We  visited Peru & the Amazon on a family vacation in 2002. We stayed  right  on the top of the mountain at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge . It was an Orient Express Hotel we stayed at one in Cuzco too, the Hotel Monasterio. They are very nice  hotels. The  Monasterio  had a guest book in the lobby and in it  we read how  the week before no one got to see Machu Picchu. The train tracks had been washed out. Imagine traveling all that way and  missing  the  big draw, ah  travel fun!

We took the train  to Machu  Picchu  and went by many railroad work crews   on the tracks, in some places the rails were suspended in air.It’s a light duty train,   a trolley really. The River beside the  tracks  was  roaring the whole way. We were there about this time of year. So, river hard to port and the jungle and  mud and ravines to starboard. It does have a bit of adventure to  it , the ride.

I saw a CNN report today about the  train being out  and some woman  saying it’s the worst flooding in 15 years, she was really jazzed. She was reporting  on the fly, I guess CNN   uses any feeds coming their way. The woman was getting really worked up. She was there doing an independent  film project.

It’s really just another day in Peru, or anywhere, stuff happens.

We have to get better at responding  appropriately to events.

Our  guide would come and go  during the trip, she was very cool, she had a driver with a van on some  travel legs and the  guy was packing,quietly.I have to say the trip had some real moments. I would suggest this private tour aspect to anyone, it’s not that much more than a large group tour, plus you are on your own more.

Our  guide  left us on top and told us to get up early  the next day and approach the attendant  at the  gate of the ruins as he might let us in early. I had the gang up in the  dark the next morning! The hotel on the top  is not very large and the buses from the train don’t arrive till  the Sun comes up.

In we go, just us,  for easily an hour it was  just us and the llamas,and the Sun coming up, and it was quiet.

We we very lucky to experience  that  place, that way.

Being trapped there  means you will have a great tale to tell, and probably a few more  trinkets  in your pack. So when you hear the news about the poor trapped tourists don’t despair, and don’t ascribe the flood to  global warming.

On your own tip of the week- carry a flashlight.

Mike