Cusco
It only took us a few moments in Cusco to realize what an interesting city it is. Set in a valley, the mud-colored buildings cling to the hills while beautiful architecture fills the plazas. Cusco is the jumping off point for tours to Machu Picchu, and while we have met many other backpackers along the way, we were surprised at the amount of vacationers filling the streets. For the first time we saw a lot of families traveling together and there was the constant buzz of the American accent in our ears (something we haven’t heard much of in many months). There are as many tourist agencies as there are alpaca sweaters being sold on the streets offering a variety of treks and tours to the lost city of the Incas. Initially we had hoped to hike the Inca Trail but postponed booking anything due to the February mudslides and our ever-changing itinerary. By the time we had pinpointed the dates we would be in town it was too late to join so we began looking into alternative treks. We chose to do the 5-day/4-night Salkantay Trek which would end at Machu Picchu.
Salkantay Trek
A preview to the intensity of the next four days, we joined our group at 4 am and set off towards Mollepata, which marked the beginning of our long hike. We quickly became friends with the six other members of our group; Mark from Oregon, Pete and Louise from Australia, Gwen and Jonas from Belgium, and Felix from Germany, as well as our Peruvian tour guide, Ed. The first day we enjoyed clear skies as we hiked through forests leading up the mountains. We arrived at the top of a mountain where our porters and cook had already begun cooking lunch, a routine we would become familiar with over the next few days. After we finished eating and had taken a quick nap, we all resumed the strenuous hike to our high altitude camp. We knew the first night would be the coldest and wearing every layer we brought, we all sat down to enjoy hot chocolate and celebrate the 22km we walked on day 1. The group barely stayed awake for dinner and everyone was asleep by 8 pm.
Warm coca leaf tea and Ed’s friendly wake up call at 5 am was the start of what we knew would be the most difficult day of the trek. After a hearty breakfast, we packed up and set off towards the summit of Mount Salkantay. Due to the terrain and weather conditions, we had been convinced to rent hiking boots rather than wear our trusty hiking sandals that have taken us around the world so far. With blisters already accumulating, Chelsea opted to wrap her feet in plastic bags and take her chances with the hiking sandals. It began raining almost immediately and we trudged up the steep trail in our colorful ponchos. Even with the head start we gave ourselves each day, the porters wearing minimal clothing and slip on sandals would catch up to us in no time and quickly vanish as we slowly ascended the mountain. The high altitude began to take its toll and Chelsea fell to the back of the group as she struggled with headaches and nausea. We all finally reached the highest point the trail leads to and at 4,600 meters (over 15,000 ft) Ed began his lecture which we were all too cold to pay attention to. Hail pelted us in the face while the strong winds threatened to blow us off the side of the mountain. On a clear day from this location the glacial peaks of Salkantay (meaning “Savage Mountain” in quechua) should have been visible. Unfortunately, the storm clouds blocked our view of the 20,574 ft mountain. Tired and freezing, we raced down the mountain towards lunch where the porters had warm food and tea waiting for us. Lucky for us, the second half of our day was downhill through a rainforest. It felt like we had experienced all seasons and scenery by the time we arrived at our cute campsite set along a creek. Once again exhausted from the physically draining 17km day, we ate dinner and went to sleep early.
“Buenos dias mi amigos” greeted us as Ed unzipped our tents and handed us coca leaf tea to help us slowly wake up. We were served pancakes with dolce de leche smiley faces for breakfast before we set off on our 18km day. We have both been hikers our entire lives and never had any trouble with our knees, but our downhill hike was excruciating as we slowly limped along. On our third day we walked through forests, across rivers and streams, sampled native fruit, and passed through hillside villages. We practically crawled to our lunch site where we threw off and cursed our shoes before changing into flip flops. We were all excited to have the afternoon off and we took a bus to our camp which was located an hour away. As soon as we arrived the rain started full force and our porters debated where to set up camp. They ended up clearing out a room at a nearby building and setting up all of our tents inside on the stone ground. A crazy little monkey named Poncho was our entertainment for the evening and we all took turns playing with him. Right before dinner we were all shocked and fascinated at the butchering of an entire cow across the street. We watched as it was skinned, hollowed out, and chopped up. Having more energy than the other nights, we played card games while waiting for dinner and even stayed up after the meal to enjoy beers and a chat with our new friends.
After three early mornings, an 8 am wake up call felt amazing. We had a leisurely breakfast before taking off towards Machu Picchu. This was the easiest off all the days as we walked along the train tracks leading to the town of Aguas Calientes. As we rounded one corner we spotted the backside of the familiar and overly photographed Waynapicchu. From the base of the mountain we could even see small pieces of the ruins, which added to the excitement we were all feeling. We walked along the raging river and saw some of the aftermath of the recent mudslides. Even though this was an easy day, our bodies were very tired from the previous hikes, that we were still exhausted when we finally arrived in the town. Our hostel located on the river felt like paradise after four full days without showers, three nights in cold tents, and over 30 hours of hiking! A nice dinner in a real restaurant marked our final night with Ed as we all prepared for the monumental day ahead of us.
Machu Picchu
We silently set out in the light of the full moon in hopes of being amongst the first 400 people in line which would allow us to hike to the top of Waynapicchu. It was a very powerful experience as hundreds of people climbed the narrow stone steps winding for 45 minutes to the entrance of Machu Picchu. As the sun began to rise, we stood anxiously waiting to see if the sky would offer us a clear day. The weather had been rainy and cloudy and we felt very lucky to be able to enjoy the day with the sun shining on us. After climbing another series of steps, we rounded the corner and stopped in our tracks as the breathtaking image of Machu Picchu came to life in front of us. We have seen so many magnificent sites this year, but this was the first one to bring tears to our eyes.
We were assigned a local guide and joined a few other trekking groups for our two hour tour of Machu Picchu. The guide was a very interesting character and while we didn’t learn anything from him, he unintentionally kept us entertained. No matter how close we were to him, he would still shout, “GROUP, GROUP” and wave at us over and over again until we had formed a circle around him. He answered his phone multiple times during the tour and would shout in Spanish to the person at the other end of the line, “Speak, speak, speak, speaking, speak, speaking, speak,” before finally letting them speak. After every one of his nonsense stories and theories, he would try to confirm our understanding by asking, “clear the idea?” We would jokingly say that the idea was cleared because we never got it in the first place. He also took a fond liking to us and would always make sure the “Spice” girls were present before talking. As if his quotes weren’t enough to keep us laughing, his fly came undone towards the end of the tour exposing his bright red boxers. We could barely contain our laughter and quickly dispersed once the tour was over.
Waynapicchu is the mountain looming above Machu Picchu and we all set off at 10 am to hike to the top for an alternate view of the ruins. It was another hour of steep stairs and while we’re usually the first ones to finish a hike, we were seriously struggling because of our knees trying to get to the top. The staircase is extremely narrow and hand ropes have been installed for safety which we took full advantage of. Once at the top we soaked in the fabulous 360 degree views of the Andes and napped in the sun waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. We were surprised at how small Machu Picchu looked from above and marveled at its location set up in the high mountains. Descending Waynapicchu was twice as difficult as the climb due to the narrow width of each step and the near vertical slope. We spent a couple more hours walking around the ancient stone city and enjoying every moment.
The eight of us soaked our sore bodies in the thermal baths in Aguas Calientes and reflected on the last few days. We were nervous about the seemingly unorganized trip back to Cusco that consisted of a train ride, two bus rides, and a taxi. We were given one ticket each and hoped it would take us all the way there. Surprisingly, everything went extremely smoothly and we were in bed by 2 am after being awake for nearly 24 hours. As always we meet people and share memorable experiences together only to have to say goodbye in hopes that we may see them again somewhere in the world. After enjoying well deserved full body massages and exploring more of the city, we met up with the rest of our group for a final goodbye. Our adventure to Machu Picchu was everything and more than we could have hoped for and it was the cherry on top of what has been a year full of memorable experiences.
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