This has to be the most painful day of my life. I've never hiked like this before. This makes the 21 mile hike to Half Dome in Yosemite seem like a casual stroll in the mall. Here is the map to give you an idea of our hike. It looks easy but the first 3.3 miles are all up hill with rocks, narrow ledges and in the sun....all while caring your own 30 lbs day pack. Not exactly my idea of fun.
We started our day at 5 AM. No time for breakfast just a quick Cup o' Noodles that I brought with me before a 1.5 hour private car ride to the Ollantaytambo. Arriving early we had time to do some quick souvenir shopping and grab a cup of hot tea to warm up since it was only 40 degrees outside.
At 7:15 AM we were ready to get on the Vistadome train to head to the base camp of our hike. Three pieces of advise for the train: dress in layers as they crank the heater up to 80 degrees, stay awake for the first 15 minutes of the ride to see the glaciers and use the bathroom 1.25 hours into your ride as it is the last civilized bathroom you will have for the rest of the day until you reach Aguas Calientes. 10 miles before the town of Aguas Calientes, we got off the train to start our hike.
First stop after the gates of the trail was an old Inca ruin that signified the start of the trip. We were surrounded by lush green and beautifully preserved ruins. It had a sacrificial alter for the Inca people to use before they made their pilgrimage up to Machu Picchu.
After visiting the beautiful ruins it was all up hill from there. About 1 hour into our hike, we got our first glimpse of Winay Wayna, which means forever young. It also meant the end of the dirt path and hello to slippery rocks and huge steps made of uneven rocks. The boys made a quick stop to enjoy some water from one of the local plants to get ready for the upcoming unfriendly terrain.
Welcome to StairMaster 500 AD. It was gruesome, hot, sweaty, challenging and scary as you looked down from the trail which has no safety railing. Make sure to bring a hat, wear a quick dry shirt and have good hiking boots with ankle support.
It seemed like forever but 3 hours later we reached the most amazing waterfall. It was refreshing, cool, and a nice relief from the heat which was quickly reaching almost 75 degrees. I wanted to jump into the waterfall for a cold shower but resisted the urge to cool down. Instead, I settled for some pictures and the mist that the waterfall provided.
The 30 minutes from the waterfall to Winay Wayna, tragedy struck. In the shade, the rocks grow moss making them slippery to climb. I fell twice and sprained my ankle pretty badly. We couldn't just stop or quit even though I bought med-evac insurance. We were in the middle of the Inka Trail with no place for helicopter to land, let alone enough room for me to be taken out on a stretcher. I was forced to continue to hike to Machu Picchu where were we could catch a bus down to Aguas Calientes.
Making it to the base of Winay Wayna for a quick lunch and to wrap my swollen ankle, we had to hike up Winay Wayna to reach the campsite for our first bathroom break of the hike. Winay Wayna was used for agriculture and the main source of growing much needed necessities in Inca times. Its like going to a farm in the mountains and it's truly amazing to be so close to the clouds. At the top of Winay Wayna were were fortunate to meet some of the local alpacas just hanging out. As you can tell they are super friendly and slightly mischievous. They are my kind of animals.
At this point, I was tired, in pain and super cranky. Luckily, my guide, Irving was kind enough to take my day pack so I could walk more freely. This helped speed us up to reach Machu Picchu by 5 PM to catch the last bus. Next stop on our trek was the Sun Gate and our first glimpse at Machu Picchu. In my opinion, this was the best place to take pictures of Machu Picchu. It's aerial view was so clear it felt so close yet it was so far away.
I needed to recharge so we stopped by an altar on the way to Machu Picchu for a quick nap. Power naps can do wonders. Nothing like a nap in the great outdoors.
With 30 minutes left to spare, we finally reached Machu Picchu.
A few pictures later, we caught the last bus out of Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. Whew. I don't think I would have survived walking 4 miles for another 2 hours. I was so grateful to finally sit down that I totally passed out for the 30 minute bus ride down. We finally arrived in Aguas Calientes and checked into our hotel, Hotel La Cabana. I would not recommend the Hotel La Cabana despite its high ratings to anyone. The bathroom is so small its a joke. You can barely turn around inside. There is no air conditioning or heater as described. To top it all off? The window in the room opens to the lobby of the hotel and it's an open atrium in the hotel. You can literally hear people downstairs, upstairs, outside, all around, you get the point. Save your money and stay in a dump in Aguas Calientes on the bottom the hill. I tried to get El Mapi, the only "real" hotel but they were fully booked. To add to my dismay, I learned that there were no taxis in the town of Aguas Calientes. The only modes of transportation are bus, train or your own two feet. From the bus station to our hotel was completely uphill for about 1/2 a mile. I thought I was going to pass down or die from pain. Slowly but surely I made my up to the hotel to drop off our things and freshen up for dinner. Little did I know that dinner was next to the train station. I had to walk down the steep hill to dinner if I wanted to eat. The restaurant we ate is was called Apu Salkantay. We started with complimentary Peruvian potato chips which tasted like heaven after eating energy bars all day.
Our first course was avocado for me and hen soup for my friend. I love the avocados in Peru. They are much softer, have a more avocado-y taste, richer and best of all are super fresh. I had mine dressed simply with fresh squeeze lime juice and salt. It tasted like buttery heaven. Half of an avocado didn't seem like a lot but the richness quickly filled me up.
Main course was of course Andean river trout which was super fresh. Peruvian's seem to like to grill their fish on the meat side to add texture to the flesh which was super tasty. The trout wasn't the best out of all the places that we have eaten so far in Peru but I was famished from being in the sun, tired of bars and downright ready to get some protein. It was served with local valley vegetables and Peruvian potatoes. I quickly demolished my dinner before heading to the night market. My friend also had the trout but with a spicy tomato sauce on top of his fish.
On the way to the night market we stopped by the pharmacy to pick up an ice pack. Ten minutes later and no ice pack we left but not without saying hello to our new found insect friend. This thing had crazy pinchers and was about 12 inches long. I literally ran out of the pharmacy hoping not to be bitten.
The flea market in Aguas Calientes had a great selection and was open late. The best part of the market was that it was in between the bus and train station. What a nice way to wait for your bus or train ride! Just a warning that they don't really bargain here as they do in Cusco as Aguas Calientes is mostly a base camp for tourist heading up to Machu Picchu.
A few last pictures in the main square before heading off to bed before our big Machu Picchu hike tomorrow!
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