The Trip of a Lifetime: Machu Picchu

Guest Blog: Robyn, pictures coming soon.

Just to start out, I would like to mention one thing. For everyone who is wondering how is Steph?! Steph is awesome. She is the same person I knew for my whole 4 years of college, only stronger, more confident (if at all possible) and more strong headed than I remember. She is an amazing lady and I admire even more the life she is living now that I have visited her down in Peru. Let me sum up my trip in 3 words. An awesome adventure. For all of you that don’t know me, I’m Robyn, Steph’s friend from college.

I knew going into the whole thing that I knew nothing. That being said, the six months leading up to the trip all I knew that I would be doing would involve arriving in Lima, flying (on a very difficult flight to book to start) to Cusco, hiking the Inca Trail for 4 days, coming back to Lima, heading down south for a few days to do some things, and then coming back to Lima and going home. With that being said, I had no idea really what to pack, what to expect, or basically anything for that matter, and it was so very exciting.

The whole trip started out with a little hiccup in Bogotá, Colombia, when I met up with Rivers and Ted (a boyfriend and brother of Steph’s fellow volunteers) leaving Charlotte, and then once again in Bogota, where we never really expected to spend the night in Colombia. However, about 11pm on Friday we hear, in Spanish, that we would all be bused to a hotel, get a room, rest for a few hours, and then catch the flight at 6:30 the following morning, we were less than thrilled to say the least. They give us all little red plastic cards (or something of that sort) that said transit on one side and transito on the other, shuttled us to a SUPER nice hotel in Bogota, we rest, and finally get on the flight to Lima. I would also like to add that 11pm the night before when they announced that we would be spending the night, if you looked out the window the left jet engine was almost completely off the plane, not really attached so to say, being “worked on”. I guess it was a good thing we didn’t try to get to Lima the night before??

The next morning we arrive in Lima, to a very hazy, overcast type place that was very bustling and had a lot going on. We catch a cab (one of which I was insanely freaked out the whole time because the guy’s taxi sign was sitting in his front floorboard and there was no cab fair machine, which doesn’t exist down there, and I thought the whole time driving to the hostel I was going to be stolen) to meet up with everyone and walk into a cheering front den/dining room area to our very excited friend/boyfriend/sister. It was a VERY momentous moment. Relieved to finally be with the people who actually knew what was going on and who we (well I know me) hadn’t seen in a very long time. It was awesome. I was sooo PUMPED to see my curly haired friend. For the rest of the afternoon we walked around Miraflores (the area of Lima where the volunteers stay which I really enjoyed, very modern and looked like most big cities I have been to) got some lunch, walked along the beach/coast (?) not really sure what you would call it, it was a side walk along a cliff where you could look down and see all the surfers and the beach and people hang gliding in the distance. We walked up to the Parque de Amor and the light house. We were really lucky because the weather turned out to be super nice and the sun came out and we weren’t cold (which becomes pretty common below) and I was just catching up with Steph and hanging out in Peru. You know, normal things... later on that night we went to a traditional Peruvian dinner where I got to try my first meal, Tacu Tacu de Mariscos, which is basically a bean and rice mush fried (mine fried into a shape of a fish) and then depending on whether you get beef or seafood the sauce that goes with it. It was really good, I mean I like bean and rice mush with seafood. Very comfort food type. We also went to this cool place out on a pier that has glass windows looking up at Miraflores and got some fancy drinks (mine was my first Pisco Sour) and just kind of caught up. Good first day I would have to say.

The next morning we were off on our outdoors adventure in Cusco, which is where you go to start the Inca Trail. We got there around lunch time, checked into our hostel, the Pariwana, and went to Jack’s to get some good ole American food. Cusco is a very cool city. In the mountains, very clear and not smoggy at all, I enjoyed it mucho. It was really frustrating because all the people on the street trying to sell you everything under the sun, from hats to necklaces to pants to paintings. It honestly got really annoying because they knew you weren’t Peruvian and picked you out of a crowd. If they lived in America I would call them the perfect salesmen with no shame or recourse. They don’t stop, ever, even when you are walking away. Steph the whole time while there kept saying “I never knew it was so touristy here”. I didn’t mind it, I fit in well I would say. After lunch we walked around a little, got some typical Cusco gear, complete with llama wool hats and gloves. We were pumped/scared to death of the hike that loomed the next day. No one really knew what to expect or how intense it was actually going to be. We met with Henry, our guide, that night and got some AMAZING news that the total cost for porters was WAY less than we thought ($70 per porter for the whole hike for both my and Steph’s stuff) and we could actually take more than we had planned. So, being with volunteers that have been living in the country for a year, we naturally went to the corner Irish pub for dinner and a few beers before the trek.

The next morning we wake up; pack up our bags and head to meet Henry at about 6:30am, only the first of early mornings. However, this morning was particularly awesome because the sun was out, we were all feelin reeeeal good and we were all pumped about the hike. The first little bit of the trip we took a bus up and down the valley to a little town that was a little bit up from the trail head where we got some very handy walking sticks (a piece of wood with some cloth and a hand thing at the top and a rubber stopper at the bottom, very high tech) coca leaves, ponchos and some snacks, ALL of which really really, and I mean really came in handy later on. So we start. The first day was training day, so Henry called it. It was basically a bunch of up and down hills, and a lot of donkey poop along the trail. The sun was out, the views were awesome, there were bathrooms (for 1 sol) to use and people selling cold drinks along the way. Most of day 1 was “Peruvian Flat”, as Henry called it, which basically meant that there are no flat places in Peru, just hills. Hills were good, easy almost. We got to our first Incan Site, Patallacta. It was cool. It was neat because you stand up on a hill looking down at it so you can take it all in with the views. For lunch, they would set up water buckets to wash your hands and have tents with one long table for us to eat, usually soup, some sort of meal like pasta or chicken, then I cant remember if you got desert with lunch or not, but last was tea. The rest of the afternoon we trucked along the trail. It never really got too hot, the clouds didn’t really hang around and everyone was just enjoying being outside, well I can only vouch for myself, but I was having a good time being outside. When we got to the campsite for the night everything was already set up and waiting. All we had to do was grab our bags and sleeping bags and claim a tent. I’m pretty sure we were sleeping in someone’s backyard but it seemed pretty normal. They had two bathrooms, one really awesome one that I never seemed to catch unlocked and one that was somewhat questionable. However, it was a bathroom and I was happy to have it available. The rest of the afternoon we all hung around, played a really not so exciting game of bullshit (a card game) and ate dinner. After dinner it was dark and everyone headed to dinner. Day 1 = good, nice weather, challenging but not too much

On a side note, I would like to talk about our porters. When I say porters, I mean the local men who we paid to carry all of our belongings, cookware, sleeping bags, tents, and their own stuff, basically anything we would need or want on the 4 day hike. Each of these guys carry a huge sack on their backs, wearing sandals made out of old tires, and literally run the trail. What they would do is on the first day, for example, they loaded up all of our gear on their backs and little rally took off running up the trial in order to make it quick enough to get to the lunch site, set up everything and get the meal ready for when we arrived. The next step would be when we would finish lunch we would pick up our gear and take off down the trail. Meanwhile, the porters would pack up lunch and our stuff and then take off running again down the trail, passing all of us, to get to our dinner/camping site to make sure everything was set up and ready for when we arrived. It was pretty much amazing. These guys run this trail usually 2 times a week. It’s their life. It’s what they do. Very admirable.

Day 2: during the whole night one, it rained. We woke up in the morning and it was raining. It was foggy and just a mess. You could tell it was pretty much settled in, the clouds didn’t look like they were going anywhere. And on top of that, Henry the night before told us that all we would need for the day would be a rain jacket and poncho, and to leave the fleece packed because we wouldn’t need it, wouldn’t get that cold. So we knew going into day 2 that it would be the hardest part of the trip. We would be starting the morning at 2 miles above sea level and then hike a vertical mile over the morning to be at 3 miles or about 14000 feet above sea level, we knew we had our work cut out for us. So we start, at first we were still kind of confident that it would be fun, who knew the rain could stop and it would get awesome outside. So when you’re walking, all you see is pretty much this: your feet/really wet shoes because you keep looking down to keep the rain off your face, your blue poncho around your face, water running down the trail like a creek, fog, mud, the blue poncho of the person in front of you, and if you get the chance to look up you see rocks, and rocks and rocks, going pretty much straight uphill. Looking back it was pretty sweet. At the time, it was miserable. All you do is keep climbing uphill, without really knowing when you will be going back down hill. So a few hours of climbing pass and we start to see the pass that we’re aiming for. Also, around the same time the pass becomes visible it starts to get really cold. And let me remind you, none of us had our fleeces because we didn’t think it was supposed to get that cold. Well about the time we make it to Dead Woman’s Pass it starts to snow/sleet/hail/wintery mix on us. It was absolutely unbelievable. I couldn’t stop saying, “I CANT BELIEVE ITS SNOWING!” ask Kristen, the rubia, who was my hiking friend. Well I make it to the top and guess who is waiting to take a picture with me! Steph! So we take 2 really fast pictures because we can’t feel our fingers because it is snowing outside and head down the mountain. Let me say that that was probably the most disappointing moment, even though it was the most fulfilling moment of the entire trip. I/we were super pumped to FINALLY make it to the top of the pass but at the same time you couldn’t see more than about 10 feet past the pass. All you could see was fog and rain and snow. I couldn’t imagine what the pass would have looked like if it was really nice outside… it bet it was suuuper sweet. So we thought the hardest part of the day would be going up, no, it was definitely going down. Steph thought her fingers were going to fall off and I thought I was going to break a leg because I couldn’t tell you where I was stepping because I couldn’t feel my feet. It literally took Steph and me twice as long to go down as it did to go up. More people passed us on that little leg of the trip than any other time. One fun part though was that Steph made up a sweet song to the tune of “Ironic” including details of our miserable/awesome day on the Inca Trail. So that day when we stopped for lunch we stopped for the rest of the day because it was so exhausting. The rest of the afternoon we hung around in the tent and played cards. It was fun, relaxing. It would have been better with a beer and a campfire. But it was campin! Day 2 = Hard.

Day 3 – the start of day three is pretty much the same as day two. It’s raining and cloudy and foggy and you see that the beginning of the day is straight uphill, very ominous. So we start. We head uphill for a ways and get to the first one of the Incan sites for the day, Runkurakay. It was pretty cool, I still couldn’t understand much of what Henry was saying about it but I’m assuming it was a fort type place used to keep someone/a group of people protected from intruders. The cool part about it though was when you kept walking you look back down and you can see it from the top. Very cool. So the rest of the day it rained, which was kind of expected. But I would say the best part of day 3 was that we went through so many different types of foliage. Like at one point it looked like I was walking through a rain forest, and then a few hills later it was like I was in a field where deer would be running through if wild life lived there. I think it would have been the prettiest day by far had we been able to see. I did pass through my favorite places. At one point it looked like I was walking in like a Disney movie, or something way out of this world. I would have to say that the absolute worst part of the day would have to be lunch. No one could feel their fingers; everyone was SOAKED to the bone. Then on top of it the wind is howling and making it that much colder. It was just the icing on the cake. Everyone was sick of the rain and being cold and then you are sitting in the mud in the middle of the mountains. It was tough. But still, awesome. Oh man it’s hard to explain but I think y’all are getting drift. It was awesome but sucked all at the same time. We also passed along Sayacmarka, Phuyupatamarka, and Winaywayna, which were all Incan Sites. And I would like to note that Siobhan, Kim, Steph and I all did a little bit extra and went to Winaywayna site which was an additional mile maybe instead of taking the shortcut to the camping site. Looking back, well worth it. At that point they were all starting to blend together but I would have to argue that I can say I saw all the sites along the Inca Trail. By the end of the day my joints were shot and not really working going downhill anymore so it was a sweet relief to see camp. Night 3 was when we had the option to shower or not. I decided against it, steph went ahead and surrendered. I would say maybe a third of our group showered. I don’t think it really made a difference. We all looked like we had been wet for the past two days anyways. The area we were staying in also had a hostel where they served drinks and had a dance club type feel. A lot of the group hung around in there until they served us dinner but me and Joslyn, Emily and Kevin stayed at the camp site and played cards and had some really awesome guacamole (which didn’t settle too well) but so worth the pain. I think the best part of the afternoon would be when we gave the tips to the porters. According to steph and all the other volunteers they are really big on presentations in Peru; we got the gist I think. When we finished with dinner Henry called in all the porters and chefs and other hired staff and they lined up and Siobhan made a very good impromptu speech about how they were great, and how much each person was getting and there was a lot of clapping and cheering and Spanish words being said. It was really cute. After she was finished each one said thank you and shook Siobhan’s hand and a few select sitting close to the front of the tent. It made me happy. Each person seemed genuinely happy about what they were being paid. So after dinner, we naturally went to bed. But day four started at 3:30am so sleep was kind of important. Day 3 = frustrating.

Day 4 - the big day. So the day had finally come to head to machu picchu. The day started out at 3:30am with one of the porters waking us up with come coca tea and putting on our head lamps, eating breakfast and heading down to wait for another hour at the entrance gate to get back on the trail. It was actually really awesome that we woke up so early because it WASNT RAINING and we were the second group in line to start hiking down the mountain to machu picchu. so like I said, it wasn’t raining, and when I say it wasn’t raining, I really mean that it wasn’t pouring rain but it was still misting a little, which by this point is so totally acceptable it was almost like the sun was shining. So when we get our passes stamped and we are accepted on the decent to the temple of the sun god, or Intipunku, we are literally hauling ass. I don’t think I have ever hiked that fast in my entire hiking career. Apparently my joints don’t hurt at 5:30 in the morning and I was all the sudden cured of the terrible attitude and miserableness that the rained caused. so that morning we walked/hiked/jogged/ran a little to the temple of the sun god, where in a perfect world you would be able to see the sun rise over machu picchuand get the first glimpse of this amazing place you have been working the past 3 days to get to. Unfortunately, when we finally climbed those 50 insane stairs to the top we saw clouds. However, these clouds were 100% different than those we had seen in the past. We knew what we were looking for and we knew it was awesome even if we couldn’t see it when the sun theoretically came up. So we took some pictures with clouds aka machu picchu in the background and kept on trucking down the mountain. About 10 minutes of walking all of the sudden we look to our right and what pops out of the clouds. machu picchu. It was like a moment in a dream when you see everything you think you should be seeing. It was still raining a little bit but honestly that didn’t matter a bit. I think that’s when the group was genuinely happy. At least I know that’s when a legit smile came to me. So after we saw that wondrous sight we couldn’t stop chatting while almost running down the mountain to get there. At one point we passes these two Asian girls that looked like they had literally showered 3 hours before we saw them. They were a joke for a while because we obviously knew that they did in fact not hike for the past 3 days and were wearing baby phat "hiking boots". Rookies.

The best part of the day, in my opinion, was when we first got into machu picchu. It was before a lot of the train riders arrived and you didn’t see little blue and yellow and red ponchos everywhere in the site and the clouds were just lifting off the mountain peaks, it was honestly mystical. Words cannot describe how vast and awesome the whole place was. Pictures don’t do it justice. So after we took our pictures of the group and individual pictures and everything in between Henry took us on a tour of the site. Again, I couldn’t understand the majority of what he said but I think I got the gist. It was cool though because he showed us where they had rebuilt parts of the site and then where it was in its original stage when it was found. I don’t think details I can give will even begin to describe what we saw. In one word... remarkable.

The rest of the afternoon we walked around the site and half listened to Henry half complained that we couldn’t take another step up or down. We then headed down to aquas calientes which is the little town down the mountain from machu picchu where we got lunch and thoroughly enjoyed some much deserved serveasas. We hung around the restaurant the rest of the afternoon until our train came. The train ride back to Cusco was about 4 hours. It was a decent ride. We sat with a couple from Germany and Brazil while the rest of the group played some sort of game that would definitely label the group as "Americans", that's all about that. That night when we got back we all literally crashed. I took a shower, finally, and then passed out. Best. Sleep. Ever.

The next morning we wake up to sun in Cusco! It was great! We had forgotten what it looked like! so the group went to jack's again once more for some good food for breakfast/lunch and then the girls split off and went shopping for some good Peruvian schwag and the guys watched soccer, I’m fairly certain. The whole day was used as mostly a catch up day. No one was really pushing to do much so it was nice to have everyone on the same page. Jocelyn and I both weren't feeling very well, probably from being in the rain for 3 days, so we went back to the hostel and napped for the majority of the afternoon. That night we all went to dinner, including Kim’s parents who were in town as well which was nice! We went to a really nice tapas restaurant and everyone could get some good food. In steph fashion I will now describe what I ate. I had seared tuna with mashed potatoes with a gravy made out of drippings off of either chicken or beef hearts (Siobhan and steph said one or the other) it tasted great. I could eat that for days. I genuinely liked Cusco. It was a very chill town that was up in the mountains and had people, all types, hanging around. I felt comfortable there.

The next morning we got up and caught a flight back to Lima. Every one wanted to go to this kind of underground market type placed called pulvous azoules (note from Steph: this is actually spelled “Polvos Azules” as in Blue Dust but I couldn’t bring myself to edit it because I got such a kick of the way Robyn wrote it). What it is is basically somewhere you can go buy whatever your heart desires. Most of it is cheap DVDs and electronics but don’t worry they have food and clothes too, like I said, anything you could ever imagine wanting. Most people got seasons of TV shows and movies they wanted. It was definitely an interesting place. It reminded me of a really packed mall at Christmas time that hadn’t been cleaned in about 7 years and had some open areas too. Kind of hard to describe but I can say that I didn’t want to be left alone there. So the rest of the afternoon I laid around because I was still recovering and Steph ran some errands. Later we met up to go to dinner at Patagonia, ate some pasta and went to bed. Steph got a little cold somewhere in between the hike and then so she wasn’t feeling really well and had a string of toilet paper with her at all times so no one was really up for “going out” and sleep definitely out won out.

The next morning we headed to the bus stop to head south to the desert! (One cool part about Peru is that one day you’re up in a mountain hiking the highest altitude you have ever been outside an airplane, and then just a few short days, and the next stop on the trip, you’re in the desert riding dune buggies.) so where we went was in Ica which is another state type place, it’s not called a state but steph will correct me (note from Steph: It`s called a department), south of Lima, and the oasis where we went and stayed was Huacachina. The hotel was stayed in was a super nice place with a pool and a restaurant, it felt like I was in the Caribbean not in the middle of the desert in Peru. There were like parrots and other birds hanging around, it was neat. So anyways Kim had planned better and arrived earlier than we had so we had just enough time to get changed and ready for the dune buggy ride. What they do is strap you in dune buggies with like 8 to 10 people in each one and it’s like you’re getting ready for a roller coaster. So the second we get into open sand they literally take off. I honestly have no idea how fast we were going but it felt really fast. These guys were amazing drivers though, totally had it under control. At some points you thought you were going to flip but then right at the last moment they would pull out and take off again. It was wild. So then what they would do after you had been riding for a while they would stop at the top of a hill and let you either sand board on foot or go down on your belly. The first go all the girls tried on their feet. No one really was successful. It wasn’t that fun. So then they drove around some more and took us to another hill, which was slightly bigger, and this time everyone went down on their bellies, well besides Kim, and it was ten times better. It’s basically like sledding but in the sand. Sweet stuff. So we rode around again and then went to one more big hill and boarded again. Next we went to watch the sun set. We all got some pictures and sat and watched the sun set. I have never been to a desert so it was really cool to look out and just see sand and sand and then the sun. After that it got really cold and we headed back to the hotel. We had dinner and walked around the lagoon, the last remaining natural lagoon in Ica and headed to bed.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Lunahuana which was north of Huacachina by bus to go rafting. Siobhan had been rafting here before so she knew the ropes to get there, which entailed: bus ride, taxi, and colectivo. It was a neat town. There were rock mountains all around with a river running through the valley and the sun was shining and it was warm and so so nice. So we found a rafting company that gladly took us down to the river and sent us on our way. It isn’t rainy season so the rapids were only a class 1.8 but it was still loads of fun. The water was freezing so it was nice not to get soaked. No one fell out and our guide was a really good guide. I was just happy the sun was out!

I would have to say that the best part of the day was lunch. One of Steph’s fellow volunteers, Janelle, lives in Lunahuana with her host parents where they have a restaurant and raise guinea pigs for eatin. Her host mom is also a well known Peruvian cook so we knew we were in for something good. The whole trip I heard the whole time that I HAD to try cuy (or guinea pig) which is really common in most of Peru but mostly in the mountains so I was pumped when they said we were going here for lunch and I could finally try it! So we decided that we wouldn’t go aaaaaall the way and get the whole cuy with bones and a head, instead we would get it off the bone battered in pisco and fried, which is one dish her mom is well known for. So while we waiting we passed around some pisco shots and went and took a look at the guinea pig farm out back. It looked like a pet store… however this time we would be eating fellow friend for lunch haha. The cuy was really good! I would imagine it would be like eating rabbit or some other sort of really lean meat. I was very very pleased with my first cuy experience! I also got to try ceviche, which is basically uncooked fish in a sauce. I didn’t want to try it before the trail just in case I caught a little bug from the uncooked fish and it was well worth the wait. It was shrimp ceviche with red pepper sauce and rice maybe? I accidently ate one of the peppers tho, so my mouth was literally on fire therefore I couldn’t taste it that well but I think it was really good!! After lunch we had to catch a cab back to the bus stop so being where we were outside of town it was a little difficult to catch one so finally this little go cart type car pulls up with this kid who looked like he literally turned 16 driving. So after the girls sweet talked him into taking us all the way down to the bus stop this guy decides it would be a great idea to pull a u turn in the middle of the street with a cliff on one side and a house on the other. So when this guy pulls up to the side facing the cliff he is having a VERY difficult time getting the car in reverse gear. So I’m sitting in the front seat watching this poor kid trying to get the go-cart in the correct gear while we slowly inch toward the cliff and every time he tries it we go an inch or so closer to the cliff. Everyone is looking pretty scared at this point and finally after deciding where I wanted all of my possessions to go, he got it in the correct gear and we were headed down off the mountain. So like I said, this car was like a go-cart. I lied. This car was like a Barbie jeep and went about as fast. At some points in the ride I thought we weren’t going to make it up hills we were working on. This guy also decides at one point that we needed to stop and get gas. So he stops and puts literally ONE SOL of gas in his car, which is about equal to 30 cents. Made no sense. But most things don’t in Peru so it almost seemed normal at the time. Finally we get to the bus station and we try to give this guy money and he doesn’t have change. So he comes with us to the window and is bugging Jocelyn to give him the correct change while Steph is arguing with him that he can wait. It was a mess. But thinking about it, that whole bus station was a mess. I had an old homeless man following me around tapping me on the arm with a bag of popcorn trying to get me to buy it, we couldn’t get tickets printed, the bus was rolling out of the station, Siobhan and Jocelyn thought that some man was stealing money from the atm. It was bazaar... on the way back Janelle told us about a different stop that we could get off at instead of getting off at the actual bus station and it would cut off time and money from our commute back to the hostel. Hmm… this bus station was literally a little space on the side of the interstate under a bridge where the bus literally dumps you off. On top of that it was right in the middle of Lima’s rush hour and dark outside. I was honestly petrified. I think that was the most scared I was the whole time on the trip. I thought my stuff was going to be stolen. There were people pushing other people in combis and there was only one taxi, thank god Siobhan grabbed it, and we jumped in. once in the car it was fine but for those few minutes we were finding one I was scared. But as always everything turns out just fine and we made our merry way home!

The next day was our last in Peru; everyone either had a bus ride or flight home that evening or early the next morning. Jocelyn and I wanted to go paragliding so we walked over to where they do it from and unfortunately it wasn’t windy enough that morning to go so we were unable to. It would have been pretty cool tho, I wish it would have worked out! The rest of the afternoon everyone was literally exhausted so we hung around in Papa John’s and Starbucks all afternoon and looked at pictures and said our favorite things about the trip and it was very bitter sweet. I know the pc girls were ready to get back to site and I was ready to be home too. So we sent Steph and Siobhan off to the bus station and rivers Jocelyn and me ate our last meal at McDonald’s and ended our trip.

I can honestly say I liked Peru, a lot. I thought it was a very cool country with a lot to work out but well worth the months of waiting and planning. Above all it was AMAZING to see Steph! It had been such a long time and it was so great to catch up and see that she is doing just fine. I would love to go back and be able to see her site and see the life she is living!

Thanks for everything Steph I had a wonderful time!!! Love you and miss you so much!