Yes, you read right…there was a landslide…but 1st, I want to tell you a little about Fiercely Loved’s trip to Machu Picchu.
We started our trip with a 6 (ish) hour bus ride to Hydroelectrica, Peru where we got off the bus to start our trek to Machu Picchu. It was a 7.4 mile walk that we conquered along the railroad track to get to Aguas Calientes, the city right by MP. We made it to Aguas Calientes (AC) around 18:30 and met up with our tour guide in the main plaza, he took us to our hostel and then we headed to dinner (after some quick Secret Santa Christmas shopping!).
We had heard about there being some sort of landslide on the road home but we didn’t get any details…so we didn’t think much of it, we just hoped that we would be able to make it back the next day.
It was a pretty late night for us considering we had to get up at 4:00 in order to get in line for the bus up the mountain in time. We did successfully wake up at 4 and Brook and I headed to the bus line to secure our spot near the front of the line. We were on the 3rd bus up the mountain and made it to the top by 6:15 and found our guide and entered the gate!
We were in!
Walking in and seeing the old city and the mountains in the Cloud Forest with clouds hovering was just as surreal and majestic as the 1st time I visited Machu Picchu over 2 years ago.
Brook, Jenny and I decided we were going to forgo our official tour of the city and hike up to the Sun Gate, an extra 40 minute hike (that is TOTALLY worth it!). We spent quite a bit of time up there taking pictures, getting in trouble for taking jumping pictures (because you’re not allowed to jump anywhere in MP—we didn’t know), and just enjoying the amazing view of not only MP but also all the surrounding area…WOW!
We explored the city for a good 45 minutes and left around 10 and loaded a bus back down the mountain. After having a quick lunch, we started back on the trail to Hydroelectrica and made it back in only 2 hours! This left us with about an hour and a half to sit, relax, eat and rest our weary feet and legs.
We got to the meeting point for the bus back a little early to ensure we wouldn’t miss it and the man in charge told us that he was waiting to hear from the bus driver as to where he was. He eventually told us that he was 2 hours late and we had quite a bit of time before he got there to pick us up. He also told us that there had indeed been a landslide but he didn’t know yet if we were going to be able to pass with the bus. When I translated all of this to the people with us, there were a lot of grumbles and angry words…I was frustrated too but I knew there was nothing this man could do except keep us updated which he was already doing.
We all headed to restaurants in the tiny town and waited for our bus to arrive. When we finally left around 17:15, we were all exhausted and almost all of us fell asleep. After 2.5 hours of driving, the driver woke us up and communicated to the 19 of us that we had to get off the bus and wade across the river because the bus would be swept away if he tried to drive through. He and 4 of the men on the bus went and scoped it out first to make sure we couldn’t drive but also that we would be able to cross by foot.
We had 2 choices. Either we could wade across the river and wait 2 hours for him to show up by going another route (that was far too steep to keep 19 people in the bus), or we could go across the river and catch another bus on the other side but have to pay. We all agreed that it would be worth it to just bite the bullet and take a different bus.
This decision became even more obvious when we made it to the river…we started by crossing a very small part that wasn’t too bad. We all thought that was it but we quickly realized that there was more coming. We walked up to a 50 meter wide rushing river where there used to be a bridge…but not anymore. Downriver, on the right side of us, was a waterfall, and the water was rushing quickly and it was knee deep. Each of us took a partner, held hands and flashlights and began to cross.
All of us made it through the water and mud and walked up the hill less than a kilometer to the charter buses that were waiting. We negotiated a price with them since we had a large group and were told it would take 3.5-4 hours to get back to Cusco from where we were which we were thrilled with.
…the trip was rough…
The 3.5 hour trip took more like 5-6 hours.
We were freezing cold because the emergency exit hatch on the top was open.
After the driver closed it, he turned on the heat (trying to be kind) but we all started sweating.
Our friend, Alex (from Cusco), drove 45 minutes to come pick us up so we could get off the bus.
We finally made it home at 2:00AM and went straight to bed because of the immense exhaustion and lack of sleep.
BUT…
Through all of it, my team amazed me with the amount of peace we exuded. We never freaked out, we took it all with joy and walked in that joy the whole 9+ hours. It was such an encouragement to see the trust we had in the Lord and that He was walking with us and taking care of us through the waiting, the river crossing and changing buses.
He is always with us.
He will never leave us.
His joy is what fuels us.
We are Fiercely Loved by Him.
