You see so many pictures of the place that you become immune to it, but once I was up there and walking around on this mountaintop, I was amazed. It is difficult to describe the feeling, but I just felt in the presence of something very special.
I started the trek on Tuesday with a 60 kilometer mountain bike ride going down 3000 meters. It is supposed to be the dry season, but it rained on us the entire day! Made things very cold, but fun as well. I also finally realized what ´mountain biking´ in South America really entails. It is basically biking down their unfinised/unpaved roads. Anyways, we stayed in a small town deep in a valley.
Wednesday, we (by ´we´ I mean a guide, 1 Brazilian, 2 Isrealis, 1 Kiwi, and 3 Americans) started walking along the Inca trail for 7 hours. It was a very tough and long day, but very rewarding because of all the sites along the way. Ancient ruins, crazy animals, trails down steep cliffs. The day definitely challenged my fear of heights. Got to play some volleyball in a tiny village with some local kids. The Peruvians love volleyball. Slept in another small town that night after another day of getting extremely dirty.
Thursday, we walked for 6 hours more until Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu. A very small town that relies solely on tourism. Went to bed early because...
...The Brazilian and I woke up at 3:45AM to walk up to the entrance of Machu Picchu. I have posted a photo of when we finished. It is an interesting feeling to be dripping sweat at 4:30AM! It is an hour hike straight uphill, but worth it because it is a race to get to Waynu Picchu and hike up the mountain. The photo of me on the rock is from Waynu Picchu. Amazing views. It is another hour hike seemingly straight up.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around the huge city of Machu Picchu. It is amazing how large everything is. The entire day I was wondering how many actual stair steps there are. The Incas loved them some stairs. Walked back down the hill after about 10 hours up looking at all the sites. A very LONG day.
On the bus ride back to Cusco it was dark out, but there were some car lights on the side of the road. Our bus driver slowed a lot and I was sitting in the window seat and looked out and saw a person laying on the street with a pool of blood and a chalk outline. It took me a while, but I realized that was the first dead body I have ever seen. Needless to say, my stomach dropped to places it had not ever been.
Well, tonight I depart for Lima and then to Mancora, a surfing town in Northern Peru. I am leaving tonight (Saturday) around 5pm and will not arrive in Mancora until Monday afternoon. Yes, 2 VERY long bus rides.
Good Things and I will see you all soon!
Those sound like some epic hikes! And the pictures' beauty almost withstand the disgusting visual funk cast by your neck beard.
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