Puno

I took a 5 hour bus that lasted six and a half hours through the desert and into the mountains from Arequipa to the lake city of Puno. The elevation here is much higher than Cusco and the altitude could be felt right away.

Mount Chichani

We went mountian biking today on the volcano called Mt. Chichani on the outskirts of Arequipa. It was called ¨the downhill¨tour, as they drove us to the top (nearly) and then we rode down hill for 3 and a half hours. I of course was the first one to fall, and on a pricker bush undoubtedly.

Arequipa

I took the night bus from Cuco to Arequipa. This is a desert town at the bottom of two volcanos. The weather was much warmer and the altitude much warmer.

Machu Pichu

I finally made it to Machu Pichu. We ended the 5 day trek in the town of Aquas Calientes, which means hot water. The town is at the base of the mountain where Machu Pichu sits. We woke up at 4 a.m. to be in the line to take the buses up at 5 a.m. The buses run all day up and down the mountain. The ride takes about 25 minutes and covers at least 10 switchbacks in each direction. All the tourists in the town line up to try and be one of the first 400 people on the mountain. At 5 a.m. is seemed like pure madness. We waited our turn, got on the bus in the dark, fog, and mist, and began to climb the mountain. I of course got bus sick.

At machu Pichu, there are a number of treks around the site to see. One of which is Winapichu, meaning young mountain. Only 400 people are allowed to climb this mountain each day. 200 at 7 a.m. and 200 at 10 a.m. All the tourists rush to the far end of Machu Pichu to line up to get a ticket to climb Winapichu. The 7 o´clock showing has a 40-50% chance of seeing the sun rise over the ruins site of Machu Pichu, and thus is the coveted spot. We were late getting in the bus line (5 a.m.) and got tickets to the 10 o´clock showing. It was now about 6:15 in the morning an began with our guided tour.

When we arrived, the mountain was covered in fog. There was a mystical air abour the vast site, and although it sprinkled from time to time, I couldn´t have been happier. My morning pictures display wonder and spirituality in a way that only moving fog can illuminate. The guide showed us the key aspects of the site, the original stones, and proffered ideas into why and how it was built the way it had been. It was so hard to pay attention because everywhere I looked was more wonderous than the next. I know I need to do more reading on the site and the Inca to truely appreciate what I have seen.

At 9, the tour was over and my friends and I decided to go get a bite to eat and use the restrooms. All the restrooms and food are outside of the site (which can be a long way back), but htis ensured that the ruins were spotless. After we regrouped and powered up, me Jo Jo and Andrew from my group of 5 friends decided to go climb the Windapichu Mountain. In line, we met others from our trek. The climb was virtually virtical. We first went up, around, and down the smaller "hill" in front of Winapichu, and then climbed directly up for about 25 minutes. When we got to the top with where the Inca ruins were, a man told us to climb to the left. Using hands and feet, we began to climb these stairs up and up and up. We were soon greeted by a very angry Italain, who yelled profusely at us. Apparenly, we were going up the "down" side. We were half way up and decided to get yelled at repeatedly, rather than go back down just to climb up another way.

Eventually, we got to the ruins and needed a break. We took so many fun picutres and then continued our way up and around the remaining ruins. Finally, we made it to the top, via the back "exit." The others from our trek had about 5-10 minutes on the top before they had to decend so they could catch their train back to Cusco. We were quite happy that I insisted on staying another day, so we were able to sit up there for about half an hour or so. The view of Machu Pichu was completely different, and not one seen often from the travel guides. The sun had just broke through the clouds and we felt as if we were on top of the world. We could see the mountains that we had climbed up and down the previous 4 days. This gave me a HUGE sense of pride and accomplishment.

I could have stayed there all day. However, we were hungry, I needed to use the restroom and the facilities and food were back 45 minutes down the mountain and then another 15+ minutes thorugh the site back to the entrance. Additionally, Andrew and Jo Jo were meeting Meghan and Erin to go back down to Aquas Calientes to take care of their sore, swollen, and infected bodies.

Salkantay Trek

I ventured into the Andes on a 5 day 4 night trek. What the hell was I thinking? you are probably asking yourself.... the easiest answer is "I have no idea."

Cusco

Cusco was extreamly cold and very tiring. Upon arrival at about 4:30 in the afternoon, the freezing temeratures were noticed immediately. Our hostel did not send us a car pick-up like we were told. We walked outside, looking for our ride, and began to barter for a taxi ride to the hostel. The driver wanted 15 soles (5 from each of us), but he would not accept 12. We decided to continue and "find another taxi." Well, this was actually impossible, as there were no other taxis without fares already. Upon the driver´s way back to the car with one person, he said he would take the 12 soles and to get in the car. At this point we, or at least I, knew we had better take the ride as it was very cold and no other taxis seemed to be available. I think the driver made out with his original asking price of at least 20, as we gave him 12, and the other American girl gave him at least 8-12.

He dropped the other girl off first in the Plaza del Arms, and he then proceded to take us up the hill from there. He told us to get out, walk along the cobblestone path, and then follow the stairs up to the right. I was not exactly pleased, but I knew I could not argure. The Altitude in Cusco is 3300 meters and walking up the steps to the hostel was a feat within itself. I, of course, was quite far behind Erin and Jo Jo. When I got into the lobby of the hostel they were sitting on the couches, backpacks still on, panting just as heavily as I. We needed a ten minute rest just to walk up the next flight of stairs to our room. Most of the hostel was open air, so everything was freezing.

We quickly put on every piece of warm clothing we could find, and ventured out into the now dark city for dinner #1. We walked down the stairs and a closer street (different to where the taxi dropped us off) down into the Plaza del Arms. We found a Peruvian restaurant that looked very nice and proceeded to have my first taste of Peruvian food. We ordered a bottle of red made of grapes I had never heard of, local chicken dishes, and with the girls, dessert of course. We then wandered around the town looking in shops, the girls buying hatts and mittens made of alpaca wool, and searched for dinner #2.

Catch-Up: My Plan

I do realize that I have about 3 weeks of travels to catch up on, and will be backtracking to cover my last few days in Bali, the return to the US, and then my trip to Canada. Consequently, my travels may appear ´out of order` which frustrates the OCD side of my personality greatly. However, I know I won´t actually go crazy, I will just think I am.

To help me organize my thoughts and timeline, I will start blogs out of order with "Catch-Up" to help me remember that is happened further down chronologically on the blog. And yes, this seems like too much thinking for most, but I have worried about it for a few days now, and I want to write about what is fresh (Peru) as it happens. Then I can catch up with rest on my time. What would be really great is if I could figure out some way to display the blogs out of chronilogical order and not have to worry at all. Well that will have to be a computer lesson for another day