and i thought machu picchu was it
started this year with a theme of "mystery and mastery" (in case youve forgotten and as if it matters, here a link). though i do admit that not each and every day of 07 has been a conscious effort at keeping with such a lofty yet highly general theme, i must say that today reminds me exactly why i had made that theme.
i did the machu picchu tour yesterday and i thought that was it. the key to mystery and mastery. for what is more mysterious and a sign of mastery than walking around an incan city that has been lost ages ago yet found. well, i was wrong. if you look at that pic of machu picchu up top, youll see that mountain up top the ruins. now, that´s mystery. and it goes by the name of huayna picchu or young mountain in english. and so today i decided to take on that mystery. got up at 430 in the am, an ungodly hour for someone on holiday. lined up for the first bus that heads up to machu picchu and headed straight to the huayna picchu entrance once i got in the ruins. there were several others who were taking a hike up but once you were in there, it was all you.
it was crazy. going up those steep rock steps, my heart was racing. in fact, i had never felt my heartbeat as real as i did climbing up those steps. i would stop and rest for a bit just to make sure i had enough oxygen. and i stayed close to another hiker, a limeño, in the off chance that i slipped and went tumbling down those rocks (apparently, you think silly crazy things when you're in high altitude and have a slight fear of heights). the view as i climbed was breathtaking though. i dont think i have ever been as close to clouds (well of course ive been on tons of planes but thats a stupid being close to clouds).
in my head, i kept asking are we there yet. are we there yet for my legs were starting to burn and my gastank not knowing how long more it could hold. and there it was (well were not at the peak quite yet) -- a bloody tunnel. are you jokin?! no one ever said i had to crawl through a bloody tunnel. but i did, after a deep breath of course (somehow new york has made me quite claustrophobic you see). it was fun. after doing that i knew everything else was going to be a piece of cake. well, not really. coz there were quite a few more steep steps after that tunnel. and so the hike and journey went on.
and then there it was, i could finally see the top. i had squeezed through 2 big rocks and saw a ladder. but at the foot of that ladder was this insy winsy hole where a mouse had peaked through. you have gotta be kiddin me!? is this some bloody episode of fear factor. i waited til the mouse hid and climbed up the wooden ladder. and there i was. at the peak. and at the peak was no clear viewing deck. instead a bunch of boulders where you had to hold on to and move around in. okay perhaps i exaggerate a bit but being amidst those huge rocks up at least 2 and a half km above, everything felt huge.
at the same time though. everything felt small. i had overcome such a mystery. i had overcome the thought of just heading back. i had just proven myself wrong. up there, it felt again as though i were a master of myself. a mini-master i guess, for up there being blessed with such a magnificent view of nature and human achievement (machu picchu that is), it felt great to be part of such wonder.
i stayed up there for a bit. enjoyed the view and the company of other hikers who had made it to the top. when i felt i had enough, i headed back down. which wasnt as easy as i had thought, really coz going down is funny on the knees, especially on uneven rocks. nevertheless, i made it down. grabbed myself a well deserved jamon con queso sandwich and a glass of inka cola to drink.
when i felt i had had my fill, i went back to the ruins. picked a quiet spot, as far away from the throngs of tourists. and there i was sitting infront of these huge mountains. im not sure if youve ever watched mountains before. well, there's nothing to see really coz they're perfectly still. but then just watching them, you start hearing things. you hear the wind. you hear the humming bird. you hear the train from down below. you hear the murmers of incoming tourists in various languages. you feel a certain peace. you hear your inner self, if there ever is such a thing.
me, i like drawing, or at least as a kid i did. not that i do it quite a lot, really. but there i found myself drawing what was infront of me. its not the most realistic drawing ever but i felt me drawing. sure, i had asked myself what the feck i was doing sitting there and scribbling looking like a lunatic. but then, i saw these 2 dutchies doing the same from not afar just sitting and somehow meditating. i was no crazy kid after all. and it was ok to submit to the peace that was.
i had reached the peak of huayna picchu. the first real mountain i had hiked up really. mystery and mastery. im sure those 2 words are really just my way of bullshitting my way into a theme for the year, really. but i guess, coming from an experience that´s the hardest yet most exhilirating ive had in a long while, its safe to say that it does make perfect sense after all.
on to mastering more mysteries. vaminos!
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but for now, i gots to rush. some local club or bar is calling me. sweeeet!
posted by jason pacheco @ 22:33
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