Running around Cusco
Trip Start
Mar 09, 2007
1
20
169
Trip End
??? ??, 2008
Cusco,
Peru
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Cusco is the jumping point to go to Machu Picchu. Cusco is actually the capital of the Incan empire (a lot of people think its Machu Picchu). From the valley behind Cusco is where the Sacred Valley begins. The Sacred Valley is the valley that had several Incan settlements in it and is also the valley that eventually leads up to Machu Picchu. I will talk a bit more about the Sacred Valley in tomorrows entry because we will be doing a tour through the valley tomorrow.
So to get to Machu Picchu there are several options. All trips go through the town of Aguas Caliente which is the town below Machu Picchu and has all the bedding and eating options for the area. Machu Picchu is tucked away in a valley and its kind of far from everything else, so Aguas Caliente is the town that houses all the needs of the area. There is a train that goes from Cusco to Aguas Caliente (its expensive and happens to be owned by British and Chileans, not Peruvian). From Aguas Caliente you can walk up an hour to Machu Picchu or take a bus.
There are also several hiking trips that you can do. The most famous of them being the traditional route, the one that the Incas took to get to Machu Picchu, The Inca Trail. Along this trail there are Incan ruins and is about a 4 or 5 day trip. The government has put a limit on the number of people that are allowed on the trail per day, 500 people in total. The 500 people includes tourists, guides, porters and cooks, so in actually we are told that only about 200 tourists are actually on the trail. The government also mandates that 500 spots have to be reserved a month in advance (I believe this is a new thing). Either way it doesn't matter because the trail is so damn popular that its completely booked up until the end of June (all 500 spots are taken everyday until the end of June, crazy huh?). So there is no way we are going to be doing the traditional trail. Not to mention that the 5 day trip runs about $450 US dollars!!
Whats great is that there are lots of other hikes to get to Machu Picchu, they just aren't the traditional route and there are no ruins along the way. Another great thing is that they are all less than half the price of the traditional route. The two next most popular routes are the Salkantay hike (5 days 4 nights) and the Santa Theresa mountain biking trip (3 days 2 nights). We ended up signing up for the Salkantay trip and it cost me $165 for the 5 day trip and it includes everything. Its actually incredible cheap because the Machu Picchu entrance itself costs $40, the train ride back costs $40, the hostel in Aguas Caliente costs about $10, and that totals to $90 already and its all included in the $165 price. Then throw on a few bus rides, food, and the agency's cut, there isn't much left over to pay the guides and cooks. Its kind of sad how little they make. A nice thing about the Salkantay trail is that they are allowed to use mules to carry all the gear and food (on the Inca Trail its all porters, no slave animals are allowed).
So it took us some time but we organized it and we leave on Monday (two days from now). We are getting super excited.
Cusco is a pretty cool city. Very touristy and it seems that everything here is made for tourists and their visit to Machu Picchu. Everywhere you walk, you get hassled and asked if you want a trip, tour, guide, book, postcard, t-shirt, bags, and just about everything else with Machu Picchu written all over it. Supposedly Machu Picchu is the most visited site in south America. I think Peru's economy would literally collapse if something were to happen to Machu Picchu.
Everything here is sold and advertised by people standing outside their stores or restaurants asking if you want whatever it is they have. All the restaurants have someone standing outside, asking if you would like to enter, and when you tell them you aren't hungry, they all say 'We'll maybe tomorrow or later on today'. I literally walked past the same dude about 4 or 5 times in an hour while I was running some errands and he asked me every time I walked past. He didn't even remember that I had just talked to him. It's so sad, they are so programmed.
The hostel is kind of expensive at $8 a night per person and its all dorm rooms. We have been paying $5 a night per person for a private room. Since we are only using or sleeping in one bed, we checked one of the beds out and split the cost, still no privacy.
Oh, and I had a killer bacon and egg sandwich this morning. It was honestly so damn tasty, the bacon was so damn thick. It was exactly what my beer tossed belly needed.
I haven't eaten any guinea pig yet, but we have been having some great fish and alpaca (it's basically a llama, even though its actually different). Thats the other thing that Peru is known for, Alpaca goods. Don't remember if I mentioned it but I got me a sweet baby alpaca winter beenie, its so fucking soft.
