Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

 Salkantay Trail, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Peru

44 km. 3 days. 6 brave people.  1 amazing guide.  = an adventure of a lifetime.
The first day, after waking up at 3:30 in the morning we trekked 19km and hiked up to 14 000ft.  This is the highest I ever been in my life.  I may be wrong, but I think some commercial planes fly at 14 000ft (daddy, correct me if I’m wrong). Over the course of three days we saw and experienced many different micro-climates due to the changes in altitude.  We went from a cold dry desert climate at the Salkantay viewpoint to cloud forrests, to practically jungle (actually its technically called transitional forrest).  We were lucky enough to have rain-free amazing weather.  I have NEVER been so SORE in my life. 
I did the trek with a tour agency called Enigma, and I couldn’t have been more impressed.  Our guide, Andy, was totally relatable, easy to talk to, and made everyone feel comfortable.  Like he said in the beginning: we start together, and end together, as a team.
Not only was the guide amazing, we were also totally spoiled by the chef.  I swear he cooked us five star meals from camping gear.  The menu was varied, healthy, and delicious!  There were also little things that made the trip special and well worth the money I spent: We were given snack bags full of goodies every morning to eat while trekking; at night when we arrived at camp they would give hot water, soap, and a towel to wash with; every morning we were served a hot beverage of our choice in our tent; and before or after dinner, Andy would tell us about Inca history as we sipped on tea of our choice.

The culmination of all our hard work ended in seeing Machu Picchu from across the mountain range on our third day of hiking.  At that point, all the pain and hard work was worth it.  At that point we knew we were almost near our trekking stopping point.  The third day we hiked to the hydroelectric plant, and took the train into the town of Aguas Calientes where we would be spending the night before exploring Machu Picchu the next day.  Upon arrival, we were apologetically told by Andy that the hotel we were supposed to stay in was overbooked, and that we would be staying in a different hotel.  So I was like alright, all I want is a bed and a shower….I don’t care what the hotel looks like.  So we walk about ten minutes from the train station and arrive at Inkaterra hotel: and let me tell you, U.P.G.R.A.D.E!  This was 5 star hotel.  The pictures I have barely do it justice, so click on the link above.  I had a double queen room all to myself.  The shower I took that night was the best shower I’ve had in South America so far.  Not only was the hotel amazing, but we were giving a free complimentary drink (pisco sour) and dinner that night and breakfast the next morning was included.  Of course, the food was amazing.

Overall, the trek was really the highlight of my trip.  The beautiful scenery, our amazing guide, Andy, the couriers and cooks, and the great group of people that we had really made it a memorable and amazing experience: one that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.

View of where we started our trek-after driving 3 hours from Cusco

The van we drove in and all our luggage/food-ready for the courriers and horses

Breakfast day 1

Starting our hike....

Horses behind us...this section was particularly steep

Salkantay mountain-the snowcapped peak in the back

Almost to the top....could barely breathe

We made it-went up 4000 ft in elevation-Salkantay base

My self made statue-signifying leaving the past behind and moving into the present.  Lots of people had made them at the peak.  I wonder if mine is still there...

Downhill, heading for lunch....still day 1

Lunch camp

Lunch, day 1

Start of day 2

Beautiful 7am view

Small break with Andy, Tom, and Dave

bridge crossing

A hikers lodge we came upon in the middle of our hike-so pretty

huge landslide

waterfall

Check out the baby bananas

people do live out here-all are farmers, who grow all kinds of crops on the side the mountains at like a 70 degree angle.  Its incredible to see the crop fields just in the middle of such a steep mountainside...and even more incredible to think that people climb up there everyday to pick and maintain it!

lunch day 2

Lunch! day 2 - amazing!

Campsite day 2

start of day 3 - hiking up behind our campsite we found a coffee farm...this is the machine that they use to get the bean out of its shell

Wild turkeys putting on a show-I'd never seen a white turkey before.

a view from halfway up the mountain

on the way down the other side-a view of Machu Picchu from afar

close up of the view - you can totally see the terracing

We ended up at this Inca ruin, on the mountain opposite Machu Picchu, which the Incas used as a lookout point to keep an eye on the sacred site from afar

Machu Picchu again

View of Machu Picchu and the sacred valley

One more bridge...and then 20 minutes to hydroelectric-the end of our trek

My hotel room at Inkaterra - the hotel

About to order our welcome drinks

Dinner at our hotel-included in our package.

Cusco

 Cusco, Peru

I arrived in Cusco at 6am on a Saturday morning.  It was cold, I was exhausted, and couldn’t check-in to my hostel until 1pm that afternoon.  So, I chilled in the TV room of my hostel, and ended up falling asleep in a pile full of pillows.  I woke up about an hour later to a lively, sunny atmosphere, full of young people talking, playing ping pong, and lounging in bean bags in the courtyard.  As it was only nine o’clock, I headed to my tour group’s office to pay for the rest of my trek, which was to start on Monday, and headed out to explore the city by foot, and most importantly, find some food.

First impressions:  totally full of tourists, great food, colonial architecture, lots of colors, and really nice people.   The colors are really attributed to the hundreds of different kinds of arts and crafts you can buy here.  You walk into the local market, and its overwhelming how much stuff there is to choose from.  Everything is made of wool or warm woven materials: blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, ponchos, bags, purses, socks, bracelets….and everything comes in all kinds of beautiful colors and patterns.  I’m pretty much obsessed.  I bought an awesome blanket (great for overnight bus rides), socks, hats, and earings.

I ended up eating at a restaurant called Jack’s café.  It was recommended to me by friend Meaghan, and totally lived up to its reputation.  Went there twice during my stay in Cusco.  I’ll let the food pictures speak for themselves, but in short, a great place with fresh, homemade soups, salads, sandwhiches, breakfasts, juices, smoothies and desserts.  The food reminded me of an organic, grassroots CA restaurant, and I’m pretty sure they made their own homemade bread, ‘nough said!

My hostel, Pariwana, was fun.  I think total, there were about 100 people staying in it.  I stayed in a 12-person dorm room.  Every bed had it’s own down comforter, and the beds were abnormally large.  The breakfast wasn’t that awesome (just bread and jam), but the hostel had its own bar, and was super resourceful and helpful when it came to doing treks or exploring Cusco.

Lunch at Jack's

Plaza de Armas

Market-meat section

???!!!-E.coli?

All kinds of different colored maiz being sold at the market

the main square of my hostel-Pariwana

Bar/Restaurant/Club at my hostel

Cathedral overlooking some Incan ruins in the middle of the city.  There were lots more ruins in the city itself, but all were protected with walls-so you couldn't just walk in.

Viva Peru!