We spent Sunday getting ready for the trip buying supplies and snacks and packing. Around 4:30 am we got picked up by a bus that took us 2 hours away to Mollepata where we ate breakfast and began our trek. The whole day ran about 9-5 with a lunch about half way. The first day of hiking was pretty tough since I'm not very experienced but we got through it. It was hot when we started, then it started to rain, and by the time we got to camp which was 3850 meters above sea level it was freezing cold. We had a few beers and some dinner by candlelight (no electricity!) and passed out in our freezing cold tents.
The next day we woke up at 5am, had breakfast, and packed our things to start the hardest part of our 5 day trek. We headed out at 7am and hiked up a mountain called Umantay, next to Apu Salkantay which is a tall snow capped mountain. After about 2 hours of huffing and puffing uphill (and maybe thinking about calling it quits), we made it to the highest point of the trek, 4600 meters above sea level. It was absolutely beautiful up there with amazing views of the snow capped mountains. Some of our group saw an avalanche on the Salkantay mountain, but I only heard it. At the top here, we had a little ceremony where we offered rocks and coca leaves to "Pachamama" (mother earth). Then we started our long, long descent down the mountain towards our lunch spot. It was foggy/misty and started pouring rain and didn't stop until we reached our resting point. Everyone was soaked to the bone and freezing. After a much appreciated hot lunch we continued towards our camp. It took another 3-4 hours to get there but it was beautiful and mind-blowing. In the morning we had been in winter-like conditions, and a few hours later we were hiking through the jungle. There were tons of trees and plants and waterfalls and great views of the river below. The downhill was hurting our knees but we finally made it to our camp which was WARM---an amazing feeling after freezing our butts off the night before and all that morning. We had dinner as usual...soup followed by rice and meat and tea...then fell asleep in our tents.
The next day was our friend Caroline's 23rd birthday and our wonderful cooks made her a birthday cake for breakfast. We started our hike early in the morning again through the jungle, over rivers and past waterfalls. We were all grateful to spend some of our hike on a flat road since our legs were so sore from the up & down the day before. We got to cross a river in a cable car which was exciting...until it broke while one of the guys was in it! Nobody got hurt and we were able to fix it and get everyone across, but it was a little scary. As if that wasn't enough, we encountered a huge rock slide shortly after and had to cross it! It was a little unstable so I was a little freaked out but we all made it across! Later we stopped for lunch at a place that had a nice little store where we were able to buy flip flops (so tired of wearing our hiking boots all the time, even at camp) and fresh dry socks. Then, we got on a bus that took us to our next camping place in Santa Teresa. After setting up our own tents, we put on our bathing suits and headed to the hot springs. After 3 days of hiking, these hot springs were the very best thing in the world. The hot water felt amazing on our sore bods. We spent a few hours in them relaxing, then goofing around with my waterproof camera. Before we left we were able to take a SHOWER, which was the highlight of my day for sure. That night we had our usual dinner and then the staff built an awesome bonfire. We sat around it, had a few drinks and danced a little bit. It was an awesome way to celebrate Caroline's birthday. However, in our drunken stupors we left some of our clothes outside of the tent to get rained on all night. Not exactly fun to wake up to, but oh well!
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| Hot springs! |
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| Fun with my underwater camera :) |
On Thursday we were lucky enough to get to sleep in until 7am! We were excited to take a bus for the first half of our trek, but there had been a big rock slide (yet again) so we had to walk. We had to cross the river in another cable car, which broke AGAIN. But, a little Peruvian man was able to climb out and fix it so we got across. After about an hour of walking some of us opted to hop in a bus and take it to our next lunch spot. The views on the bus were awesome and the man drove like a maniac, but we were all pumped about having a break. We had a little bit of lunch and then had to wait for the rest of our group. There was an empty train on the tracks because they weren't running that day, so we broke into one of the cars and took a little nap while we waited. After lunch, we walked along the train tracks towards Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of the mountain where Machu Picchu is. It was another long day and once it started raining I was pretty much over walking. We finally made it to our HOSTEL where we were able to shower and relax for a little while. Never have I ever been so excited to be indoors, in a bed, with a hot shower. Putting on scented lotion was the best feeling ever. We got to have dinner at a decent restaurant and then bought some snacks for the following day. We were all asleep in our BEDS by 10:00pm because wake up the next day was at 4am.
So, at 4:00am we got up, packed our things, and started our final trek to Machu Picchu! I was tired and groggy and the weather was crappy again, so hiking up hundreds of stairs was the last thing I wanted to be doing. We got to the site a little after 6:00am and had a 2 hour guided tour. As excited as I was to be there and to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World, it was raining, freezing, and I was exhausted...so the tour was a little bit miserable.
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| So thrilled! |
After the tour, all anybody wanted was some hot coffee and to warm up a little bit, so that's what we did. We had all paid to hike Huaynapicchu, which is a tall, steep mountain behind Machu Picchu that has amazing views, but I was being a debby downer and wasn't feeling it. BUT, my friends were all doing it and gave me some much needed encouragement. So at 10:00 we started our hike up this mountain. Words cannot describe the intensity of this hike. It wasn't that it was very difficult, but it was so insanely steep and the rocks were wet and slippery that I was scared out of my mind, so my nerves were fried. There were some parts that you had to hold onto a rope otherwise you would have fallen off the cliff that was 1 foot away from you. We took our time, but finally made it to the top and found our friends. We hung out up there on a big rock for a while taking pictures and messing around. We found a great spot for a group picture with a view of the ruins.
Then it came time for the hike down. I knew it was going to be scary because I saw the way up, but I was definitely not prepared for the first bit of it. It was so steep and slippery that I crab walked my way down the first part of it. I'm fairly certain that if I hadn't been on all 4s that I would have either fallen off and died, or had a heart attack and died. But, the kind Aussie/Kiwi/British guys behind me kept encouraging me so I finally made it and got my cool Huaynapicchu stamp on my passport (got a Machu Picchu one too!). I was all set after this, but Maggie & Caroline wanted to go to the watch tower where the "postcard views" of the ruins are so I forced myself to tag along and I am so glad I did. The rain had stopped and the sun came out and the views were literally breathtaking. We got tons of great pictures (on Caroline's camera because mine died by then) and sat there just taking it all in for a while. It was very much worth the extra pain in my legs, glutes, and feet! Then the 3 of us hiked back down the stairs (my least favorite part of the day) and found a restaurant in which I consumed an entire pizza and a good amount of rum as a reward for surviving all 5 days! Then all of us got on the train to come home. We were in the same car as some of the cool people we had met on the mountain so we shared our rum and yelled across the train car like the obnoxious Americans that we are. It was great fun. We finally got home around 10:00 to our amazing Arcopata house with hot showers and big cozy beds.
Overall, it was an absolutely amazing trip. It was so challenging both physically and mentally, so I'm incredibly proud of myself for getting through it without too much complaint (well, until the last day). I love every single person that was on the trip with me. Those are 5 days I will never forget. Machu Picchu is a sight to be seen and I can't wait to show it to Ben, Jerry, Deb and whoever else visits me! But maybe we won't do the Salkantay trip next time...
I tried uploading a bunch of pictures and after 24 hours it still didn't work, so I will do that later!
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