Cusco is by far my favorite city in Peru. The beautiful, red clay architecture surrounded by rolling mountains is quite a view. After a couple days of acclimating to the 11,000+ elevation, eating delicious meals, and checking out the hidden alleyway bars that drew us in with live music, we headed out of town to start the Salkantay trek. We really were not sure where exactly we were headed from the start…seeing a trend here? A half hour journey across Cusco at 5am finally lead us to a street where vans and taxis were lined up, ready to be filled. A two-hour drive landed us in the village where the trail started, and after a little exploration we found the trail… or should I say dirt road. We followed the well signposted road for a few hours that eventually led us to a real hiking trail. We reached a viewpoint where we enjoyed a picnic lunch while airing out our sweaty body parts. Unfortunately, with all that sweat on my feet I quickly developed blisters…not exactly ideal for the first day on the trail. Though carrying my hiking shoes was slightly worse than wearing them, I decided to change into my chacos. I convinced Carli and myself they weren't that bad, up until about 3pm when I was ready to be done. We threw off our packs, plopped down on a mound of dirt, and had ourselves a little trail mix and wine break; that quickly elevated both our spirits. A half hour of hiking and a dangerous llama encounter later, we were ecstatic to find our campsite for the night! We were the only ones camped here, taken care of by the family who owned the property. The view could not be any more majestic. We are surrounded by snowy mountains, rivers, and green pastures. After dinner, we were simply too exhausted and cold to do anything but bunk down in our tent and drift off to sleep. Before I knew it, heavy rain, flashing lightening, and explosive thunder were all around us. Though we were pretty safe, the storm kept quite close for most of the night; and being that it was only 6:30 when we woke, it made for a lengthy night.
Woke up the next morning around 6am feeling fresh and ready for the day. After some stout coffee, cookies, and packing up damp equipment, we set out on the trail. Unfortunately, it only took about an hour of climbing for my blisters to flare up again. I bandaged them, changed socks, and tried to mentally conquer the pain… but it wasn't quite enough. If it hadn't been for the amazing scenery surrounding me, I think I would have eventually broke down; but after reaching the second summit, at the very base of Salkantay, my spirits were renewed. We ate a lunch of cheese, crackers, nuts and coca tea among the cairns. It wasn't long before a storm rolled in with big flakes of snow. We packed up and started our descent…ahh downhill, happy feet! We knew our hike would be around nine hours today, but after much exhaustion it turned into about ten. The coolest part of the day was going from desert-like mountains to snowy peaks to the jungle in one day. Just as we were about to give up, we came across a village to camp. I have never been more grateful…literally…it was Thanksgiving Day. After quickly setting up camp, we began preparing our fancy Thanksgiving feast: Cosqueña beer, Pringles, quinoa with tuna and hot sauce, and a snickers bar for dessert. Not exactly the typical fare, but we were both completely satisfied! This day really allowed both of us to return to the true roots of this special holiday…to give thanks. Though it was a struggle of a day, we both had SO much to be grateful for. For me it was being in this amazing place with my best friend, my beautiful family at home, spectacular Peruvian mountains, that I was able to finish the day strong enough, and my amazing life!
The next morning, we set out strong…or so we thought. Though we were in a one-road village, we couldn't exactly find our way out of it. Luckily a local girl of about six showed us the way to the next village while impressing us with her extensive knowledge of animals and her peoples' history. She was tramping through the mud and steep walkways in sandals with more ease than either Carli or I…combined! Upon reaching the next town, we had hopes of taking a bus to Santa Teresa (the gateway to Machu Picchu), but there were no willing vehicles on the road that day. So we trudged along, telling random stories and silly jokes, for another few hours. We crossed a small bridge and were lucky to find an empty van willing to take us there. We finally reached the hydro electric plant, the start of the walk to the base of Machu Picchu. Originally we thought we might take the train, but it was ridiculously expensive and wasn't leaving for a few hours, so we decided to walk…more. After 11km and three hours later, we reached Aquas Calientes, or Machu Picchu township. I immediately chugged a gatorade and a snickers bars, and felt a bit renewed. We then headed to a patio bar and split a giant beer…and that really did the trick. After all, we had just hiked nearly 80km (50 miles) in only three days. We checked into a hostel and met up with friends who had taken alternate routes to the town (options include Inca trail, jungle trek, etc.). Our night was filled with friends-new and old, lots of beer, and even more laughs. Slept only a couple hours because we had to wake at 4am to prepare for the journey up the mountain. Still feeling a bit tipsy, and majorly sore, we decided to take the bus up the mountain. It's kinda cheating, but I was really happy we did it…especially later when we walked back down and saw the many exhausted expressions of those making the trek up.
Machu Picchu was something words and pictures could never describe. Though I am really not one for tourist attractions, this was spectacular. However, all I could seem to think about while I was up among the clouds was how incredible it would be to be here in the height of the Incan empire. For people to build something like this, in a place like this, took so much will and creativity and passion. They lived so basically, but no doubt lived like kings. I succumbed to the tourism of all of it, taking silly pictures and climbing on things I probably shouldn't have. But overall it was a very moving experience, one that someone simply has to experience for themselves to fully grasp. We spent the rest of our time there exploring tourist traps, giving into buying a cheesy t-shirt because all my clothes reeked, and craving bacon. We hiked out the next day and made our way back to Cusco via hitchhiking, more or less; a long, windy, amazing drive. Peruvian mountains will always hold a special place in my heart.
