MACHU PICCHU!!!

Well, I left off with “charming Cusco” and now I get to move on to some of the more adventurous aspects of our trip to Peru. Tina and I decided to sign up for a 2-day, 3-night tour called “Machu Picchu for Explorers,” which would take us on a tour of the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and some of the surrounding villages...you know, because we are really into exploring ;)

The first day of the trip, we headed to the Sacred Valley – a fertile area between Cusco and Machu Picchu that is peppered with Incan villages (some of which are still occupied today). The countryside was absolutely beautiful! As we toured through la campagne (can you tell I am writing this post in Paris?), we came across numerous ruins that were extensive and quite impressive. We stopped at two of the more popular sights: Pisac and Urubamba.

 Get ready for loads of photos of me with amazing views in the background...!

We also stopped at an animal conservation center where we were able to see alpacas, lamas, and condors up close. The condors were absolutely stunning animals - their wing span is something like 10 ft! It was pretty cool to see them fly across the grounds...and the alpacas and lamas are pretty hilarious creatures with their sleepy eyes and fluffy coats.

While at the wildlife conservation area, we also learned about some traditional Incan crafts and the methods through which they dyed their wool to weave blankets etc. Similar to the dyes in Morocco, they use natural dyes – red is created from the blood of a particular beetle etc. (Our tour guide, for example, showed us this by dramatically squishing a beetle right before our eyes). Then, they boil the wool in the natural element to create the desired color etc.

Our tour guide for the day was Alejandro. He was very sweet, thorough, and knowledgeable of the area. Two thumbs way up, Alejandro!

In Pisac, we stopped at a small bakery to have some sweet empanada type things. You could have ones filled with guinea pig, but I opted just to have the “traditional” style that was made with cheese and was more sweet than savory. There was a pretty hilarious moment when I ran into a girl I had met at a crape shop in Cusco. Her name was Rachel - she was a "travel nurse" and a very energetic/open individual. I think I was munching on some Peruvian corn I bought from a street vendor when I ran into her...

After stopping in that town, we made our way to those two amazing Incan ruins that had stunning views of the Andean countryside. It was just marvelous! I think the photos speak enough to what the experience was like.

Eventually, we made it to Ollyantay-tambo and to the train station (I felt like Harry Potter getting ready to go to Hogwarts) and we were on the fancy Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes (the base camp for Machu Picchu). The train was hilarious. I don’t know how to describe it other than that. They were playing versions of American pop songs that had been covered by Peruvian flute players. There was mood lighting and even complimentary beverages and chocolates. I thought we were doing pretty good for ourselves until we passed another train which was waaaaaay fancier than the one we were on – dinner tables laden with fancy table settings (seriously, there were about 5 glasses for each place setting). Living the high life, they were! All the while we were on the train, we had a gorgeous view of a roaring river and the towering Andean mountains. It was truly magical at twilight. Eventually, we made it to the town and found our hostel. Access to hot water was spotty at best, but we had two beds and that was good enough for us.

 

We went to bed fairly early because we had to be up for breakfast at 5:00 am the next morning – THE DAY WE WERE GOING TO MACHU PICCHU!!! Breakfast included super vanilla-y (and delicious) pancakes that almost had the amazing crispy edge like the ones at Pamela’s in Pittsburgh, instant coffee, jam and butter etc. The breakfast of champions! After breakfast (with 5 minutes to spare before catching the bus), I ran upstairs to use the restroom. When I hopped off the final stair back into the foyer, I looked around to find that everyone had left! Opps! So, I made my way out into the street, found our tour guide Ruben (who pronounced his name "Rrrrrruben") and got in line for the bus. But, I couldn’t find Tina! Ruben went back to the hostel to find her (she had run off to use the restroom too). That was the first time one of us almost got left behind (NB: The first of many). In a few moments, Ruben came back with Tina who looked a bit flustered from the near-abandonment, but recovered quickly because of the anticipation of getting to Machu Picchu.

The sun still handn’t risen as we stood inline for the bus. And when I say “stood in line,” I mean we were in a 300-person long single file line that was actually moving really quickly as tour guides ushered their groups onto the legions of buses waiting to head up to the top of the mountain. They really had their logistics down. As we drove the 20 minutes up the mountain, we drove along the dirt road at a ridiculously fast speed, wheeling around the hairpin turns like we were in some sort of drag race. I felt like I was on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland. I didn’t care that much because dawn hit the valley and the mist started rising off of the mountains leading up to Machu Picchu and I was totally mesmerized – STUNNING! Ruben, Tina, and I were talking about various things, but I was so distracted that I couldn’t really focus on what they were saying. Eventually, we made it off the bus as the sky was turning a hazy violet and got into another line to enter Machu Picchu itself. Again, I felt like I was at Disneyland! We all eagerly bounced in line as we ooched our way toward the turn stalls and the people who would check our passports. (Also, please note the hilarious way they spelled my name on my entry ticket...and, yes, that paper also says I'm a man).

Before I knew it, we were inside Machu Picchu, walking down a winding dirt path toward the ruins. When we turn the corner and got our first view of the city, I was pretty sure I was DYING RIGHT THEN AND THERE FROM EXCITEMENT. The sun was just rising and the mist was creeping up along the mountain ridge like some surreptitious dementor, casting the ruins in a deep haze. Amazing! 

 

As we silently made our way through the ruins, we came a cross a stampede of alpacas who were pretty much in heat (later, during our tour, they were copulating quite vigorously right on the ruins). Ha!

Ruben gave us a lovely guided tour of Machu Picchu and afterwards we got ready to do a "casual hike" up Huayna Picchu. It was at this point that Tina and I were almost left behind for the second time...lol!!

I was really excited for this little trek - it got great reviews on TripAdvisor and other travel sites as a nice side-trek to do while at Machu Picchu. We had to reserve permits to go up ahead of time (they only let 400 people hike a day).

All I have to say is this...TripAdvisor LIED TO US. Huayna Picchu was not in fact an easy trek, but a super challenging/thrilling/dangerous one. It's basically a 1.5 hour climb straight up the mountainside on these super slippy, super tall and lopsided, super dangerous 500 year old "steps." Here are a few photos from our trek (taken on some of the safer parts of the trail):

So, Tina and I slowly stepped our way up the mountain. We clung to the metal ropes (when provided), and cried silently when those life-preserving ropes disappeared. Only kidding, we didn't cry (outwardly, anyway!) We took our time and were passed up by several tour groups. We, in turn, passed by other people make the trek. All the while, people who had gone on the trail earlier were climbing down (which I think is actually more dangerous). Sometimes I would pause, gasp for breath, and ask, "Is it worth it?!" And they would reply enthusiastically, "Yes!" or "It's life changing!" or "Totally worth it!" I would then take a deep breath, mumble under my breath about how I could do this seemingly impossible task, and start stair-stepping again. There were some vistas where we were able to pause and take our photos. It was at that point that Tina told me that she is actually really afraid of heights (I had been wondering why she was crawling on her hands and knees to the edge of the walkway....)

Yes -- that tiny village in the background is Machu Picchu!!

At one point on the trail, we ran into an Aussie who was happily descending some tiny, crooked stairs. We asked him how much farther we had to go to get to the top. He replied, "No worries! You're only 10 minutes away from the top. Nearly there. Keep going! You just have to walk up a few more sets of stairs and through some caves, and you'll be there. Get ready to crawl on your hands and knees though - the caves are quite small." Perfect.

After a while, we got to a really cool set of ruins on the mountainside. I guess the Inca people had built a lookout fort at the top of the mountain to keep an eye on things. We meandered through these ruins and then through the caves the Aussie mentioned and we finally crawled to the very top of the mountain! IT WAS AMAZING! There were literally a cluster of 4 rocks that you could sort of stand on that formed the very tip of the mountain (no guard rails to prevent you from plummeting to your death, though. As you can imagine, Tina was pretty scared. But, she made it up to the top anyway!!)

After about 20 minutes of looking around those beautiful mountains, we started our descent. This was actually the trickiest part of the climb because you had to climb down those minuscule, ancient stairs like they were a ladder. Tina was terrified, so I ended up having to talk to her in my loud, American voice for 30 minutes as we ooched our way down the mountainside. At one point, Tina and I hopped into one of the ruins to let a tour group pass us. That's when I spotted my Yale friend Hannah K. climbing down the mountainside right behind us!!! HILARIOUS! After spotting her, I shouted out, "Hannah!!!" And she replied, "Ashley! I thought that was you! It looked and sounded liked you, but I was thrown off the University of Toronto shirt!" Hannah only had a few short moments to say hello, update me on her gap year before starting Law School at Standford, snap a photo, and start a "Morse Always Wins" chant before she jetted off to catch up with her tour group. I swear, the world gets smaller and smaller...

Anyway, Tina and I finally made it down the mountain. We felt like SUPER STARS! We did it! We survived Huayna Picchu! We looked around Machu Picchu for a while longer and then staggered back to the hostel to catch some sleep.

The next morning (after a bit of a logistical hiccup), we ended up staying in Aguas Calientes for a bit longer than anticipated. With a new guide, we headed to a local waterfall. We got there by walking along a railroad line, which passed through several tunnels. I asked our guide what would happen if a train came by while we were walking through the very narrow tunnels. He told me that we would just get as close to the wall as possible and hope that the train wouldn't hit us. I asked him if he were serious and he just laughed at me and kept walking...

...I scurried quickly through the tunnels.

Eventually, we made it back to Cusco (gorgeous drive from Ollayantay-tambo) and to Lima (by plane) where we continued to enjoy delicious chicken dinners...