From the beginning - back when Amanda and I were working extra shifts at our respective restaurants in our respective states - we planned not only to do Machu Picchu, but to do it right. We put in extra hours, driven by the motivation to save up enough money to be able to climb the renowned Inca Trail. When in Central America and faced with the decision to eat just bread and cheese or to add avocado, we always opted for less, knowing that Machu Picchu was coming. Climbing the "lost" Incan City was the one part of our plan that remained on the to-do list since Day 1.
That said, we still didn't have a trek booked by the time we got to Cusco. Since November, we had done endless research on the best, cheapest, most reliable tour agencies, and while we were resigned to drop up to $500 for the event, we just couldn't bring ourselves to actually whip out our credit cards.
We arrived in the gorgeous, antique city of Cusco with little more than a vague idea that we wanted to see the infamous ruins and that we wanted to do the 4 day Inca Trail trek, complete with camping out under the stars. After walking aimlessly through the Plaza de Armas dazed and confused by the constant bombardment of travel agents all offering tours "for the best price in Cusco," we picked the "best" - aka the less invasive and obnoxious - and stepped into their office - a closet-sized hole tucked alongside a similarly sized tattoo parlor and a money changing booth, all hidden behind the sign for a "cofe shop". Who knew that the tidy streets of the central plaza in fact lead to a secret network of tourist traps and alpaca sweater vendors? We bargained with our new friend Fidel and dropped the price of the 4-day Inca Trail to $275, half of what we originally thought we were going to pay. (A word for future travelers: Don't book expensive tours ahead of time! There are seas of people willing to book you a trip for cheap as long as you can wait around a couple of days. And if you must wait in one of the most beautiful cities in Latin America...well, guess life could be worse.) Excited, paid up, and ready to climb we headed back to the hostel to rest our aching legs and lungs - hello altitude, haven't seen you in a while.
6:00 a.m. Monday morning: Amanda and I sit outside our hostel, bundled up against the early morning mountain temperatures, and wait for our tour guide to pick us up.
8:00 a.m. : Still no sign. Until Fidel comes huffing and puffing up the hill distressed. Something happened and someone wrote the wrong names down and something else happened and you can't go. Come again? I know my Spanish ain't perfect but that just didn't make sense. You can't go on the Inca Trek, I'm very sorry, he repeats. We are given 2 options: either we can wait until Wednesday to begin our 4 days or we can go on the Jungle Tour today for 1/2 the price we already paid and the agency will refund us. How about option 3, we suggest, how about we go on the Jungle Tour today for less than 1/2 the price? OK, Fidel says, and we are quickly swept into a taxi, then to to the closet-sized office for paperwork (although they couldn't get that right the first time so why bother now?), to another taxi, to a van. And then to the mountains. With no idea what we're doing, where we're going, who we're with...When in Peru!
The first day we biked for 30 miles, or really I suppose it is more like we careened downhill on one-speed mountain bikes along fog coated mountain roads through the rain. And if anyone has seen me mountain bike (Stephanie Thornton, Tyler Brown, Robin Daniels...) then you know it was mildly amusing. But we made it! Alive, wet and smiling.
That night we slept in a hostel in the tiny village of Santa Maria, nestled in the Incan Sacred Valley of the Andes. Although disappointed we were missing out on the camping element of the trip, the instant our heads hit the pillows we were out cold. Only to wake up to a downpour. And I do not exaggerate. Absolute downpour. Perhaps it is for the better that we didn't sleep in a tent after all...
Day 2 and 3 we hiked through unreal scenery, winding our way up and down towering lush mountains and along the raging Urubamba River. It felt like we were hiking through a storybook, walking into professional photographs. Our group of 8 stopped frequently to take photos of the "prettiest view," only to turn the corner to something even more spectacular. I still can't put into words the incredible beauty that encompassed us. And as I hiked, calves sore and lungs tired, I kept wondering...what is tomorrow going to hold? Even the most traveled of travelers say that seeing Machu Picchu is breath-taking, life-changing. What does this Incan city do to people?
3:30 a.m. Amanda and I wake up, once again to a downpour. We toss on the only dry clothes we have left, throw our ponchos over our heads and duck out into the rain. We stumble in the dark along the dirt road towards the entrance to Machu Picchu. 20-minutes later we reach the looming gate and stand in line with a hundred other crazy tourists, everyone waiting, shivering, for the gate to creek open to begin the race to the top to earn tickets to Wayna Picchu. (Only the first 400 people to arrive to Machu Picchu are able to hike the infamous Wayna Picchu - the mountain that overlooks the Incan city where you are able to snap the famous postcard shot of the ruins.)
4:45 a.m., and not a minute early, the gate opens and Amanda and I jostled through the crowd, as though caught in a herd of cattle. After 200m of a flat dirt trail, the steps begin. 2,500 of them. Which in the dark, with only one small flashlight to share (no, not the most prepared couple), is not easy. The steps are big, the incline steep. As we began passing people who had raced ahead and since stopped to catch their breath, I found myself trying not to equate the hike to a cross country race - the slow and steady wins the race. As Amanda and I gradually pulled further in front of the crowd, we looked back down the hill - all you could see was a switchback trail of flashlights. In front of us all we could see were a couple hooded figures. The hoods, the dark, the flashlights, the fog, all gave the sense that we were on the way to a spiritual seance.
And when we got to the top...there were only 5 people in front of us waiting for Wayna Picchu - no worry there! Although we had gotten up so early mainly because we were nervous about being in the top 400, the walk was more than worth it. The view at the top as light poked through the clouds for the first time that day was incredible, despite our shivering.
The first look onto the ruins after passing through the official entrance was, with a fear of sounding cliche, breathtaking. Days have passed and I still can't fully put into words the sense of awe that this site invokes in every since person that steps onto the grass and looks down at this terraced city.
In 2007, Machu Picchu was listed as one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World. It is on the same list as Chichen Itza, famous Mayan ruins I visited in December when in Yucatan, Mexico. While the archeological feats are on the same level as Chichen Itza, I was not blown away in Mexico like I was here. Why? Perhaps because when you gaze out over these ruins you are not only staring at an engineering wonder, but you are also completely taken aback by the pure environmental beauty and power that the Andes hold. The fact that this beautiful city lies within one of the most enchanting landscapes in the world is what makes this experience beyond belief.
And as I stood on the top of Wayna Picchu looking down, I fully understood that yes, the universe makes decisions for you sometimes. I chose to come to South America with a rough outline of how and when. The rest came together and somehow I landed in Cusco with more money than I thought I would have. We booked a trek, but the universe decided that we should do Machu Pichhu this way - a way that was gorgeous, perfect, and cheaper. (Allowing us to put the money towards something we never considered...like flying to Patagonia??) And now, since I never got to do the Inca Trail, I suppose I will just have to come back.
View more photos HERE!
Aeriel! Awesome! In the truest sense of the word!
ReplyDeleteThe end!!!!