Suffice it to say that I had an absolutely incredible time
visiting Cuzco this past week. There are many pictures and stories to share, so
I will get right to it:
Tuesday (Day 1)
We played hooky and hopped a plane from Lima to Cuzco, a
short 1-hour flight (as opposed to a 24 hour bus ride through the Andes). We
arrived at our hostel in the afternoon and got settled in. Loki Hostel was
situated on the hillside and overlooked the entire city.
View out our hostel window
Same view at nighttime
Wednesday (Day 2)
Patty and I started our day at 6 AM when we left Loki for a
3 day “Inka Jungle Trek” that would finish at Macchu Picchu. The first
adventure was a 3 hour bike ride down winding mountain roads starting at 14,000
feet. It rained nearly the entire time, and despite the thrill I decided to
call it a quits and ride it out in the van about a half hour before the finish
so not to ruin the next 2 days events with a bout of hypothermia. From the
bottom of the mountain, we drove to nearby Ollantaytambo to enjoy a relaxing
(and warm) lunch before continuing on in the vans to Santa María where we would
continue to warm up in the hot springs. After dinner we all turned in early to
prepare for another early morning, which brings me to…
Getting ready to hit the road on the mountain bikes
Hot Springs at Santa María
Thursday (Day 3)
We grabbed a quick breakfast at 6am before heading out to
zip-line across mountains and rivers. It was a lot of fun and I was brave
enough to ride upside down across a few of the lines and finished by flying
down like Superman. To get back to the base camp, we walked across a 400 meter
suspension bridge. From Santa María we started a three hour trek to Aguas
Calientes through Machu Picchu National Park, which would be our destination
for the night. We stopped for lunch in the middle of the jungle and took a
minute to relax in the hammocks. Thursday night would be the earliest yet so we
could be the first ones up to Machu Picchu in the morning!
Breakfast spot
All geared up for zip-lining
Superman!
The first cable
All that stood between me and certain death
The suspension bridge
Best meal of the trip
Kitty joined us for lunch
Fountain at the zip-line base camp
Just lounging in the hammocks
Puppy and Kitten from the lunch stop. I don't know how I avoided fleas on this trip
Parasitic orchid
Local train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo
Just a bit of trekking
Huge insect
Tour Guide Elvis telling us about Inka belief systems
You know, just some bananas growing in the jungle
Our 3 hour trek followed the train tracks
Just some more beautiful mountain scenery from our trek
Beautiful butterflies everywhere!
Our first sight of Aguas Calientes
Cat just walked into my room at the hostel and jumped on my bed. <3
Friday (Day 4)
Out the door at 4 am with a backpack full of food and
freshly charged camera batteries to start the hour-long climb up treacherous
stone stairs up to Machu Picchu. Starting this hike before the sun rise was by
far the best and most rewarding part of my trip (there were only three of us
who decided to brave the hike instead of sleeping in and catching a bus up).
The pictures of Machu Picchu speak for themselves. After catching a pizza in
Aguas Calientes and taking a quick swing through the artisanal market, we
caught a train and a bus back to Cuzco.
The fog hanging heavily on the mountain before the sunrise
Machu Picchu: one of the few Inka settlements untouched by greedy Spanish conquistador hands
Our fabulous Inka Jungle Trek group: with members from San Franscisco, Wisconsin, the UK, Argentina, Australia and Peru
Natural rock that features the profile of Machu Picchu mountain, Huayna Picchu Mountain and the Sun gate
I'm 90% sure this is the Inkan sun dial
Huayna Picchu Mountain
Some amazing Inka stone work
More Inkan stone work
Mandatory tourist picture
Throwin up the Dubs
The start of our 45 minute hike to the Sun Gate
The Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol is a dip between two adjacent mountains that the sun rises precisely between on the summer solstice)
Agricultural Terraces Rock Formation partway to Sun Gate
Path to the Sun Gate
No one could say it better than Drake: "Started from the bottom, now we're here"
at 4am I started the climb from the river you see on the right hand side of the picture, by noon I made it all the way up to the summit to take in this stunning view.
View from atop the Sun Gate.
Pizza in Aguas Calientes after a long day of hiking.
Saturday (Day 5)
A much needed day of unwinding and relaxed sight-seeing
followed our three-day adventure. Patty and I slept in and took our stinky, wet
laundry to the 2-hour laundromat and enjoyed a late lunch before heading out on
a Cuzco walking tour with a bunch of drunk British tourists. We got to see a
few more archaeological ruins, walk through the Coca Museum and see a lot of
the colonial architecture that gives Cuzco a certain “old-world charm.” Next we
finished getting to know the city by walking to the market and catching a
burger before heading back to the hostel for one last hoo-rah before our
flights in the morning.
Archaeological site: Saqsaywaman (Actually pronounced like "Sexy woman")
Mandatory alpaca photo
Excellent view of all of Cuzco
Cuzco: The capital of the Inkan Empire
"Cristo Blanco" (White Christ)
I tried to take a picture of this sleeping dog, but just as I was snapping the photo he woke up and barked at me until I was out of sight 6 minutes later.
Cuzco is home to many catholic cathedrals because the Spanish conquistadores imposed catholicism on the Inkan inhabitants of the Cuzco region
Little Coca man reminds me of the little gnome who holds the toilet paper in my family's bathroom
Reading Coca leaves
Detailed explanation of how to make cocaine from Coca leaves
(Fun Fact: According to our tour guide, Peru has surpassed both Mexico and Columbia in terms of cocaine production)
A beer after the walking tour
A few more photos:
Loki Hostel prides itself on its "Blood Bombs"
So much for 40% Deet...
By the end of the trek, every piece of exposed skin was covered in red angry bug bites. The anti-histamine and anti-itch creme were life-savers
