Day 71: Jungle trail to Machu Picchu; Day 3

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We were all a lil annoyed this am as we had been told we needed to be up at 6am even though we had an 'easy' day! But up we got and met each othe all down at the local restaurant we had dinner at, at 6.30am. Everyone was pretty tired and sore after yesterday's super long and strenuous day but also very excited/nervous for some, about ziplining this morning, We got given pancakes with chocolate sauce and a banana wrapped in it, with white rolls and juice for breakie. Average at best but could be worse. We stocked up on some snacks for the day and then all piled into the van and met our guide for ziplining. A few people in our group hadnt ziplined before so were pretty nervous but it was such a stunning stunning morning with not a cloud in the sky that it couldnt be a better day for flying through the air at 80-90km/h! There was only 4 lines to do so no way near as many as we did in Costa Rica but they were all between 800m-1km long between the valleys in Santa Teresa. We had been told it was only a 5 min walk uphill to the first line, last night by our guide but we were all horrified to hear it was infact a 20min walk steeply uphill not 5!! The whole group bitched and moaned a bit cos we were all so sore but after 20mins we made it to the top and even though it was only 7.30am, were all sweating and needed to take layers off. We had been told to take a water bottle up and leave it at the first platform cos we would need it on the way up so we assumed it was the same with clothing! But when we started stripping it off and dropping it on the ground, ur guides told us that that meant he had to carry everything across the zipline with him, and we werent coming back! Whoops!

The first zipline was pretty easy and it was a slightly diff technique to in Costa Rica and we didnt need to hold our hand loosely around the line for the whole time. Just to brake at the end. Unfortunately my gloves padding across the palm where you have to brake at full speed, had peeled downwar and so where I braked it cut through the glove a lil! Which was my biggest fear! So luckily I was able to swap gloves with a guide. It was such stunning views up high and everyone loved the first line! The 2^nd line was 1km long and the longest one. We had been told that we could do it superman style if we wanted, which we both did but unortunately only 2 people could do each line, so we bothd ecided to wait until the next line. I loved the 2^nd line and flew down it, gazing at the stunning scenery and day we had today! When I got to the end one of the girls in our group was crying and apparently she had swing around and tried to brake but got completely caught up in herself near the end, and it had freaked her out as she was one of the ones who hadnt ziplined before. The guide was able to come and get her and untangle her. Poor thing. I spun around a lil in Costa Rica on a few lines and it is really scary cos you dont have much control. We all moved on to the 3^rd line and I was first up to do superwoman!! They connected me to the guide and turned my harness around so I was face down with my legs through the guide's legs. We gave the guide our camera and he videoed the whole thing! It really dug into my guts but it was so so much fun and crazy looking down into the valleys not up like usual! I got to the other side and awaited everyone to come through cos Ben was meant to be Supermanning with the other guide last. But I saw him coming facing upwards! When he arrived he was disappointed and said that the girl who was upset had decided she couldnt do anymore and was walking down to the start with the other guide so Ben wasnt able to Superman, We were all a bit confused at this point cos we knew we needed a guide at both ends and only had one. Our guide spoke very limited english so we just went with it! The last line was 800m long. It was really fun, then I saw the guide standing on this ridiculous looking 'platform' just hanging in the air with planks missing, telling me to break! I was like no way is that the platform I am landing on, but yep it sure was. Next thing I know he has unclipped me, tells me to let go and just fall through the gap in the platform! WHAT THE?! Thankfully a few of our group were underneath saying 'its fine just let go!' and 'spin upside down!' So I kicked my legs up and arms out the side and repelled down upside down! It was so much fun but unfortunately no one was able to capture it! I waited for the last person who I saw was Ben so he was able to superman, and from down on the ground captured him coming it! He loved it too and I really do think his fear of heights is seriously diminishing!

Everyone was buzzng after the ziplining and we said bye to our guides and all piled back into the van and headed to the hydroelectric station to begin our hike for the day. As we were driving we passed a lot of other groups having to walk the beaten road to get to the station so we chuckled to ourselves and were all pleased we had chosen the ziplining option. But very quickly that came to an end and Wilbert opened the van door for us to get out and start the walk. We had been told it was 3-4 hours to get to Aguas Calientes, and was relatively easy walk thank goodness. Turned out he was right and it was pretty much following the train line the whole way. Ben and I got our stride on and powered ahead. Ben, excited that I was going fast-ish and he could speed up, and me just thinking 'left, right, left, right' cos I was so exhausted that I knew if I stopped I may not be able to start again! We made it to lunch in really good time and chilled out a lil before everyone arrived. Had our token cold (ish) Coke Zero as a reward yay you have made it to halfway through the day and are still functioning! Lunch wasnt too bad but much the same as every other day. Salad, soup, meat and rice and fruit to finish, I have started skipping salad and soup cos it is just way too much soup!

One of the ladies in our group – Sam, had arrived saying she didnt feel well and went and lay down on one of the hammocks and didnt have lunch. She is usually really upbeat and just downright crazyh and you cant usually shut her up but she much have been feeling really rough cos we didnt hear a peep out of her. We went and asked if she was ok and she just shook her head and then spent the next wee while being sick. It was horrible. Poor thing. We gave her 30 mins to see if things settled down and she was in tears and complaining of a burning feeling in her stomach too. At one point she thought she was ok to start walking so we all got ready to go and she just couldnt walk, she felt so horrible. Wilbert told us all to go ahead and meet him in an hour at a green train station, so that he could walk really slowly with her and make sure she was ok. She was really sick and we all felt horrible leaving her, but I also knew we werent much help and watching her that sick would only make us feel similar probably, so we all headed off reluctantly. On the way to the station we passed the large Machu Picchu mountain we will be climbing tomorrow and we could see the first glimpse of Machu Picchu. And where we stopped to wait for Sam and Wilbert was actually the entrance which was pretty exciting! We were so close! We all sat and waited for about 30-45mins and there was no sign of Wilbert but a few groups passed us and we asked them if they had seen them. They all said yes and she was very very sick. Eventually another guide came up to us and said that Wilbert had told him to come and get us and for us to joing his group for the last 20mins of the trek to Aguas Calientes.

We arrived and immediately saw a sign for Pizza! That was it, we were in there like a shot! Real food and no rice and meat! Even though dinner was in about an hour and a half, it was time for pizza. It was actually pretty average cos the cheese over here is just odd! But they had wifi and cold drinks and it was a good place to wair for Wilbert and Sam. After about an hour or so we saw Wilbert and he was exhausted! He told us that she was so sick that him and another guide had to carry her most of the way and take her to a hospital as soon as they arrived. They think she has appendicitis and have rushed her to Cusco for an emergency operation. Poor thing! And Wilbert – what a guide, honestly! We all then got taken to our hotel for the night, got some snacks for tomorrow and met again for dinner all feeling a bit somber knowing Sam was in hospital and wasn't going to get to share tomorrow with us.

We actually had the best meal on the 4 day trip so far for dinner, which was good cos we were going to need all the energy we could get tomorrow!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Nice photo
Interesting perspective