Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu
Trip Start
Nov 25, 2004
1
114
169
Trip End
Jan 26, 2005
Machu Picchu,
Peru
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Up early doors, we stopped for our last snack stop before we headed into the unknown! Nice views out of the bus window of a dead cow's head eyes and all! Great if you're feeling abit queazy! We stopped for breakfast with panoramic views of the "Apu Salkantay" and we got to see unbelievable views of magnificent snow capped mountains and the lush Apurimac River Valley which was to set the standard for the amazing scenery we would be seeing over the next few days! Things were looking up! After a quick tyre change (getting used to it now!) and after avoiding our umpteenth avalanche, we carried on towards the start of the trek at Cruzpata (3200m)! Our driver got a huge round of applause when he managed to manouvre the bus around a lorry and another bus...luckily keeping us away from the cliff edge (with a massive drop of about 300ft on the other side! Yikes!) but unfortunately the bus then let us down with even more tyre trouble so we had abit of a hike to the start of the trek
2 lazy g***
! (Although this gave us a head start in adopting our approach of looking for toilets or should we say...rocks to go behind!!!!) Do we get bonus points or what!!! After loading up our donkey with our sleeping bags and mats...we were on our way!!!!!!! After about 2 hours of steady uphill walking and beautiful scenery with mountains all around, we huffed & puffed to our lunch spot which has to be said was amazing! They'd set up a full on dining table with a tablecloth & everything and we literally had a 3 course lunch! Roberto our guide made DW some special celery tea for his tummy as well! Awww! Not wanting to let DW feel left out, my tummy had gone dodgy again as well and Paul found it quite amusing that there was all this food, and neither me & Dave were hungry!!!! He reckons he wouldn't have believed it if he had'nt seen it himself!
The last part of the day was a 3 hour trek which was relatively flat (phew!) to our first camp and apparently to be our coldest at Soraypampa (3850m)! I spent this part of the trek at the back chatting to the lovely Roberto - one of our guides! He was teaching me Spanish tongue twisters with no luck and I was teaching him English ones! Sure it wasn't helping my breathing talking all the time but it certainly kept me amused
All 3 of us together Awwww
! The setting of the campsite was amazing, we were literally at the foot of the mountain next to a running river! Everything was set up for us when we got there so we all had to do was wrap up warm and head into the dinner tent for afternoon tea and biccies and a lovely dinner accompanied by Jose's special brew! Mmmmm! Especially good with a drop of rum! There were 3 in the bed (or tent!) and we all cuddled down for a night in the cold!!! Brrrrrrrrrr!Day 2
This is when the fun and the runs really begín!!!! Woken early with freezing cold tootsies and a steaming cup of tea by our lovely porters, we got up and prepared for the day ahead with a hearty breakfast! Everyone had warned us about the morning of Day 2 and the uphill climb so everyone was abit quieter than usual....but not for long! The huffing & puffing started pretty much as soon as we'd set off as we started our ascent of the Apacheta pass to 4590m...just to show how cold it was, the stream next to our path was frozen with icicles!!!! The climb was made a tad easier as they had put in lots of switchbacks which meant although you were walking further, you didn't need to climb up a really steep hill...don't think that was any concellation for Dave who literally had to stop every ten minutes to relieve himself!!
Another view inside MP
! Think he definitely should be entered in the Guinness Book of Records for the most amount of poo's in one morning! Bless! A swiss guy in our group was so impressed when Dave made it to the top, he got a hearty handshake and a pat on the back! Think he preferred the Immodium! Three quarters of the way up, we all collapsed for a much needed breather and managed to spot a little chinchilla staring at us from a rock! I decided to move on and carry on with the climb...big mistake...just after I'd gone, the boys spotted 4 condors flying above them!!! Grrrrrr!Reaching the top though was amazing not only for the sense of achievement but the views were stunning! We literally felt on top of the world with snow-capped mountains all around us! WOW! Pretty breathless too though it has to be said! It's tradition on reaching the top for each group to make an offering to the mountain gods so we all made a little mountain of rocks and the guides poured wine over it!!! A team photo later and off we went again but all downhill from now on! Yippppppeeeeee! The rest of the day was spent passing more beautiful scenery and a mad cow by a stream that we hide to bypass by crossing some rather rickety looking logs until we finally arrived in the jungle (bizarre eh? From snowcapped peaks to the jungle!) and our campsite for the night way down at 2890m!!! Me & Dave collapsed into the tent and watched the world go by from our sleeping bags!
Arriving at camp on the first night
! Hee Hee! And then had a much needed dinner and hit the sack! Not before Dave stank the tent out with the smelliest fart ever....cheers!Day 3
With Dave back on form again, he was off at the front marching on for the team! Yippppeeee! The wit had returned????!!!!! We passed rushing rivers pretty much all day and slid our way down some slippery slopes until we reached a pretty waterfall where Paul got bitten to death by mozzies (makes a change for it not to be me!)! Again it goes without saying that the scenery was amazing - green valleys, huge rivers, mountain backdrop and the day finished with a game of footie with some of the local kids at the village we stayed at! Well actually it was pretty much me showing off my keepy-up skills and the boys sitting drinking beer! I was bloody knackered by the end of it and of course....bright red! Pretty genius set up really as they had buckets of beer chilled and waiting for us when we arrived! Nice! We soon convinced the nice beer lady and her children to get a campfire going!! Luckily there was no singing! Thank God! After our last dinner together and a flaming dessert smothered in alcohol later...sociable as ever...Team Smedders/Williams retired to the tent!!!! And the last thing to mention...the stars....WOW
At the highest point on the second day
!Day 4
Corrrr did my legs start to ache today...luckily no blisters though like some of the group!!!The scenery changed again this morning with us wandering through coco bean and banana plantations! We even got to sample some oranges & avocados and the man from Del Monte definitely says 'Yes'! They were the sweetest oranges you have ever tasted!! Me & Dave had a twix and a half (!) which was the best bit of chocolate I have ever tasted in my life and has since started a craving you would not believe! So much for losing weight! Our bit of adventure today involved being pulled along a rope in a metal cage across a raging river below! All very exciting and me & Dave squeezed into our little cage and zoomed down the rope at a roaring pace!!! Wooohoooooooo! But the adventure wasn't over with...oh no...we had a hair raising truck ride to catch the train to Aguas Calientes!!!! There were literally scores of people crammed into the back of this truck holding onto anything available to stop from falling over as the truck bezzed along dirt tracks with straight drops into the river below!!!! Yeeehaaaa! We had stunning views of waterfalls literally coming out of the rock faces...it was exhilerating to say the least and a great end to the trekking part of our journey to Machu Picchu
Breakie is served
! After a quick lunch, we were all aboard the train! Chooo Choooo! Dave made lots of friends in his carriage!!!!!!! We arrived in Aguas Calientes and checked in to our lovely hostel for the evening and literally jumped in to have our first shower since the start of the trek! BLISSS!!! After 40 winks, we headed downstairs for beers & dinner and tucked ourselves in for an early night for our 4:30 wake up the next morning and.....Machu Picchu!!!!Day 5
The day had finally arrived and I feel abit bad that I woke up feeling miserable that I wasn't trekking all the way to Machu Picchu as originally planned! But...as soon as we arrived at the site...how could you not be blown away by the sheer majesty of the city and how big it is!!!! The weather was perfect and our first sight of the picture perfect postcard view was in the dark and we got to sit and watch the sunrise hit the city and reveal it in all its glory! All I can say is WOW...it was everything we expected it to be and more! Funnily enough we all have shed loads of photos from every angle, in every colour!!! Hee Hee! The last part of our trek was a guided tour of the main city and the biggest question in our minds is 'Why would any civilization leave such an amazing place?'! The Spaniards never reached as far as Machu Picchu apparently so they would have been safe and once you've been there...its so peaceful, serene and beautiful!!
Dave & Pawn on the rope bridge crossing
! It was a fascinating tour and as with most of the sites we'd visited in S America, alot of the history and the findings are specualtive as there is no written log or account that has been retireved! Being inside the ruins themselves was as amazing as our first view and you realise how much effort must have gone into building such a place! Even getting all the materials up such a steep mountain!!! It must have been so exciting for the explorer who discovered it! Can you imagine???? After the tour, we all did our own bit of exploring! Paul headed up the big mountain you see on all the postcards called Huayna Picchu which gave amazing shots back of all the city! Apparently from up there it's supposed to be shaped like a condor! If you use your imagination alot I guess you can see it but you'll have to judge that yourself from the photos! Dave headed up to the Sun Gate which is the first view you have from Machu Picchu when you do the actual Inca Trail and I just sat there where all the postcards are taken with my book and gazed in wonder reading all about this amazing place!!!! Get it on your hit lists...now! About midday, we started walking back down to Aguas Calientes and again like the 4 days before, the scenery was gorgeous! We had our last group lunch together, beers & cake in town and then headed to the train station along with a million other tourists to try and blag a seat back to Cuzco! The authorities had timed it perfectly and decided to strike that day and reduce the number of trains! THANKS
even more views
! There were people absolutely everywhere! Being a group of 3, we'd actually been put on a later train than the rest of the group anyway and this bizarrely worked in our favour as we actually got called through first AND got seats!!!!! Whopppppeee! We of course had a celebratory beer to celebrate...yummy....malt beer!!! After Dave peed the rest of the group off telling them we had seats and something about us being better than them (what was that about DW making friends????), we finally arrived back in Cuzco, checked into the hostel, showered, made oursleves beautiful and went out for much deserved pizza and beers!!!! We ended up in a crazy club with lots of completely hammered people so quickly joined in with the many free drinks you can enjoy in Cusco and listened to the cheesiest dance tunes ever!!!!A great end to a fab trek! We obviously were not meant to do the Inca Trail for whatever reason but the Salkantay trek and the scenery was AMAZING and of course the ultimate goal was to see Machu Picchu and how can that ever disappoint!!! Awwwwwwwww!
