The Inca Trail - Day 5

We woke up in a real bed and to our own real bathroom, but breakfast was disappointing.  We were so spoiled by the fabulous food from our cooks on the trail!

Still, we were excited because today was the big day: Machu Picchu!  We had two options: walk straight uphill for 1+ hours or bus.  Yup, we chose the bus.  If I had it to do again I might walk...the bus is a harrowing ride - the road is only wide enough for one car...yet the buses are going up...and down.  Alas, we survived and Juan took us on a guided tour of this amazing city.

In the photo below, we are sitting in alcoves that were traditionally used to keep mummies in the living area of the house.  Yup, mummy in your living room.  It's good luck!

Below that photo is a view from below of one of Noelani's favorite areas: Chaos Garden.  It is hard to get a sense of scale, but see how tiny the people are at the bottom?  Yeah, the boulders are huge!

The last photo: I got a kick out of photographing people on their cell phones (because, I mean really, you are at Machu Picchu and you need to make a PHONE CALL?!?). 

The Inca Trail - Day 4

Most people hike the Inca Trail in 4 days.  On Day 4, they wake up at 4am to rush the last leg of the trail, in the hopes of reaching the Sun Gate at sunrise.  Now, if any of you have done this, please let us know if it was worth it.  We gambled that it wasn't, and took the slow approach.  It was very peaceful on the trail and we felt amazing when we reached the Sun Gate in the afternoon and saw our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.  Whew!  All of the ruins along the trail were impressive, but when we saw how BIG Machu Picchu was, we understood the true power of the Incas.

It was all downhill from there.  We hiked down to the bottom of Machu Picchu to catch a bus to Aguas Caliente for the night.  On the way down we passed a dramatic rock formation that was...um, well...used for "sacrifices".  We didn't linger there!

(Day 4 was also the only day we saw llamas on the trail!)

The Inca Trail - A Tribute to the Porters

For just the two of us, we had 4 porters and a cook, which seemed excessive at first, but man, these guys worked hard to take care of us! They carried not only our clothes, etc., but all of the food for 4 days, for all of us, and our tents and the cooking and eating tents... And, they beat us by at least an hour to every camp and lunch site. They would be waiting with something warm or cold to drink, water to wash with and amazingly delicious meals prepared for our enjoyment alone. At night, we would arrive to a hot meal and our tent already set up and waiting. In the mornings they woke us with a tray of hot drink choices before we even got out of the tent. And they were the kindest, most gentle men. And fun. They taught us how to play a card game that was very similar to rummy. The incredible cook, Eli, made us some of the best food that we had in all of South America, including this fabulous cake that he made for us for breakfast on our last morning.  He made it in the battered pot on that little kerosene stove. I've never had a yummier cake. No lie.

The Inca Trail - Day 3

After surviving Day 2, we knew nothing could stop us. Day 3 was Noelani's favorite. The Inca Trail navigates through multiple micro-climates, and Day 3's was "Hobbit-Inspired-High-Jungle": lush, damp, green, mossy, and mystical.

Juan's emphatic story-telling brought the Inca history to life, but sometimes couldn't compete (for Mary) with the natural beauty surrounding us. Case in point, the photo of the blue bird was taken while Juan was telling his story!

The Inca Trail - Day 2

A 1200 meter elevation gain in 9 km. It took us 6 hours and all there is to say is: "we survived!" There are no photos from the way up to the summit (charmingly called "Dead Woman's Pass") because our guide kindly offered to carry my camera, to lighten my load (remember, porters were carrying almost everything of ours - my load consisted of my jacket, snacks (which for me is significant), and ample amounts of toilet paper).

The summit was amazing, 360 degree view of the mountains. We made an offering to Pachamama (aka, mother earth), enjoyed a short rest, and then began the 2 hr hike down to our campsite. Down was almost as hard as up, because the steps are steep and our knees are old. The steps reminded me of the students at Gabriel's school in Pisac, running down the steps after school. Steep, serious, Inca steps. Running. Full on. It was terrifying. Amazingly, no one ever fell. I can see where the porters get their strength and agility.

At night, once again, we were treated to amazing views from our campsite, and we slept REALLY REALLY soundly.

The Inca Trail - Day 1

Yes, we did it! 4 long days of hiking in stunning mountains, along the same path that the royalty and spiritual leaders of the Incas walked, followed by a full day of touring Machu Picchu, which is quite a hike in and of itself. We can't express how amazing it was - the views, the history, and the accomplishment of doing something we didn't think our bodies would let us do.

On the first day, the tour company was smart: the trail is a gradual climb, they fed us a fabulous lunch and dinner, set up our tent and our Thermarest sleeping pads for us, and convinced us that we could survive Day 2. Our guide, Juan, picked us up in the plaza in Coya and we drove to Ollyantaytambo to meet our 4 porters and our cook. Then it was off to Kilometer 82 to start our trek.

There are believed to be 8 Inca Trails to Machu Picchu, but only 5 have been discovered so far. From Kilometer 82, there are two. One runs along next to the river, and is now the train tracks. This was used by everyday people, and it is much more direct! The trail we took was used by royalty and religious leaders, and it is definitely a pilgrimage, not a road for people in a hurry.

Highlights of Day 1 were:
- smearing mushed insects on our faces to ward off spirits of the dead
- eating tuna (which is cactus fruit, not a fish)
- eating cuy (guinea pig)
- the snow capped mountains that peeked out at us and kept me inspired as we walked
- having someone else carry everything, cook everything, and set up our tent
- camping out under a clear, starlit sky

La Isla de Monos (reprise)

We loved the Monkeys so much that we asked to go back a second time. We are seriously considering returning to volunteer. Either that or Mary wants one as a pet, which sort of defeats the purpose...
The red faced monkeys are caged because they are aggressive towards the other monkeys. The little one is 3 months old and SO cute.

Coya, Peru

Our home for the month of April is a guest house in Coya, Peru. Coya is a small town in the sacred valley, between two larger (but still pretty small) towns: Pisac (which boasts a thriving artisanal market...photos coming soon...and a grocery store that sells peanut butter, tostitos, and Trident gum) and Calca (which boasts a thriving food market every day, but especially Sundays). The stores in Coya are the common mercados that carry everything from fresh baked bread to Inca Cola to toilet paper. There is a central plaza and a well-respected medical clinic that provides outreach and free services to the Quechua community that lives in town and in a small village "mas arriba" (2.5 hour walk up the hill above town). Our house is also "arriba", but only a 30 minute walk. "Why is everyone walking?" you ask...well, most people cannot afford cars, and even if they could, the road is dirt and it floods/mudslides every rainy season. We arrived just in time for it to be fixed enough to be passable in a 4x4.

The people who live here are so strong. It is incredibly humbling to be huffing up the hill, only to be passed by an elderly woman, carrying a stack of corn stalks on her back, herding her cows. Agriculture is the family business here, and every day we see chanchas (pigs), vacas (cows), gallos (chickens), ovejas (sheep), burros (donkeys), and many many perros (dogs). The whole family participates, and it is not uncommon to see children as young as 8 watching the chanchas or vacas as they graze along the hillside during the day and then herding them home for the night. Corn and quinoa are the main crops. The valley is known for it's corn, and it seems to be one place that Monsantos has not taken over - all of the farms are individually owned, and those familes have a co-op that sells together to the big cities like Cusco and Lima.

When we first arrived, it was the start of Semana Santa (Saint's Week), and our taxi had to stop to wait for the procession to pass - it seemed as if the whole town was there in the street, with candles, chanting and walking along behind a large crucifix on their way to the church.

The church is on one end of the main plaza. In the plaza, there is a statue of a Dr who donated a bunch of money to the town in 1988 (which I suppose is better than a statue of some Spanish conquistador). I liked the way it looked against the green of the mountains. There is also a huge tree trunk, big enough to stand in.

Everywhere you look there are the mountains. Or only hills, I suppose - the foothills of the Andes - but to us, they are huge and majestic.

We celebrated Semana Santa by coloring eggs - using crayons because Paas is not sold here. In fact, Easter is not a thing...no bunny, no jelly beans, no chocolate eggs. Nada. Zilch. Luckily, we have an in with the American easter bunny and he did come and leave a basket for G and hide our colored eggs. Three children from a neighbor's family helped with the egg hunt (Jose-8, Jocelyn-8, and Brando-5). We also took a hike up the hill, which is our favorite way to celebrate easter/spring. In this part of Peru, we are moving into "winter", sort of. There are two seasons: wet and dry. We are moving into dry. It is cold (and clear and starry) at night and hot (and stunningly beautiful) during the day.