We are now officially Machu Picchu 2010 survivors. On Friday, January 30th, Evan and I and 8 other stupefied civilians took to the sky in our steel savior, a lightweight Peruvian police chopper, vertically climbing out of our valley prison at about 10,000 feet and making for Cusco, our point of departure.
The day had been tense, exhilirating, and at times boring. We awoke at 4:30 am to get on the line at the train station that we thought would be packed to capacity, however in the suns first light it appeared we had beat the masses of twenty-somethings who were left. Then we waited. For a long time. We knew the choppers wouldn´t start arriving until about 7 or 8, so we settled against our bags and read and enjoyed some free coffee that was being passed around from a kind local. At about 7:30 am I decided to try to find some batteries for my flip cam which was low, and also to try to barter some leftover food we had in exchange for some handicrafts nearby. Fatal error. I returned to a swiftly moving line of kids, pouring through the gate regardless of position on line. Evan was yelling for me and we pushed in but were stopped by guards as we saw a group of about 300 make it to the other side of the chainlink fence for queuing for departure. We had missed a critical chance for getting out, and ultimately lost about 2 hours of time due to my insatiable desire for handcrafted bags and alpaca hair caps. Well no one told us the line wouldnt be a determining factor in getting out.
So we waited a little more, and finally they let in another large group of us, and we were herded onto a PeruRail traincar to wait for further direction. The authorities handed out some snacks in plastic bags, consisting of twinkies, chips, terrible granola bars and a water, but it was better then nothing as we waited in there for another hour or so. I slept it off.
Finally, we were herded off the traincar to go wait some more, this time marching past a really cool hotel set back in the jungle, towards the makeshift helipad further along by the raging riverside. We could see and hear the choppers up close now, and excitement was tangible. Lining up on the jungle path, several US diplomatic police came by to take names and we talked with them casually, glad to speak to an American who had actually come from the other side. It was getting hot as the sun was rising, but the jungle is a fine place to idle your time away waiting for evacuation.
Some curious and frightening jungle bugs would sporadically amble across the path and fall prey to mass human attention, and became our great entertainment. One terrifying insect was about 3 inches long and built like an armored car with a million legs and massively inproportionate mandibles. Some guy tried to pick it up for examination, and it writhed around long enough for us to get a picture and send it on its way. We decided this fellow had never before been documented by science and gave him an apt latin classification name, xyzyrxis maleficarum (complete bullshit). It was the most evil insect I had ever seen next to his demonic hellspawn kin Chaosterium Infernalis, a winged beast that was more bird sized than insect, whom we had met on several occasions in this valley. We decided to create a mythology for these creatures, insisting on the fact that they battled each other daily in the depths of the jungle fo evil supremacy. Soon we began giving all the plants and animals in the forest bullshit latin names and laughing til we cried. These are idle passtimes that befell us as we waited for our freedom.
Another highlight of the jungle waiting was seeing a spectacled bear! For real! It was chilling in a netted enclosure above the trail, seemingly unnoticed until it popped up on its heels to check out all the people, and someone screamed ¨Bear¨! These things are cool, they are endangered, and the only Andean bear species (for that matter, the whole south american continent). It was soon gone, but we got some cool pictures. For what reason this guy was here, if he belonged to the hotel, we didnt know. But imagine a bear attack as icing on the cake of insane jungle airlift operation hazards. This was a trip.
So finally, the moment we had all been waiting for. The line moved and people flew off in choppers, total vietnam style. We watched as the soldiers on the makeshift patch of grass that was the helicopter pad directed Argentine girls to duck from the propeller winds and head for the cabin. We saw what to do. Finally, it was just about our turn and the last chopper was about to take off when the soldiers motioned for me and Evan and said ¨Two More¨! This meant us, and we were thrown our bags and yanked toward the aircraft in a blur when suddenly another soldier gave the X sign and said ¨No Mas¨! We were yanked back and told to duck down as the chopper shot up in a cyclone of wind and loose leaves. Total Vietnam.
So, after that close insane evacuation drill, we waited for the next one. In the meantime, we were interviewed by an unassuming guy with a camera that turned out to be BBC news. Evan and I related our furious split second dash for freedom to the guy, who definitely wanted us to compare it to a Vietnam airlift. Well he got the footage, and we looked pretty siked to be there right then. Check the link below.
Our steel savior arrived at about 2 pm and we were whisked for the second time into the hold, onto canvas benches cleared of emergency aid seconds before. With 8 other stranded tourists, including two Canadians, we were off as fast we landed and it was completely insane. I had my flip cam running as we lifted above the trees and people waving below, over the raging chocolate river of nightmares and above the soaring Andean peaks. Suddenly, we were above Aguas Calientes and could see the devastation wrought by the river, the months of repairs it was gonna take to get back up on its feet, and townspeople down below who were still going to be there when we had landed in Cusco and were headed home. That was a sad moment.
Looking to our left, Machu Picchu came into view and filled us with awe, as this was the most awesome sight imaginable and a very rare vantage point. Evan got off some pictures and as soon as it was there it was gone behind the peak as we made for the horizon. It was a clear day and pretty much everyones first helicopter ride. The ultimate perk for such a strange and scary national emergency.
The flight to Cusco took about 25 minutes, as we passed over more flooded valleys below and over Ollantaytambo, where most of the tourists were dropped to take buses. Because we had more fuel, this chopper got the go ahead to go right to the airport and land us into a new, different landscape. We touched down and got a few photo op shots in to complete the experience, and then headed for the terminal to check in and be on our way. With little fanfare, some Peruvian aviation authorites greeted us and sent us along. We were now truly free for the first time in days and it was pretty marvelous. We shared a taxi with the Canadians and got back into central Cuzco where we decided to promptly indulge in fast food at Bembos, the Peruvian version of McDonalds. Shameless but great. It was time to relax.
We took a night out downtown and met up with other ¨survivors¨ for drinks at an Irish bar, and preceded to celebrate Operation Success. Discoteques, bars, more fast food, excess, RAIN, and of course sleep. But not for long. We were off the next morning for Lima, our final destination where I was scheduled to depart for home yesterday. Well that plan has changed, Ive decided to spend an extra week here as a ¨Vacation from Vacation¨, and head south below Lima for a little taste of more sun and surf. Our friend Zack is supposed to be here this week and hopefully well meet up, as I get one last hurrah in the Land of No Rain. Hopefully. So the blog is now ä month and a week in Peru¨, and it should be a fun one. Ok, so a little less exciting then the previous posts maybe, but well see what the south has in store. Ciao Hombres.
Here is our BBC clip. 15 seconds of fame!:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8489095.stm
Also, Evan has more pics up at his picasa of our machu picchu adventures and airlift to victory:
http://picasaweb.google.com/EeShoe/Machu#
http://picasaweb.google.com/EeShoe/HeliEscape#
