I had heard from many travellers that Machu Picchu was one of the highlights of their trip, and have seen pictures of Machu Picchu in history books since I have been a child, but nothing could have prepared me for how truly breathtaking the experience would be.
There are many options to get to Machu Picchu from Cuzco. After speaking to friends who had already been and others around the hostel, Sinead and I chose to do the "adventure trek." Luke and Leigh, our friends from London joined us and we set off on what I can only describe as four of the best days of my trip.
DAY 1
Nothing in my life can compare to what I did today. We were awake at 5:30 and picked up at half 6 to begin our adventure trek to Machu Picchu. We drove through the mountains for about 2.5 hours and saw the most beautiful scenery - jagged, rocky mountains covered in green trees.
We drove up through the mountain, winding through switchback after switchback. The higher we got, the less of the view we could see... We were above the clouds. When we eventually pulled over on the side of the road and the guide told us we had reached the destination where we would begin our bike ride, I thought he was kidding. I knew we'd be mountain biking, but I didn't realize it would be on the SAME windy, narrow road we had just driven up with sharp bends, steep cliffs and TWO WAY traffic.
We got out of our van and began to put on our gear for the ride. This was no joke. We had helmets, knee pads, biking gloves, wind proof coats and racing jackets with chest cages, back protection, shoulder pads and elbow guards.
It was FREEZING at the top.
I was pretty scared, and after hearing the stories of my past adventures (white water rafting in West Virginia, zip lining in Costa Rica, my infamous skydiving video,) Sinead, Luke, and Leigh had taken bets on what time I would start crying. I kept telling myself that I would be okay if I took it slow and not push my limits. I didn't care if I was the last one in the group.
We started at an elevation of 4,316 meters, almost 14,200 feet, and rode about 30 miles down to 1,800 meters (5,400 feet.) It was AMAZING.
In the beginning, I took my time and went a bit slower. For about the first 20 minutes my gears didn´t work, but after our first stop, our guide was able to fix them for me. After that, I began to feel more comfortable and continued to go faster and faster. By the end of the ride, I was one of the group leaders.
The views were some of the most beautiful I´ve ever seen - two giant mountains on either side of us and a valley with streaming rivers below.
There wasn´t much time to stop and take pictures - and the pictures don´t do it any justice anyways - but I kept trying to remind myself to look around as much as possible... to live in the moment, and take it all in. The experience was exhilarating and freeing.
Though we were with a group, there were often times that I couldn´t see anyone else on the road - it was all mine. As much fun as it was to go fast and speed down the mountain, I was also conflicted because I knew this was something that I would likely never get to see or do again.
After biking we had lunch and headed to the next part of our adventure, white water rafting. Again, the views were spectacular, but the rafting itself was average. ¨White¨ water rafting was a generous term, since the river was actually very, very brown from the sediment run off of the mountains. It reminded me of the chocolate river in ¨Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.¨
That night we slept in a local house in the mountains. A van picked us up from the river, and when it dropped us off on the side of a road with a mountain on one side and a cliff on another and told us we had arrived, I once again thought it was a joke.
¨Do you see that house with the light on way up there?¨ The guide asked as he pointed up the mountain. ¨That´s where we´re going.¨
It was a 45 minute walk uphill. When we started it was dusk, and by the time we finished, it was completely dark. We were walking on the edges of thin paths on the in the dark. Part of me was happy we couldn´t see it, and part of me was terrified I´d take a wrong step.
We arrived at our destination, a local family´s home in the mountains 4,200 feet high. ¨Welcome to the zoo,¨ the other members of our group who had not gone rafting and showed up earlier said. There were chickens, dogs, ducks, and a ferret running around.
Luke, Leigh, Sinead and I stayed in a four person room in the second floor of the house. In order to get to our room, we walked up a small hill and then across 25 feet of wood planks laid next to each other to make a path about two feet wide. The wood boards were wobbly and I felt like I was walking a pirate's plank every time I walked to the room.
Between cycling, hiking, and rafting I´m pretty sure we worked every muscle in our body that day and we were all exhausted. After dinner we all headed to bed.
DAY 2
We began our trek around nine this morning, and I continue to be completley amazed by the scenery. The mountains are jagged and there is a deep valley below. Today´s hiking was very easy. Except for a 30 minute uphill, the majority of the hiking was relatively flat. The hardest part was walking along the narrow paths on the cliffs.
If I thought the cliffs at the Lost City were bad, these were a million times worse. The cliffs drop off thousands of feet and are no more than two feet wide. Since I´ve gotten to South America, though, my fear of heights has been MUCH better... I haven´t even cried yet on this trek (MUCH to everyone´s disappointment.) We walked about eight miles, and took many unnecessary breaks. We hiked a small part of the classic Inca Trail and ended the day at hot springs.
At our super dodgy hostel that night, we all bought beers and sat on the sidewalk like true South Americans. We had dinner at a restaurant across the street, and got to know our group better. We played word association games, which can be hysterical with groups of people from eight different countries, many of whose first language is not English. We went to a dance club that night that was filled with other gringos on similar treks to Machu Picchu.
DAY 3
Our first activity today was ziplining and the 25 minute walk uphill was rough since most of us were hung over and dehydrated from our night of clubbing in one of Peru's most unexpected locations... Santa Teresa. Once we started the ziplining, however, our adrenaline kicked in and we had a blast.
Unlike my last ziplining excursion, I didn't spend the entire time crying. After weeks of continuosly facing what was once a crippling fear of heights, I've become much more brave. On our fourth zipline, however, we were allowed to go upside down. It was terrifying, but I did it. My mantra for this trip is that I didn't come here to do anything half way.
Though I was brave enough to do it, getting myself into the position to actually go upside down was a comedy show in itself. It took me about five times longer than anyone else to get into position.
My entire body became stiff and rigid. The guide hooked me up and would try, unsuccessfully, to put me upside down. He'd push me upside and try to get my legs to curve into the upside down position. "Relax," he'd tell me until eventually I'd flip back right side up. "I can't do it!" I'd say, only to be immediately followed by "but I HAVE to do it."
Finally in the upside down position, the guide pushed me out. I screamed at the top of my lungs, looking straight down at the forest valley 3,000 feet below me. Eventually I calmed myself down to a point where I was just screaming to myself "holy shit, holy shit," and finally, I completely lost my breath, trying my hardest to concentrate on taking a deep breath. I even managed to turn myself around 180 degrees to face the landing pad and pull myself up as instructed.
I finally shed a tear (purely out of sheer joy/relief) once I reached the other side, and though Luke and Leigh weren't there to see it, Sinead managed to snap a picture.
We spent the afternoon on a three hour walk along the train tracks to a town called Aguas Calientes which sits at the base of Machu Picchu.
Once in town, we bought our lunch and snacks for the following day, had a group dinner and went to sleep early in preparation for our 4:15am wake up.
Today was Thanksgiving in America. It wasn't as weird or as hard to be away from home as I thought it would be. I think most of this is due to the fact that it didn't feel at all like Thanksgiving (there weren't even any other Americans in our group) and since we were busy all day I didn't think about it much. It didn't hurt, either, that I was surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life.
DAY 4
Sitting on top of Machu Picchu staring at the ancient city and Waynu Picchu. Today was one of the most physically challenging days of my life.
We woke up at 4:15 to leave the hostel by 4:30. We walked in the dark twenty minutes along the road to the bridge to Machu Picchu and then climbed the 1707 steps to the city. Our guide told us to bring an extra tshirt, because by the time we climbed the stairs to the city we'd be soaked in sweat. He was right. The steps were actually easier than I had expected, though still challenging.
Since it was still early, most of the view was masked by fog when we entered the city. We were above many of the clouds and a bit worried that we wouldn't have a good day, but as the day went on, the clouds cleared and we had a perfect day.
We had a two hour tour with our guide, who showed us some of the more important parts of the city, like where the king lived, sacred stones, the school, and more. Afterward, we were free to wander the city on our own.
After visiting the city, there are two more options that you can pay extra to experience: hiking Machu Picchu Mountain and hiking Waynu Picchu mountain. Waynu Picchu, while not as well known by name, is the mountain in all of the classic shots of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu Mountain is another 600 meters (1800 feet) above the city and is higher than Waynu Picchu by 300 meters.
We decided to climb Machu Picchu Mountain. Though Waynu Picchu has additional ruins, we decided the view would be better from Machu Picchu Mountain.
Climbing Machu Picchu Mountain was a BITCH. We had already climbed the 1,707 stairs to the city, woken up at 4am, and walked around all morning, but at 10am, we began the climb.
Almost every step of the journey was stairs, some placed so close together your entire foot wouldn't fit on a single stair, some far apart so that it took a few strides to get to the next.
Some sets were extremely narrow and steep with cliffs that were thousands of feet high dropping that dropped off inches away. These stairs made me extremely nervous about coming back down. For these sets, I'd stand as close to the rock wall as possible and take grip of trees, branches, parts of rocks that jutted out...anything that would give me more stability.
We were exhausted and took breaks often. We stopped every person who was on their way down to ask them how much longer we had until we reached the top. Their answered always varied, but each and every one of them assured us that the reward was worth it.
When we reached the top, there was a giant cabana and a panoramic view of the amazing mountains, and the city of Machu Picchu and Waynu Picchu Mountain hundreds of meters below.
We ate lunch at the top...a picnic lunch of bruised avocados, battered tomatoes and squished rolls that had barely survived our climbs.
The view was breathtakingly stunning. I kept reminding myself to absorb every second and take it all in, knowing it was a view I may never see again in my life.
It's amazing to see something in real life that you've seen pictures and videos of your entire life. Though I'm not a history buff, the architecture of the city and the way it has managed to stay intact combined with the amazing scenery had me mesmorized. Even though I had seen countless pictures of the city, nothing could prepare me for the amazingly powerful sense of joy I would get from seeing it with my own eyes.
From the top of Machu Picchu Mountain, all you could see was mountains (and a speck of the tiny town of Aguas Calientes in the distance.) The scenery is the most amazing I've ever seen in my life and I already want to go back. I want to take my parents there, and my brothers, and everyone else I know. I want everyone to be able to see and experience the wonder that is Machu Picchu.
Photos:
1: View on the ride up the mountain
2: Luke, Leigh, Sinead and I preparing for our bike ride
3: The view from mountain biking
4: Our (second floor) accommodation at the local family's house in the mountains
5: Me expertly getting into the upside down position for ziplining
6: Above the trees
7: Sinead and I at Machu Picchu
8: The stairs to Machu Picchu Mountain
9: 600 meters above the city of Machu Picchu
10: A view of Machu Picchu from the side of the mountain
No comments:
Post a Comment