Day 6 · Magic light around the corner!

Monday January 25, 2010
Woke up to fog all around us. We all slept in til about 9am since we thought we had an easy day ahead of us and we needed the rest. It was a short 2 hour walk to the Hydro Electric station where we could catch a train or walk along the tracks into Aguas Calientes.

After breakfast, we packed up and headed downhill again along more beautiful pathway. For some reason, i was inspired and while walking i started thinking of a poem in my head. I had to stop to get a pen and paper to write some of it down so i wouldnt forget it. At times like this, i wished i had a hand recorder to talk into the things im thinking, because they never come out the same way later when i try to write them down. It was a bit challenging to write and walk while going downhill. I would think of a few lines and stop to try and rewrite them down.

At one point, walking next to Ike, we past a huge mountain that had a hole right in the middle and tons of chocolate water was rushing out of it. Oh look, a chocolate waterfall. This was the beginning of our chocolate water jokes.

We finally came down to more of solid ground and road when we ran into a few guys who were standing along the edge looking out over the ragging chocolate river. Apparently, with all the rain, there was going to be a huge blast of water coming all the way from Cuzco and the river was going to flood. Or there was a dam they were releasing water from. We really didnt understand, but thought that was a good place to wait and have lunch. The guys started to throw around the frisbee and we made bets on how high the water was going to rise. After awhile, the men left because they got bored. We still didnt know what was going on, so we thought we would continue on ahead to the Hydro Station and find out.

At the train station, there were people all over the place waiting. Waiting for what, we really never found out. They said something like, we had to wait for them to open some flood gates and wait for the water to clear. They told us we couldnt walk along the tracks because they were covered in water up to knee, waiste high levels. So we walked to the back of the station building to find some shade and sit with other locals who were also waiting. They handed out some tangerines to us, which were refreshingly delicious. Once again, took my shoes and sox off to dry as we waited.

People started to gradually disappear and we didnt know where they were going. Around 5, someone said that we could try walking down the tracks towards Aguas Calientes. So we jumped on the chance and took off. Along the way, people kept stopping us to tell us we couldnt go any further because the water was covering the track. We were at least going to check it out, and if it was a little water, we thought we would be fine. Two Peruvian guys came with us, and we thought that if they were going to try, we should go with them.

It was supposed to be a 2 hour hike to Aguas Calientes and it was going to get dark by the time we got there. About an hour into the hike, the water levels along the tracks started to get higher and higher. Right next to us was the ragging chocolate river. I stopped to pull up my pants and to put my camera away, just incase. The water level gradually grew, and we were walking in water up to our knees, no higher. Luckily, we all had found various sticks to use while walking and could poke the ground to know where to step.

We made it through two sections of walking through water before we were back to bare tracks. Soaking feet, it started to get dark, so we stopped to pull out our headlights. By this point, my feet were hurting and it was slow walking trying to stay on the wooden planks. Walking with Doug, he asked if I like to walk in the dark. So we turned off our headlights, and walked with the dim light surrounding us. You really had to focus on where you were stepping and only once in a while i would stop to look up and see the ragging river. We came to 2 long dark tunnels, where water was dripping down on us. We agreed that walking at night gave such a different perspective of things than seeing them in daylight. the river and the bugs chirping all seemed louder. It was quite enjoyable.

After making it through the tunnels, where we had a dim light at the end to help guide us through. We caught up to the rest of the group. They were sitting on the tracks eating some chocolate. Right around the corner was a city of lights. This was Aguas Calientes. I have never been happier. We walked into an old western goldmine looking town, and walked into complete caos. It was such a completely different energy than we had been feeling for the past 6 days.

I guess the road on the other side of Aguas Calientes had eroaded from the river, and because the tracks we just walked through were under water, there was no way out of Aguas Calientes, and people were in panic. We ran into some tourists and they told us there was no rooms available and places were running out of food. People were going crazy. Ok, so we checked at 2 of the first hostels right when we walked into town, and they gave us a 4 bed room to share with the 6 of us. We had just spent 5 nights sharing a tent, we didnt mind sharing a room. We pushed 2 of the beds together, and 3 of the guys were going to sleep across the beds. Lego on the floor with the padding we had with. And I and Ned got our own beds.

We dropped off our stuff and walked up to the center plaza where people were running around crazy. Tents were set up for those who didnt have a place to stay and people kept telling us about how helicopters were coming to get people out. We just stood there and watched the manic going on. We were in a completly relaxed energy, that it was too much to watch everyone else. We decided to try and find somewhere to eat, and found a little place down the alley way towards our hostel. They told us they were running out of food and could make us rice, egg,fries, and salad. Perfect! They let us go get our own beer, so we shared a tall bottle between the 6 of us.

We tried checking in at the tourist office to find out info about going up to Machhu Picchu. No one had any exact information. We met one guy who is a guide and he told us that if you go up there, you can buy tickets there and they are not going to turn away people once they get up there. So that was our plan. Get up at 5, and head up to M.P.

Our easy days hike turned into another tough challenging one. 13km hike, walking through water, entering caos, we decided just to go to bed and try and make it to M.P. the next day!