Machu Picchu (24 - 27 May 2008)
Due to the Inca Trail being booked so far in advance, we decided beforehand not to do this traditional route. So once we got to Cuzco, we booked an alternative trip called The Inca Jungle Trail. This tour’s itinerary stretched over four days and included one days’ cycling from San Luis to Santa Maria, two days’ trekking from Santa Maria to Aguas Calientes and the last day visiting Machu Picchu and travelling back to Cuzco.
After a night of very little sleep due to the Israelis’ inconsiderate tendencies, we dragged ourselves out of bed to kick off the trip to this one of the Seven Wonders. Our group existed of 10 people - six English, Two Chileans and the two of us. With the mountain bikes on the roof of the minibus we set of to San Luis, the starting point of the mountain biking.
On arrival, we kitted up with helmets and gloves and started the 5 hour down hill trip to Santa Maria. The guide, Eduardo, was cycling in the back to make to ensure our safety. The first mishap was with one of the English guys - his seat broke. So Eduardo swapped the broken seat with his own. This meant that the poor guy had to do the remaining four and a half hours standing up, but it also meant that he did not have an extra seat or the tools to fix it in his ‘kit bag’. This was a bad sign so early on in the trip.
The road to Santa Maria was super exciting - a very bumpy, fast downhill dirt road! As I was flying down the route, my tube exploded with a loud “Kabham!” I nearly crashed my bike, thinking someone was shooting at us, but I manage to control the bike and bring it to a halt. Eon and I waited next to the road for the guide to come to my rescue. And true as Bob, he did not have an extra tyre. He replaced the inner tube and Eon made an attempt to fix the torn tyre. Eon’s bicycle kept slipping out of gear, so he ended up taking the guide’s bicycle (but kept his own seat). About 5 minutes later my tyre blew out again. I was waiting for the guide, when a girl came along pushing her bicycle. She was an Israeli (what are the odds?!) who was doing a similar tour with another company, but she fell and her arm hurt too much to continue cycling. How lucky am I? I mean I did feel a little bit sorry for her about her arm, but it also meant that I had a replacement bicycle! The guide finally arrived, looking very discouraged - who could blame him, his group had numerous problems with their bicycles, he did not have the efficient gear to fix it and he had to do a four hour bicycle ride with no seat and slipping gears. I arranged the swap and continued to Santa Maria. Eon and I really enjoyed the cycling, even with all the crappy mishaps - who would not enjoy a 65km downhill?
We arrived in Santa Maria around 17:00, dirty and exhausted, and immediately celebrated with an ice cold beer. The guesthouse was great - we had a shared room, but it was clean and the shower was hot. It was much better than we expected it to be and the dinner was good as well. Part of the hostel’s entertainment was two very cocky parrots and an over-energetic dog who thinks anything ball-shaped is meant for him to play catch with (even the lemons!).
Day two was an eight hour trek from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa. The hike was quite exhausting. We meandered over the mountains through coca and coffee plantations. After lunch five of us decided to start walking while the rest of the group still lazed in the sun. We asked the guide about the route and he said it was an easy walk all the way along the road, crossing the river twice. So we set off on the trail at a slow pace, thinking that the group should catch up with us at some stage. After an hour and a half of climbing, we noticed that our group was on a totally different path than us. They were not climbing! So we had to turn back and try and catch up with them. We were so upset with the guide’s incompetence. When we finally arrived at the hot springs, we found the guide enjoying himself in the pool. Could you believe that even when he noticed we were not at our destination he did not come back to look for us? This was it - no tip for Eduardo!
We all thought that day three would be an easy trek - it was only six hours and mostly on flat terrain. When we woke up, it was pouring with rain outside and we were really worried - if this rain continued, we would not have a Machu Picchu photo-perfect-day the next day. The rain stopped at around 8am and we started our trek through the mud. We had a very scary manual cable-car river crossing just outside of Santa Teresa and then trekked to Hydroelectrica where we had lunch. From here we walked along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, but walking along train tracks meant walking on loose rocks for three hours. When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, our feet were on fire! But this did not dampen our excitement about seeing Machu Picchu the next day.
Day four - we woke up with excitement in the air. Today we are going to see Machu Picchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World! At 4am I nervously peaked out the window, because I thought I heard rain…there it was: a beautiful clear sky! The rain I heard was the river nearby.
We arrived at Machu Picchu at 6am and started the uphill walk to the main viewpoint. We waited until 7am to see the sun rising over the mountain, covering the ruins below in a golden glow. After taking about a gazillion photos, we queued for the climb up Huayna Picchu. Only 400 people a day are allowed to hike up this mountain to view Machu Picchu from afar. This was one of the most crowded sights we have ever visited and getting a picture without a tourist in it was impossible. But never the less, Machu Picchu is a spectacular sight.
On returning from Huayna Picchu, we had a two hour guided tour that gave us more insight into the history of Machu Picchu and the people who lived here. The Incas built this secret city in the 15ht century for their royalty. The king and his family lived here until they had to flee from the Spaniards. This ancient city was never revealed to the conquering Spaniards and was virtually forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1911.
We spent the entire day walking around Machu Picchu and admiring the incredible ruins.
Click on the image below to view the gallery for Machu Picchu:
