Adventures in the Great, Wide Somewhere// Machu Piccu

Inca Trail

Day 4--Machu Piccu

The day is finally here! The culmination of 4 days of blood, sweat and tears brings us to the mother load...Machu Piccu. I won't lie to you, I cried when I got there. The exhaustion, hard work, rain, lack of indoor plumbing, and overall satisfaction in making it was on another level of endorphins. Maccu Piccu is beautiful and mysterious and epic. See pictures below for the amazing.

While I found Machu Piccu glorious, I won't lie, after 4 days of brutality and hardly being able to breathe it was juuuust slightly anti-climactic because personally, the top of that peak and the Sun Gate were my moments of triumph. Not to take anything away from Machu Piccu and I can't explain why I felt this way except I think I was so excited I made it the finish line rope was great but the accomplishment of just making it there was worth more to me than my weight in Incan gold--is there such a thing? I don't know but it sounded good.

What I find both fascinating and frustrating about the Inca's and their Machu Piccu home is that nobody really knows anything about them. Throughout my touring of Peru the phrase, "it could have been used for this" or "we think they did this" was overwhelming. We are looking at a legit square of dirt and historians and archeologists, etc. over time still have not fucking clue exactly how they lived exactly. For me, I'd rather have you just keep it a mystery to my gringo ass than try and bullshit a reason for this particular room compared to the one down the dirt road. The stone buildings and how they were constructed is legit insane. Huge boulders were used and filed down to fit into each other perfectly and without modern technology to help them, it's mind-blowing to wonder how they did it. I'm fine with that. Tell me it's one of histories greatest mysteries and I will drink the Kool-Aid. 

My theory is firmly rooted in the belief of Inca magic. Seriously. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to commit to my theory that they had magic. There's not other logical explanation for how these ancient civilizations built and did what they did. Tell me it was magic and I find that infinitely more believable and fascinating than, 'we think they used a system of pulleys etc. yadda yadda yadda.' Don't care. It's magic.

And if you're thinking I'm crazy, think on my own experience with Inca magic for a moment. If you've read my previous posts about my first few days on the Inca Trail, you'll know how hard it was. Brutal hills, steep steps, little oxygen. It was basically a marathon workout all day, every day and these hills and steps would put any Jillian Michaels video to shame. With that said, I was anticipating waking up every day in immense muscle pain...yet I did not. For 4 straight days my muscles were not sore. Not one bit. There was no stretching class, yoga intermissions, breaks to rest and really let your muscles recover. It was hardcore every day. But I was never sore. Inca magic on the Inca trail I tell you because the morning after the Inca Trail...goodbye ability to walk like a normal human. Swear to God, 4 days of no pain and the day after we leave the magic of the Inca Trail I have never been so sore in my life. I'm talking can't walk down the stairs, can't walk in a straight line, this lasted for 3 days if not more. Tell me, that isn't magic...

I also should point out to fellow travelers that hiking the Inca Trail is not the only way to get to Machu Piccu! You can also take about a 2 hour train ride up to the ancient civilization! That's how we hikers get back down to present civilization. I HIGHLY suggest the hike if you are able-bodied. Don't let my posts scare you because there were older people on my hike and when I say older I don't mean 30s, I mean like 60s so don't psych yourself out! Take it at your own pace and you will triumph!

Travel Class of Inca Trail and Machu Piccu

First Class--this is a must do and see for all

Adventures in the Great Wide Somwhere // Inca Trail Day 3 & 4

Day 3
Day 3 is what is considered the long day and the day of the 'Gringo Killers' aka stairs so steep the gringos aka white people aka non-Peruvian people puts undo stress on all their joints trekking down these steps. The beginning of the day was rough. We traverse another peak, this only slightly lower than 14,000 ft but still very high. Again, the elevation kicking my ass and I wanted to die from being out of breath. And while the incline is a total bitch and I'm out of breath constantly, going down is a whole other beast. It's not as tiring but it's nerve-wracking. It was raining. I forgot that part. It started raining profusely about halfway up the peak and misery takes on a new name. Combine steep stairs, uneven rocks, and rain...no bueno. (FYI--that's Spanish for 'no good' heh heh).

After a large portion of steep stairs the trek evens out and it is a completely enjoyable and even-tempered part of the hike. I wasn't exhausted, the only shitty thing is that it was rainy and foggy as hell so the views were obstructed. Oh, well. It can always be worse...but it was pretty bad. Stopping for lunch was the highlight of the day. It was warmer, because the rain made it freezing, and we were told lunch was going to have a special surprise and I legit said, 'OMG, is it a cake?' and lo and behold at 11,000 feet elevation our chef made a fucking cake. I almost weeped with joy. Anybody that knows me knows how much I love cake. Close to as much as I love my Mom and Harry Potter and Beauty and the Beast...shit is serious. We also had soup which was hot and delicious, copious amounts of hot chocolate and tea...I'm only going into detail about the food because the weather and cold was so miserable it made an impression. So, the rest of the day is still going downhill so we had to be careful and we walked around some beautiful ruins overrun with grass and so much greenery, it was gorgeous...see pics...seriously. Words cannot express how AMAZING these ruins were. Add in the fog and it upped the creep factor and it was perfection!

 

Our third night is devoted to giving thanks to our amazing porters. We tip and offer any other items we might not use the rest of the trip, small flashlights, toiletries, etc. they are grateful for anything. They also dance and sing and it is so fun! It's a really beautiful little ceremony. The hike may only be 4 days but the struggle is real. You're all tired and dirty and wet and sore (well not really because, Inca magic) and emotions are high, at least for me, and you realize that the people you went through this with may have started out as strangers but you all struggled at times together. I'm an emo sap but I really loved the people I did this with and will always remember them. We tried to get to bed early because *shudder* the final day is a 330 am wake up call...no I did not type that wrong...330 am...ugh

Day 4 (!!!!!!)
Day 4 is the final day!! We reach Machu Piccu in a few short hours! I woke up, while tired and cranky, legit like a kid on Christmas morning. I was SO excited to get the final day started! So we wake up, quick breakfast, and its off to wait in line at the entrance to final leg of the trip. Why are we waiting in line? Because today's hike is a legit trail on the side of a mountain and if you fall, you're dead. They used to not close it off and people would try to hike this portion to be at the Sun Gate for sunrise but it is so dangerous in the dark that people died...so they closed it off and only open it up once the sun has risen. The fun part about this is you go up actual gringo killers. The stairs are so steep it's almost rock climbing a wall. So fun. Seriously.

After about an hour we get to the Sun Gate and hello, lovely, you sure are beautiful. The view from above Machu Piccu at the Sun Gate is one of a kind. We were blessed with a beautifully sunny day and it was incredible. Picture taking here is a must and go crazy but be polite. I had an encounter with a very rude French couple...and people dare say Americans are rude...fuck right off...no idea where they would get that impression...*cough*

After the Sun Gate it is all downhill and to say some of us were actually running towards Machu Piccu is not a lie. I was SO incredibly excited I couldn't go fast enough! Machu Piccu is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but honestly, if you hike to Machu Piccu and don't just take the train, I feel like the MP is juuuust slightly anticlimactic because the hell you have endured for 4 days and getting to the peaks of 2 mountains, MP didn't give me as much of a high as getting to the top. But maybe it's just me. We spent a few hours at MP and I will talk about that...in my next post! Stay tuned!

 

 

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere// Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Peru

 

If Lima was one of the two low points of my trip (you'll meet the other one soon), then Cuzco was the highlight. Cuzco was visually everything I expected to find in Peru and more. Colorful, cobblestoned, colonial-esque. I fell in love almost immediately upon landing. Apologies in advance because I threw this feature together and have recently paid more attention to WHERE I'm staying and eating however I did not do that in South America, my bad.

We stayed at a nice hotel (that's all I got, if it's gross I'll tell you and try to remember the name) about a 5-10 minute walk from the city center. I love walking around cities. Exploring hole in the wall streets and alleys and Cuzco is full of them. Markets are hidden in alleys you'd walk right past otherwise and there is always something new to see. I stayed in Cuzco for one day before and after the Inca Trail/Machu Piccu. The elevation takes a little getting used to so if you find yourself out of breath after climbing a flight of stairs, it's all normal.

 

While in Cuzco I re-discovered my love of bargaining and doing it in another language is twice as fun. I got the price down on some headbands simply for being able to say $10 with a smile. The old ladies laughed at me and gave me the price I wanted. Winning. However, the prices of food are not negotiable. We did eat in a restaurant right in the center of the city but it wasn't too overpriced. Don't be surpised to find guinea pig and alpaca on the menu...no, I'm serious, Peruvians eat guinea pigs. A friend tried it and liked it...I'm not that wordly when it comes to food so pasta primavera was what was on my menu. I did however try an alpaca burger...very chewy...would not recommend. Also awkward when I encountered alpaca the next day...oh...hiiiiii.

Cuzco thrives in its beauty of its surroundings. This is a perfect pre and post stop of the Inca Trail. Like I said before, perfect to start to accomodate yourself to the elevation and post because they have really inexpensive massages to help your aching muscles after hiking for 4 days and the Inca magic wears off.

 

Complementing Cuzco is a trip up the mountains overlooking the city for a beautiful picture spot. From there we traveled to my first experience with Inca ruins. Again, the elevation is killer so wear sunscreen (even if you think you don't need it...you do. I don't burn hardly ever and I burned here. Brutal.) and take the 15 minutes to climb to the top of a pseudo-mountain overlooking the valley to test your endurance with the elevation. If you're doing the Inca Trail, you're gonna need it.

 

You're also gonna need a stop in what I like to call the Inca Trail base camp. Ollantaytambo is a popular spot to stay the day before you start your hike. It has Inca ruins to climb to, again, push your endurance at high elevations and markets to get whatever you may have forgotten before going radio silent on the trail for 4 days. I loved this village. Picturesque, ancient, I could feel Peru come alive in this small town. The food is of all different variety. Traditional Peruvian restaurants, American pizza, pasta, etc. you can find almost anything. I went with pasta to carb load, it was delicious. There is also a legit Kwik-E-Mart for those of you who watch the Simpsons. And not only is Ollantaytambo a pretty place to stop, there is also a beautifully tragic story about what took place there hundreds of years ago with the Incas...

There is a story about a daughter of an Incan king who fell in love with one of his soliders. The solider asked for her hand in marriage and when the king refused, they ran away together to Ollantaytambo. The king and his army followed them and when the king still refused to let them marry, a battle broke out and the soldier and his daughter were captured. The punishment? Both the solider and his daughter were executed in what are now the ruins of Ollantaytambo...isn't that tragic?! There is a book in there somewhere so one of you authors needs to write it. So Shakespearean. *Le sigh*

 

Must See
Markets
Massages
City Center
Cuzco Overlook
Ollantaytambo Ruins

Skip
Guinea pigs and alpaca cuisine

Travel Class
Economy

Adventures In The Great Wide Somewhere// Lima, Peru

I was talking to Nicole on Twitter about her trip to South America and she asked if I had done a recap of my own trip yet and I was like...'uh, no I haven't'...TOTALLY dropped the ball on this one! BUT after I started writing up my trip and adding in pictures I realized, this is going to have to be more than one post and *Eureka* maybe this is how I can finally add a travel feature to my blog! Y'all know I love to travel and be a nomad. I will spend any and all extra money on plane tickets and experiences and have been trying to think of a way to incorporate travel into my blog since forever! Because I am fortunate enough to plan trips and travel nurse, I thought I could do little travel features on the places I've been, cities I've lived in, and what to do while there. Ya like? I am in no means an expert but travel is a subjective experience so my palace could be your garbage. I know from experience my two favorite cities in the world (London and Rome) are usually cities people end up hating, so to each their own.

My first post will feature Lima, Peru where I was in November 2014. Let's do this!

To begin, let's start with the essentials. Any international trip I take I always have 3 must-haves. The passport-duh, a May book I design to use as my travel journal-always a favorite pre-trip ritual, and The Bronze Horseman-I read this first in Africa and now I take it with me on every major trip to re-read. *Le sigh*

However, this post is all about south of the Equator. I went to South America for a month November to December and it was one of the most amazing experiences. I went to Peru first, met up with my travel buddy Rachel, and our first stop was Lima, Peru. Um...not my favorite. It sucks I decided to start this feature with a place I wouldn't go back to but such is life. They had some beautiful city centers but overall the city of Lima looks like a rundown version of Las Vegas, no joke.

Our first day, well second actually because the first day was taking a big long nap, finding food, and waiting for Rachel to arrive so I spent the day in my hostel's outside garden reading The King by Tiffany Reisz...so basically Kingsley and I have already taken our first vacation together. Yes, it was dirty and magical. So, day two, we did a tour throughout downtown Lima and our tour guide for the day was PHENOMENAL. He was so well-spoken and intelligent and knew so much about the city that even if it is not my favorite city in the world, I learned a lot about the city. And we were able to find some really beautiful architecture throughout the city capital, again, thanks to our tour guide.

 

The Monastery of San Francisco

One of the two best thing I did in Lima was a tour of the Monastery of San Francisco. The church is beautiful inside and out, not to mention the catacombs underneath (but we're not able to take pictures in the catacombs so thus no pictures). It was eerie and creepy with tons of bones--obviously--and definitely made you feel a little claustrophobic. Low ceilings, creep-tastic displays of the ancient skulls that played a little on this side of macabre for my liking.

El Parque del Amor

My favorite spot in all of Lima though was el Parque del Amor-The Park of Love. It's right along the ocean and all along the walkway are mosaics of famous love quotes and couples throughout history. And in the middle they have this large (heh heh) monument of a couple embracing and I looked at Lima a little differently after that, I was all, well hey look at sexy times being had! But seriously, it's in homage to all the lovers of the world because throughout all the rest of South America, monuments are only erected (see what I did there?) to battles and winning. This monument is to honor love *le sigh*. The monument is called 'El Beso' aka The Kiss and it's a beautiful place to bring your Latin lover. It was overcast the day we were there, as you can see in the pictures, but I can imagine it being beyond beautiful when it's sunny.

 

 

So, yeah. That's Lima. Don't judge my new jaunt into the travel blog world too harshly or critically because this city was just not my flavor. It lacked the Peruvian culture I was looking for but have no fear, Cuzco is coming soon.



Must See
el Parque del Amor

Skip
Lima in general if you're pressed for time

Travel Class
Stand-by