Machu Picchu

So here we go...

Friday 3/6/09
I woke up bright and early to leave Cusco at 7:30am. However, before we left we drove all over Cusco picking up people from their hostels (we didn't get picked up since I live too far away from the office). When we finally got going, we headed into the Sacred Valley and made a quick stop at Urubamba before heading off to the launch point. Our launch point was by this coke stand in the middle of a forest half down a mountain. Seriously in the middle of nowhere. So off we went there the mist and rain down the muddy, rocky mountain roads. At some points the waterfalls passing by the roads downwards actually passed over the roads, creating 2-4" deep rivers that our bikes just happened to cruise through. We also passed through small mountain towns and drove past locals who probably thought we were crazy getting disgusting and racing down the roads. And we were disgusting, the rain + dirt roads + huge bike tires = muddy trekkers.

Now our guide, Leo, when he told us the rules of the road, said "No running". I've always been one for speed and craziness like that, but I tried keeping my bike within a reasonable speed range. But at a very crucial point, going around a corner, I wasn't paying attention to my speed (read: going too fast) and just to add some element of surprise a car was approaching from the opposite direction. So I freaked, overcompensated my turn away from the car and crashed... No, I ate that mountain.

The world at that point was rather fuzzy, so I got cleaned up (as best as one can in the mountains) and rode the bus with two others one the way to our hostel. The others didn't fall, they just didn't want to or weren't able to ride. But my accident was only the beginning because not long afterward, a Swiss girl got attacked by a dog and an Israeli guy got stung by bees. What a start to the adventure!

Once we got to the hostel and got showered and fed, the day didn't seem too bad anymore. Sleeping was like heaven.


Saturday 3/7/09

After we got all the bad stuff out of the way, we knew the rest of the trip had to be amazing (and it was). Waking up at 6:30 wasn't too bad since we crashed early. Saturday we spent the day first walking through the "jungle" then scaling mountain sides. One of the members of our group had a fear of heights, so he took a bus to the next hostel in Santa Teresa. While this was unfortunate for him, that meant the rest of us could send the majority of our stuff on the bus and just carry our water and whatever we might need on the trek.

Along the way our guide Leo pointed out all the interesting fruits and gave mini lessons on chocolate beans and coffee plants. We even got to eat the fruity part of the chocolate bean!! And yeah, it actually tasted a bit like chocolate. Cornfields were everywhere, reminding me of home (naturally)... Except our cornfields aren't growing on the sides of MOUNTAINS. I won't even attempt to describe the mountains and the views and just the plain ole grandeur that is the Andes. Have more time? Check out my picasa site for pictures.

At the end of our amazingexhaustingbeautifulchallengingetc day we got to melt in the hot springs for just 10 soles (in amaerican terms, that means about $3). While soaking in the bathwaterish springs we took in the moon over the mountains and the sun disppearing behind them. After getting to our hostel in Santa Teresa with the one bathroom for 12 people some of our group decided to go out to the bars and check out the scene. I decided that that decision was ludicrous and slept instead. A good decision it was since when I woke up I felt refreshed... the others, including our guide, were not so fortunate.

Sunday 3/8/09

This day was a bit lame. We took a bus up a mountain. We got out. We walked down railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes. I got eaten by bugs. The end.

Monday 3/9/09 = Main Event

This was it - waking up at 4 to climb to the top of Machu Picchu! It was quite the climb and we took our sweet time in order to enjoy the sun rise (not to mention catch our breath climbing those damn 1600 steps to the entrance). It was beyond worth the blood sweat and tears to get there!!!! Again, there are no words to describe it.

Once at the top, we had to get tickets for Waynapicchu, the mountain behind the ruins in all those classical photos you see of "the Mach" and then took a 2 hour tour (though a 3 hour tour would've been fun! haha) of the ruins. Turns out, they really don't know too much about them but since the Spainards never found the site, they are really well preserved. Also, the only person privelged enough to get a bathroom was the mayor guy. Not that it was a big deal... it was just a hole in the ground.

After our tour, we decided to climb Waynapicchu, you know, as if we haven't climbed enough mountains in the last couple days or anything. The "stairs" were at times no more than the rocky side of the mountain but once we arrived we were awed once more by the surroundings. I could live there and be the happiest person, except for the whole swarms of tourists... There were also fun things to climb and caves to muck through =D

So that's basically my trek to Machu Picchu - the trip home only took a couple hours and we took a train to Urubamba and then a bus to Cusco. YAY!