Meant to be Simple

Wake up the next morning, early with massive appetite for Banana Pancakes! Today will be a breeze, all I have to do, is get combi from Santa Theresa to the Hydro Electric station and walk for two hours on track to Agua Calientes. No trains in the morning, so all good. Santa Theresa is one little street, combi waits in the middle, which can be seen from Hostal. Eat my pancake and am still in my own world from yesterday. Combi takes us, drops us off, we all start walking. I start off with a small group, but scenes are so beautiful, take lots of pics and get left behind, which doesn´t really matter. Train track, this part, is in the middle of Jungle scenery, so really beautiful. An hour passes, meet some girls coming back and they say I am halfway, really impressed with my pace, and think I will be there by 11am! Walk over waterfalls, get to this amazing big one, (standing about three meters above bottom, know this as I am 1.55 meters and it was double my height) decide to take picture. Think, gosh, if someone fell into that backwards they would be dead in an instance. Take the most gorgeous picture, decide to take another......yes, I fell in! Still not sure how. Luckily I managed to twist my body around and avoid massive rock with hand and knees, got swept up in rushing downward rapids and luckily caught hold of rock, felt my whole body being ripped around me and move in direction of river. Did think this was finally it! Somehow managed to pull myself back up onto the edge of waterfall, and then looked up and thinking, I was never going to get up this smooth green moss stuff. Waited for a moment, in pain, and somehow felt very calm. Saw a bunch of rocks I could climb up. (Plan B was to wait for someone to walk pass) Moved along side and then had to somehow cross over. Not easy, with very sore sore leg. Climbed up. and evaluated my aliments. Not good. Walking will definitely not be an hour. Strip on train track, luckily have sarong, which I can turn into skirt, and have above knee. Elbow is gushing blood and can barely move. But yet nothing seems broken. Start limping along. More upset about camera that is now in rushing rapids on the way to Cusco or somewhere! Have no food or water, as I was holding bottle in between legs and apple in hand. Walk for what seems like forever, resting here and there, thinking where the hell is everyone today, there is meant to be a combi every hour..... Finally sit down, see a couple with guide coming towards me....think I might just cry now, as pain is really painful. Couple end up both being doctors! I know! Guide gets out some stuff that kills bacteria, foams alot and stings like hell. Couple put on antibiotic cream, and all sorts, give me tablets. Guide asks where my friends are, to which I replied..."No tengo amigos hoy!" and started crying. Now I know that isn´t true, but at that moment I felt very alone, very sore, and really felt like I had no friends. They had been in the jungle for a few days. Tell them really not to wait. Make a stick for me, and give me some water. Girl rearranges my backpack, and tells me to hold stick in right hand. Checks knee joints and thinks it is okay, but looks like I might have fractured knee cap. Knee to swollen to tell. Guide tells me it is only twenty minutes, which means triple for me.... Tell them not to worry and to keep going. (where is Smiling Man now, could really make use of some hand holding) Somehow managed to get here. (1 hour became 4 hours) As I ended track, loads of people started power walking past me, where were they before! Find a great hostal for 15 soles, with a hot and cold tap. Hot tap is really hot. Don´t think I will be walking up mountain tomorrow, might have to chicken out and take bus. Will try walk down.

Saw doctor couple in the plaza, and both, alarmingly told me that I am very lucky to be alive, and have the injuries I do. If I had not caught hold of that rock, I would have been smashed up in the rapids by rocks that no one can see. They did not want to say it before, but thought it the rest of the way. There you go, nothing is really simple, even when I think it will be. I am the first to fall down... that people know of.... but now hear that two men died in the same place two years ago. They only found their bodies ten days later.

Not sure what to make of day, not sure if I should just stay inside and wait for this all to pass!

Once again, don´t be put off by this route, it is really safe and amazing, and beautiful!

I am more upset about my cannon camera, it really was the best thing, I was so happy to finally have a digital camera, it had the most loveliest pictures on, that meant so much to me. I would have put picture of injuries and waterfall on blog, but now that won´t happen. Maybe if I write to cannon and explain my story they would sponsor me one....as a get well present.....what do you think.

P.s. This blog really does not give justice to pain I am in! Think this trip is teaching me all about the choices you have and don´t have. Sometimes, whether you like it or not, you just have to get on with it! (Especially when there are no Virgin Helicopters or Smiling Men in sight to rescue you!)