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| AU takes Machu Picchu |
Trying to explain this trip to
people after it was over felt somewhat impossible. 4 days of hiking and camping
in the Peruvian jungle was unlike anything I had experienced or expected it
would be. There’s no way I can convey how extraordinary this trek was, but hopefully
these pictures will give you a glimpse into one of the best weeks of my life.
DAY 1
Our first day on the trail was
relatively relaxed – it was pretty flat with
only a few uphill sections to get us acclimated to hiking with our packs and
again, the altitude. Our guides wanted to get a sense of our group’s pace, so
for most of the morning/ afternoon we walked along at a pretty slow and steady
pace.
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| The first ruins we saw along the trail |
The group
was composed of 15 hikers, 2 guides, 2 cooks, and 18 porters. A word about the
porters – these are incredible humans.
They carried everything except for our clothes and sleeping bags and
still outpaced us daily on the trail. They would wake up before us, cook
breakfast, serve us, clean up after us, tear down camp, pass us on the trial,
and then have lunch/dinner/ our campsite set up and ready by the time we got
there. I don’t think any of us could convey or emphasize our gratitude enough to
these people – they were unbelievable.
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| The group and porters |
Our
campsite the first evening was really nice – complete with soft grass and
moderate temperatures. The sun set by about 5:30 or so and it was dark by 6:30,
so once we had settled into our campsite it was pretty much dinner and bed by
8. Each morning, though, when we were woken up at around 5 AM (with cocoa leaf
tea brought to our tent by the porters – again, incredible people), the sun was
already up and bright.
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| Campsite night 1 |
DAY 2
The second day of the trail
can really just be described as stairs and uphill, with some stairs and
downhill at the end. It was pretty tough – we climbed over the first of 3 peaks
that we would pass during our hike, reaching our highest altitude of 13, 776
ft. It was a long day (we had not one but two
breakfasts), but eventually we made it to the top! The weather changed from sunny to rainy
to just surrounded by clouds several times over the course of the hour or so we
spent at the top, but the views and satisfaction of what we had accomplished
were certainly worth the cold.
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Day 2 didn't look so bad at the beginning
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| What most of day 2 really was |
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| Views from the peak |
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| Mixed emotions about the peak |
That
afternoon, we had another two hour walk downhill – mostly stairs – to our
second campsite of the trip which was arranged in a terraced set-up. Since we
were at the highest altitude of our trip, it was the coldest night we faced.
However, our tour guides made us a nice warm drink before we headed to bed that
helped take the edge off the cold. It was also a beautifully clear night and the stars were unbelievable.
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| Campsite night 2 - peep the waterfall behind us |
DAY 3
Our third
day on the trail was hands down my favorite day of hiking during our trek.
Though it was also the longest day distance-wise, after we passed the second
two peaks the trail was relatively flat making for a nice trail walk. Our lunch
spot had a beautiful lookout over several valleys, and we made a few llama
friends along the way. We were also able to wander through several sets of
Incan ruins, and got a sneak peek at what Machu Picchu would be like the
following day. We were all amazed that the ruins were so well preserved after
so many years – it was difficult to imagine that they are dated back to the 16th
century!
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| One of several ruins sites we encountered during the day |
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| Hiking views |
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| Cheesin' with Darcy |
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| Cheesin' with the llamas |
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| Really impressive ruins close to our campsite |
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| Lots of steep stairs |
DAY 4
On our
final day of the trek, we woke up bright and early (2:45 am!) to get in line at
the final check point before Machu Picchu. Every morning on the hike after we
left our campsite we would pass through a small check point where they stamped
our papers, however on the last day, from the checkpoint to the Sun Gate
overlooking Machu Picchu, it’s a literal race of who can get there first
between the 200-300 campers waiting in line. Though we were first in line, we
were not prepared for the 5 km sprint from the checkpoint to the Sun Gate. As
our guides took off running and we kept up as best we could with our backpacks,
I genuinely felt as if every run I had ever done in my life was in preparation for
this moment.
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| Line to sprint to the sun gate! |
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| Sun coming up over Machu Picchu! |
Though
arguably one of the most high-pressure situations I've ever been in (this sounds
dramatic but you weren’t there I’m serious), our group was the first to make it
up to the sun gate so we had some nice time to sit and enjoy watching the sun
come up over Machu Picchu. After this, we had about an hour long walk down to
the ruins themselves where we spent the morning wandering around one of the
wonders of the world.
The
biggest surprise for me was just the sheer size of the ruins themselves. I know
this applies to pretty much everything but there is absolutely no way a picture
could convey how big and stunning Machu Picchu is. It is an entire
city built into a hill with one half used for agriculture and the other used
for living and public spaces. The ruins were also packed – in high season they
see about 6,000 visitors a day – and it was very clear who had hiked 4 days to
get there and who had taken the train up for the day. There isn’t much that I
have to say other than that it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever
done, and the week was an experience unlike any other.
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| Our hiking group at the ruins |
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| Llamas everywhere! |
Needless
to say, coming back to finals and presentations was a little rough, however
somehow we all survived the end of the semester and just like that our time in
Chile was about over. In the next week or so I hope to put up one more post
talking about some end of the semester travels as well as a few final
reflections on my first semester abroad, but also, to all of those that have
been following these posts and keeping up with me over the last 5 months, thank
you!! These posts have been a welcome and enjoyable outlet for my English
throughout a Spanish filled semester, and I hope they have been a nice glimpse
for you into some of the most wonderful experiences I have been lucky enough to
have.
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| Tired but happy |
