The Farmers Strike

We have been in Cusco for a few days now and not done all that much. There are some Inca walls in the centre of the city which are pretty cool! And a twelve sided stone set in one of the walls, which is about as impressive as it sounds.

This morning we got up at 2.30am, caught a taxi for 1 and a half hours along a seriously dodgy road to a town where you can catch a train to Machu Picchu. The visibility was reduced to less than 5 metres at one stage which had us all scared, but the driver got us there safely. After lining up for tickets for almost an hour, we were informed that there was no return option until Friday, which would have been a little difficult as we had planned to spend only one day at Machu Picchu and left all of our gear at the hostel. The reason for this is that the farmers are on strike and will be blocking the roads and train tracks tomorrow and wednesday. Apparently a bill passed last December allowing the privatisation of the water industry is making it easier for foreign companies to buy indigenous and traditional land. Everyone in Aguas Calientes (the town close to Machu Picchu) heard about it and thus the trains and buses back to Cusco are booked out for tonight.

We ended up catching a taxi back to Cusco and after much deliberation I have booked a four day trek (including mountain biking) to Machu Picchu. Because we are walking we won´t be affected by the strike (hopefully) and it means I won´t have to spend two days here in Cusco doing nothing. The girls decided not to wait around (they´re not too keen on hiking) and left for Nasca this evening. I am off to bed now as I have to get up at 1.30am for the bus... We´re leaving early to beat the strike.