Day 3 of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

Day three began early, and we crawled out of our tents to sunshine although we were still drying out. After breakfest we began to immediately to climb up to the second pass on the trail. The clouds were lifting a little bit and we were able to get a glimpse of the surronding mountains. Before reaching the summit of the second pass we stopped at the first ruin of the day, Runkurakay, which means basket shaped ruin in Quechua. This small outpost was believed to be reststop or perhaps a watchtower as it had a commanding view of the valley below. We continued up, past a few small lakes and down the other side. The next ruin we came across was called Sayaqmarka. This was one of my favorite ruins on the trail, as we were able to see some of the clever inventions the Incas created. These included... doorhinges carved into the rock, a water level used to level their floors and terraces, steps integrated into the retaining walls and an amazing network or fountains running through the site.

This ruin also had an amazing view of the river valley below and the a smaller ruin, believed to be a store house, below it. After a tour of the ruins we continued on to lunch. By this time we had descended into the cloud forest and the vegetation had changed dramaticlly from the high grasslands. The trees were now of considerable size and covered in moss. In many places the trail was simply a tunnel through the vegetation. After lunch we continued on up to the third pass. The cloud forest lived up to its name, so we did not get to see any amazing views but the trail continued to provided enough to see. The work that the Inca put into the trail was amazing and it was all still in excellent shape. In some section they had cleared away the vegetation so that you could see the foundations of the trail, which in some places went down over 6 meters. They also created several tunnels through natural fissures in the rock, where it would have been difficult to build around the outside of the cliff. The views at the top of the third pass were supposed to be amazing but we only got glimpses through the clouds but we still got a peak at the mountain Macchu Picchu. From the thrid pass the trail drops, almost vertically in sections, down 1000 meters to the final camp. Along the way we went through Phuyupatamarka, an Inca temple with some amazing stone work. From here on the steps got even steep and in places were cut right into the bed rock. Before the last camp, the trail split into two, one heading directly to camp, the other through Intiputa. Katie, lured by the promise of hot showers, went down to camp and I continued on to Intiputa. This site was composed of a huge number of terraces over looking the Urabamba River was believed to be an agricultural site for suppling Machu Picchu with food.

After a snack, our assistant guide, Ceaser, took a a small group of us to see one last ruin, Winay Wayna. I was glad I dedided to see this last extra one as it was by far one of my favorites. It had a room known as the temple of the Rainbow, as it had seven windows, one for each colour of the rainbow, looking out over the Urabamba valley. Supposedly there are often rainbows there and the Inca believed that by worshiping them, it would bring good rain for there crops. There were also a series of fountains, that were still working, that ran through the site. Our guide told us that traditionally, pilgrams on there way to Machu Picchu would stop here to cleanse their souls by placing their head in the fountain before continuing to Machu Picchu, so we all cleansed our souls before heading back to camp.

The next day started early, 3:30 am early. This was partly to get to the sungate at sunrise and to give our porters enough time to make it down the mountain in one peice to catch their train back to Cuzco. There is a gate at the campsite and no one is allowed to leave for the sun gate before 5:20 am so a large line builds up and everyone goes charging off at once. We were warned of people running and pushing and shoving but were lucky to avoid any of that. We arrived at the Intipunku, the sun gate an hour later, right when the sun is supposed to shine through the gate and onto Machu Picchu... or at least that is what would have happened if we could have seen anything through the clouds. It was a little dissapointing, but we posed for a group photo and continued on. As we descended into the lost city, the clouds began to lift and we were rewarded with an amazing view of the city. After posing for a few classic photos, we began a tour of the city. The scale and gradeur of ruins is impossible to explain in words and pictures do not do it justice. It is something that you simply need to experience. Washington gave us an excellent tour, explaining the history of the city, its discovery by Hiram Brigham and the archelogical work that has happened since. We toured through the Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Three Windows(very original name), the main plaza, and Intihuatana, the Hitching Post of the Sun. Although this has been mistakenly called a sun dial, a calender would be a more accurate description as the Inca used it to figure out the solstices and equanoixes, not the time of day. After the tour we said goodbye and thanks to our two awesome guides, and were let loose to explore the ruins on our own. I decided to climb Wayian Picchu, but Katie, tired from the hike chose to wander around the ruins some more. Wayan Picchu towers over 300 meters above the ruins, so I stuffed a wad of coca leaves into my mouth and set off at a good pace to the top. Thirty mintues later I was standing above the Lost City of the Incas, having climbed a trail that seem merely carved into the edge of the cliff. The view was amazing. I could see the Urabamba River snaking its way around both sides of the city, the mountain Machu Picchu towering behind the ruins and snow capped peaks behind. Well worth the climb. Since Katie was waiting below, I snapped a few pictures and started down the mountain at what some would call a frightening pace. The steps leading through the ruins at the top were nearly vertical and only large enough for about half of my foot. Twenty minutes later I was back in the main ruins. Apparently the record is seven minutes to the top, but I find that hard to believe. Katie informed me that she had been witness to some rather naughty llama behavior that caused quite a stir among the tourists. What is a trip to Machu Picchu without some llama lovin' ? By this time the crowds of tourist groups from the train were beginging to fill the ruins so we decided to head back down to the town of Agua Calineties for some lunch and wait for our train back to Cuzco. We met the rest of our group at a resturant for a well earned celebratory beer. ( one liter of beer for only $2!!)
The train ride back along the Urabamba River snaked along the canyon floor and past more ruins. It was almost ten by the time we arrived back in Cuzco, too tired to do anything but fall asleep. It seemed that we had passed a major milestone in our trip, and the second half of our trip waiting ahead of us.

I have posted more photos here:

The Inca Trail

Machu Picchu

The Inca Trail - Part 1

We awoke early on the morning we began the Inca Trail. We were told to be ready to be picked up at 5:30am, and our ride was pretty much right on time. We hopped onto the bus and drove around Cuzco until we had filled it up with fellow hikers, our two guides, and a few of the porters. We headed to Ollaytantambo. There we stopped for breakfast and some supplies (I bought a new hat at last!) before heading to the trail head. We stopped in a small town just before the trail hesd to find a few more porters. As it is the rainy season, it is hard to find enough porters for the number of hikers doing the trail each day, as the porters are working on their family farms instead. 200 people start the trek each day, and around 200 porters are needed to carry all the gear utilized, meaning around 400 people are hikin a given section of the trail everyday. It is quite amazing, I have never done a hike with so many people at once.

We began the hike at around 10:30, after passing through our first check point. The trail on the first day was quite mellow, a good warm up for the days to come. We hiked slowly uphill, on a gradually inclining path along the river into the mountains. We got to know our fellow trekkers, as we hiked next to different people. Our group was composed of 15 travellers, and it was nice to have different people to talk to and pass the time. Before lunch we stopped at our first Inca ruins of the trip, Llactapata. We could only view the ruin from above, but we took lots of photos, and sat to listen to our guide, Washington, explain the significance of these particular ruins and the Inca culture in general. That is until we were interrupted by the rain. We put on our rain jackets and ponchos and pressed on to our lunch spot.

We arrived to find lunch being prepared by the porters, and the lunch tent already set up, complete with folding stools and tables. As we waited for lunch to be ready, Washington took us through the rest of his explanation of the ruins, and a bit of Inca history. He was very passionate about the subject and it was good to have such an enthusiastic and interesting guide. He finished just as lunch was being served. It was an amazing 3 course meal, with tea to finish. I have never eaten so well on a hike before. We left for our campsite full to the brim, and exicted to see what was next.

We passed through several settlements on the way to camp that day. There were lots of Peruvians out selling bottled water, beverages and snacks to the hikers. We climbed higher into the Andes, I felt a bit out of breath as I lugged my pack up the hill. By the time we arrived in the campsite, I was ready to remove my boots and relax. It was incredible to arrive in camp to find all the tents set up and dinner already underway. It was the most deluxe camping I have ever experienced. Our campsite was perched on a hill over looking yet another Inca ruin. We had a beautiful view down the valley we had just hiked up, as well as a view up the pass that we were to hike the next day.

Before dinner that night, we were introduced to the porters, and introduced ourselves to them. It was a good way to form a bond in the group, and gain better appreciation for the porters. From then on we could use their names and greet them as they passed us on the trail lugging much heavier loads than we were burdened with.

Dinner that night as just as spectacular as lunch. We went to bed that night in good spirits, ready to tackle Dead Woman´s Pass the next day, our most challenging day on the trail.

We awoke early the next morning to tea served to us in our tents. We packed up our gear and got ready for the day. I had hired a personal porter for the day to take my heavy bag over the pass, so Timb traded me his sleeping bag for some of my things. We ate a delicious breakfast, and started out for the day, climbing steadily up to 4200m.

It was a constant upward climb, and as we reached the summit of the pass I was glad to not have my heavy bag to hold me back. It began top rain as we climbed higher, but when we reached the top, the rain ended for a brief moment and allowed us to take some celebratory shots. The good weather did not last long, however, and we quickly began to descend to our campsite, as the rain became harder. Timb sprinted down the backside of the pass, but I took my time on the slick rock stairs. By the time I reached camp that night everythig as thourougly soaked, including, unofrtunately, my camera. We did our best to dry things out, and luckily the rain stopped or a while to allow us to wander around camp without being soaked. The kitchen tent became a sort of drying center, with people drying clothes and shoes over the gas burners. I held my camera over the burners at a good distance in order to dry out the inner components, but sadly was not able to use it for the rest of the trip.

We were all thoroughly exhausted by the days hike in the rain, and relaxed by playing some cards before dinner. We were lucky to have a group of hikers that all got along rather well, and it was nice to socialize with everyone after a long day of hiking.

We still had two days of the trail to go, but it felt good to be half way there. I was excited for more ruins and spectacular views on the days to come.

Strolling into the Sacred Valley

We left Nasca at 8:30pm, taking an overnight bus to Cusco. From the moment we hit the winding road outside of Nasca, I was motionsick. The road wound its way up switchbacks, climbing higher and higher into the mountains. As we rose in altitude, it became harder and harder for me to maintain composure, and I slept rockily, waking every half hour or so, as Timb slept calmly next to me. We arrived in Cusco at 10:00am the next morning, and it was a relief to disembark from the bus.

We headed to our hostel, and then out into the city to find a restaraunt for lunch. We ate at a place called Victor Victoria, which has amazingly large portions. Timb had an alpaca steak, and I had a Peruvian dish called aji de gallena. Both were quite good, and we left stuffed and ready to explore.

Cusco is rather touristy, and as we ventured into the center at Plaza de Armas, we were accosted by many vendors on the street, selling paintings, postcards, and trying to convince us to eat at their restaraunts. We took some photos around the plaza of the amazing churches built atop Incan foundations, and explored some of the pedestrian-only side streets, surrounded by 2 meter high Incan walls.

The Cathedral in Plaza de Armas, Cusco

We went to go view the famous 12-sided stone, however it was surrouned by a large tourist group, who were also being hassled by locals for tips because they had pointed out the easily locatable stone. We were able to see it much more clearly the next morning, and it really isn´t anything that special. We set off back to the hostel to clean up and wait for the Peru Treks office to open, so that we could pay the balance of our Macchu Piccu trip.


After finishing up the formalities at the Peru Treks office Timb and I headed for our first Cusco museum. We purchased a Boleto Turistico using our student ID´s and were determined to see most of the sights that these tickets gave us entrance to. The first museum we went to was housed in the former home of an Incan activist, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. It held some interesting Incan and pre-Incan artifacts, but nothing too special. It also displayed furnishings and art from when the house was originally possised by Vega. These were interesting most particularly due to their ornate decoration. I especailly liked the intricately carved wooden trunks. The museum was closing and we were rushed out of it after 45 minutes of looking around.


We headed to a cafe on the plaza for dinner, which had an amazing view of the cathedral and the fountain, elegantly lit up. The cafe was especially good because of its coffee. Timb was delighted to discover that they had bodems of coffee, and thoroughly enjoyed his with his meal. It was a relaxing way to end a rather tiring day.

Timb dunking a biscuit, enjoying his bodem of coffee.

The next morning I awoke to find that Timb had arisen hours earlier and had already formulated a complete itinerary of events for the day. We started by packing up the buns that our hostel supplied as continental breakfast for lunch, and then headed to a cafe in San Blas to get some real food. We had some amazing eggs and waffles, and then grabbed a taxi to take us up the hill outside of Cusco to see our first Incan ruins. We had read in the guide book that we could walk back into town from the farthest of four ruins in about 4 hours, so we started at Tambomachay and worked our way back into town passing through Puca Pucara, Quenco, and Sachsaywaman. The ruins themselves were quite amazing, expecially the still functioning fountains at Tambomachay, and the large scale of the walls and fortifications at Sachsaywaman. We enjoyed our walk down from the hills, and it made for a good warm up to the Inca Trail.

The working fountains at Tambomachay

Timb and I on our Incan ruin dayhike, with Cusco in the background.

Timb on some Inca stairs at the ruins of Sachsaywaman.

On the way back to Cusco from Sachsaywaman we took a detour up to the Cristo Blanco, a huge white statue of Jesus that I had to have a picture with.

Blanco Cristo

We returned to Cusco down some rocky Inca stairs, and found a cafe in which to have a snack before heading back to our hostel to pack and prepare to leave for the Inca Trail the next day.


Sidenote: When we returned to Cusco following the Inca Trail and Macchu Piccu, Timb decided that he had to try cuy (roasted guinea pig). We went to this great restauraunt recommended in Lonley Planet; I had cheese and brocoli soup, and Timb had cuy. I tasted a bit, and it wasn´t that great to be honest, but Timb seemed to enjoy it. It was more bones than anything else, and the spicy sauce was key.

Timb digging into his cuy, if you look closely you can see the legs.

Alien landing strips and Mummies

After an interesting ride through the desert from Lima, we arrived in Nazca, which is located in southern Peru in the Atacama desert. We disembarked from the bus into a crowd of taxi drivers and hotel promoters, all trying to get us to go with them. We had been warned that now we were on the ¨Gringo Trail¨that this would get worse. We were staying at the Hotel Alegria, and there was actually a Hotel Alergia II that several taxi drivers tried to get us to go to. Our hotel was quite nice, and had a pool which proved to be vital for an enjoyable day in the desert. Upon arrival we booked a flight for the next morning over the Nazca Lines.

We arose at 6:30am the next day to get out to the airport for the flight. The lines are best seen when the angle of the sun is low and there tends to be strong winds in the evening that blow up dust, decreasing visibility. After a short video on the history of the lines and possible theories to there purpose we were escorted out to a small four passenger cessna. A short taxi and sprint down the runway and we were airborn, the Atacama Desert streching out under us. The pilot then took us over a dizzying run over all the Nazca Lines, which are shaped as animals, geometric shapes and other designs. In order to allow for good photos the pilot would pull into a sharp turn and spiral around the geoglyph, so that the ground was below one wingtip and the other pointed towards the sky. To be fair to passengers on both sides this was executed in both clockwise and counter clockwise directions. Katie was glad that we hadn´t had the chance to have breakfest yet.

That evening we had an amazing meal at a local resturant. We had a pollo causa to start, which is a sort of potato and chicken cassarole/cake. For my main I had lomo saltado, which is like a beef stir fry but is seasoned with a local sauce. We had pisco sour, a grape liquor drink made with egg whites and lime juice, and tres leches for desert. One of the best meals so far this trip!

The next day we spent a lazy morning enjoying the pool in the hot desert sun. We decided to got to a local chicken joint for lunch and ordered a platter of different bbq meats. I really wish my spainish was a little better as in addition to chicken kabobs , the platter included beef heart kabobs and beef sweetbread (i.e. cow brains.) I managed to eat a squewer of the beef hearts, which had a very distinct taste and texture but the brains were way to chewy for me. Katie looked as if she had just gone for another flight over the lines.

That afternoon we headed out on a tour of the Chauchilla Cemetery. The cemetery contains bones, skulls, and mummies dating back to the Nazca culture around 1000 AD. The site had been thourghly sacked by grave robbers and the remains left scatter in the desert until recent efforts had restored some of the tombs. We had a good guide who gave us a detailed tour of the tombs and explained about what was known about the people. The mummies were pretty cool and very well preserved. Apparently having very long hair was a sign of success or prestige in their culture so many of the mummies looked like rasta skeletons. Some of the tombs also had "trophy skulls" that were buried with them. Very morbid but very interesting.

After the cemetary we went to a local potter who was still using traditional techniques to create some amazing artwork. We were given a demostration on how it was done, which included using paint brushes made from baby hair and polishing using a stone and oil from the side of your nose. After that we went to see a local gold processing plant. It was a very primitive operation were raw ore was crushed under a stone by rocking it back and forth. Mercury was then added to the paste, which was then put in mesh bags and the mercury was squeezed out by hand. Not a very healthy method, and only extracted about 60% of the gold. The leftover slurry was then left for the owner of the plant who sold it to larger companies (like Tom´s?) who used more sophisticated methods to retrieve the rest.
After our tour we headed back to town and caught the night bus to Cuzco. It was one of the windest roads I have ever been on and went over a pass over 4000 meters high. It was quite a bus ride but we arrrived safely in Cuzco at 10 am the next morning.

I have some more photos on facebook and you can see them by following the link below:

Photo Album

Loco Lima

We headed for Lima on a night bus, leaving Trujillo at 10:00pm. The bus was packed, and we had tickets on the first level, with larger, more comfortable seats. I am blessed with the ability to sleep relatively peacefully in moving vehicles (actually, I find it rather hard to stay awake when travelling for long periods), and for this reason the journey to Lima went very quickly. I fell asleep shortly outside of Trujillo (much to Timb's chagrin as he doesn't sleep well on buses), and didn't awake again until he nudged me as we entered the bus terminal in Lima. We had approximately 7 hours to explore Lima, and we didn't waste a moment.

Lima is a crazy city. We arrived early on a Sunday morning, and after dropping our bags off at our next bus terminal, we headed into Central Lima. We had previously decided that the one thing that we had to do in Lima was see the Iglesia de San Francisco, an old church and monastery that also sits atop vast catacombs. We hired a taxi to take us into town, and we arrived at the Plaza de Armas to find that the streets to our destination had been blocked off. The driver gave us some brief directions and shunted us out of the car and into the street next to the Plaza. It was still very early, but the square was fairly busy, occupied by crews setting up for a charity event, apparently a road race in support of breast cancer research. There was music playing, and a large stage and finish line erected, decorated with pink balloons.

We took some photos around the plaza and headed to find a restaraunt to have breakfast in. Along the way we ran into a large Catholic Mass taking place on the street infront of one of Central Lima's many churches. Emotional disciples lined the street for the service, and we only lingered for a short time, as our stomachs were growling.

We were rather unlucky in locating a place to eat, and were growing rather grumpy. We wandered around the streets for almost an hour before we located a suitable restaraunt, and satisfied our stomachs with our typical breakfast of eggs and bread. Feeling much better, we headed for the church.

The church and monastery sit a few streets off of the Plaza de Armas, housed in beautiful yellow buildings. Many of the historical buildings in Lima are meerly reconstructions of their former sleves, as the region ins plaugued by earthquakes, and the church has managed to maintain much of its ancient structure. We arrived just in time for the start of an English tour, which began in the monastery. Both the church and monastery were constructed and altered over the course of several hundred years, and therefor they contain many different building styles. The most prevalent influences were Moorish and Boroque, though the interior of the church was most recently redone to reflect the Neoclassical leanings of one particular Peruvian leader. I enjoyed the Moorish aspects of the monastery the most, especially the elaboratly created cedar wood ceilings. One particular domed ceiling looked like a net of stars. I found the monastery to be more interesting than the church, and it was here that we had most of our tour. We began in the large library, which houses hundreds of ancient texts that look as if they are falling into disrepair. We then moved to the choir loft, with elaborately carved seats, and then into the gardens and the rooms surrounding them. One of the more interesting of these chambers was known to be a dressing area, and displayed gold leafed carvings of certain monks in the order. The best part about these carvings was that they depicted those monks that had been martyred in the manner in which they had been killed. The most amusing were the monks with heads flopped over to the side. After exploring the monks chambers, our guide led us down into the catacombs. This was the best part of the tour. The catacombs used to be a cemetery, which was originally only used by the monks, but was eventually used by everyone until it was closed in 1821. Approximately 25000 bodies were thought to be buried there, and the amazing thing is that there remains are still present there today. In 1947 the catacombs were excavated, and the graves disrupted. In an attempt to put things right, the individuals involved in the excavation organized the bones they discovered. They initially did this by size, the largest bones all grouped toigether in one grave, followed by the smaller ones in the next, and so on. Later, the organization became more elaborate, and the bones were organized into patterns, particularly in the circular wells of the catacombs. It was a rather unnerving experience being surrounded by all those bones. Our guide told us that people used to steal the bones, and take them home for soveniers, before the graves were covered by glass. Ugh, can you imagine? Our tour of the church ended with the catacombs, and I was happy to be out in the street with the living again.

We left the church, and to our amazement found ourselves in the middle of a religouis procession. We were literally stuck on the street, unable to move in either direction for several minutes. It was amazing, just like you see on TV, with hundreds of people following a statue of St. Martin, carrieds by several porters. The people are very devout, and it was interesting to witness their religious rituals.

When the procession finally moved on, so did Timb and I, heading for the bus station and our bus to Nazca.

Huanchaco

Chuanchaco is a small beach town on the coast of Northern Peru. A pretty chill place, with good surf and some pretty cool ruins. We arrived and check into Naylamp, a really nice hostel located right on the beach, complete with roof top patio, resturant and internet access. The town is a popular beach destiation for Peruvians and since Trijouli (population 700,000) is only a 15 minute drive away, it gets pretty busy on the weekends.

The main strip of the town winds its way along the beach and is populated with resturants speciallizing in Ceviche, a dish composed of fish, squid, octopus and other marine life, marinated in lime juice and onions. It is a typical Peruvian dish and Huanchaco is supposed to have some of the best in the country so I gave it a try. I guess not all ceviches are made equal and the resturant we were at was not among those suggested in the guide book. My stomach didn´t feel very good for the next few days.

One of the cool things about Huanchaco is that the local fisherman still go out to fish in traditional reed boats, as they have been doing for thousands of years. You can see them lined up along the beach and heading out through the surf for the daily fishing.

Just inland of Huanchaco is the acient adobe city of Chan Chan. It was once a very large city of over 24 square kilometers, although only 14 are left today. As you can imagine, adobe does not stand up against the tests of time as well as stone, so much of the city is just lumps of dirt now. There has been an extensive effort to restore a large area of it and many pieces were buried in the sands and therefore protected. By duplicating what they found preserved they have recreated a section that gives you a pretty good idea of what the city was once like. We went on a guided tour, which was very informative. There were some very cool frescos that were well preserved of different animals important to the Chimu people. The size of some of the structures was amazing, some walls were well over 5 meters, especially considering they were only made of adobe. The Chimu even created their own pools by digging down until they reached the water table. After exploring the ruins we went over to a near by muesum that had lots of artifacts and pottery that the grave robbers had missed. All very interesting and a great introduction into acient peruvian life.The other thing that Huanchaco is famous for is its surf, so we couldn´t leave town without heading out to the breaks. We rented boards from a local shop and headed out to the beach. Before we could make it to the water we were swarmed by groups of Peruvians who all wanted to take our picture. We posed for the first few groups but when people started running down the beach towards us, cameras in hand (I am not exagerating here) we made a break for the ocean. I am not sure if it was because we were a couple of fair haired north americans or there is a website out there where Peruvians try to get gringos to pose for them, but it was a little odd to receive all that attention.

It turned out that our surfing skills had not magically improved since our previous attempts, so after a while our arms were too dead from paddling to do anything but float in the surf. We managed to catch a few waves between us, but nothing crazy. The water was actually pretty cold (damn those cold currents) so I didn´t even notice that I stepped on a sea urchin until we start to thaw out.

One of the other places we visited was an old church up on the hill above the town. It is the second oldest church in Peru, although not particularly spectacular. There was a nice view of the town, however, from the top.

We were getting used to the lazy days on the beach, the great food and amazing sunsets, so it was with a little hesitation that we packed up, and headed for Lima and the rest of our Peruvian adventures.