at the station we were told that there weren´t enough passengers for the train so we would have to wait 3 hours for a later service. So we waited and read, and sang and played stupid games until 6pm when we hopped on some buses to take us where the train was leaving from, about a half hour`s drive away. We finally got on the train and were on our way, to arrive in Agaus Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo) at 9 pm with no idea where exactly we were and where to stay. We rushed around the streets until we found a relatively clean hostel. As we signed in we saw that the last guests to stay at this place had been in January. This was a town that had suffered.
The next morning we got up bright and early to go to the ticket office and see if MaPi (as it´s called by the locals!) was open. Obviously, it wasn´t. So then we decided that breakfast was needed. This town is probably the most tourist orientated places I´ve ever been to but nothing was open. In the end we ended up going to a local market and eating jam sandwiches elbow to elbow with the locals! The town apparently wasn´t going to get started up properly until the 1st April, when MaPi opened. Heartened, however by our breakfast we decided to tackle Putucusi, one of the huge tree covered rocky outcrops that towers over Machu Picchu, apparently with great views. We followed the train tracks out of the town until we found the path and began, a little apprehensively after reading in our Lonely Planet Guides about snakes and ladders (literally!), to climb the steep steps up the mountain. A humid half hour later we reached our first ladder which we climbed with trepidation, only to round the next corner and meet the sight of a huge muddy, branch-laden landslide. There was no way we were getting up that. So we turned around and headed back to town. Luckily we found a place willing to serve us lunch so we stocked up on soup, pasta and crepes before heading back to our hostel armed with wonderfully expensive western supplies of Pringles, ice tea and Twix bars! We spent the evening playing stupid guess-the-song games and stuffing our faces with trash!
The next morning our train was scheduled for 9:56 so we dutifully arrived at the station half and hour before, an hour and a half later we were stil waiting, having been told nothing. I angrily approached one of the crew and asked what was going on and was told that it would only be another ten minutes wait. About twenty minutes later we got onto the train and began to make our slow and noisy way back. About half an hour into the journey we met a train coming the other way. We have absolutely no idea what was going on but basically after some more waiting around we had to push the train back to a siding before continuing on our way. Theroute was beautiful though. The Sacred Valley is so green and fertile and we followed a terrifyingly strong river most of the way. However, the damage from the floods could be seen all too easily. On both banks of the river landslides were obvious, there were even places where you could see twisted train tracks trapped in the debris. It was pretty depressing.
Despite our failed attempt, it was still and adventure, and we tried the best we could!

I am now sitting in Lima airport waiting for my flight to Quito.
Tomorrow I make my way to the jungle for my five week long project there. That means no more internet for five whole weeks...I think it´s going to be harder than I think to live without this extremely useful communication tool!!
So...I´ll be writing more in a little over a month!
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