Woohoo, Day 4 Machu Pichu

Being awoken at 3:30 am in order to get to the Sun Gate for Sunrise, we bundled up, donned our headlamp flashlights, quickly packed, ate another delicious breakfast, and were off by 4:30. The best part of breakfast was the quinua, oatmeal and applesauce porridge. Yum!

Once on the trail, it really didn't seem to matter what time it was, as we were awake pretty quickly in the fresh early morning air, and full of excitement in anticipation of arriving at our hard won destination. We had to wait at the checkpoint for 45 minutes, as the staff didn't open it until 5:30. However, we were glad to be at the front of the line, as there were several hundred people who arrived after us.

Finally, it opened and we were on pur way, most of us in a joyous mood, the fatigue of the last few days slipping away in anticipation. Unfortunately, Marianne's cold seemed to be at its worst, and she was terribly congested. We still had quite a few climbs to do, so it was pretty hard for her. As you can see by the pictures, she did her best to keep smiling in spite of her struggles.

As the finish line approached, Marianne and I started to talk about the amazing team that we have come to know through this experience. This has definitely been one of our favorite parts of the trip, as every person was a fascinating, accomplished person in their own right. We started to reflect on how much we would miss them, as our little family would soon be coming to an end. Exchanging emails, we promised to stay in touch, and to hopefully see each other again. We wish everyone of them the very richest of God's blessings in the future.

Today's trek felt like a bit of a horse race as we quick stepped toward the Sun Gate in order to catch the sun rising over Machu Pichu. We arrived in good time, and found ourselves a comfortable perch to sit upon and reflect on our journey. I felt such emotion well up inside as I looked down on the ruins that I had dreamed of seeing for so many years, and had worked so hard to get to. There are many people that I know who are not able to do this trek for a variety of reasons. I think of a special person that I love whose physical limitations prevent him from taking on hard physical challenges, but remains my greatest cheerleader and encourager. I think of our friend Susan who had to cancel at the last minute, even though she was probably the member of our group who wanted this trip the most. As the sun slowly climbed over the mountain, inching toward Machu Pichu, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of gratitude that I am so richly blessed to be in this wondrous place.

The Sun Gate

Machu Pichu esconced in full sunlight was quite wonderful, and we could see that there were already a lot of people exploring the ruins. "Rock and Roll", Reuben said for the 100th time on our trip, and we were on our way once more. After about 20 minutes, we finally arrived! I choked back the tears of exhaustion and happiness as we posed for our last group picture, and took some time to just gaze and enjoy.

We had to leave the ruins in order to take a bathroom break and to buy some much needed junk food. Some members of the group bought themselves a beer, but Marianne and I enjoyed a nice chocolate dish of ice cream. Ahhhh! Back into the ruins, we enjoyed a guided tour in which Reuben explained more about the site, and what historians believe to have been its function. Given that there was no recorded history of the Incas, they believe that this was a type of Inca university where people came to learn from the elders. There are homes for the Emperor of the time, as well as homes for the students who lived there. It is also thought that this site housed virgin young women, who were chosen for their beauty to become sacrifices to the Gods.

Machu Pichu

Marianne and I took a break from the group in order to honour Susan's greatest desire, which was to sit in a quiet place in the ruins, in order to pray and meditate. Although the ruins were very busy, we found the perfect place, a large rock outcropping, said a prayer of gratitude for making it to the ruins, as well as for Susan and her friend who has been enduring some challenging medical issues.

After finishing exploring the ruins, we took the bus to Agua Caliente, where we had a couple hours to explore the cute little mountain town with great character. We took the bus from there to Ollantayyambo, then caught our tour bus back home to our hotel in Cuzco. A shower and clean clothes were absolutely heavenly. After a quick supper, trip to the laundry with our filthy camp clothes, and calls to our loved ones back home, we were soon off to a delicious sleep.

 

 

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Woohoo, Day 4 Machu Pichu

Being awoken at 3:30 am in order to get to the Sun Gate for Sunrise, we bundled up, donned our headlamp flashlights, quickly packed, ate another delicious breakfast, and were off by 4:30. The best part of breakfast was the quinua, oatmeal and applesauce porridge. Yum!

Once on the trail, it really didn't seem to matter what time it was, as we were awake pretty quickly in the fresh early morning air, and full of excitement in anticipation of arriving at our hard won destination. We had to wait at the checkpoint for 45 minutes, as the staff didn't open it until 5:30. However, we were glad to be at the front of the line, as there were several hundred people who arrived after us.

Finally, it opened and we were on pur way, most of us in a joyous mood, the fatigue of the last few days slipping away in anticipation. Unfortunately, Marianne's cold seemed to be at its worst, and she was terribly congested. We still had quite a few climbs to do, so it was pretty hard for her. As you can see by the pictures, she did her best to keep smiling in spite of her struggles.

As the finish line approached, Marianne and I started to talk about the amazing team that we have come to know through this experience. This has definitely been one of our favorite parts of the trip, as every person was a fascinating, accomplished person in their own right. We started to reflect on how much we would miss them, as our little family would soon be coming to an end. Exchanging emails, we promised to stay in touch, and to hopefully see each other again. We wish everyone of them the very richest of God's blessings in the future.

Today's trek felt like a bit of a horse race as we quick stepped toward the Sun Gate in order to catch the sun rising over Machu Pichu. We arrived in good time, and found ourselves a comfortable perch to sit upon and reflect on our journey. I felt such emotion well up inside as I looked down on the ruins that I had dreamed of seeing for so many years, and had worked so hard to get to. There are many people that I know who are not able to do this trek for a variety of reasons. I think of a special person that I love whose physical limitations prevent him from taking on hard physical challenges, but remains my greatest cheerleader and encourager. I think of our friend Susan who had to cancel at the last minute, even though she was probably the member of our group who wanted this trip the most. As the sun slowly climbed over the mountain, inching toward Machu Pichu, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of gratitude that I am so richly blessed to be in this wondrous place.

The Sun Gate

Machu Pichu esconced in full sunlight was quite wonderful, and we could see that there were already a lot of people exploring the ruins. "Rock and Roll", Reuben said for the 100th time on our trip, and we were on our way once more. After about 20 minutes, we finally arrived! I choked back the tears of exhaustion and happiness as we posed for our last group picture, and took some time to just gaze and enjoy.

We had to leave the ruins in order to take a bathroom break and to buy some much needed junk food. Some members of the group bought themselves a beer, but Marianne and I enjoyed a nice chocolate dish of ice cream. Ahhhh! Back into the ruins, we enjoyed a guided tour in which Reuben explained more about the site, and what historians believe to have been its function. Given that there was no recorded history of the Incas, they believe that this was a type of Inca university where people came to learn from the elders. There are homes for the Emperor of the time, as well as homes for the students who lived there. It is also thought that this site housed virgin young women, who were chosen for their beauty to become sacrifices to the Gods.

Machu Pichu

Marianne and I took a break from the group in order to honour Susan's greatest desire, which was to sit in a quiet place in the ruins, in order to pray and meditate. Although the ruins were very busy, we found the perfect place, a large rock outcropping, said a prayer of gratitude for making it to the ruins, as well as for Susan and her friend who has been enduring some challenging medical issues.

After finishing exploring the ruins, we took the bus to Agua Caliente, where we had a couple hours to explore the cute little mountain town with great character. We took the bus from there to Ollantayyambo, then caught our tour bus back home to our hotel in Cuzco. A shower and clean clothes were absolutely heavenly. After a quick supper, trip to the laundry with our filthy camp clothes, and calls to our loved ones back home, we were soon off to a delicious sleep.

 

 

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Day 3 Inca Trail

Today was a sheer delight, with walks through beautiful jungle, amazing mountain vistas, and more ruins. Although we were awakened at 5:30 am to frost covered ground, the dining tent was toasty warm. After another gourmet meal, we were on our way, with a mainly downhill hike, with an elevation drop of 1000 meters.

The view from our tent at sunrise

Waking up in the middle of the night, and looking up into the stars was absolutely breathtaking. With absolutely no light pollution, it was magical, with the milky way so prominent and beautiful. As my friend Sandi told me, this is truly one of the most spectacular parts of the hike.

The sights today were unbelievable, with varying micro climates, including the high jungle, snow covered Andes, and unbelievable beautiful waterfalls.

 

Along the trail

We finally reached one of the most beautiful sites overlooking an amazing waterfall and snow capped mountains. We were close to our final campsite even though it was only lunchtime so we were very excited.

Our Amazing PortersThe views don't get any better!

Our team. Amazing trekkers, every one!

Very happy to be almost done.

We arrived at camp to discover one of the very best parts of the hike; HOT SHOWERS! This is another special feature that Alpaca Expeditions offers, and shows the extra care and attention that they offer. They boil the water on the stove, then put it in a bucket with a hose, which they feed into a hole in the wall of an actual shower room. Since the shower is quite a distance from the camp, it takes a lot of work for the porters to run back and forth with buckets of water just so that we trekkers can enjoy this unspeakable luxury.

Jeri, one of our new friends, beside her tent.

View from the camp

Amazing Jungle plants

Marianne is really suffering with her cold, and although she did well on the trek today, she skipped lunch and collapsed into the tent for an afternoon nap. After our afternoon siesta, we went for a 5 minute walk to the most spectacular ruins that we have seen so far, Wiñaywayna, the temple of the rainbow.

This is an impressive site, with many stone buildings and a complete water system with cascading pools. According to our guide Reuben, Winaywana was used as a home for the Incan Emperor while he was waiting for Machu Pichu to be built.

The llamas also love it. Because the entire Inca Trail is parkland, they are protected by the government.

Once we returned from exploring the ruins, each of us was presented with a t shirt that says "I survived the Inca Trail" by one of the porters. This was such a significant thing for me that I almost started crying.

 

We came back from our short hike to our dinner tent all decorated with streamers and a beautiful cocoa cake with caramel icing decorated with strawberries. On the top it said, "Welcome to Machu Pichu" It's hard to believe that the trek is almost over, and although I will be really glad to sleep in a real bed tomorrow, to have a proper shower, and to go for a massage, I will be really sad to say good-bye to all the other trekkers, the porters, the cooks, and our amazing guides Reuben and Wilson.

 

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Day 2 Inca Trail

If yesterday was gruelling, today was torture! This is the longest, most demanding day of the trek, with a 10 mile hike that was straight up for the first half, and straight down for the second, with an elevation gain of 800 meters. The physical demands of two days in a row of hard hiking are as taxing as running a marathon two days in a row. When I asked one guy that we met on the hike how he trained, he said, "You couldn't have trained for this. You would have had to set the treadmill at the steepest incline and run with a plastic bag over your head for a few hours, maybe punch a few holes in it."

By the time we stopped for supper, almost 12 hours after starting this morning, my legs were like jelly, and I hardly had the strength to eat my supper.

Marianne has come down with a cold, so the hike was especially tough for her, but she hung in there and finished near the front of the group. We took turns crying today out of sheer exhaustion. Many times along the way today I found myself asking why in the heck we were doing this. I think it has something to do with the need to challenge ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This truly is a once in a lifetime adventure unparalleled by beauty, spirituality and comraderie. Marianne and I have drawn closer together through shared suffering, and we have thoroughly enjoyed all the members of our team.

 

The amazing sights that we have seen today include several Incan ruins, mind blowing scenery of waterfalls raging through the Andes, and the rare black llama.

As with yesterday, every meal was a feast, with far more food than we could eat. We were treated to hot water bottles for bedtime, and were once again fast asleep by 7:30 in anticipation of our 5:30 am wake-up call.

 

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Day One- Off to Machu Pichu!

We were up and ready to go by 4:30 am. There are 9 people in our group, plus two guides, 17 porters, and 1 cook. After a 2 hour drive, in which most of us at least tried to sleep, we stopped at Olantaytambu for a bathroom break and to purchase last minute snacks. This is such a beautiful mountain town, and it is bustling with people heading to Machu Pichu.

We drove for another 45 minutes down a bumpy dirt road through farms and along the Urumbaba River. The Inca people are amazing farmers, being responsible for the development of many crops such as quinua, over 500 different types of potatoes and many varieties of corn.

We finally arrived at the trailhead where bowls of water, soap and facecloth were ready for us to wash up. A fabulous breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, juice and hot chocolate was waiting for us. We met our porters, had our last minute bathroom break, and headed toward the checkpoint.

Our waiter, Jésus, complete with bowtie.

The Peru government strictly controls the Inca trail, allowing only 500 people on it each day. We registered months in advance in order to ensure our spot, and everyone must go with a registered guide company, as the trail goes through many of the Inca ruins, and they want to ensure that they continue to be protected.

This was a gruelling day, with over 1100 meter climb, but it was actually much more, because the trail went up, then down. Both Marianne and I found the long uphills exhausting, and at one point, I found myself thinking about how much I hated the trek. However, our guides Rueben and Wilson are outstanding, allowing us to go at our own pace, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Unforunately, most of the pictures are on my camera, and I will have to wait until we return home before I can download them onto my blog.

We finally arrived at our camp at about 4:30. Our tents were already set up for us, there was a warm bowl of water with soap and washcloth set up for us, and even a porta potty! This is camping in style! Once we were set up, hot chocolate and popcorn was ready for happy hour. It was already getting quite cold, so we bundled up and enjoyed congratulating each other as we enjoyed our nice fresh treats.

Supper was again a 5 star treat of vegetable soup, Inca corn, fresh vegetables, chicken, rice and fried eggplant. After eating, we cllimbed into our sleeping bags and were asleep by 7:30. Wakeup is at 5:00 am, so we want to get a good sleep in order to prepare for tomorrow's hike.

 

 

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Day 3 - Cuzco and Sacred Valley Tour

We were off for our tour to the Sacred Valley at 7:45 in the morning, our tour guide Ariel keeping us entertained with great humour and information about the area, as well as bits of the Quechan language. For example, it doesn't rain cats and dogs here, it rains llamas, alpacas and sheep. Ha! Ha!

In the days of the Incas it was originally a 20 day walk from Cuzco to Machu Pichu. Now, we can take a bus and a train the whole way. Unless you are two middle aged adventurers like Marianne and I who are determined to do the 4 day hike!

Our first stop was in Pisaq, which is known for silver and ceramics. Ariel explained that it is very difficult to know when you are getting good silver in the town markets, and instead took us to a good silver shop, where Marianne and I both bought some lovely pieces. (Good thing they take Visa!). The main dish in Pisaq is llama head soup.

Along the way we saw llamas, alpacas and picuyna.

Alpaca (smaller than the llama, like a big sheep, very soft coat)

Llama

Picuyna. This animal is protected by the government.

Local people make their own adobe bricks to build their own homes. Along the way, we saw people making these bricks by hand and leaving them in the sun to dry. The people living away from the cities live very simple lives, growing their own gardens, keeping a few animals, and living very cheaply but, according to Ariel, happy.

Along the way, we stopped in a small market to do some quick shopping.

The Sacred Valley is so called for a couple of reasons, first because the river that runs through the Sacred Valley was called Wilkumai in Inca times, which means wise river. But, most importantly, the Inca people built on the mountains for astronomy and protection, it was the Spanish who began building in the valleys. The Sacred Valley is perfectly aligned with the milky way, which was thought to be important for the afterlife.

The Incas were incredible architects, who built amazing terraces to prevent erosion and landslides. We saw several ancient cities today including Urabamba, Calca, Olyantambo and Chinchero. These ancient cities still have many terraces and stone structures still standing. Some of the stones they used were up to 7 tons, and they were perfectly cut to fit into the next stone, with notches much like lego bricks so that each stone fit perfectly into the next. These stones were moved from a rock quarry on the next mountain several miles away. Amazing!

Terraces with stone structures on top.

Tomorrow, we are off to hike the Inca Trail, a 4 day, 3 night adventure, where we will be sleeping in tents high up in the Andes with no electricity and no wifi. It drops close to freezing at night, so if we make it back alive, I will have several posts to add in 4 days.

 

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