Trek to Machu Piccu!

Last week´s trek to Machu Picchu was one of the best weeks spent in Peru so far. The trek was difficult at times, but overall incredibly fun and a great vacation. Sarah and I actually ended up doing the 4 day Salkantay trek instead of the 5 day, because I had gotten sick (yet again) the Friday before we were supposed to leave and wanted to have an extra day to recover.

                We woke up at 3am on Tuesday to meet our group for the 2.5 hour bus ride to Mollepata, where we would begin the hike. After a quick breakfast, our group of 16 (two couples from London, one couple from Paris, one Canadian, four Brazillians, three girls from Holland, Paris, and Denmark, and Sarah and I) began the 14 mile hike uphill to our first camp. We had a delicious lunch prepared for us after a few hours of hiking, and then continued up into the mountains. The altitude made the hiking fairly exhausting, and Sarah and I were  more than happy when we reached the camp. At an altitude of 3900m (12,800 ft), this camp would be the highest we would have to sleep at, and also the coldest. Once everyone arrived at camp, we had ´happy hour´, where the cooks served us popcorn, cookies, and coca tea. Chewing coca leaves and drinking coca tea during the trek really helped combat the effects of the altitude. After a short nap, we ate a dinner of chicken, rice, and pasta, and then went to bed. 

 

                We awoke at 5am the next morning, drank coca tea in our tents, and then prepared for the hardest day of trekking: 4 hours of hiking uphill to an altitude of 4600m (15,100 ft) followed by 6 more hours of hiking downhill into the jungle. The night before, we were given the option of paying to ride a horse for the uphill section, and 6 of our group members chose to do so. Sarah had unfortunately developed blisters the day before and woke up with a sore throat, so she also decided to ride a horse to the top. The other 9 group members and I began hiking in the freezing cold mountain air up switchbacks to the top of Salkantay Pass. The hiking wasn´t too difficult until the last half hour to the top, where the lack of oxygen forced me to frequently pause for air. We stopped on top for pictures and a short ceremony with coca leaves, and then began the steep hike down into the jungle. Camping that night was much more comfortable as the jungle kept us warmer than the mountains. We also had a campfire, and enjoyed tea and beer before going to bed.

                The third day´s hiking was much shorter than the previous days, only 5.5 hours, but we still had to wake up early in order to reach Santa Maria by 12:30pm so that the 4 day trekkers could catch two buses and a train to Aguas Calientes. The cooks went all out for lunch that afternoon, and we ate a delicious meal of quinoa and chicken, maccaroni salad, lentil stew, and various other dishes.  After a few hours of driving and riding in trains, the other 4 day trekkers and I reached Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu. Here, we were able to take hot showers in our hostels and sleep in beds – wonderful! Our guide took us out to dinner, and then we went to bed shortly after.

                On the last day, we awoke at 3:30am (this was starting to get pretty old) in order to be at the ´trailhead´to Machu Picchu by 5am. The hike from Aguas Calientes was supposed to take around an hour and fifteen minutes, but Machu Picchu would open at 6am so we wanted to get there earlier. As soon as the gate opened, our group began climbing the 1008 steps up to the top – in the pitch black. 40 minutes later, Sarah and I reached the entrance to Machu Picchu, and got to be the 2nd and 3rd people to enter! We were able to watch as the sun came over the mountains, illuminating Machu Picchu in a warm glow. The view was absolutely fantastic, and I´ve never seen anything like it before. I felt as if I were in a movie or a fantasy world; I couldn´t believe a place like this actually existed in real life. Our trekking guide, Jorge, gave us a 2 hour tour of the ruins before leaving us on our own for the rest of the day. Sarah and I had tickets to hike up Huayna Picchu, the mountain next to Machu Picchu, and so we spent a few hours up there. Huayna Picchu was just as amazing as Machu Picchu, and I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone traveling to Machu Picchu to pay the extra $5 for the beautiful views. 

 

                After hiking down (not so much fun after 4 tiring days of hiking), Sarah and I met up with our group and went to the hot springs in town. We then all went out to dinner, and I probably had one of the best Peruvian meals so far at this restaurante. I also got to taste alpaca, which is delicious! Later that evening, we caught the 9:30pm bus to Ollantaytambo, and then a bus the rest of the way back to Cusco. We arrived at our apartment around 2:30am, exhausted after being up for nearly 24 hours straight.

                Now that I´ve been back in Cusco for a few days, things are back to normal (except the amount of laundry I need to do). We did a medical campaign yesterday that went well, and everyone´s hard at work either with the pharmacy or in the kindergarden. Today I´m going to observe a second pulmonary cystectomy surgery at the clinic, and later this week we´re having a party to fundraise for the kindergarden. Unfortunately, a lot of volunteers are leaving soon, including my friend Sarah. I´ll miss her a lot, and it will be hard to say goodbye to the people I´ve been living and working with for the last month and a half.