After seeing plenty of ruins by foot already, we decided to go and see some parts of the Sacred Valley that we hadn't seen yet, by horse. A car took us to the departure point, 15min from Cusco center and we set off with two quite old horses... and a teenager guide who followed us by foot... so you can imagine the speed we advanced... The tour was nice, we went through eucalyptus forest and stopped at the Temple of the Moon and couple other ruins before the rain started. Once the thunder came closer we decided to cut the tour short and head back to the stables. And so we spent the afternoon hanging out in Cusco.
The next day Steph wanted to go to do some river rafting, but Jo's back is not in good enough shape for it (yet). So at 9am Steph took off with an all day excursion, two hours of bus, three hours in the river, lunch and back in the late afternoon. In the meanwhile Jo continued on shopping (hei, gotta use those last soles!!) and visiting a couple of inka-museums that were included in the tourist ticket that we had bought for the Sacred Valley. Cusco really is a nice city with plenty of cafes and little court yard shops selling anything and everything. In the evening we went for a dinner and drink in the San Blas neighbourhood, before heading to bed for an early rise for a flight to Lima.
Flight to Lima left at 8am, so we got there early in the morning. The airport of Lima is quite far outside of the city, but we managed to negociate a taxi (because we waited a third person to go to the same destination)for 35 soles to Miraflores. A trip that takes easily an hour... The weather was very cloudy when we arrived but it cleared up for the afternoon, so we decided to go explore Lima a bit. The traffic is horrible, anywhere you want to go, you need to take a taxi and be ready to get stuck on the roads. We started off from Barranco, a neighbourhood well known and not so far from Miraflores. In the guide book they talked about "Excotic Garden" in the central park... either we were not in the right place (which we are 99% sure that we were) or the "Excotic Garden" is made of three different cactus... Anycase we continued for lunch in a nice restaurant with a sea view and very cheap Sangria... and from there to the beach. The beach was nice, not many people, water temperature was ok for swimming (according to Steph) but there were too many rocks that the waves threw around that it was too dangerous to get in the water. In the evening we went for dinner in a very chic restaurant in Lima (we put on our last clean clothes ;)) enjoyed good steaks and wine, since it was our last night in Lima and continued in a german owned bar to play billiards.
Last day in Lima was short, walked around, packed all our stuff, got the same taxi to the airport, although the price was negociated in advance at the airport he tried to ask some more, but no chance, since we didn't have anymore soles than what was the deal! Plane to Amsterdam was KLM, very nice, even in the economic class everyone had their own entertainment center, TV screen with plenty of movies to choose from and plenty of music channels. The flight was long, but as usual we slept most of it... Finally the next day in the evening we made it to Nice. Big thank you for our friends who came to pick us up from the airport, although Jo's friend was in a wrong terminal and without cell phones it took awhile to find each other and Steph's friend showed up like 45 min late... Good to be home!!!! :)
30.03.2008 Pisaq (more ruins)
The breakfast was served until 10am, so we had to get up at a reasonable time... It had rained during the night, but the morning looked good so we decided to go see some more ruins in a near by city called Pisaq... The original plan was to take a collectivo, but on the way to the bus stop a taxi proposed to take us there with a good price, so we went for the comfort! It took the taxi 50min to get to the ruins and there we hired a guide and toured around the site for about 1h30. The Pisaq ruins are the second largest complex after MP. It was not as holy site as MP, but still quite impressive.
At the end of the tour our taxi was waiting for us to take us back to the village (8km) where we went for lunch and visited the market. Once at lunch it really started raining and hailing and of course we were in shorts and without rainjackets... While waiting for the rain to stop we just had to go to the near by cafe for a cake and tea... The market was very interesting, one half was handcrafts, filled with alpaca sweaters, jewellery, musical instruments, pottery, hats, gloves, and socks... and the other half was agricultural products, some that we didn´t recognise, all kinds of vegetables, different coloured corn, several varieties of potatoes (in Peru there are about 800 varieties), fruits, spices, coca leaves... and of course it was filled with Peruvians! In their traditional colourful dresses and little hats... In the late afternoon we took a too full collectivo back to Cusco.
At the end of the tour our taxi was waiting for us to take us back to the village (8km) where we went for lunch and visited the market. Once at lunch it really started raining and hailing and of course we were in shorts and without rainjackets... While waiting for the rain to stop we just had to go to the near by cafe for a cake and tea... The market was very interesting, one half was handcrafts, filled with alpaca sweaters, jewellery, musical instruments, pottery, hats, gloves, and socks... and the other half was agricultural products, some that we didn´t recognise, all kinds of vegetables, different coloured corn, several varieties of potatoes (in Peru there are about 800 varieties), fruits, spices, coca leaves... and of course it was filled with Peruvians! In their traditional colourful dresses and little hats... In the late afternoon we took a too full collectivo back to Cusco.
29.03.2008 Inka Trail - Day 4 - MACHU PICCHU
The day we had been waiting for!! Knowing that we are a little bit slow in the mornings, Erick woke us up the first, 03h55... but still we were the last ones at breakfast... At 04h50 we left the camp to go to the last check point (less than 10min walk), which opens up at 05h30, but if you don´t want to stand in line with the other 300 people, you got to get there early. Finally we were the second group in line, and we hang out at the gate in the dark until it opened. Once everybody was cleared, we walked with our headlights on for the first half an hour on a quite narrow path. About 07h00 we got to Inti Punku (Sun Gate) under a clear sky, this is the point that we saw the MP and Wayna Picchu mountain the very first time! And of course we took photos!! We were very lucky, because as soon as we continued towards MP, the clouds came and the people who arrived after us to the Inti Punku didn´t get their photos...
After another 30min of walking we arrived to the check point at the entrance of the MP site. Short toilet break and we started the tour with Erick. Since MP covers a very large area, Erick had chosen the most important buildings to show us, the tour with him lasted about two hours. We started off from the Temple of Water, continued to the Sun Temple via the Temple of Pachamama (Mother Earth). These three temples represent the three levels of Inka mythology, which are also represented by three holy animals: condor for the highest level (gods), puma for the middle level (our world) and snake for the underground (mother earth). We also visited the Temple of Three Windows, the Temple of the Condor and the Temple of the Rainbow. The highest point of the complex is the Sun Calendar, which was used as the agricultural calendar and as well as a religious calendar to know when different ceremonies should take place. Inside the MP we saw some llamas who were there to cut the grass... The tour was very interesting (as usual) and added up to everything we had learned during the hike. At this point the weather was no longer on our side. It started to rain and during the rest of the morning it just got heavier. After the tour we had free time, but because of the weather we just went to see a couple other constructions that were mentionned in our guide book. Around 11h30 we took a bus back to Aguas Calientes, the bus ride took about 30min on a very muddy, unpaved road. We met up with the rest of the group for lunch, in a restaurant called Pachamama (Mother Earth).
After lunch the weather cleared up a bit, so Jo went to walk around the city and to see the market with Rick while Steph stayed in the restaurant drinking Pisco sour (a Peruvian drink made of pisco liquor+lime+egg white), with Mike and Erick... The train back to Cusco left at 17h, it was called the Backpackers train and filled with tourists. It was impossible to rest, except for Steph who slept throught the noise with the help of a few Piscos... but for Jo it was the worst trip of her life!! The seats couldn´t be declined, there were no leg room, horrible loud tourists around... even the ear plugs didn´t help... We made it to Cusco about 21h30, took our stuff from the old hotel and moved to the new one. With a heating, TV and breakfast included in the price of 40$ / night!! We had a plan to go and meet up with some people of the group in a bar later on, but we were simply too tired and crashed in our beds. Sorry guys.
After another 30min of walking we arrived to the check point at the entrance of the MP site. Short toilet break and we started the tour with Erick. Since MP covers a very large area, Erick had chosen the most important buildings to show us, the tour with him lasted about two hours. We started off from the Temple of Water, continued to the Sun Temple via the Temple of Pachamama (Mother Earth). These three temples represent the three levels of Inka mythology, which are also represented by three holy animals: condor for the highest level (gods), puma for the middle level (our world) and snake for the underground (mother earth). We also visited the Temple of Three Windows, the Temple of the Condor and the Temple of the Rainbow. The highest point of the complex is the Sun Calendar, which was used as the agricultural calendar and as well as a religious calendar to know when different ceremonies should take place. Inside the MP we saw some llamas who were there to cut the grass... The tour was very interesting (as usual) and added up to everything we had learned during the hike. At this point the weather was no longer on our side. It started to rain and during the rest of the morning it just got heavier. After the tour we had free time, but because of the weather we just went to see a couple other constructions that were mentionned in our guide book. Around 11h30 we took a bus back to Aguas Calientes, the bus ride took about 30min on a very muddy, unpaved road. We met up with the rest of the group for lunch, in a restaurant called Pachamama (Mother Earth).
After lunch the weather cleared up a bit, so Jo went to walk around the city and to see the market with Rick while Steph stayed in the restaurant drinking Pisco sour (a Peruvian drink made of pisco liquor+lime+egg white), with Mike and Erick... The train back to Cusco left at 17h, it was called the Backpackers train and filled with tourists. It was impossible to rest, except for Steph who slept throught the noise with the help of a few Piscos... but for Jo it was the worst trip of her life!! The seats couldn´t be declined, there were no leg room, horrible loud tourists around... even the ear plugs didn´t help... We made it to Cusco about 21h30, took our stuff from the old hotel and moved to the new one. With a heating, TV and breakfast included in the price of 40$ / night!! We had a plan to go and meet up with some people of the group in a bar later on, but we were simply too tired and crashed in our beds. Sorry guys.
28.03.2008 Inka Trail - Day 3
The moment we got our eyes open at 05h45 we saw amazingly beautiful mountains in the horizon. Snowy tops in the sunrise. Straight after packing we climbed up about 1h30 and got to the third pass (3670m), where the breakfast was served. Fantastic view of 360 degrees, clouds below us and snowy mountains around us. The sun was up and no other people in sight. After breakfast we headed for the jungle. Time to get dirty!! This was a fun part where we got mud all over our legs (and shorts for those who slipped...). This was a short day, the third camp site was waiting for us 1000m below. This meant very long stairs, more than 3000 steps down... We were very happy to have the walking sticks with us to keep the balance. The Inka stairs are very irregular, they are made of rocks, and sometimes they go down very steeply. On the way we stopped to see Phuyupatamarca (The Town Near the Clouds), a Temple for the Mountains. For the Inkas the mountains mean protection, Apu. Along the trail we saw a giant humming bird, orchids and many other interesting plants. We arrived to the camp site, Wiñaywayna (Forever Young) around 13h and headed straight to the bar for a well deserved beer! This was the largest of the camp sites, where most of the Tour companies are sleeping before going to MP. According to the new rules only 500 people per day are allowed to access the Inka Trail, this includes hikers, guides and the porters. Because of the number of people, the toilets were disgusting, there were a lot of noise, and we realized that it was a very good choice not to have stayed at the regular camp sites along the trail.
After some free time (siesta) we went for "History Time" to Wiñaywayna archeological site which was situated about 5min walk from the camp (most hikers miss it while being too busy drinking beer at the bar). It was a very big agricultural site, comprised of around 60 terraces and archeologists think (based on the number of houses and rooms) that about 40-50 people lived and worked there. We enjoyed the quietness and the beauty of the place around a wine glass (from Erick´s magic bag ;) ).
After dinner we had a little ceremony with the porters and chefs to thank them for all their hard work during the hike. They had prepared a little song for us in quechua, and Jo got to danse with the head chef Xsixto! Suddenly we realized that our bed time had passed and went quickly to the tents at 20h45... ;)
After some free time (siesta) we went for "History Time" to Wiñaywayna archeological site which was situated about 5min walk from the camp (most hikers miss it while being too busy drinking beer at the bar). It was a very big agricultural site, comprised of around 60 terraces and archeologists think (based on the number of houses and rooms) that about 40-50 people lived and worked there. We enjoyed the quietness and the beauty of the place around a wine glass (from Erick´s magic bag ;) ).
After dinner we had a little ceremony with the porters and chefs to thank them for all their hard work during the hike. They had prepared a little song for us in quechua, and Jo got to danse with the head chef Xsixto! Suddenly we realized that our bed time had passed and went quickly to the tents at 20h45... ;)
27.03.2008 Inka Trail - Day 2
We were woken up by tent service, served by Erick and the porters at late hour of 05h45... We had 40min to get our stuff together and to be at breakfast, of course we were late... We started the day by going up 500m to the first pass "The Dead Woman´s Pass" in 4200m. This took us a bit over an hour. From there we headed down about 600m to our lunch spot Pacaymayo, which was a very crowded camp site. In the afternoon it rained a few drops, but we climbed another 200m to get to Runkurakay (Circular Shape) which was an Inka messengers resting place (Tambo) and there it was "history time". After another 200m of going up, we got to the second pass, 4000m. And after another 500m down we reached our camp site for the night. Along the down part we stopped at Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Place), which was a site that was used to either to store agricultural products for MP or it was a military base. Unfortunately there is no confirmation of the fuction of this site, but different theories exist.
Our camp Chaquicocha (Dry Lake) was situated at the beginning of the Cloud Forest (the high altitude jungle, rainforest being the low altitude jungle). In the camp as usual, Tea Time and after some rhum our guide tought us how to smoke coca leaves. The dinner was excellent again and we learned that the chefs that work for Enigma go through a training that costs the company about 6000$, that explains!! Since the camp was situated at the limit of the Cloud Forest, we didn´t really see the sunset, just some fast moving clouds. Once the night came the frogs woke up. And they partied all night!!! Thanks again to "Boulquies"
Our camp Chaquicocha (Dry Lake) was situated at the beginning of the Cloud Forest (the high altitude jungle, rainforest being the low altitude jungle). In the camp as usual, Tea Time and after some rhum our guide tought us how to smoke coca leaves. The dinner was excellent again and we learned that the chefs that work for Enigma go through a training that costs the company about 6000$, that explains!! Since the camp was situated at the limit of the Cloud Forest, we didn´t really see the sunset, just some fast moving clouds. Once the night came the frogs woke up. And they partied all night!!! Thanks again to "Boulquies"
26.03.2008 Inka Trail - Day 1
I guess you all know how we hate mornings... Well, no mercy on the departure day, our Tour Operator Enigma picked us up from our hotel at 03h58!!! Once everybody was in the bus, we headed to Km 82, a departure point for the Inka Trail. There we had breakfast along the Urubamba River about 7am. And this is where the porters took our stuff and we were left with our day bags. Before accessing the path and the national park, there was a control of the passports and the tickets, and there we got a nice Machu Picchu (MP) stamp on our passports. During the four days of hiking, we stopped several times for "History Time". This is when our excellent guide Erick tought us about the history of the Inka Empire, it´s rise and fall, the civil war, the spaniards and details of the Inka Culture. The names of the sites we visited are in Quechua (the local language), but of course they are names that archeologists have given after discovering them.
The first day hike was the toughest. 15km, about 4h of walking, and 1100m going up (from 2600m to 3700m). The first part was "Peruvian flat" as our guide said... Before lunch we visited a historical site Wilkarakay (translated to english means Uptown). This was an Inka Trading point, the Inkas didn´t use money, but they traded the products from the jungle against the ones from the mountains. We also stopped to learn about the coca leaves, their effects and how to chew them. And of course we all tried it... After an excellent lunch in Wayllabamba, the trail really started to go up. This is where most of the tour companies spent the first night, but we continued to Llulluchapampa. Along the trail we saw many flowers and plants that we didn´t recognise and also some parrots.
During the afternoon a British couple had to turn back, because the husband was too sick to continue the hike. We were by far in the best physical shape compared to the rest of the group. After us there were a couple from Denmark, who walked good, but liked to take their time to look around. In the group there were also Rick and his son Mike from New York, Kim and her daughter Louisa (17 yrs, the "baby" of the group) from Denver, Colorado, and Valeria and Diego Martin, a couple from Buanos Aires, Argentina.
Once we arrived to the first camp Llulluchapampa, the porters were waiting for us with a bowl of hot water and soap so that we could clean up after the day. Our tents were already up, we could settle in right away and change something warm and dry. Before dinner we had a Tea Time (popcorn!!) and after dinner Erick told us spooky stories about the evil Andian spirits who live in the mountains (beware of the Ñaka). Because of the early morning and the fresh mountain air, at 20h30 we were in the tents ready to sleep. At midnight it rained very heavily and at 04h00 the birds started to sing... Thank you to our "Boulquies"!! (ear plugs...)
The first day hike was the toughest. 15km, about 4h of walking, and 1100m going up (from 2600m to 3700m). The first part was "Peruvian flat" as our guide said... Before lunch we visited a historical site Wilkarakay (translated to english means Uptown). This was an Inka Trading point, the Inkas didn´t use money, but they traded the products from the jungle against the ones from the mountains. We also stopped to learn about the coca leaves, their effects and how to chew them. And of course we all tried it... After an excellent lunch in Wayllabamba, the trail really started to go up. This is where most of the tour companies spent the first night, but we continued to Llulluchapampa. Along the trail we saw many flowers and plants that we didn´t recognise and also some parrots.
During the afternoon a British couple had to turn back, because the husband was too sick to continue the hike. We were by far in the best physical shape compared to the rest of the group. After us there were a couple from Denmark, who walked good, but liked to take their time to look around. In the group there were also Rick and his son Mike from New York, Kim and her daughter Louisa (17 yrs, the "baby" of the group) from Denver, Colorado, and Valeria and Diego Martin, a couple from Buanos Aires, Argentina.
Once we arrived to the first camp Llulluchapampa, the porters were waiting for us with a bowl of hot water and soap so that we could clean up after the day. Our tents were already up, we could settle in right away and change something warm and dry. Before dinner we had a Tea Time (popcorn!!) and after dinner Erick told us spooky stories about the evil Andian spirits who live in the mountains (beware of the Ñaka). Because of the early morning and the fresh mountain air, at 20h30 we were in the tents ready to sleep. At midnight it rained very heavily and at 04h00 the birds started to sing... Thank you to our "Boulquies"!! (ear plugs...)
Machu Picchu (info from Wikipedia)
"Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Picchu, "Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level[1]. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. It was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. "
Full article of Wikipedia
Full article of Wikipedia
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