Our 4 day trip to Machu Picchu was on the Lares trek with the company
SAS who were unbelievably wonderful. There were 12 of us trekkers representing the US, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Ireland and Australia. Our tour guides were Eddy and Danny, our chef(!!!) was Mario, the coordinator was William Wallace, and there were 7 horsemen along as well. As you can tell, this was really not roughing it! Tents were set up for us every night, we had a dining tent and probably 7 course meals for lunch and dinner, water and tea were supplied in full, and we didn't even have to carry our own sleeping bags! So good!!
The trek itself was a challenge, but in a good way. The scenery was beautiful the whole way through, scattered with llamas, alpacas, and chinchillas (viscachas!!). We were on a path very different from the traditional Inca Trail. We passed through mountains and valleys, by lakes and waterfalls, and through small towns and villages. We got to stop in the house of an 86 year old man and his wife who was 67. Their one room stone home was the size of many modern day walk in closets, but the decorations were out of this world. Under the bed was the obligatory family of guinea pigs (cuy) who bring good luck, provide heat (and sound effects) and probably serve as a source of food when the population grows. Also inside the house was the cooking area of a little fire place and 2 pots, and there were cut out pictures on the walls and a string of plastic party lights (including a shark and a pickle) hanging from a beam supporting the thatched roof. They served the same colorful purpose as the popped-balloons on a ribbon that were also strung up, as the closest source of electricity was at least a valley away.
Other than the lunch stops, the photo stops, and the chatting-with-locals stops, there was walking. A lot of walking. The highest pass we climbed was 4600 meters (about 15,000ft!!), and my lungs could feel every bit of it. Luckily I fared better than some others who took advantage of the ¨emergency mule¨ to make it up and over. My legs had been pretty well broken in from hiking the Colca Canyon, but the elevation makes everything more difficult. Our group was a lot of fun though, so even going slow was ok because you got to chat with people.
On the third day we walked down through part of the Sacred Valley and then took a bus to the city of Ollantaytambo where we said goodbye to our crew (after a massive meal, of course) and took the train to Aguas Calientes, the base for getting to Machu Picchu. The ¨vistadome¨ train was luxurious, and we were told we were riding Business Class. They really weren´t kidding. Someone in our group asked if they had beer, and instead of saying no, one of the crew jumped off the train when we were waiting for another to pass, ran to the nearest shop, and literally raced back with 2 big bottles for us. I´m not sure the other passengers found us as amusing, but we all had a great time!
The last morning we got up at 3:30 to get in one of the first buses up the mountain to Machu Picchu. The site is everything it is cracked up to be, and more. It was a beautiful morning with mist swirling in and out over the ruins and the surrounding mountains. Part of what makes the site so amazing is its inaccessibility. From 30m below you would have no idea it even existed, and from the top you can see how isolated it really is. Eddy gave us a fantastic tour full of facts and history, information about the Incas and customs and beliefs many modern Peruvians still hold on to.
After a few hours we had a chance to climb Wyna Picchu, a neighboring mountain that looks down on the site. 40 minutes of stairs was a good workout, but the view was well worth it. The planning that went into Machu Picchu is amazing, and you can see how well laid out it is from the top. Apparently it looks like a condor (most things are supposed to be either a condor, a puma, or a snake) and while I couldn´t quite make that stretch, it was immensely impressive. As something I have been looking forward to seeing for a very longtime, nothing about my Machu Picchu trip was a disappointment. It may be rare, but this time all the hype was right.
After coming back from our trek, Annie and I spent an afternoon at the Pisac markets (buying waaaay too much. We are bad for eachother in that way). On Monday I ran into the Colca Canyon crew and we wandered around town and sampled fresh juices at the market. They were heading to Puno that night, and Annie and I had been thinking about doing it but weren´t sure if it would be worth the trip. We figured we might as well, even though Annie was feeling less than stellar, and jumped on the bus with them for the 7 hour ride (which was more like 9 including a few hours broken down on the side of the road).
We hadn´t had high expectations for the city of Puno, and we weren´t disappointed. Pretty grungy and congested in areas, abandoned in others. We walked down to the Lake (or the Cake as the hostel sign misspelled it) and at one point Ian commented that it felt like we were walking through the Apocolypse. Apparently April saw a guy pooing in one of the sites we passed, but the rest of us missed this.
The part of Lake Titikaka we saw was pretty scummy and surrounded by cheap markets and super sketchy fair rides. The one upside to Puno was the Bothy hostel where we stayed with really nice people and super comfy hammoks, where we ended up spending most of the day. We cooked a delicious feast of nachos with fresh guacamole and salsa with hot peppers and lots of cilantro, and nacho Doritos for lack of any other corn chips.
The following morning Annie and I set out on a one day trip of Lake Titikaka. Our first stop was a floating reed island of Uros. Apparently people fled to the lake and decided to build their own islands out of blocks of roots and reeds that they piled on top. They have to keep adding reeds every week as the bottom rots. The houses and boats are also made of these reeds, and they weave and even eat parts of them. This all would be pretty cool, but the whole place has been turned into one giant tourist experience. It is questionable whether people even live on these islands anymore, and after a group demonstration of how the islands were made we were split up and taken into individual houses so the ïnhabitants¨ could show us their clothes and try to sell us expensive tapestries and miniature boats. When it was time to leave the women were gathered and they sang us songs in the native Amaranti language, in Quecha, and then twinkle twinkle little star in English which was a little unnerving. The whole experience was quite uncomfortable.
The second island we visited was a few hours further into the lake. Taquile is a proper island of rock. It is known for its weavings, and especially the men are always busy making their hats that indicate their marital status. We climbed up and over the island, stopping near the top for lunch of trout from the lake, and then down the other side. It was quite pretty, but none of the locals seemed very happy to see tourists. I can´t blame them- a lot of people pull out their fancy camera gear and think because they have a big lens it is appropriate to get in people´s faces and take portrait shots of them and their children. While I am sure some of these photos are very nice, it seems like an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved.
We finally returned to Puno and ate cake and coffee for dinner. I wouldn´t count the venture as a strike against Peru, but it is nothing I would recommend or voluntarily do again.
