Luis Ángel Carbia, Tania Míguez, Iago Saborido and Tania Domínguez landed in Peru last Friday to enjoy a unique vacation. The reason for the trip was to attend a friend’s wedding, but they would return to Spain tomorrow to take the opportunity to visit Machu Picchu. But for the couples, this idyllic journey turned into a nightmare for the four Estradens.stranded for days in the town of Aguas Calientes, located at the foot of the former capital of the Inca empire and currently only accessible by train. It is one of the measures of repression by demonstrators taking to the streets of Peru these days to protest the dismissal of Pedro Castillo and the appointment of Dina Boluarte as president.
The situation unfolding in Peru has surprised hundreds of tourists who come every day to visit the country’s major tourist attraction. difficult to access. The only way to get close to Machu Picchu is to take a 110-kilometer train in Cuzco. This was the route four people from Estrada took a few days ago to get to know the jewel of Peruvian tourism. “The day we went to Machu Picchu, something started to be heard already, but everything was quiet. When we got up, we were almost alone. When we got down they told us the situation was complicated and they only talked about protests, picketing and vandalism on TV.”, Luis Carbia tells us from Aguas Calientes.
The isolation of this town made it one of the main targets of the lookouts, who that day decided to block the train route to prevent tourists from returning to Cuzco, while also cutting off the main supply route to Aguas Calientes. “They cut off all public transport and they do it very aggressively.”, the man from Estrada explains, pointing to the death figures taken into account. “This train, they told us here, was one of their purposes because it’s controlled by a political party and they take advantage of tourists. Prices are too high. Just going to Machu Picchu can cost you around 500 euros and apparently they don’t accept that”.
After being stranded in Aguas Calientes, the situation of the four Estradens becomes increasingly worrisome. On the one hand, they fear that the protests will turn into civil war. “They paralyzed the country until the president resigned but there is a lot of controversy and death.. What happens in Cuzco can’t go out. Now a state of emergency has been declared and the army has taken to the streets. You see people from this area going with bow and arrow,” he explains.
On the other hand, they point to the situation that is starting to emerge in the town where they are stuck. In Aguas Calientes, at the time of the interruption of train services, all the tourists in the town were counted and 779 foreigners were registered in the town hall. The problem, as the people of Estrada have explained to us, is that this town doesn’t have the capacity to serve so many people without the supplies that come by rail every day. “People are starting to get desperate and some businesses have already closed.We don’t know if it’s because they don’t have the material or if they prefer to keep it to themselves. For example, in our hotel they told us that they only had one week’s worth of gas. Nothing is in reserve.”
Faced with this situation, the Estrada people are looking for ways to leave Peru in any way. “All I want right now is to go home and see my daughter.. We have to get out of here before it gets any worse.” Their options now include a walk along the railroad to Cuzco and then to Lima, where they’ll catch a return flight. But considering Peru’s situation, it’s not an easy journey. it’s not our fault. There must be a government interested in getting the tourists out of here somehow. We are feeling helpless right now. Everyone is quick, even though they know we’re here,” complains Luis Carbia, admitting that the most complicated thing right now is waiting and the need to manage the uncertainty about what’s going to happen in the days ahead.
They learn to walk on the train tracks to approach the airport.
Luis Carbia is aware that their options are limited at the moment, and worst of all, they don’t know when they will be able to return to normal. The man from Estrada recounts that a few tourists who were stranded next to them decided to march to Ollantaytambo. It is an eight to ten hour journey along train tracks through a woodland. “We may have no choice but to do this. There were people who already did this. We all want to go home and the situation is starting to get desperate“, Explain. Carbia points out that it will be a tough journey, and states that it does not give any guarantees when they arrive in Ollantaytambo, where they will try to reach Cuzco. Their predictions were that they would travel from this town to Lima by plane today and catch the return flight to Madrid there. But for now airports are also closed, so your options would be to make the road between Ollantaytambo, Cuzco and Lima by road. For example, a taxi takes too many risks if it is stopped by lookouts”.
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.