When Kirsy, Eimear and I got to Cusco we spent a few days 'acclimatising' to the high altitude as is advised before thinking about what hike to book. On our first day we did a free walking tour of Cusco (I really think this is the best way to see a city when you first arrive). Elvis, our tour guide took us through the history of Cusco, showing us the traditional Inca and Spanish churches and buildings, he pointed out the catacombs under Santa Domingo church and he brought us to San Pedro market. Lines of fresh fruit and vegetables, ladies making fresh juices, butchers chopping and using every part of various animals and too many grains and colours of quinoa that even three dietitians together didn't know existed can be seen as well as the famous alpaca jumpers, hats, crafts, jewellery, literally anything you could think of can be found here! Elvis pointed out where was best to eat in the market (avoiding the ceviche as it's unlikely to be fresh). He also pointed out a woman randomly skinning frogs on a little stool in the middle of the market. I don't want to know what she was using them for. We went back to San Pedro market I think every day we were in Cusco. We bought clothes there, jewellery, fruit, nuts, juices and had lunch there. We also discovered that they do really good coffee in the market for less than $1 (good coffee is surprisingly very difficult to find in South America unless you pay a lot for it). Saturday night in Cusco we decided to 'treat' ourselves to a meal out (e.g pay more than $2 for a menu Del dia). I also tried alpaca meat which was pretty good, a bit like lamb! And we also visited Paddys, 'the highest Irish pub in the world' with the night ending with dancing on the bar in Wild rover hostel. Note: high altitude + hangovers = convincing yourself you're close to death.
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| San Pedro market |
So with a hangover that was affecting my sanity we bit the bullet so to speak and booked the Salkantay trek to leave the next day. As it is rainy season we got a pretty amazing deal for a five day, four night hike, all meals, camping gear, cooks, guides, entry to Machu Picchu, transport, a night in a hostel and guides! We had our 'induction' the night before and realised two other girls from our hostel, Aimee and Grace from California were also coming on the same trek. After being freaked out by our induction the five of us went to pack and have an early night ready for our 4am pick up.
Day 1: The next morning we got picked up by one of our tours guides, Nico and had a very sleepy two hour bus journey to our first town for breakfast where our group of 20 started to get to know each other. We set off hiking, day 1 as going to be 15km to our first base camp. We quickly realised we were not overly prepared, it rained.....a lot and it was freezing! We hiked to first camp which was at 3800m. The backdrop almost made up for the freezing temperatures! However we were pleasantly surprised when we realised we were actually glamping. Our tents were sheltered and set up when we got there, there were toilets and a room for meals with a big table. The food all through the hike was amazing, three meals a day. Lunch and dinner was three courses and always different but always with a vegetable and quinoa soup. My favourite was mushroom ceviche, beef stirfry with rice, lentils and vegetables. Breakfast was either pancakes, eggs, quinoa chocolate porridge, fruit, bread and hot drinks. Our favourite was 'afternoon snack' of popcorn, crackers and hot chocolate. There was also lots of cocoa tea. Everyone always looked forward to the meals. I'm still surprised how the three cooks (manzanita, jeronimo and anise) managed to make such impressive meals in tiny little kitchens with limited supplies. On our last meal they even made a bird out of a cucumber and a hedgehog out of a pineapple (it's the little touches)!
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| Night one basecamp |
Day 2: After a very colds night sleep we were woken by the cooks with coca tea at 4.50am and our first breakfast of pancakes. We wrapped up and put on ALL our rain gear and set off for day two...(the hardest day) at around 6am. The first 3hours was a steady ascent up salkantay mountain reaching 4630m! We all took it at our own pace and made it to the top just before 10am. I was blown away by the snow covered mountains and glaciers (and the freezing temperatures). After a lot of congratulating each other, a group picture and a quick history lesson from or guide Nico, we then started our descent for a further two hours where lunch was waiting for us. Hot soup, guacamole, chicken, rice and pasta. And more coca tea. We then hiked a further 10km downhill through the Amazon cloud forests and arrived at our second nights camp at 5pm tucked away in a tiny village in the jungle. Feeling slightly stiff we were happy to learn that two Argentinan girls in our group were yoga enthusiasts and they took us through a quick yoga/stretching sesh before important snack time.
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| Group picture at the top of Salkantay mountain |
Day 3: After a slightly warmer sleep we were woken again by the cooks with coca tea at 6am (could get used to being woken up with tea every morning). Today we hikd 17km along road, crossing streams and into the Amazon. Our guides Jesus (or baby Jesus as he was nicknamed) and Nico would point out wildlife, birds and plants along the way. It was a nice easy hike and we all enjoyed the sunshine, such a stark contrast to the day before in the snow capped mountains. After about four hours we arrived a to lunch spot in a little village where we had a really good lunch of mushroom ceviche; main of lentils, stir fried beef with veg, rice and salad wth avo. We also had a freshly ground coffee from the farm (so strong and greatly appreciated after days of instant coffee). After lunch we got a bus to our camping spot for night three (and our last night camping). We were all very excited to have an afternoon at a hot springs (mainly cause we hadn't showered in three days). The hot springs were tucked under a mountain in a beautiful valley and we had the next few hours here to relax the aching legs. By the time we got back we were all ready for dinner which was the last dinner from our cooks. That night was 'party night' according to baby Jesus. After dinner he was quick to bring rounds 'inka tequila', a sugar cane liquor which did not taste like it should be ingested. Some of the group hit the inka tequila and beers hard! Especially baby Jesus and we spent the night dancing to regatone around the bonfire (there was a seriously impressive sound system and strobe light scenario). Some decided to head out in the small town of Santa Teresa but I took it easy (so wise) and considering the next day a group of us decided to hike 22km I was glad to be hangover free.
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| Lunch spot day 3 |
Day 4: We woke up early again, some suffering more than others. The first 11km of the hike that morning was optional, some opted to take the bus and others zip lined. Aimee, grace, myself and a few others decided to hike through the valley and it was a really nice walk, one of my favourite from the whole trek. We arrived at a point called hidroelectrica where we met back up with the rest of the group and had lunch. From here we hiked a further 11km along the train tracks to Machu Picchu town called Aguas Calientes. We were all looking forward to our night in a hotel..hot showers, a chance to charge our phones and of course get on some wifi! However when we arrived we were told there was a power cut in the whole town (of course)! We took the opportunity to have a wander around the touristy town and thankfully the electricity came back on just before we headed out for our last supper.
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| Day 4 optional hiking crew |
Day 5: Machu Picchu day!!! After a sleep in a real bed (wow), we hot up at 3.40am (so.early.). We all walked to the bridge where you show your passport and ticket for entry. The queue had already started when we got there at 4.15am with the bridge not opening until 5am. From here we psyched ourselves up for the 1600 steps up to the site....After already hiking 80 odd kilometres in the last few days you can imagine how unhappy the legs were with the prospect of all these steps but we bounded up then in less than 40mins getting to the entrance of the site, looking like we had just run a marathon! But we made it and when we entered the site we were lucky enough that it was nearly empty and it was clear, sunny morning. I must admit, I really was blown away with vastness and detail of the site, especially the beautiful View our from the ancient town looking at the various mountains with clouds swirling around them. We had a two hour tour by Nico our tour guide. Followed by a few hours of getting the standard 'in at Machu Picchu tourist pics and selfies before getting fed up with all the tourists flooding in later in the morning. Unfortunately it was at this stage that we had to say goodbye to our group as people were on various trains back to Cusco at different times. The girls and I quickly realised that we were the only five taking the more 'economic' option of waking 11km back to hidroeletrica where we had a six hour bus journey back to Cusco. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day and the five of us ended up chatting and laughing the whole way back we barely realised the distance back.
After a nice, relaxed walk back we arrived to get our bus back looking forward to sleeping all the way back. Only to quickly realise it wasn't going to be that easy and it was total chaos with so many
white buses all looking the same and hundreds of tired tourists looking for a white bus to take them to Cusco. After an hour of searching for someone to put us on a bus we finally got on the shittiest bus ever wth no air conditioning, no where to put our bags and six hours of winding roads along cliff edges. Needless to say the bus journey back was definitely the most stressful/hardest part of the five days and of course no chance of sleeping.
We got back to Intro hostel late that night and climbed into bed. The next morning over breakfast, Aimee, Grace, Kristy, Eimear and I reflected on the last five days. Hiking about 92km in total (who's counting), seeing everything from sun, rain, snow on mountains and the jungle and ending at one of the most impressive ancient ruins in the world. Making amazing friends from all over the world and of course eating lots of good food. I would recommend the Salkantay trek to an alternative, more challenging (and cheaper) Inca trail!!
Next stop: Cusco for a few days recovery
Stayed: Intro hostel, Cusco $9/night including breakfast. Camping on the salkantay trek and hotel Eco Mapi in Aguas Calientes
Food/Drink: meals from our great cooks on the trail.
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