Cusco and Machu Picchu

Soccer Game in Cusco

After a luxurious plane ride of only two hours, versus the 22 to 24 it would have been on the bus, we arrived in Cusco. I wish we could fly everywhere we go. We met our couch surfer, Ronnie, and settled into his place. After a long nap, since we had gotten up at 4:30am to catch our flight, we went with Ronnie to see a soccer match. We had fun copying all the cheers and jeers of the crowd. We had delicious stadium food that was not sold out of booths but instead vendors had set up barbeques under the stands and were making all sorts of antichutos or meat skewers and other fair. It was definitely a different experience than going to a game in the states.

Main Square in Cusco



Cathedral in the main square in Cusco




Cusco at night



Native women weaving blankets

We spent three more days in Cusco exploring the city and tasting all the food. It is a beautiful city, with tight cobblestone streets, old building, and countless squares. Unfortunately, we had horrible weather. It was cold and rainy and grey the entire time. On the third day we made a trip out to this little town about an hour outside of Cusco that is known for its cuy, or in English, guinea pig. We had tried it once before in Loja, Ecuador and thought that was enough, but Ronnie insisted that it was much better in Peru. So that is how we found ourselves sitting at a table in the middle of nowhere staring at this little petrified rat. If you have never eaten it, they serve you the animal whole… legs, head and all. It was our friend Michelle’s first time trying it, and when it arrived at the table I think she started having second thoughts. But after a nice photo shoot, she bravely started picking away at it. It was definitely better than the cuy in Ecuador, but still not good enough for any of us to order it again. It’s just too much work picking around all those little bones, and it does have a strong gamey flavor.

Laura way too excited about the poor animal she is about to devour

After our culinary adventures we planned our trip to Machu Picchu. We booked the Inca jungle tour through Ronnie’s tour company. It sounded amazing. It had mountain biking, white water rafting, walking in the jungle, and walking on an original Inca trail. It was also less than half of the cost of the Inca trail. So we set out on our four day journey to Machu Picchu.


The brave few that continued cycling on the dirt/mud road

The first day we left really early and went in a van outside of Cusco where we would start mountain biking. What we didn’t know is that the mountain biking is not really mountain biking so much as riding a mountain bike down a busy highway that winds down the side of a mountain. We were already put off by this, but then throw in freezing temperature and rain; we almost stayed in the van. We were determined to enjoy ourselves so we put our raincoats on and headed down the road. After ten minutes I was frozen and the rooster tail spray coming off my back tire had drenched my butt and the insides of my legs. I already wanted off but didn’t want to admit it so I continued. After another ten minutes I round a bend and see a bike in the middle of the road and a guy flat on his face, motionless on the pavement. His girlfriend was freaking out. Laura and I stopped to help. The poor guy had blood all over his face and already had golf ball sized bumps in a couple of places. The vans pulled up a few minutes later and he continued down with them. That was more than enough for Laura and I to admit we were both frozen, soaked, and not really enjoying the biking enough to risk injury riding in the rain. So we also got back in the van. This then prompted about three others to admit they wanted back in the van. We were even happier with our decision when the road turned into a dirt road, which with the rain was now a mud road. The few who stayed riding were covered from head to toe with mud. It was quite comical.

We missed out on the rafting because they forgot to put our names on the list and there was no more space on the boats. We weren’t too upset because we were freezing and the thought of more cold water wasn’t appealing. We took a hot shower and got settled in for the night.
 
The next day we started our ten hour hike through the jungle. We walked through coca fields, and saw almost every type of tropical fruit plant growing in the wild. We made a pit stop at this lady’s home/store and had a drink and rested a bit. She had a monkey and parrots and this crazy beaver looking thing that I couldn’t identify. I tried to pose for a picture with the monkey thinking he was a friendly monkey. I was mistaken… the crazy monkey lunged for my face, and then started trying to climb up my legs. Damn crazy monkey!


Beaver type animal drinking Gaterade of all things

 

Crazy Damn Monkey!

Crayz Damn Monkey!

Wild Pineapple Plant

We walked for the rest of the day making a few more rest stops and a stop for lunch. We walked on part of an Inca trail that was built on the sheer side of a mountain. It was a little scary walking on these narrow steps with a sheer cliff on one side. I made sure I had one hand on the cliff wall at all times. It would just take one miss step and no more Christina, or at least a much uglier Christina that was maybe missing a limb or two. We walked through and along a river and then crossed it again in a basket they pulled across with a cable. It was quite humorous to watch. We finally made it to the end of the hike to the hot springs. I opted out of getting in the water because of all the mosquitos but Laura chose to get in. I have never seen so many mosquito bites on one person before! Her legs had at least a hundred bites per leg. They swelled up like sausages! I felt bad but it was so hilarious.

Part of the Inca trail

Big rock the trail went through

Crossing the river

Crazy Political add in the middle of no where

Our Machu Picchu Group

The next day we followed the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, a little town just outside of Machu Picchu. We would stay the night there and get up a 3:30 to start walking to the control office just outside of the stairs to Machu Picchu. Laura and I and this amazing Argentinian couple, which we had become good friends with over the hike, went to the market to buy food for the next day. We were advised to take a bag lunch with us since food at Machu Picchu was outrageously priced. So we made sandwiches and packed some cookies and went to bed.

We got to the control at just after four and there was already a line of about 50 to 60 people. In order to reach Machu Picchu you have to climb over an hour of old Inca stairs straight up the side of a mountain. The reason that you have to get there so early is that only the first 400 people to the top get their ticket stamped to be able to climb Huayna Picchu, the tall peak in the background of all the Machu Picchu pictures. So we waited in line to sprint up the stairs. Ok it wasn’t quite a sprint but it sure felt like it. When the gates opened people flooded through. Some people started running past us, but it was sweet justice when we saw them stopped on the side of the stairs gasping for air. We kept a fast and steady pace all the way to the top. We managed to do it in 45 minutes, faster than the hour our guide thought it would take us. When we reached the top we were drenched in sweat. It looked like we just finished a wet t-shirt contest. Luckily we had brought an extra shirt. We got our stamp for Huayna Picchu and entered Machu Picchu.

First view of Machu Picchu through the clouds

Let’s just say Machu Picchu is famous for a reason. It is by far one of the most mystical and beautiful places I have ever been. When we walked in through the gate the ruins were hidden in a fog. As you sat and watched the fog would part occasionally revealing another little section of the old ruins. As the morning progressed little by little the fog dissipated completely and the entire city was visible. Machu Picchu is huge and the ruins are very well preserved. We spent hours wandering around. It is amazing how they were able to fit huge stones together seamlessly. They had such a tight fit that earthquakes couldn’t move them.

Machu Picchu

Nap Time

We sat in the middle of the ruins on a large grassy field used for ceremonies and had our lunch, and a quick nap. After our siesta we headed for the entrance to Huayna Picchu and started our climb to the top. Over a hundred steps later we found more ruins at the top and an amazing view. I still don’t understand how they got all the stones up there. The stairs were built on the side of a sheer cliff and all the building were built perched on the edge of those cliffs. I had a hard time even climbing the stairs without holding on to something, let alone climbing up the side of a cliff with stones to build those steps. On a whole one of the best things we did in South America.

View from the top of Huayna Picchu

Me at the top of Huayna Picchu

After we got back down from Huayna Picchu we wandered around Machu Picchu a bit more. I didn’t want to leave but at the same time I was so tired I couldn’t walk anymore. We had walked for four day, gotten up at 3:30, climbed two mountains via ancient Inca stairs, and walked around Machu Picchu for hours. It was time to call it a day so we headed back down to Aguas Calientes. We managed to talk our hostel manager into letting us take a shower for a few soles. We all were covered with dry sweat and I didn’t really want to start the 4 hour journey back to Cusco like that. We got cleaned up, ate a bit of dinner and caught our train back to Cusco.

Machu Picchu

Christina