Machu Picchu

We arrived in Cuzco at 4 pm - the jump off city for Machu Picchu. We went to the office for the Inca Jungle Tour - a tour that last 4 days and avoids the traditional Inca Trail, which has become crowded with tourists as of late. After grabbing the essentials (a $3 backpack made out of alpaca, bug spray and a rain poncho) we headed out for a little pre-hike celebration. We had heard there was authentic live music at a peruvian bar, so Alberto & I headed out to enjoy the festivities. On the way in I saw a group and heard Spanish, English & French being spoken... so I naturally headed right over. We hung out with a big group mixed of locals and travelers from all over, splitting 1.5 litre bottles of beers until all of a sudden a fire was lit in the front of the room and out walked a shaman followed by 8 guys. The burning herbs in the front of the room took the crowd to a spiritual place, and prepared us for the music to come. The band rocked and the rhythm was too much, and so everyone took to dancing. We danced until midnight, when a local said it was time to hit up a club. We danced until 2:30 when we headed home to pack for the trip.

At 6:30, with a hearty 3 and 1/2 hours of sleep, we headed out. Our guide, Luis, is one of the most amazing and sincere people I have met in many years. He did not speak much English, and since I was the only one to speak fluent Spanish, we immediately formed a relationship. Luis and I spent a lot of time talking over the next 4 days. The first day was a short ride to the top of a mountain, where we mountain biked all the way down the other side. The group of 8 was originally to be accompanied by a small car, but 2 hours into the biking we came across a huge land slide that had taken out the road on the side of a mountain. We grabbed our bikes and climbed over the slide, leaving the bike and all civilization behind. Here the path turned to dirt and we biked another 6 hours straight into the darkness when we finally arrived at our first stop, Santa Maria.

The next morning we awoke at 6:30 again and began our hike. We hiked into the mountains and through valleys more breathtaking than anything I had ever seen. At times we walked along the side of a cliff following a 3 ft wide road carved into the side of the mountain hundreds of years ago by the Incas. This day we hiked another 8 hours, crossing the river on swaying bridges, and crossing one gap on a 4 planked car suspended from a cable where you had to pull yourself across using a rope strung up above. Finally we arrived at natural hot springs where we dove in. The site was astounding, with huge springs of differing temperature, and although they were natural the locals had built beautiful rock pools out of them. That night we were close to the small town of Santa Teresa, and so we slept well.

The 3rd day was the most grueling, once again waking up at 6:30 and hiking from 3,900 to 4,300 meters over the course of 4 hours. It was brutal but worth it as we finally came over the summit and ate at an old incan outpost overlooking machu picchu in the distance. The downhill hike took us over small streams, and in the distance poured a powerful waterfull. Anxious to reach it, I sprinted down the steep switchbacks carved into the mountain with 2 other ambitious travelers of our group. After 1 hour of full downhill sprint, we ran into a local doing work for the state who carried us to a natural bathing pool formed by the river. I immediately stripped and dove in, cooling down and washing off for 15 minutes before the rest of the group caught up. From there we hiked past the waterfall and down to a small town called Hidroelectrica where an old locomotive would take us the last hour into Aguas Calientes, the base town of Machu Picchu. We arrived practically dead, ate and slept for the following day.

On the 4th day we awoke at 4:30 to get to Machu Picchu early, because only 400 people a day are allowed to hike Wayna Picchu - a mountain that stands another 45 minute vertical hike above the city, but gives an amazing view. We got to Machu Picchu at 5:30 and after waiting for it to open and to get our tickets stamped for Wayna Picchu, we had our guide give us a tour of Machu Picchu. At 10 we started our hike up rocks and paths that would be illegal to traverse in most countries. You could look down at a 400 foot drop below you, or sometimes the distance was so great the ground was barely visible. The structures were beyond words, however, and the culture of the civilization overtook us. Alpacas and Llamas grazed between Incan buildings, and all around us was forest and mountain and valley of immesurable scale. One could not help but just feel lost in both space and time, standing at the edge of a cliff and looking around. Finally, exhausted, we set off for the 1 and 1/2 hour downhill hike back to town, where we arrived at 4:30 and ate and drank until our train at 7 to Ollataytambo, where a van would wait to pick us up and take us to Cuzco. We pulled into Cuzco at 10:30, and after growing so close over the past 4 days, the 8 of us plus our guide Luis headed out. It would be a crime against my fellow travelers to share the events of the night, but let it be said that debauchery was had. I finally strolled back into my room at 5 am, time enough to pack and take a 1 hour power nap before waking up the following morning to make it to Puno...