Peligroso on the Peruvian Bus!

This morning, I went on an insane bus ride to Aguas Calientes, which is the gateway city to Machu Picchu here in Peru. Danger confronted us in an intense manner. The only way to get to Aguas Calientes is by train, which is a ridiculous $100 roundtrip.

However, there is one slight backway I discovered. It required going to the desolete town of Santa Maria (arrived at 11:30pm last night) and then boarding another bus to Santa Teresa (left at 4:00am this morning). The small town was deserted, but there was thankfully one hostel. Its several tents were full. The owner gave me his bed though, which was the bottom of a bunkbed. He slept on top bunk and alongside his cook. And, he didn't charge me for the short night!

After sleeping three hours, I boarded the 4:00am bus. We drove for about 40 mins only to stop in the middle of the dirt road in near darkness. The little light that did exist revealed a dropoff only feet from the edge of the road that was likely over 700 feet. The sound of a rushing river came from that depth. Turns out a mudslide had blocked the road and we could not go on. So, we started going back down the mountain in reverse! (Remember it is incredibly dark outside and the cliff is only feet from our outside tires.)

The bus then comes to a stop as the driver begins to turn the wheels hard. Quickly, we realize that he is going to try to do a 3-point turnaround (more like a 7 -point). There was no way. Literally perpendicular to the road, our back tires were teetering on the edge of the cliff. Another two feet, and we were sure to soar down the mountain side. Shrieks of fear from the back seats of the bus ringed. Unbelievably, we did turn around and backtracked.



There was another route that we would take. We suspected it would take longer and be more challenging. It was. On several occassions, we passed by mudslides that covered the road. One time, there was a bulldozer pushing mud and rock onto the rushing water covering the road. We were the first to attempt the cross after his work was finished. Again, we somehow passed it. Throughout this bus journey, varying levels of fog persisted. After all, we were high in the andes mountains.

This is the essence of adventure - and danger. I've only had a few very dangerous situations in my life. This ranks as one of them. My probability of dying was definitely much higher during this ride than at nearly all other times of my life. And, it was for a good four hours!

Haha! Life is good. As long as I go out living with passion and in pursuit of stronger spiritual conviction, I'm content. Whenever that is, I hope that the drive for passion will continue to live on in those I've spent time with. Though, I also hope that I can be with a lot more people for many more years to come!

- Tyler