The weather was nice so we wandered into Plaza De Armas for a spot of people watching and newspaper reading. Cusco is noticeably set up for tourists and nearly every shop surrounding the plaza is a tourist office or touristy restaurant, interspersed by numerous churches. There were also a lot of street vendors selling "original" paintings, offering massages, or offering various tours or hostels. They can spot a gringo (there are many) from a mile away. The best one was when we saw two hawkers unwittingly approach one another to try and sell their services, before realising what was happening.
We spent the rest of our day checking in for our Inca Trail trek, running a few errands, and arguing over fruit prices at the local markets. One of the women kept raising the price after we had already agreed a price for some mandarins. Calling on all of our past tense Spanish we had a pretty good argument before ditching the mandarins and heading to the next stall. She was certainly not our casera.
Cat standing above the city:
We splashed out on a pricey pass to enter the main archaeological sites of Cusco, and walked up the hill in the heat to Saqsayhuman (read: sexy woman), a really spectacular set of Incan ruins situated above (as the tail of) the city of Cusco. Some of the menhirs used in the construction are enormous which made the site all the more impressive. A couple of photo moments not included here: photos taken by a couple of locals who were apparently fascinated by the way I looked; and a photo that Cat took of some llamas, unaware that she would have to tip the owners. Once they asked her for propinas (tips), she realised the photo was rubbish anyway so she deleted it in order to free herself of the guilt of not paying.
Saqsayhuman in front of some impressive stonework:
Looking along the zig-zagged walls:
We then went on to another set of ruins at Qenko, which were also intriguing and we were able to walk right inside:
Struggling to comprehend the price of snack food and drinks at the ruins, we made our way back down the city for a late lunch.
Our third floor room in the hostel overlooked got plenty of sunlight and overlooked one of the main roads, so we bought a bottle of pisco, some ice and some cola, pulled up a table and chairs and had our own bar going for the evening. We also did the same another day. The good life. There was plenty to see: a roadwork gang working with picks and shovels for 12 hours a day, drunkards lounging and fighting in the sun on the grassy bank across the street, and what appeared the be the main free public urinal in the city: the gutter. At an impressive frequency, probably once every minute or two, a car would pull over, the driver would step out and walk innocently around the car, kick the tires, pretend to rummage for something in the back seat, and then take a slash in the gutter. This happened 24/7.
We also found these amazing chips: Doritos, Lays, Tocinos (bacon) and some sort of curly cheese snack, all in the same packet:
After a couple of days in Cusco, it was time for us to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This was the only thing that we had booked in South America before we left NZ (actually booked way back in February), and it was by far our most expensive activity, so obviously our expectations were pretty high.
The first day of the trek started a touch early, having to be ready well before sun rise to be picked up from our hostel. A couple of hours by bus and we were in Ollantaytambo, where we had a spot of breakfast and started to become acquainted with the rest of our group. All up there were 16 of us from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, UK, USA, Spain and Poland, in addition to our two Peruvian guides, David and Ernesto.
At the start of the trail:
The first day was pretty easy going trekking-wise, so it was a good chance to have a yarn as we walked along and David told us an immense amount of Peruvian and Incan history, as we visited a number of ruins on the way:
We also caught some nice views on our way up the valley:
In addition to the trekkers and guides, there were 20 porters (chaskies) with our group, including a chef. This meant the trek was unlike any tramp I have ever done before (and probably will ever do). The chaskies, each carrying up to 25 kg, walked (ran) ahead of the group at a hell of a pace, so by the time we stopped for lunch there was a dining tent pitched and a three course meal ready. This happened every day and we'd have to say that the food was one of the surprise highlights of the trip.
A bit more uphill after lunch (with a bit of extra weight in our bellies) and we arrived at our first camp before dark. Again, the porters had beaten us there and pitched each of our tents, along with the kitchen and dining tents.
The full gang:
We enjoyed a beer, a few yarns and another three course meal (including flaming pisco bananas for dessert), before retiring to our tents for the night.
The second morning started early, up before sunrise again, with the impressive tent service from Ernesto, David and the porters. Nothing quite like a cup of coffee in bed before a day of hiking.
Day two was billed as the hardest day, trekking up to 4,215 m above sea level, to the top of Dead Woman's Pass. The first part was not too arduous, wandering through the bush with a couple of stops. David shared some of his coca leaves with us to numb our cheeks and help with the effects of altitude.
Enjoying the coca leaves and the forest:
Halfway up, the porters had set up a table for a morning tea of popcorn, sandwiches and hot drinks. Again, the service was overwhelmingly amazing. Cat definitely looked excited:
From there it was mostly exposed terrain up to the pass. The group split up so we could each go our own pace, and Cat didn't want to walk with me - she wanted to listen to Eminem instead. So without that extra weight (I mean that the porters were carrying my bedroll and sleeping bag), I was able to speed up at my own pace, which was nice.
Cat clambering up:
Enjoying some pisco at the top:
The view from the top:
All made it (still one to come, but she got there after the photo):
From the top of the pass it was another couple of hours walk down to the second camp:
We braved showers which were nigh on frozen solid at that altitude, and feeling refreshed we enjoyed lunch, followed by snacks and hot drinks, followed by dinner (many courses, again).
David told us a story about how the toilets were often frequented by the spirits of the children which were found dead in a cave where the toilets are now. The children had been murdered by the Shining Path terrorist group, and it is said that if you use the toilets at night that the spirits will grab at you from beneath the doors, or when you walk over the nearby bridge. Furthermore there were also the spirits of chaskies (who died falling off the trail when drunk and carrying 40+ kg in the dark) and tourists (from before the trail was restricted to guided groups only) who lurk around the area too. Needless to say that everyone stayed in their tents that night, and there were a few puddles outside tent doors in the morning where people were obviously too afraid to brave the toilets.
Day three, billed as the "unforgettable" day, again started with tent service, followed by another awesome breakfast.
Our legs were feeling surprisingly okay given the altitude that we had climbed to the previous day, so there were no issues as we made our way up to the second pass. On the way we passed some more ruins, possibly tambos (storehouses) for the message runners of the Incas:
The view from the second pass:
We stopped at some more spectacular ruins (again, likely to be tambos and small villages), before stopping for lunch on the way to the third pass:
We were incredibly lucky with the weather and the views all day were fantastic, or "unforgettable". At the top of the third pass we had a bit of time to wander and enjoy the views. We were able to see across to a spectacular set of agricultural terraces at Wiñay Wayna, across to Machu Picchu mountain, and down to the town of Aguas Calientes:
From here there were over 3,000 steps on the trail down to our third camp near Wiñay Wayna:
The terraces at Wiñay Wayna (with a lot of backlight):
We had hired two walking poles in Cusco, but we found these a bit of a drag so they spent almost the entire trek on my backpack. Without these, the walk down was probably a bit more strenuous on our legs, but that much more enjoyable.
We arrived at the camp well before dark, so we chilled out for a bit before being treated to our last dinner. It was Penny's (one of the women in our group) birthday, and the chaskies had got wind of this, so in addition to the usual delicious three plus course meal, they baked a birthday cake, complete with custom icing and candles. We were constantly amazed by what the chef managed to conjure up days into the trek.
We were woken around 3.30am the next morning for our final approach to Machu Picchu. This is because the chaskies need to catch the first train back to Ollantaytambo, as well as the gates to the trail to Machu Picchu opening at 5.30am (or 6.00am, we can't recall). After three days of immaculate weather, there was rain on our most eagerly awaited day. All good though, as the rain only started just as we arrived at the entrance to the trail, and as we were one of the first groups we managed to get the sheltered area. Again, lucky with the timing, the rain stopped just before the trail opened, so we managed to go four days without even getting a spot wet.
We ended up being the first group up to the Sun Gate, which overlooks Machu Picchu City. The view was everything we had hoped for and more (clouds):
The clouds broke occasionally and we got a few glimpses through, before making our way down to Machu Picchu. By the time we reached the city itself, the weather was pretty good and we had a fantastic first proper look from above the city:
Our obvious excitement:
After the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu seemed incredibly busy and full of tourists, but despite that it was really intriguing to wander the ruins which we have seen pictures of all of our lives. We spent a few hours enjoying the ruins, including an hour or so where David told us a huge amount of history of the place. A couple of shots:
In Aguas Calientes we were stoked to be back and we had a couple of pisco sours and beers with the gang. Our hands were full, so no photos here. We also checked out the "Aguas Calientes" themselves (hot springs), which were pretty mediocre but still relaxing after four days of hiking.
A train and another bus, and we were back in Cusco late at night, feeling pretty satisfied and definitely tired.
We were reluctant to rush off, so we spent a couple of days in Cusco pretty much with our feet up. We enjoyed the local cuisine such as rocotos rellenos (stuffed chili peppers) and some set menu lunches, as well as plenty more piscos, before heading off to our next destination of Arequipa.
No comments:
Post a Comment