Trekking through the Jungle to Machu Picchu

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Monday, February 25

 

We arrived in Cusco Peru a little too early for our liking. It was 5:30 am, and still completely dark outside. We shared a cab with our new best-friend-travel-buddies Brian and Michelle, to the centre of tourist town and decided to wait patiently on a bench until the sun came up to wonder around. The central park was beautiful, well kept, and landscaped, and we could see a tiny little Starbucks sign in the corner of one of the buildings so we knew we were going to like this city. By 6am we were being harassed by a man named Jimmy handing out flyers for the hostel he was promoting, and asking us to follow him over there. We were exhausted and figured "why not" at this point, so the 4 of us headed down the 5 blocks with him. Michelle and Brian found a hotel they thought was pleasing on the way, and Dave and Alice continued past the central market to the hostel. We checked into the biggest private room we've ever gotten and went straight to the market for two $1 delicious breakfast sandwiches.

We met Michelle and Brian later that afternoon for lunch and some relaxing time at Starbucks and talked about our options for making our way to Machu Picchu. Jimmy from earlier that morning was also promoting trips to Machu Picchu and one that we couldn't resist was the 4 day Inka Jungle Tour for only $200 pp. Michelle and Brian didn't have enough time left in their travels for a 4 day trek, and since our trip was leaving the very next day, this was going to be our last night with our new friends. We planned another mini wine and cheese party for the evening back at our hostel, and we picked up 2 boxes of wine and $3 cheese from the market for later.


We were determined to find the other "Wild Rover" location in Cusco since we just loved their menu so much in La Paz, and made our way over their for dinner, but not before Michelle was nice enough to give Dave a hostel haircut! We shared a shepherds pie and our favorite veggie soup and the boys played a little bit of jits before we headed back for some wine. Michelle and Brian wanted to stop at their hotel to pick up a few things they wanted to donate to us before heading back home, so we went ahead and said we'd get everything all set up.

As we turned the corner and onto our street, we heard a whole slew of dogs barking in the distance, and just as we passed an open door along the way, a dog came running out and headed straight for the back of Alice's thigh! She yelled "OUCH!" and the dog quickly ran away, but not before he gave her a tight little squeeze. Alice quickly bee lined it into the hostel and ran upstairs to check the damage. Luckily, no skin had been broken and all it looked like was a big red mark even though it was stinging pretty bad. The first thought that went through our minds was RABIES! and we quickly started researching all the information we could find about it. Thankfully most of the things we read about put us at ease being that there was no broken skin. We followed the instructions by washing the site right away and Alice applied almost our entire tube of Polysporin around the site.

When we finally calmed down we were able to enjoy a short goodbye drink with Michelle and Brian and wished them the best of luck on their travels back home.

Tuesday, February 26

At 6:45 am we had prepared our small bags to take with us to the tour and we were on our way to the main square where we had to meet our group. The tour agency was a little bit disorganized as there were much too many people working there and they seemed as if they were having communication problems with one another. We still managed to leave on time, nonetheless, and headed straight to a bicycle rental shop to pick up our mountain bikes for the first leg of the trip. As soon as the bikes were locked up tightly to the top of our mini bus we began our 4 hour drive up the mountain to a place called Ahora Malaga. At 4350m the 22 of us got out of the 2 busses and suited up for the 4 hour downhill bike ride, but not before a quick pep talk about rules and safety from our guides.

As we set out on our descent, it was cold, rainy, steep, and occasionally very rocky.  The lower we got the more the fog broke and the more we could tell how high up we actually were! The views were breathtaking as we rode down, looking down into the valley full of greenery and surrounded by mountains all the way around. We stopped a few times along the way to make sure we were all ok and sticking together. At one point we were forced to stop at a road block due to an big landslide earlier that morning. Construction crew were working frantically to clear the road and allow traffic to get through. We waited for about 40 minutes, watching the cars pile up behind us before the workers let us through. As soon as we started making our way across and it all seemed safe, we saw some rocks beginning to crumble right in front of us! Before we knew it, a big rock was heading right for Dave and smashed right into the metal bar around the front wheel of his bike, missing his leg by mere inches! Thankfully both Dave and his bike were just fine, even though we had to stop for a minute to catch our breath and realize how lucky we were.

The rest of the ride was incredibly fun and exhilerating. We sped down the mountain very fast, dodging cars, trucks, eachother, and getting soaking wet driving through random mini rivers. We made it down to the bottom in only 3 1/2 hours, and quickly changed before jumping back into the bus for a quick 1/2 ride into the small town of Santa Maria where we had lunch and checked into our hostel.  The town had one main dirt road for a street where they had a few restaurants, 2 markets and 2 little bars.

We rested after lunch for a couple of hours and after dinner our guides took us all to one of the local bars to try a popular drink called the Inca Monkey ( Inca liquor, with creme de mente and cacao).

Wednesday, February 27

We all had to be up for breakfast at 6:15 before starting our 9 hour hike through the jungle. We started at the old town of Santa Maria before it had gotten washed away by El Nino years back. The weather was hot, sunny and humid as we started trekking uphill through the outskirts of the lush greenery of the jungle. Our first stop was at a local house in the hills where they had a pet monkey tied up.  The monkey would immediately search people´s pockets, take out whatever he could find (i.e. Cell phones) and proceed to smash them on the concrete.  Needless to say, we cleaned out our pockets before getting up close and personal.

After refueling on water and snacks, we faced another treacherous hour and a half uphill climb through the treacherous heat and jungle.  The next stop was at another local house, where we were served freshly squeezed Passionfruit juice, as well as ¨Chicha Morales¨, which we had tried a few times to that point.  Our guide, Rene, gave us a lessons on cocoa, coffee, and hot peppers, amongst other locally grown specimen.  The pepper he gave Dave was particularily large, and after eating the whole thing in one bite (not advised), Dave began crying and hiccupping, and was asked to confirm whether or not he was missing his mama.  Of course the answer was yes :).  Finally, we were treated to a demonstration of the application of a local plant that served as war paint, sunscreen, and insect repellent, and then we were on our way.

Another tough uphill section, and an hour or so later, and we were at our final local house-stop.  This one had a rascal as a pet, as well as a dog, and they entertained the group by playfighting on a hammock.  We were given a quick lesson on the uses of Coca leaves, and most of us cleaned the war paint off our faces, as we were told that the combination of sweat and paint would stain our clothing.  We then embarked on the section of the hike that included the original Inca trail, which was quite a treat.  The old steps were quite narrow, and at some points only offered a few feet to the side where the cliffs were both breathtaking and frightening (especially for Dave, as you should all well know by now).  We stopped at an authentic Inca rest area, where we were told of the history of the Inca trail, Machu Picchu, and the importance of the Coca Leaves.  We were all given big wads of Coca Leaves to chew on, and were told that when your cheek went numb, then you knew they were working.


We hiked for ANOTHER 2 hours before lunch, and by the time we got to the very small town where lunch was being served, we were all famished.  We ate pasta with meat sauce, and not too many words were spoken by the 20 or so hikers during the feeding.  After lunch, we were told we had an hour to rest, and we all lay down on the dirt and tried to sleep.

The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful, except to say that we hiked all the way up the mountain, only to immediately turn around and hike back down.  A little frustrated by this, we asked why we would do such a thing, and we were told that the normal trail along the river (not a steep uphill climb, like we had done) had been washed away by the recent flooding that had occured.  Oh well.  All told, we hiked just over 26 km that day, about half of which was uphill.  We were rewarded at the end, though, by finishing our hike at the natural hot springs, where we all rested our aching muscles and blistered feet (not bitter at all).

When we were finished at the hot springs, it was pouring rain, and we made our way safely up the mountain to the town of Santa Teresa.  And by, ¨safely up the mountain¨, what we mean is, we packed 8 people into a
station wagon taxi, that had only front wheel drive, and a completely fogged over windshield.  As we slipped, slided, and prayed our way up the mountain (dirt road), Alice and Dave traded terrifying looks, and were close to tears.  We made it safely, though, ran out of the cab, and thanked our lucky stars, so to speak.

We finished the evening with dinner and were treated to 3 shots of "Inca Tequilla", which was a mix of some very strong plum liquor, and very spicy hotsauce.  We slept well.

Thursday, February 28.

We were told to be back at the same restaraunt were we´d had dinner the night before for breakfast at 7:15 am.  Most of us got there by 7:30.  We had an omelette and panqueques for breakfast, and then 75% of the group left to go zip-lining, as it had either been included in their tour or they paid extra.  Did Alice and Dave pay for zip-lining though? Noooooo!  They thought that after the 26 km hike from the day before, it´d be a good idea to add the extra 3 hours that would be necessary for those who didn´t zipline.  So at 8:30, we embarked on another day of hiking with a group that had went from 22 down to 7.

 

The hike itself was mostly unremarkable.  It was raining pretty consistently, and the road itself was pretty flat.  There was some pretty nice scenery, though, as we inched closer to Machu Picchu mountain, and saw waterfalls, and roaring rivers along the way.  After almost 3 hours to the second, we met up with the zipliners at the "cablecar".   The "cablecar" was a makeshift river passing, as the aforementioned flooding had recently washed away the bridge that crossed over the river.  Two by two we all stuffed into the metal box and were pulled across the river.  The experience was quite slow, and a little terrifying, as we saw the river crashing about 50 feet below.  After about 2 hours, though, the whole group had made it across safely.  We had lunch at a restaraunt just beside the train station, and then set out on the second half of the hike through the jungle.

We walked along the train tracks for the remainder of the afternoon, and made friends with some of the other hikers, specifically a nice couple from Italy who didnt speak much english, but were on the same pace as us as they had not done the ziplining either.  We saw a bit of local wildlife in the form of birds, butterflies, and poinsonous caterpillars, and were treated to a nice rainbow as well.  Nearing the end of the hike, we looked up and saw a tiny little tease of Machu Picchu high in the mountains ahead.

We finally made it to our town as the sun was setting, and had dinner.  We all turned in to our beds immediately after dinner, as we would all be waking up before balls a.m. the next day.  We were given two options on how to make it up to Machu Picchu; one; wake up at 4:00 a.m., walk to the trailhead (30 min), and hike up the 1875 Inca steps that took you up to the site, or two; wake up at 5:00 a.m. and take the bus up......

Friday, March 1.

Being the hardcore backpackers we had come to think we were, we woke up at 4:00 a.m. and decided to go for the hike.  We left the hostel just after 4:20, and, accompanied by a group of 7 others, made our way to the trailhead in the dark (assisted by our trusty headlamp).  We made it to the trailhead just before 5:00, and despite the screaming objections from our legs, started up the steps.

As we had become accustomed to, we made our way to the back of the pack, and adopted a slow-but-steady pace.  And wouldn´t you know it, our Italian friends found themselves in the exact same place!  We hiked up the difficult steps as a group of 4 determined trekkers, and made it to the top, soaking wet with sweat, just after 6:00 a.m.  The rest of our group (most of whom had opted for taking the bus) greeted us with dry shirts, fresh legs, but also claps and cheers as we made it to the top.  We had a quick snack that we´d packed along, and then went for our guided tour of Machu Picchu.

The guide spoke english well, and gave us great insight into the meaning of Machu Picchu, the different sectors of the city, and the temples of the area. We will spare the details for you, as google can provide a much better and more precise recount.  We will say, however, that the site was unbelievable, and the pictures do not do any kind of justice.  Initially, the entire area was blanketted in a thick fog, but as the guide promised, the fog dissipated as the day went on, and by the end, we were provided with a crystal clear view of Machu Picchu, the surrounding mountains, and the river and towns far below.

 When we had booked the tour back in Cusco with good ol´ Jimmy, he had told us that we had two "optional hikes" once at Machu Picchu.  He made it sound as if they were both pretty similar in both difficulty and reward, and of course, he lied.  One of which was called "Oanupichhu", and was a 45 minute hike up to the site of the moon temple and a sacrificial cave.  The second was a hike up the actual Machu Pichhu mountain, which was a 2 hour hike up to nothing.  Everybody else in our group had been signed up for Oanupicchu, but of course Jimmy had signed us up for Machu Picchu mountain, without our trusty Italian friends to keep us company.  Despite the already severe pain in our legs, we decided that we would probably only get one shot at Machu Picchu, and to take advantage of it.

The hike to the summit did in fact take 2 hours, and although there was nothing in the way of temple or cave at the top, there was an incredible view, and it was very rewarding.  The top also, however, contain a breathtakingly steep cliff beside the three feet of path, which proved too much for Dave and his vertigo to handle.  But, being that we had made it to the top (minus the last 10 steps), we agreed to stop there, eat a big bag of Doritos, and head back down after Dave had stopped trembling in fear.



We met up with our Italian buds again at the point that looked out over the city, and spent the rest of the afternoon in awe, and discussing our respective optional climbs.  To finish the trip, we were left with one final decision; take the bus down, or walk down the same 1875 steps that we had conquered much earlier in the morning.  Of course, we were not going to throw in the towel now, and decided to make the final hour and a half walk back to the town.  When we finally reached our hostel, we had discovered that along with the Italians, we were the only people to have walked every single step along the 4 day journey, and were very proud of that fact.

We spent the evening drinking beer, eating pizza, and waiting for the 9:30 train that would eventually connect with an 11:00 bus back to Cusco.  We made it back to Cusco just before 1:00 a.m. and were sleeping before we even hit the pillow.

 

 

Sorry about the long read, but we had a lot to say!
With love from bed,
D'Alice