Cusco, Peru
Nessa and I had one day in Cusco to “acclimate” to the altitude before trekking to Machu Picchu. Acclimate is in quotes because I don’t even know if it’s possible to acclimate in one day, nonetheless, we tried our best.
We spent the day wandering the streets of Cusco and even did a free walking tour in Spanish!
We learned that many of the old houses have tiny bulls on the roof, meant to bring good luck and protection.
Another cool thing we learned is that many of the stone walls in the city are from the Incan period.
The picture on the left shows giant rocks that the Incans somehow fit together PERFECTLY. The picture on the right is interesting because the stones on the left are from the Incan period, the stones on the right are from the Killke period (Pre-Incan), and the balconies are colonial.
After the tour we did some wandering of our own and stumbled across caves.
Then, we went to the market and got lunch (this was before I saw the snouts).
And then we wandered some more…
Finally, we decided to get everything ready for our trek, which included talking to our guide, Victor. I asked him how many people were doing the excursion.
“Well…” he said, “There’s me, Victor, your guide. Then there’s the guy with the horses, the horses will be carrying your packs… Then there’s the cook, who will cook your meals… And then there’s you two… so… yeah, 5 people.”
“As in no one else is doing this trek?!” I asked.
“Yes, that is correct,” Victor said.
One good thing about it just being Nessa and me is that we asked Victor to do everything in Spanish, which he agreed to. And so we set off, me, Nessa, and the boys.
We started the day off with a goose chase for an ATM that resulted in Nessa, Victor, and I crammed into a tiny tuk-tuk.
We never ended up getting cash, and instead just went to a hot springs. It took me a minute to get over the swamp water.
After the hot springs, we drove to a small village where we spent our first night before beginning the hike. We were greeted by four young boys who were very excited to help us set-up camp.
We learned that the children have rosy cheeks due to high levels of hemoglobin. This is their body’s way of adapting to lower oxygen at high altitudes, by producing more red blood cells. I’m not sure how they were running around in so few layers, I was FREEZING.
Nessa and I have been some pretty remote places, but nothing compares to this. At least on the islands of Lake Titicaca you could buy a candy bar and use a flushing toilet. Here, it was just a smattering of houses, and that was it.
The next morning, they loaded up the horses, and we started hiking.
The pictures really don’t do it justice. At one point, Nessa and Victor were far behind me, and I realized I was alone. I had this surreal moment where I looked around at huge, beautiful, green mountains, streams meandering down the sides and through the valley, wind blowing through my hair, and llamas grazing everywhere I looked. I was hiking in Peru, through the freaking Andes! I felt such incomprehensible peace and gratitude.
It was in that moment that I decided that if I were to ever have kids, you best believe they’re doing this trek. It’s such a wonderful experience!
a. It makes you extremely grateful for all of the modern day amenities we have access to. It makes you realize that your life is not hard at all. There are people hiking miles each day in the freezing cold to grow potatoes and shear alpacas.
b. It teaches you that you can do hard things. The trek is not easy, but the perseverance is worth every second.
c. You learn a lot about indigenous culture. Victor taught us along the way about the history of the trail and how the Incans used it to transport goods. Men used to RUN that route CARRYING LOADS ON THEIR BACKS, and they could do it all in a single day.
d. It gives you a deeper appreciation for the Earth. We learned how the Incans were deeply connected to nature and how many of their descendants still practice stewardship of the land today.
I think for me, the worst part of the trek was the fact that we were paying for people to setup and take down camp for us. Now you might think, “Hadley what? That sounds amazing”. Not when the people doing it are two old men, one of which has a broken nose! They need to be retired at a beach, not literally sprinting up a mountain with all my gear to get to camp before me! I wanted to yell at them to sit down and let me put up my own tent! Let me wash my own dishes! This is elder abuse!
Honestly, it just goes back to my first point, my life is not hard at all.
Our trek ended in a town called Ollantaytambo where we explored Incan ruins. I remember thinking: This is already so incredible, I can’t even imagine Machu Picchu!
Something really cool we learned is that the rocks used to build this temple, were not from nearby. Not down the hill, not over the river, those rocks came from A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN. We’re talking tons of pounds moved by hand from one mountain peak to another. The engineering and physicality! Impossible!
I also explored the town…
Then, we boarded the train for Agua Calientes!
The moment we’ve all been waiting for… Machu Picchu!
Let’s just say it was a little anti-climatic…
Don’t worry, within a couple hours, the fog cleared up, and we got a great view of Machu Picchu!
Obviously seeing Machu Picchu was amazing, I mean that’s a HUGE bucket list item. However, I have to say that the trek felt more meaningful to me than actually seeing Machu Picchu.
Upon returning to Cusco, I got VIOLENTLY ill and was bed ridden for 3 days. Cheers!
So sad that you got sick in the end, Hadley 🙁
But your story really rocks! Unbelievable how much better you became at writing and photography over these months. Happy for you gals that you had this wonderful opportunity and made the best of it!