5 days and 4 nights on the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu

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Hello everyone!I just got back from my trip to Machu Pichu on Monday. The trip itself was quite spectacular! Right now I am missing all my trecking mates already! I am also very glad with the tour itself. I have to say I didn´t do the Inca trail, since it is fully booked until the end of October. So, instead, I did the 5 day-4 night Salkantay trail for just under $200 with my Korean friends. It was a steal, in comparion to what other agencies were charging ($300 - $400 US), and I have to say I think that I had seen twice as much at half the price!!What really made the trip was the fact that, for me personally, I had plenty of contact with the local Peruvians , I got to see them and talk to them in my limited Spanish (mixed with Portuguese of course!) From the bus ride to walking the hills of the Andes, and from dancing in a local disco to sharing a cable cart to cross the river, or simply sitting on the grass and watching local kids play, I was really content just being there and soaking up all the experience. Topping it off with the amazing landscapes that we trekked through, I really really was left speechless and realized how small we (humans) are in, and confirmed my belief that humans can be inheritly good to each other despite a language barrier. I also got to realize how hard the Incas lived by walking the Inca Trail barefoot since my shoes gave out on me.....though the Incas had a harder task...they had to carry stones all the way from the bottom of the mountains (sometimes from mountains that are days away from the Machu Picchu) to the top of Machu Picchu to build the city.

Perhaps later I will make a more detailed day-by-day update of my Salkantay to Machu Pichu trail..as I had spent 2 and a half hours writing up a very detailed blog entry only to have the Internet get cut off and loose everything I typed.

Either tonight or tomorrow I am heading to Puno, so that means I will probably be without Internet for another little while. But depending on when I leave, maybe I will post another update about my volunteer experience here! Thus far it has been wonderful!!!

See ya

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Photos

Maté
feels like drinking from a pond