T Travels: Days 8-12: Salkantay to Machu Piccu

And we’re back! After several days of intense trekking we finally made it back to Cusco. We may be a little sore, but definitely full of pride in our accomplishments and a bit of Inca wisdom.

Day 8:

We arrived at our starting point and met the rest of our trekking family. There were twelve of us from all parts of the world: Peru, Ireland, Brazil, and of course, the States. All were pretty cool people, we spent most of the first day getting to know them and telling our stories. Though not all spoke good English, by some means we were able to communicate all through the trek. We also met our tour guide, Walter, and our cooks, Manzanas and Raul (who both knew how to throw down the cuisine using a camping stove!)

We walked through hills and valleys and SO much mud (since this is the end of the rainy season). Sometimes we were cold, sometimes we were sweating, but the views were amazing: tons of green hills, waterfalls, and plunging valleys. We climbed and climbed, panting from the increasing altitude and lack of oxygen, eventually reaching 13000 feet where we had our lunch (an amazing spread of chicken noodle soup, garlic bread and lomo saltado). After lunch we continued on our way. The air became colder and colder, the glaciers began to take form in the distance, the first camp site approached. And darn was it cold!! We could see the glacier of Salkantay in the distance and became slightly worried, knowing we would have to climb it the next day. Everyone in our familia was so tired and freezing that we jumped into our tents right after our dinner.

Jennings trekking through the mud! Thanks Marcelo for the help!

So beautiful

Our first lunch. fairly rustic, but muy rico!

Right after I fell in the creek near our first campsite.

Day 9:

The hardest and highest day of the trek. The air was still freezing and we climbed up near the Salkantay peak. It started cold, but reasonably so, as we climbed the cold became bitterer and bitterer. And then we were tromping through ice on the ground, then it began to snow!! We didn’t expect the snow at all! Our guide told us that night that it was the first snow of the season. We were fortunate to have witnessed it, but still froze our faces off!

The night before Walter told us that we should bring a rock we find along the trail to offer in sacrifice to the spirit of the mountain. As we got to the top, snow flurried around us and we saw piles of stacked stones decorating the variety of boulders around the summit. We took a quick picture then offered up our sacrifices (it was too cold for much ritual but we had carried the rocks with the intention of “love, life, happiness and success and good fortune”), and then proceeded down the glacier.

As we descended, the snows disappeared and green showed through. Large boulders lay strewn across the green moor-like landscape. It was beautiful. So many times Chels and I just stared and couldn’t believe we were here. We stopped for leisurely lunch in the freezing cold, and then continued on.

The Andean jungles took shape around us. It reminded us a little bit of Guyana, but way less humid. We dodged muddy holes and landslides, and then approached our camp for the night. It looked like a wooden tree fort and we were able to sleep 4 to-a room. It was pleasant.

At the highest point on Salkantay, 4600 meters!! Muy frio!!!


After we climbed down the glacier. The change in the climate was crazy, but it is such a beautiful place

Day 10:

My birthday! The day trek was pretty easy. It was only about a 6-hour hike along a wide road through some jungle flora. But the most important thing was that night!

We stopped for lunch, which was by far the best lunch we had on the trek (lentils, rice, cheesy potato stew, pasta and quinoa with queso fresco) and Tim Mills bought 4 liters of beer for our little family. Then, two more found its way to our table and we continued drinking since we knew we didn’t have to hike anymore for the day. We took a bus to Santa Teresa and enjoyed a pleasant dip in the hot springs, but then other trekkers began to trickle in and crowd up the baths, so we left.

We got back to the camp site and there was a cake waiting for me. Chels had made a point of announcing my birthday to the cooks so they had made a corn cake with dulce de leche frosting and my name on it. Our guide, Walter, told me that I had to take a bite directly out of the cake as a Peruvian tradition, so I did and he smashed my face in the cake! Everyone had a blast laughing at me and Chels bought me a box (yes, BOX of wine). Later in the night the guides lit a camp fire and started playing music. When the birthday song came on Walter and I started dancing like maniacs, which spurred a dance party with our entire tour group and the few other tour groups that were staying there. We all danced the night away, even when it started raining and the ground turned into a muddy mess! It was one of the most fun dance parties that I can remember. We just let ourselves go. As the night wound down it was only Familia De Walter sitting around the camp fire and slow dancing to traditional music.

In the morning leaving the second campsite.

A quick break on day 3.

The end of the short day. Amazing lunch and good company.

Day 11:

This was a short travel day too, but muy dificil because in the morning we said good bye to our chefs and porters so we had to lug all travel backpacks for the entire time. We gained more appreciation for the work of the porters! Once we got off the bus at the hydroelectric dam, we got our first view of Machu Picchu! We followed the train tracks to Agua Calientes, the main town people go to get to Machu Picchu. The town was pretty nice a little like Disneyland, but not as bad as could be. We had a nice dinner, but mostly it was a prep day for Machu Picchu.

Day 12:

MACHU PICCHU!

What can I say? It was magical. We awoke at 345 am, and by 415 we were walking towards the entrance to the ruins. By 5am we were at the lower gate. And then we ascended the steps. By 6 am we were at the door. We were some of the first people to enter this sacred site. The sun was just rising and the city was bathed in a blue glow. The ruins were almost empty. A few people here and there dotted the avenues and stone houses. We couldn’t help but smile. We made it. All the hard travel; all the hills; all the valleys; all the mud; the snow; the rain; and all the pain led up to this moment. We were speechless.

As the sun rose, Walter began giving us a tour of the city, telling us some history, and interesting factoids about the Incan nation, well the Andean nation is more accurate since the Inca was only a title reserved for the king. There was lots of information but what stuck with us most were the Andean values, which always come in threes, of love, knowledge, and hard work and the Andean rules: Don’t lie, Don’t steal, and Don’t be lazy. The Andean trinities, as Ronnie would call them.

The sky was clear and the blue became a bright yellow as the city shone before us and the sun rose over the surrounding mountain peaks. We were definitely blessed with great luck with the weather. After our tour and saying good bye to Walter we were given free rein of the site. With our tour we also purchases tickets to climb Huyanapichu, the giant protruding mountain you always see in the pictures of Machu Picchu. It was tough, but worth it. We were two of only 400 people a day allowed to climb this challenging summit. We climbed and climbed up some of the steepest stairs we’ve seen, sometimes with the help of a rope, and sometimes on our hands and knees. But it was worth it. The views were amazing: we could see the whole of Machu Picchu city, the mighty Urubamba River surrounding it, and switchbacks leading up to the site, which we had climbed that morning. After a sock monkey photo shoot, we climbed down the backside of the mountain to visit the often missed Temple De La Luna, an unfinished temple that could have been even more spectacular if the Spanish had not invaded the Sacred Valley. We made our way back to the sacred city and visited the Incan bridge, which gave us a great view of the hydroelectric plant we walked from the day before.

After the bridge, we went back to Agua Calientes, and even though we didn’t have to meet with our trekking companions we all made an effort to join together for one last dinner with Familia De Walter. They were some great folks that will always live in our hearts and memories. We all caught the train, and then the bus back to Cusco. What a great time. So memorable, magical and simply amazing!