Peru and Machu Picchu Trek

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Since our last blog we have been experiencing Peru, which has been very incredible. We flew into Cusco, via Lima (which was a very scenic flight along the Andes) and were greeted for the first time by a ride from the airport. We felt a bit like rock stars, at least until we had to help push our broken down transportation. We had to pay and have a briefing for our trek into Machu Picchu as soon as we got in. We struggled a bit with the combination of lack of sleep, dehyradation and the altitude. We both felt a bit out of it the first day. The second day was a chance for us to get acclimated to the altitude and purchase a few things for the trek. We also walked around Cusco, which is touristy, but we still enjoyed the vibe of the city.

Our third day in order to start our trek we had to get up and be ready for our transportation by 5:30 (it did not show until 6:15). We then met up with the rest of our group (6 other people, who we really enjoyed - we definitely got lucky with our group) and took a bus into a small village to eat breakfast and purchase some supplies. We then continued on what turned out to be a bit of a white knuckle bus ride to the point that we would begin hiking. We began the trek and it was a bit difficult the first day as we hiked 12 k´s and climbed one pass which was around 4100 meters. The scenery was breathtaking and it felt great to be working our way towards Machu Picchu. For the most part we had the trail to ourselves, aside from some local Andean people, which was amazing.

Day two saw a 6 am wake up call as we had to hike 15 k´s and climb two passes, the tallest of which was 4500 meters. Again, the scenery was amazing (as was the food throughout the trek.) This was a long, tiring day, especially because we were not able to sleep much the night before. Another restless night (thank you cold and loud neighbors from a different group). We were greeted with frost in the morning at 7 am.

The third day was much easier, 5 k´s, all down hill. We were able to visit a local family and see their house, which was a very cool experience. Upon the completion of our trek we were greeted with a traditional Peruvian barbeque, which was fitting as it was the fourth of July. Then we traveled to another town where we caught a train to Aguas Caliente, the closest town to Machu Picchu. We also enjoyed our first night in a bed since the trek began (even though we only got to enjoy it for about 5 hours as we had a 4 am wakeup call to head to Machu Picchu.)

Yesterday we visited Machu Pichhu, which was an amazing experience made all the more enjoyable having trekked in most of the way. It is hard to believe the Incas were able to build such an impressive city on the side of a mountain. We also went up Wayna Picchu which is a mountain next to Machu Picchu that provided us with great views of the ruins and the surrounding mountains. We then traveled back to Cusco last night and are spending today enjoying the city and recovering from the trek. What a great experience and the highlight of our trip so far! We would highly recommend the tour group, Peru Treks, that we used. They were great.

Tomorrow we fly to La Paz, Bolivia. The second to last stop on our trip.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

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