Machu Picchu (At Last)

Well, we finally made it to South America's most lauded archeological site. We decided to do the Inka Jungle Trek, which consists of riding down a very steep windy mountain road for 3 hours from the chilly mountain top into the comparitively balmy jungle at the bottom. And 2 days of hiking to the small town of Aguas Calientes. And the last day is spent checking out Macchu Picchu itself.

First some advice on finding a tour...always shop around, always bargain and never buy your tour on the internet unless you don't mind paying significantly higher prices. And ask to see the equipment they intend to provide you with. A bike with good shocks makes a big difference on gravel roads.

Our group was comprised of 2 elderly Israeli women and one Israeli son. A young Spaniard and an American who introduced himself as Rambo...yes...I had to stifle a giggle...luckily it wasn't a guffaw or I wouldn't have succeeded in stifling it. It turned out his first name was Tyler.

The bike ride down the mountain was incredibly beautiful. Andean vistas to be seen for miles upon miles while you enjoyed the comfort of paved roads for most of the way. It wasn't entirely without hazards however...if you're thinking it doesn't sound particularly adventurous (even little old ladies can do it). You do have to pay attention to the road which is very windy and caters to ordinary drivers.....who speed up going into the curves and never stay exclusively in their lane and of course never consider that they can't see what's coming in that lane around the corner. Luckily we had prior experience on the drive up the mountain and knew what to expect. My strategy was just to stop or slow down and stay to the right when I could hear or see a car coming in advances...sometimes they'd honk their horns in warning. Other hazards were the potential of rockslides, the evidence of which was apparent in some parts of the road, and keeping your own speed under control so you didn't wind up falling down a cliff. Not such a difficult task, but important. When we got to the gravel section it was less steep, but boy is it hard on the butt, and the hands(from the vibration). It was also alot harder to control the bike....yes...I took a fall. But I was fine, a few bruises and a scraped elbow. I dusted off and got back on. I wasn't too disappointed when the guide decided we should take the car up the hill to our final destination due to his concern of the older ladies' ability to make it before dark. Afterall the scenic part was done with.

The next day was sunny and just right for walking. We walked through the jungle on an ancient Inka trail that the government of Peru uncovered 6 years ago...probably it brings alot of wealth from tourism and encourages economic growth. Apparently there were 6 trails leading to Macchu Picchu way back when. Along the way we saw people's coffee and coca plantations. Fruit orchards abound...but they just look like part of the jungle sometimes. The trail afforded some more amazing views and was mostly in good condition. It's kind of scary at times because you are literally walking along an path on a cliff that is about 2 feet wide. Just don't look down. According to our guide the Inka's built these trails in such scary way to prove their bravery. I'm not too sure I believe it, more likely it was just the easiest way through the mountains.Day 2 ended in a long luxurious swim at the hot springs near Santa Teresa, the town we stayed in. They are the most beautiful hot springs I have seen yet. 5 stars.

Who knows how we had the energy to go out to the disco that night, but it proved to be worthwhile. Our guide took us to a local disco to party since it would be ridiculously expensive to do it in Aguas Calientes. Crudo's Bar, didn't happen to be open when we got there so our guide went in to the store next door and asked for them to open it. 2 minutes later a woman came out into the street and started shouting for Franco to come open the bar. Brad and I were the only ones going to the bar....we thought it quite an honour that so much trouble was being made for our enjoyment. 20 minutes later we were permitted into the bar another 20 minutes later we were offered a drink and another 20 minutes later we got our drinks....all this despite the fact that Brad and I were the only ones there. When we finally got our drinks the waitress decided to clean the cigarette butts off our table from the previous nights revelries....she swiped them straight onto the floor at our feet....Much improved I dare say!

We passed the time waiting for more clientele to show up by making fun of one of the Israeli women. The entire trip this lady complained about everything as if she didn't know what to expect when she signed up for the trip. She didn't want to hike in the sun or the rain or the dark. She didn't want to carry her bags...she wanted to hire a porter and take a bus. At dinner she had to have a banana because she was tired of eating rice, when she got the banana as she asked she complained that it wasn't fried.We were very relieved that she didn't want to come to the discotec I'm sorry to say.

Eventually people did show up at the bar to party.At which point we started to get our guide drunk, we figured he deserved a night of fun and relaxation after having to work so hard for such a tedious bunch. And we danced like mad and had lots of fun.

The following day was more of the same kind of walking...more boring in fact as it was mostly along a flat dirt road until we reached the railroad tracks leading in to Agua Calientes at which point we just walked along the railway track. It was rather hard on the ankles and probably the most treacherous part of the trip.

At last the day arrived when we hiked up to Macchu Picchu. We got up at 04:30 and hiked up the stairs to Macchu Picchu with the hopes of arriving on time to catch the sunrise. So everybody is hiking up as fast as they can to get to the top only to find they don't even open their gates until)06:00. By the time you get in there it is well past 06:00 and people have come up on buses to add to the mob...So in the end the only benefit there was to getting up there early is to get in the front of the line and the real reason for doing so is so that you can stampede towards the entrance to Wayna Picchu, a mountain opposite Macchu Picchu which gives you really great views of the whole of Macchu Picchu. The reason you must race to the entrance is because they only admit 800 people onto the trail per day. 400 at 07:00 and 400 at 10:00. I honestly felt like someone was going to beat the crap out of me just to get ahead...The paths there are very limited and not very wide. I was seriously considering not doing it just because of the feeling of being herded like a mindless cow in a menacing environment. It turns out however that it was worth it.

First we had a guided tour of Macchu Picchu at 07:00 which was well done, though we received some propaganda about how the Americans stole the artifacts taken by Hiram Bingham and some more suspicious info about the superlative benefits of chewing coca leaves...not just to get mildly high...really it contains high amounts of proteins and calcium and 13 benficial alkaloids including cocaine...We have yet to verify this info.We also received some conflicting info about Manca Inka and his role after the Spanish conquest.But all in all it was great.

At 10:00 we went to the trailhead of Wayna Picchu, where we encountered a long line up since you had to wait for the people who left at 07:00 to come back. We got on at 11:00.

Holy Smokes is that trail steep!I wouldn't do it again. Unevenly spaced stairs and the signature cliff sides made for a very scary ascent. I literally had to crawl up some steps they were so big. Coming down,the same way, was even scarier. But, the view was incredible. On our way back we saw a woman with 2 small children on their way up, which we found rather incredible considering how dangerous the path could potentially be and how arduous a trip it is to get up to the top. Small children couldn't handle it I don't think. The 2nd consequence being that since they returned promplty without going to the top....what a waste...for the people who pushed and shoved to get the chance to go up.It's a once in a lifetime apportunity for most people to do it and for somenone to be so inconsiderate seemed rather a shame. They should change their method of doing that.And so I count myself lucky that I did get the chance....without pushing and shoving...and that my knees weren't to sore this time to do it. Here, Here! to second chances!

Jul 24, 2009

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