Machu Picchu

Day 1 – Jungle Trek – Biking and rafting, fucking Bueno!

Another early start as we were picked up at 7.20am to start our jungle adventure, we were collected and walked to a nearby mini-bus which we then spent some time going around town picking up more people for the trip.

Once out of town, we then drove for around 2 hours through nice countryside until we came to a small town where we stopped at a café for breakfast, well a coffee in our case.  The owner of the café did his best to drum up business by telling everyone it was the last place where we could pick up snacks and essentials such as sun cream and repellent (he also informed us that none of our hostels would have toilet paper – not the case).

 

After breakfast, we the headed up through some beautiful mountainside, through winding bends and climbing high up into the mountains and clouds.  When we got to the top of the mountain at roughly 4000 metres we parked up and got off the mini-bus, it was time for the adventure to begin, which was with a downhill bike ride.

We put on all our safety equipment and as we did the heavens opened and after a bit of consideration we opted to stay on the mini-bus for the first stage, together with 5 others, as we did not have many clothes for the 4-day trip and wanted to keep our boots dry for tomorrows 7hr jungle trek.  However, 3 brave souls and our guide took to the road in terrible conditions.

 

Continuing down the mountainside for some time we stopped again and were given the option to start riding. But it was still raining heavily and the clouds had come and you couldn’t see much in front of you, so we declined.  Although another couple started the ride, however their guide did not fancy it and stayed on the bus, which was a bit naughty.

 

One final stop and our guide told us it was the last leg of the ride and urged us to get on the bikes for it, as the rain had started to ease off we agreed.  The road was full of hairpins and still very wet so we took it fairly gently, but still getting very wet.  Along the way just as we were drying off it started to rain again and this was not helped by the fact that we also had to ride through large streams that crossed the road, getting us soaked. Shel decided to negotiate the streams at around 30mph getting herself absolutely drenched, but fun to watch!

Just as we were nearing the end I heard a squeal of brake behind me and I turned around to check that Shell hadn’t come off, but as I did so I steered myself into a large ditch at the side of the road.  Fortunately the only thing I hurt was my pride as the guide came to check that I was OK.

Eventually we made it to the end where we both looked like drowned rats and was soaked though to our underwear.  Worse still, our walking boots were soaked through, with 3 days of hiking ahead of us this was the last thing we wanted.

Climbing back on the mini-bus we then headed to the town of Santa Maria where we were taken to our hostel for the night and given some lunch with a very tasty quinoa soup.  Our room was fairly basic but OK, it had little room to dry our wet gear but we managed to improvise and found a fan in the room which we propped up to dry our boots.

An hour later it was time for another activity and despite being soaked through today we were heading out for some white water rafting!  After a short drive out of town we were deposited at the side of a large river where we donned yet more safety equipment and were given instructions on how to do the rafting.

Whilst we were waiting to get in the boat Shell was being flash-mobbed by lots of hungry mosquito’s that were drawing blood at a rapid rate, so she was very happy when we got in the boat and started down river.

The river was not as manic as the one we had done in Chile, in our expert opinions we recon it was a grade II so the danger of coming out the boat was not that great.  However, it did not stop us getting wet as there were three boats going down the river and we took it in turns to attack each other, splashing each other with our paddles as we got close.

After negotiation of a number of rapids we were still attacking each other, but the boat guides took it to another level, hooking people with their paddles and throwing them out the boat into the river. Each successful boat battle, or rapid we had cleared, we had to bang our paddles together and shout ‘Fucking Bueno’.  Luckily Shell and I didn’t get thrown in and made it to the end still on board.  The rafting was not as exciting as our first experience, but with the fun and games it was enjoyable all the same…..apart from the mosquito’s.

Back on dry land when Shell checked she had been absolutely hammered by the mosquito’s, I recon she must have had about 80 bites on her legs and was not going to be a happy bunny tonight!

We were then taken back to the hostel where the group (7 of us) sat down to an evening meal which included another quinoa soup (we were to have a lot of soup on this trip!).  After dinner, the guide explained what the plan was for the next day, a 9 hour trek which if we liked we could turn into a 7 hour trek if we paid about £1 each to get a mini-bus for the first flat section.  A debate took place between us all with a couple of the girls (obviously on a tight budget) saying they would be happy to walk. Happily common sense won the day and in the end we all agreed we would go for the mini-bus option and have a slightly later start to the day.

In the evening we had a few beers speaking to the guide (Sandie/Andi depending on who spoke to him) and getting a bit of an impromptu Spanish lesson off of him, before heading to bed for an early night and some scratching for Shell.

Day 2 – Rain Rain Rain, oh and a 7hr Jungle trek, Fucking Bueno!!!

Waking up early once again we were happy to find the fan had done the trick and our boots were dry. We headed down for breakfast which was pancakes and banana’s before boarding the mini-bus at around 7am.  Fortunately Shell had the foresight of buying plastic mac’s off of the hostel owners which we used to cover our day packs, which was a good thing as when we got off of the mini-bus for the start of the trek it started raining again.

Not only was it raining but the start of the trek was up and we learned that it was going right to the highest point of the hike. 

 

Puffing and wheezing our way up through the path we were passing through jungle containing mango trees various jungle fauna and flora until after an hour or so we stopped at a place called the monkey house. Apparently, they had three resident monkeys there, but now there was only 1 as the others had escaped into the jungle, which for us was a good as the remaining one was tied to a piece of rope.

We stopped at the monkey house for some time as Sandi filled us in with information on the Inca civilization. He also took some time for us to sample some jungle produce which included chocolate and honey coated cacao beans.

 

It was also time to sample some of the local hooch/firewater and Sandi produced one bottle containing a fermented snake inside that we all had to have shots of (not nice).  We then had two more shots of other varieties of spirits, one with lots of plants inside (that cure all illnesses) and another coffee one which was marginally better, all at about 9 in the morning.

With the aid of the spirits inside of us Sandi then decided it was time to show us a local plant used for make-up and dying clothes, which he then used to paint all our faces.  Not content with that he decided it was time for a bit of dressing up and got us all dressed up in local costume for a photo opportunity.  As you can see Shell picked out some very natty headwear!!

 

Fun and games done it was time to head out into the rain again to finish the hike to the very top of the cloud strewn mountain.  I can’t say it was much fun, the rain was getting worse!But you did get some wonderful views of the Jungle and river below.

Once at the top we were very relieved as we were promised the rest of the track was fairly flat or down.  At this point we actually joined up with the Inca trail proper, which were very narrow, cliff hanging affairs, which a couple of the girls who suffered from vertigo were not too happy with.

Still persistently raining we headed along and down the Inca trail taking it very carefully down slippery steps for around another hour or so, by which time the heavens had truly opened, until we reached another local house where we stopped to rest.  Here we were told we could eat some snacks that we bought with us, what snacks??  Shell and I had not packed anything!

Anyway it wasn’t too bad because after that stop we hiked down for about an hour past torrents of streams that were gushing down the mountainside due to the amount of rain, before stopping at a local house for dinner.

 

We had a soup starter again, which was nice after being rained on for about 4 hours and a main course of spaghetti bolognaise which was pretty good.  After dinner the guide said we would hang around here for a while to see if the rain would ease off…..it didn’t.

 

So after about an hour Sandi made the call and we had to head out to get wet again.  We hiked to the bottom of the mountain where we then picked up a path that ran alongside a raging river until we got to a very precarious looking hanging bridge.  Crossing the bridge you had to watch out for missing and rotten slats until you reached the other side, the vertigo girls did well over this!!

 

On the other side we continued alongside the river for another hour or so and then had to climb a bit up the side to get to the next river crossing point.  Here there was a very interesting (or scary if you have vertigo) mode of transport, it was basically a couple of cables that went high across the river below to the other side.  Attached to the cables was a hanging cradle which was manually pulled to one side and then two people got in and the cradle slid across to the other side of the river.  It looked hard work for the guys operating it, you had to pay £2.50 a person at the other side sowit  it appeared to be quite a prosperous occupation!

Once across the void (still raining) we headed through a very dark tunnel, only lit by peoples mobile phone torches before finally finishing the trek at the end destination which were some hot springs.  Shell and I after being soaked all day did not fancy getting into the springs and getting back into wet clothes, also Shell did not fancy getting some additional bites so we opted to sit and have a beer instead with Sandi whilst the others took their thermal baths.

After an hour or so of waiting for the bathers to return we were once more given an option, either a final ½ walk into the town we were staying at or pay for a mini-bus instead.  Once again Shell and I took the easy/sensible option (as did our guide) and got the bus whilst the others opted for the walk, we think we made the right decision as it turned out to be a steep hike up to the town.

We were taken to our hostel and shown to a room, which turned out to be flooded, the owner wanted to try and mop it up but we insisted on another room.  The second room apart from not being flooded was not much better, pretty pokey with a cold shower, which was just what we needed after hiking 7 hours in the rain!! Oh, and the bathroom had a window that looked out into the corridor so anyone walking down the stairs got treated to a view of our white bits!

As we had got back before the others, we had some time to kill before our evening meal so we headed to a nearby restaurant for a quick beer before returning to the hostel to get ready.  Still having some time, I did the caring thing and applied tiger balm to Shell’s bites, but as I did I thought it would be interesting to do a head count……..107 bites on her legs (and arse!!).

Sandi the guide had told us tonight was party night as we were in a bigger town (Santa Theresa) with bars and that we had a far easier day and later start the next day.  We went to a restaurant where we had our evening meal, but after that it turned into party night.  Firstly, we were given about 4 shots of Inca Tequila each and then it got silly with the guides producing a large penis drinking vessel which we all had to drink more Inca tequila from (with the added bonus of the end of it having condensed milk applied to it……nice).

The restaurant got quite raucous with a number of trekking groups there (including the two aussie’s that we had met waiting in the bus station in Ica) all doing these various shots, concluding with a large conga dance around the restaurant.

After the restaurant, we then headed down some streets until we were led to the local night club and went in there for a few more drinks.  Most of the trekking groups were in there celebrating with the guides, some bad dancing was done (especially by the young German guy, Benedict, who had inadvertently joined our group) and a bit of pole dancing. However after a few drinks, tired legs and not being able to stomach much more of the dodgy Peruvian techno music, Shell and I decided to slope off back to the hostel around 12ish and let the others continue.

Day 3 – Naughty Guide, no rain, Fucking Bueno!!

The next morning we awoke with slight hangovers but were surprised to find we were the first ones to arrive for breakfast at the restaurant.  When the others turned up and we started chatting we found out a couple of things from the night before.  Firstly, someone had entered one of the girls rooms in the hostal and riffled through her bag and stolen her passport copies, which was a bit alarming. But secondly and more amusingly, Sandi had got pretty plastered and made a clumsy pass at one of the girls in our group back at the hostel.  Apparently another girl in another room had heard ‘Tengo un Novio’ (I have a boyfriend) coming from outside her door!!  When Sandi turned up at the restaurant looking suitably hungover and sheepish!!

After breakfast it was onto our next activity and we were back in a mini-bus and were driven a short way out of town to a site where we were going to do zip-lining.  We waited around for a bit then were kitted out in our harnesses, helmets and thick gloves, after which we were given a demonstration on the position to adopt on the zip-line.

Once we were all ready we then actually had to hike up a side of a hill, which wasn’t good with tired legs and hangovers until we reached the point where the first line was.  It was about 1000 metres long and stretched high above the river below.    

 

The vertigo girls were really nervous but they courageously managed to do the first zip-line and then Shell took to the air just before me so I could get some snaps of her.  It was then my turn and I must say I was a bit nervous as I started to wonder how old the cable was!!  You did not have that long to think about it as once you were attached to the cable the instructor pretty much instantaneously launched you on your way.  It was OK but it did worry you when you started twisting on the line with your head getting closer to the cable.

 

Once the first one was done there were two more which were traversing the valley which we did, one of which I stopped short of the landing point and had to turn around and manually haul myself, using the cable, until I reached the end (Shell had to do this on one also).

At the final line we were given the option to be a bit more brave and do a ‘Superman’ whereby they change the position of your harness so you are dangling on the line by you back and you can whizz down the line, flying like superman.  Shell and I both went for this option, which was cool apart from when you started to twist again, travelling sideways.

 

Just when we thought the fun and games were over we were then directed to a very precarious rope bridge that crossed back over the river.  You were then clipped to one of the side cables and had to walk about 200 metres along the bridge which was made from slats with huge spaces in between them whilst it bucked and turned, your feet sometimes at 60 degree angles.  The vertigo girls did so well on this activity having conquered their fears.

 

Back at the start we rested for a while, until I saw Sandi having a football kick about with his mate.  I had chatted to him previously and he was really into football too, so when he invited me to join in I couldn’t resist, even if I was wearing walking boots.  Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea as I was then hot and sweaty when we got back on the mini-bus.

From the zip-lining venue we were then driven for around an hour to a place called hydro-electric where we were due to start the next part of our trek.  But before we did we stopped at a local restaurant where we had some lunch, with the now obligatory soup starter.

After lunch we learned that Sandi was not going to be joining us on the trek as he maintained he had left something back at the hostel and had to collect it (he handed over to the other guide, who was Benedict’s Guide), he would then get the train and meet us at the next town in the evening.  However we think he was really hanging from the night before and gave his guide mate a bung to take us on.

The trek started off ominously as we climbed up for a bit, but then it was OK as we found that we basically had a 3 hour walk following the train line to our final town and base for Machu Pichu, Aguas Caliente.

 

Even though our legs were heavy the walk was fairly pleasant, made better by the fact that it wasn’t raining.  The railway cut through the jungle running alongside a large river and along the way we got our first glimpse of Machu Pichu and the surrounding mountains which was nice.

 

Three hours later and feeling a little tired we arrived in Aguas Caliente and found that it was a really bustling tourist town.  After a few phone calls, our temporary guide managed to find Sandi in town and he then took us to our hostel for the night.  Fortunately, this hostel was much better and we were put in a room with a window view over a raging river next to the hostel, hope that doesn’t keep us awake.

 

We had a couple of hours until our evening meal so we headed out to have a look around the town, we headed to a small square, complete with a plastic bottle xmas tree where we found a restaurant that overlooked it and had a drink.  On the way back to the hostel we came across a traditional Peruvian dog, bald apart from its tail and what looks like a Mohican haircut on its head, not very attractive!

 

Back at the hostel Sandi then gave us another decision to make, either do the Inca steps trek up to Machu Pichu, which was over 1000 steps straight up or pay to get the bus up to the top, which also meant not starting climbing at 4am in the morning.  As we had climbed so many mountains, volcano’s, etc we both decided we had nothing to prove so went for the easy option.  We can appreciate the Inca steps on the way down!  So we were taken to the bus station before dinner so we could get our tickets.

Our evening meal was different as we actually had a choice of what we could eat, so we didn’t have to have a soup starter which made a nice change.  After dinner Sandi came and sorted our various tickets for the next day and handed us all pack lunches for the next day too.

We also learned that Sandi would not be coming to Machu Pichu with us as he was going to get the train back to Cusco early the next day.  Instead he said the other guide, who was a Machu Pichu expert would be going with us and would be giving us a two hour tour when we got there.  So, when dinner was over we said our goodbye’s to Sandi and he got a reduced tip from us, based on his last two days inactivity!

After dinner it was still fairly early so Shell and I found another restaurant where we had a couple more beers before turning in for the night.

Day 4 – Machu Picchu at last, Fucking Bueno!!

Today we were up very early again at 5am as we had to get to Machu Picchu for sunrise so we got ready and walked to the bus station to queue for our bus, together with two others from our group.  Whilst we waited we met up with two of the people from our group and grabbed a coffee from a nearby café.

On the bus, we then crossed the river before heading up the hill passing hikers that looked very tired climbing up the 1000+ steps, a very wise decision by us to do it the easy way.  At about 6.15 we reached the top and met up with the rest of our group who had climbed the stairs and looked very hot, sweaty and tired.

 

Our guide then led us into a very foggy/cloudy Machu Picchu and we worried that after 3 days of trekking we would not be able to see a thing, but the guide assured us that by 8am the fog will lift.

The guide took us to one quiet corner of the site and then began his tour/commentary.  He had told us the night before that we all had to listen to him and not take pictures whilst he was doing his thing.  Being honest this was easier said and done as the fog began to lift and you could see the magnificence of the place, whilst he banged on for about an hour and a half about the Inca civilisation.

 

The explanations he gave to be fair were very interesting and he had a vast knowledge of Machu Pichu, his theory was that this was not the hidden city as so many Inca trails led to it.  In fact, what he said was it was a sort of University where the Inca came to learn trades, such as building, agriculture and astronomy.

 

After going on for a while we were all chomping at the bit to go and explore it for ourselves and exhaust our camera’s.  But then he led us around some of the site pointing out various astronomical instruments (two pools of water that reflected the sky), a very neat and accurate rock compass and explained the methods in which the rocks were split to build the city.

 

Finally, we were released so we could explore ourselves so we wandered around for a bit taking far too many photo’s, trying to find angles that excluded the hordes of tourists that were all around the site.

 

Once we had exhausted the photo’s we then decided to trek up to the Sun gate where you could get your picture postcard shot of the whole of Machu Pichu from an elevated view.  We started to hike up a path which turned out to be far further than we thought, so after ½ we stopped and rested whilst we ate our packed lunch.

Setting off again it was another ½ of uphill walking to reach the Sun gate and we were pretty pleased that we hadn’t done the steps at the start of the day.  Eventually we reached the top only to discover that it was a total white out there, all the clouds totally obscured the view of the city that we were hoping we would see!!

As we had struggled up there we decided to hang around for ½ hour or so to see if the clouds would clear/burn off…..they didn’t!  So, giving up on getting ‘the shot’ we headed down to the main site where we continued to wander around and get yet more pictures.

 

Having been there for around 5 hours and managing to get the classic llama shots we decided it would be nice to head back into town to get a bite to eat before the long trip back to Cusco.  Machu Picchu was amazing and it’s another thing off our bucket list which is good as they are threatening to close it to the public within the next 5 years (although I cannot see that happening).

Now it was time to tackle those Inca steps we had avoided on the way up.  After a brief rest at the top we started to head down them, which once again made us realise that we had made the right decision not to climb them.

Around halfway down them one of my knees was killing me and we were getting passed by lots of people desperate to catch there mini-bus at Hydro-Electric a further 3 hours away (and by plenty of dogs along the way, who made it look easy!).

 

I had to stop about 2/3 of the way down to rest my knee before attempting the rest of the decent which seemed to go on forever.  At the bottom, we still had about another ½ walk to take us back into town.  Once entering the town, we stopped in the first bar we found for some liquid refreshments.

 

It was soon time to return to Cusco and once again we had our easy heads on and rather than do the 3 hour walk to meet the mini-bus followed by a 7-hour road journey, we had paid a little extra and opted for the train journey followed by a 2 hour mini-bus trip.  So, on the way to the train station we grabbed a sandwich and an Empanada at the waited at the station for our train to board.

 

On board the train it was really nice as it had been designed for tourists so not only was it very comfortable, with a free drinks/snack service but it had glass panels in the ceiling so you could really appreciate the view.  The journey was stunning passing through jungle and mountain scenery. It was just a shame that it was hard to keep our eyes open after an early start and quite a bit of hiking.

 

After two hours, we reached a small town where we got off and were met by a guy who took us to a mini-bus for the rest of the journey.  The mini-bus journey was fairly un-eventful and once again we dozed along the way before arriving back in Cusco around 6 in the afternoon.

We walked back to our original hostel and checked back in and collected our bags which had been stored whilst we were away. 

Once we had unpacked again we headed up to the Norton bar where we had some drinks on the balcony whilst watching the people down in the main Plaza.  It appears like in the UK, Saturday is a wedding day and it was amazing to see that there were at least 7 wedding couple that came to the main cathedral, after getting married, to get their wedding photos done in front of it

As it had been a very long day we only stopped for a couple of drinks before heading back to the hostel for an early night.