Hi again. We are enjoying our last hour in Aguas Calientes and at 5 pm will be catching the train back to Cusco. We have really enjoyed our stay here and are sorry we aren´t staying longer. Both Cusco and Aguas Calientes are magical places!
We stayed 3 nights here altogether and just love it here. Aguas Calientes is a really vibrant little town and no matter where you are, you are never far from the sound of live andean music and this is something I am going to miss so much when we leave. Because of Juan we met loads more musicians and have really had fun here, listening to different bands play in the restaurants during the evenings. Not only that, the people here generally are friendly and nice and make you feel really welcome. Last night Juan took us walking in the part of town away from all the tourist shops and restaurants and this is different again but just as vibrant ... the shops open late, children playing football in a little park or just playing in the streets, people out strolling and chatting. We had dinner in one of the little restaurants there and it was perfectly adequate and a fraction of the touristic restaurant prices. And despite the fact that Juan and Layla are falling in love Juan has taken great care that I don´t feel left out in any way. He even had three games of pool with me yesterday which was great fun and we were evenly matched. He is eternally grateful to me for introducing him to Layla and I am delighted it appears to be working out because I knew they would be just right for each other! He gave us both a lovely present, one of the woven textile waistcoats each. Mine is in shades of red and Layla´s in shades of green. These are lovely gifts from a musician. Life here is very hard for musicians - they barely earn enough to keep body and soul together.
Today Juan had to get up at 4.30 and catch the first train to Cusco. The band he plays in at the airport wanted him back and this combined with a contract he has with Coca Cola means that our trip to Puno has had to be cancelled. But neither of us were too worried about it. Juan will be able to meet up with us at 4 pm each day, so we can still all meet up in the days we have left here. Layla has a slight cold at the moment so it is probably best she isn´t going to Puno as it is a much colder climate there.
Layla and I have had a leisurely day walking around the town. We met a shamen this morning, a lovely man whose family own the jewellry shop with all of them creating the beautiful inlaid silver rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, etc. We spent a very interesting and delightful half an hour with him. You could feel the good healing vibes coming from him. He showed us the tiny guest house they have behind the shop which is a delightful little place. Both of us hope to come back and stay there one day - it is just as nice as the hotel we stayed at and only just over a third of the cost. He was so trusting leaving one of us in the shop while he showed the other the hotel rooms - and he also showed us his studio full of magical paintings. The whole place vibrated with goodness and we both felt very priviledged to be there. If you didnt enter the shop you would never know about the hotel behind. He said the accommodation was only offered to special people. He gave Layla a beautiful feather, instinctively knowing that she collected them, and for me he opened a container and poured some flower essence into his hands and then etched my silhouette without actually touching me, saying it was a protection for me - he then gave me the rest of the essence to keep. Before we left he said the shop would be closed that afternoon as he was going to Cusco for 5 days - when we told him we were leaving that day too and returning to Cusco, he said it would be nice to meet again for more conversation. As he doesnt believe in cell phones or email, we arranged that he would come to our hotel tomorrow morning, and then perhaps go off and have a coffee together. That will be nice as he was so interesting and it felt so good being in his presence. When we said goodbye he gave us each a piece of turquoise - he offering Layla´s with a blessing saying it would protect her health. He was so right as her health is very delicate. When he offered mine to me he gave it with a blessing and said I must take care of my life. I am not sure what he meant by that!
We left the shop and continued on our way, stopping at a restaurant later for a long and leisurely lunch which was absolutely delicious. The young couple who owned the restaurant were so nice we felt regretful we had not found that place before. Then we were browsing in shops and were in one dark one, which one could barefly see into from outside and next minute I heard my name called and it was the shamen! He was on his way to catch his afternoon train. It was amazing that he knew we were in there because we´d been in the shop 10 minutes when he called out!! I am sure that man has special powers. Also whilst in the shop he showed us a photo of him near a mountain waterfall and you could actually see the faces of the apus (mountain deities) in a couple of the rocks. This was especially interesting for me because when up in Machu Picchu you can sense the presence of the mountain divinities.
Our second day up in Machu Picchu was magical too. We all got up early and met for breakfast at just before 5 am, and then set off to catch that 5.30 bus ... and could not believe the long queue when we got to the bus stop - it stretched for several hundred yards!!! But buses were arriving and fill with people constantly and we were only delayed 20 minutes or so before we were on our way on that brilliant bus ride up the mountainside once more. It was just getting light. Up in the sanctuary it was fantastic to see everything without many people. We wandered at will in the lower part of the sanctuary having spent nearly all our time in the upper part the previous day. We had agreed to have an hour of silence beginning from when we walked past the check point and this added to the mystique too. By being silent one could feel even more the magical mystery of being in such a special place. We found quiet places to relax during the day but by noon the sun was so hot and bright that there was no escape from it. Luckily we had plenty of high factory suncream which stopped us being burned. We also had to keep adding repellent as the mosquitos were out in force biting all of us, even Juan. Around noon Juan and Layla decided to go back down but I didnt want to leave just yet. Despite the intense heat I wanted to linger longer in that wonderful place. I ended up staying another two hours, moving on and exploring and stopping here and there in relaxing places, enjoying the grazing llamas on those lower slopes. One of the joys too was seeing different birds, a type of bird which resembles the pheasant family - Layla bought a book on Machu Picchu birds today so maybe I can identify it. We also saw the magnificent mountain caracara with its beautiful black and white plumage as well as many smaller birds. There are countless different orchids up there too. The only downside is the mosquitos and it is well worth suffering all the bites just to be enjoying the ambience of such a magical place. I´ve noted down the names of loads of interesting books which I hope to get via amazon.com once I get home. The price of books is extortionately expensive both in Aguas Calientes and in Cusco. The first one I will be looking for is called ¨The message from the Apus¨.
Well soon it is time to go and collect our luggage from the hotel and then get the train back to Cusco. If we are lucky we may get back in time to visit Chez Maggy and see the band play. Then tomorrow it is the christening where we are both the godmothers of little Sebastia. That should be a really lovely experience too.
