Steve’s Travel Diary – PART FOUR
Forgive me, Steve asks, that I didn’t quite manage to get to The Hipódromo de Monterrico in Lima, which is apparently not bad, but I’ve got a better tip for you.
That is, plan your trip to Machu Picchu very carefully, and allow at least an extra three days in Cusco – just in case you back a loser as I did. After travelling about 15,000 kilometres from Melbourne to Ollantaytambo (from where the trains depart for Machu Picchu), my adventure came to an abrupt halt with the trains cancelled after the tracks were sabotaged by protesters.
Now, I could have considered a five hour drive followed by a three hour trek but I fancied it just wasn’t worth the punt. The guide said ‘no’ and I’m a firm believer, when travelling, that you should always ‘cop the tip’.
So in case you’re not clear on this, I was two hours by train from Machu Picchu but didn’t get to see it. I did get out the gates, having been driven to the outskirts of Ollantaytambo and then walking for 30 minutes after the road had been blockaded.
I hadn’t been altogether denied a fair start so I have to applaud the tour company Llama Path for refunding the entire cost of the planned journey.
There’s been a touch of bedlam all week in Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Thousands of protesters brought the city to a standstill Wednesday morning (local time) and disrupted the travel plans of countless international visitors bound for the world heritage site.
While the demonstration ended, without violence or police intervention, early in the afternoon the protests did continue on Thursday.
It might be all back to normal on the weekend but prospective visitors should probably seek advice on immediate and short term travel plans not, in terms of safety, right now but given some possibility of ongoing disruptions to transport by road, rail and air.
Tourists, including me and many other Australians, were stranded in Ollantaytambo on Tuesday when the regular two hour train services to Machu Picchu were cancelled late morning after the tracks were reportedly sabotaged. Trains did ferry passengers back to Ollantaytambo on Wednesday night, after repairs, but all in-bound services were stopped for ‘public safety reasons’ according to a railway spokesperson.
The service did not run at all on Wednesday or Thursday. This really doesn’t seem to have had much press!
Travellers, on Tuesday, had to seek accommodation in Ollantaytambo where hotels were inundated or seek already over-stretched transport back to Cusco, about two hours by road.
The demonstration, designed to draw international attention, has been largely peaceful but tyres were set alight in the main street of Cusco and tar was daubed on the entrance to the US Consular Agency.
The unrest apparently dates back to, at least, 2015. Tensions flared early this week with what was billed as a teacher’s strike but Wednesday’s march included the old and the young and workers from all sectors, with those from the construction industry prominent.
Low wages, the drain of funds from the tourism and natural resource rich region of Cusco to the capital Lima and the government’s failure to commit to establishing an international airport in Cusco are apparently some of the reasons behind the public discontent.
An estimated 1,000,000 people per annum visit the Incan estate Machu Picchu which was rediscovered in 1911.
Racing in Peru? Well, I will tell you more when I return to this amazing part of the world which I’m captivated by despite missing out on Machu Picchu. And the smell of eucalyptus will have you feeling at home. I’m not sure it’s true but the locals insist the eucalypt are native only to Australia and Peru.
Oh, the horses? Peruvian thoroughbreds have won Group One races in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, which is not bad given they produce a very small percentage of the thoroughbreds bred in South America.
And way back when, the 1975 Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f) winner Empery (Vaguely Noble) was a daughter of the Peruvian mare Pamplona (Postin) who had previously produced the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Pampered Miss. Peru’s also produced many a great jockey, with Edgar Prado probably best known.
Wine of the week: Value – Los Arboles 2017 Malbec (Argentina) and Luigi Bosca 2013 Sauvignon Blanc.