Machu Picchu, trek in photos

Machu Picchu, the might of the Incas.  Located 72.5 miles northwest of Cusco by railroad.  Elevated 2,432.75 meters above sea level.

Only about 500 Incas lived atop Machu Picchu.  Within just 100 years, their civilization had conquered the territory that now includes most of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile.  Had the Spanish conquistadors not killed them off, it's likely they would have pushed as far east as Brazil within a matter of years.  They were a highly advanced civilization... especially evident in their architecture.  It's astounding to visit these ruins because there is quite a noticeable difference between what was obviously originally constructed by the Incas and what has been restored.

Our trekking group consisted of a motley yet fantastic crew of Italians, Spaniards, Australians, Britains, and Canadians.  We defeated swarms of sandflies, crossed the Urumba river Indian Jones style in a metal crate, hiked to the highest peak at Waynu Picchu, and petted a llama.

Incapas we are no more.  Inca blood pumps through our veins.  :D
And this is how our story goes...

Mountain biked from Peruvian highways above cloud level down into subtropical jungle pueblitos just after a hefty rainstorm.

Hiked narrow, practically vertical Incan foot trails to the peak of many a mountain.  This is a view of the Urumba River which we eventually...

Crossed via the afore mentioned metal crate contraption.  Below us is a raging river.  If I figure out how to post the video of the ride, I will add it on later tonight.

Then we hiked some easier roads and passed a variety of waterfalls, like this one.  A REALLY big waterfall.  La pachamama (essentially, mother nature) being fierce.

Walking the railway from the town of Hydroelectric to Aguascalientes.

 
We smushed sol coins on the tracks.  Also, as the caboose of the train passed, we saw through the windows a group of Argentinians we had befriended days before in a taxi ride from Cusco.  Small world out here sometimes.

After three days of tirelessly marching up mountain slopes, across jungle terrain, in blazing heat and through torrential downpours, we finally (FINALLY!) arrived...

MACHU PICCHU!!!!!

And then I fell off the mountain.

Just kidding.  Andrea actually pushed me off.

:)

We hiked Waynu Picchu, the tallest mountain peak in the area directly next to Machu Picchu.

The view of Machu Picchu (all of the grey patch atop the ridge) from Waynu Picchu.  The zig-zag line on the slope is the road for buses.  There is a slightly less zig-zaggy one that pedestrians follow.  You may think us wimps for taking the bus but I'd like to see your happy butt climbing this beast at 4 AM after having accomplished the same trek Andrea and I survived.

This is the path that curved down the back side of Waynu Picchu which a little Peruvian boy assured us would take the same amount of time as the main staircase back down to Machu Picchu... he was out of his mind...

This ladder was not fixed at any angle despite how the photo makes it appear.  There were many more to follow along this route...

After 2 unanticipated hours of additional hiking through the entire Machu Picchu reserve, we arrived at the summit for one last view and were greeted by this cuddly fellow.

All in all it made for an incredible experience.

From Buenos Aires, with love

Two countries down already, two more to conquer.  After a three day long adventure traveling via bus from Lima to Buenos Aires, we finally arrived last Tuesday.  Surprisingly the ride itself was less painful than anticipated... well as painless as a 3-day 3-night stint in a coach bus could prove to be.  We've traversed the Atacama Desert.  We survived the Peru-Chile and Chile-Argentina boarder crossings.  We even managed to feed ourselves for 3 days with only 25 soles split two ways... roughly the equivalent of 8 US dollars.

All in all, a grand experience.
And thank goodness were in BA now.

Here are some photos Andrea's taken in the meantime.  

Plaza de Armas at night in Lima, Peru.

A view in Cusco, Peru.

Rose garden (sigh) at Qorikancha in Cusco, Peru.

The infamous 12-angle stone.  Inca power!

Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru.  It's rumored that if you sleep here, you will acquire super-power energies... so the crazy hippy tourists sleeping on the benches... well, they're still crazy hippy tourists... with SUPER POWERS!
Also, I only ever want to live in cities with plazas from now on.  Get on it already, US.

Also, Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.  I'm thankful to have family and friends as amazing as y'all, who continue to send me love and support from the upside-down hemisphere.  :)

I love you all, miss y'all tons.

Yes, STILL in Lima.

Well, perhaps needless to say, Andrea and I have plunged into a mad love affair with this city, hence my extended absense from the wonderful world of internet blogging. It´s really very itimidating trying to update after such an extended absense; tendencies to ramble are at peak levels currently. So, you know, bear with me.

Lima runs from the coastline along the Pacific Ocean into the foothills of the Andes. It´s smattered with remenants of neoclassical, baroque, and colonial architecture, antiquated cathedrals with catacombs, and the most glorious plazas I´ve ever encountered. They also have the cows on parade (Houstonians should remember this). Bodegas offer the richest assortments of fresh fruit juices (safe and sanitary... not like the street vendors), empanadas, camotes fritas (sweet potato fries), and ´menus´para almorzar (the cheap way to eat like a king for lunch... soup or salad plus a main plate for just 5 soles, which is less than $2). Avocados are as big as your face here, too. No joke.

And, yes, I have tried the cuy... as in guinea pig... and it is incredible. Texture of duck with the flavor of turky, quite surprising really. It even came with a little paw attached though I did request that the head be left off. You pass enough of those on the street everyday that its not such an "experience" anymore, its just annoying because it takes up space on your plate. I´m not concerned about my omnivore ways- I already plucked, skinned, and fried my own chicken on the Neverland farm (beak and claws included).

I´m working on putting up the newest photos and video I have from this city as well as our trip to Cusco and the infamous Machu Picchu. Unfortunately my camera has broken and I cannot take anymore photos as of right now until I either find someone to fix it or buy a new camera... kind of a bummer.

Oh yeah. Machu Picchu. :)
The running joke in Cusco is that the Spanish invasion took this land from the power of "Inca" to "Incapas"... which means the incapable. Really, in comparrison with any remanent of the Incan civilization, everything else here pales in comparrison.
Another interesting tidbit I found out is that the ruins of the Incan Empire at Machu Picchu are sinking due to excessive human traffic on the mountain (consider, approximately 5,000 people are let into the reserve every day). Apparently it´s already increased to nearly a centimeter a month (but, hey, it´s a tall mountain right?). Needless to say, the Peruvian government is preparing to close off the reserve in order to restore and restabilize the ruins.

Our trek started off with a day of mountain biking through the backroads between Cusco and Santa Maria. The group began above cloud level and wound down until we were submerged in subtropical heat and humidity... not to mention swarms of nasty, evil sandflies (remember that one picture of my legs from the farm... ick). The following days we hiked for approximately 7 hours each day, working our way through the small pueblos between Cusco and Aguas Calientes which is the tourist trap city situated at the foot of Machu Picchu. The first day of hiking from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa as well as the last day at the actual site of Machu Picchu makes you realize that probably the reason the Spaniards erradicated the Incas once they found them was becuase they were so pissed off at how impossible the paths are to trek... Andrea and I nearly died. Then you stop and think about how the Incan messangers ran these paths everyday and realize that the joke "from Inca to incapas" isn´t so funny anymore now that you´re a qualifier in the latter of the categories...
The first hiking day was all jungle and mountain... which really means narrow and steap. The second day flattened out a bit and we got to follow the train tracks. The third day was Machu Picchu itself.

I´m actually running late though to wake up Andrea and go to a museum so, for now, I´ll leave this to be continued (eep! sorry!)

Miss you all. I send my love.