Seven Waterfalls

We get up and have breakfast and were heading out to Waterfalls today. Its so easy to just do nothing on days like this but we only have today and tomorrow to finish off our sightseeing of this beautiful city. We were going to do the city tour but a lot of the places are closed on Monday as well so we agree we'll do this tomorrow. We catch a bus down at the plaza and after 10 minutes on the bus realise were on the wrong one. Luckily as we get off the bus we actually need to catch is just about to leave so we hop off one straight onto another and at last we're heading in the right direction. A lady gets onto the bus with her child in a sling on her back and he's carrying the biggest pack of multiple bags of snacks they take up more of the seat than me. Thankfully she doesn't stay on the bus long, and I'm once again free to breath. We continue up the road that leads us out of the city and it's amazing how big the city actually is the further we travel up the mountain. The bus ride takes about 40 minutes and ours is the last stop. We get of the bus and I ask which way to the waterfalls and the guy points us to a dirt track. We walk along and it takes us through a little village where the electricity line is held up by a stick and held together tied with plastic bags. Sasha spots some new born pups housed up in a couple of breeze blocks and after an affectionate 5 mins cooing we continue with our search. There is a small shop on the corner and the guy points towards the valley and tells us we need to head over the river. We trek down the hill and eventually reach the dry river. As we get there, there are two people sat under a tree, and then out of the corner of my eye I see two bulls and guess what I'm wearing a bright pink jumper, but I guess they can tell the difference between red and pink. The two people tell us to follow the river , which is really dry and we start to follow the river in the wrong direction, luckily he shouted for us to take the other path and once again we're on the right road. We trek along the river for another half hour, climbing rocks and mountaineering up rock faces until finally we reach the 5th waterfall. I am knackered and me and Mark decide to just stay here for a while to recuperate. The other guy's head off for the other waterfalls. Whilst we are waiting a guide comes up with two Americans and while we chat with him he tells us that a few years ago robberies were rife here and that police had dressed as tourists and shot one of the robbers dead. That is why there is a police station at the top off the hill now. With this in mind we decide to follow the other guys over the rock face , but I can honestly say that I'm glad we do, even though it's pretty hard going. The 6th waterfall is so pretty and the water is bright turquoise but a lot colder than it looks and I choose not to go in. Some of the guys decide to climb a lot higher and jump from the top into the water below. We spend some time here before trekking back. We take a slightly different route back and it's amazing how different the river looks from a higher position. Up the mountain we have to stop several times, how are we ever going to do Machu picchu? The bus is waiting for us at the top and we hop on back to the central market.We get off the bus as the traffic is bedlam, after a good 20 min uphill walk we are back at the hostel, and I am ready for a lie down. The hostel is a real party hostel and to be honest I need a good nights sleep. Mark and I pop out to the Thai place again and then back to the hostel for bed. Mark can sleep through anything but all night there are two argentinians in and out of the room and the noise is horrific. I eventually drift off to sleep at about 4am who's going to be a grumpy botch in the morning.Read more