first of all, apologies for being delinquent in writing. our hiking trip took place in some really random places in peru that had no internet access, but we are back! not to worry!
cuzco was very touristy. we did not see much of it as it was the jump off point for macchu picchu, but it turns out our room $15 a night rather than 15 soles a night - none of us were upset because the showers were even worth it. they were super hot, and super powerful! whoaaaaa! we were able to have the breakfast for the first time this morning, and that was great too - it was a buffet of fresh papaya juice, pineapple, watermelon, ham, cheese, toast, olives, eggs (if you so desired) and cereal. fantastisch!!! the hotel was called hotel inka{s dream, if you are so inclined to know!
in cuzco we ate at a nearby place that served mexican food, i had an alpaca llama that was not bad. in terms of alpaca, i would quote cheryl and say that i am now over it.
we signed up for a 3 day, 2 night trek which ended up being probably one of the most brutal side trips yet in terms of being physically demanding. the first day, we had to wake up at 2:30AM, then had to take a bus with our guides, henri and marie (they were peruvian) over to santa teresa, a small town at 1800m elevation. it was hard to sleep because of all the twists and turns and i kept running my head into kavitha{s shoulder and keith{s shoulder. i was lucky enough to sit in the middle seat with no head rest - good times. me and kavitha were so close she told me that she liked the smell of my new pert plus olive oil shampoo. sheesh! also, around 4AM, the driver decided that he wanted to blast some crazy modern peruvian music. for the unawake, we were not so happy about that!
we got to santa teresa around 7AM, where we had breakfast before embarking on the most strenuous hike of all time (even a bit more epic than the one liz and i did in maui in an extinct volcano). because the inca trail needs to be booked 8-12 months in advance, we took another hike that was on the "worker{s trail" - much more strenuous. first of all, it was RIDICULOUSLY sunny, with no clouds in the sky - about 35C. second of all, we were hiking up gynormous mountains, on very steep, uneven and rocky trails. i was not happy, seeing that i am afraid of heights. poor cheryl had been sick for the past couple of days with a stomach bug, so she was in rough shape. unfortunately, she had to leave halfway through while the rest of us soldiered on. we hiked for about 4 hours with all of our clothing and snacks (i was also lucky because henri offered to hold all my snacks! woooot!) but we took a lot of breaks and somehow made it to lunch at a really strange shanty house, where we ate sopa de la minuta, guacamole and spaghetti. at that point, we were ready to eat anything!! we were also insanely insanely sweaty. wow!
after lunch, it was flatter terrain, and a lot more manageable - we also crossed the river in a rickety cable car box that was shoved across a cable over the river - it was a bit dicey! we also walked into a swamp, where bossi got her foot soaked! lovely! at the end of the hike was a random hot spring that emerged in the river like a strange disneyland park - i was glad to soak my tired (and lazy) bones. that night, we were TOAST and ready to get to bed after our terrible chicken dinner.
i should also mention that the mosquitoes were out in full force!!!! my butt was COVERED in mosquito bites (from the hot spring), while everyone elses arms and legs were covered in what looked like chicken pox. we will definitely be a bit grizzled coming home.
the next morning in santa teresa, we got up at a more manageable 8:15AM to go on a more flat hike. we walked beside the river, which was pleasant, however after lunch it got dicey. we had to hike to aguascalientes on RAILROAD tracks, which really was not great seeing that it was made of fairly large rocks that you could easily twist your ankle on. compound that with the fact that it started raining and it was drizzly. poor KT and KD had bad shoes which made it even more unpleasant. because the travel agency had told us it would be hot and dry, we did not bring rain gear - so it was so cold and rainy that you could see your breath, but we were hiking in soaking wet t-shirts! bad news!!!!
when we finally did make it to aguascalientes, we changed into dry clothes, and rested. however, just before we were going to head out - ALL THE POWER IN THE CITY WENT OUT! AHHHHHHHH! as you can imagine, we were not amused. we ended up hiking down a dark hill to find the restaurant we were supposed to eat at. lovely! we of course, ended up having a romantic candlelight dinner. :S
the next morning, keith and smutty woke up at 400 to hike up to macchu picchu, a 1.5 hour straight up hike. cheryl, kavitha and i opted for the $7 bus, and boy am i glad we did that. macchu picchu was great!! it was how i imagined it, and our guide celio was great in explaining incan history. it is the only incan settlement that was not destructed by the spanish! the incans who lived there fled after they heard the spanish were attacking other incan settlements, and then the semi-tropical forest eventually took it over, so it was hard to see - no one found it for 300 years!
we spent the day there, and then in the afternoon headed back to cusco on a squishy perurail train and then buses lucy (a bus company) and got in around 10pm.
a godsend over the past 3 days was the hiking sticks that me and kavitha rented, for $2 a day. i cannot even imagine doing the hike without them!!! unfortunately, because we got back to cusco too late we could not return them - so now we have two leki hiking sticks!!! DOH! at least they were a bargoon, but i feel bad about keeping them. :S
another funny thing we noticed in peru is the usage of llamas as lawnmowers! they are great because they trim the grass when they eat, and fertilize when they defecate! they were used at macchu picchu as well as a private school we saw in arequipa.
this morning we took a plane to lima - finally we are here! there is not much to do here, so we will see how we will pass the time. AHHH! excited to go home!
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