Michael & Laura's Peru Adventure 2009

On Monday afternoon we arrived in Arequipa, also known as "The White City". The buildings in the old part of the city are white, made of sillar which is volcanic rock (there are a bunch of volcanoes very close by). We are staying in an 18th century colonial mansion turned hostal. It is by far the most unique place we have ever stayed.

The plan was to leave the following morning for our tour of the Colca Canyon as I previously mentioned. As we have learned, things don't ever go as planned, especially with rolling strikes taking over the nation. A national strike was planned for the following two days starting at 4:00am. This would involve a road closure blocking the only route to the canyon. To avert this, our itinerary was changed to leave before the strike started. We were now to be picked up at 2:30am!! After finding this out, we went for dinner immediately (which was one of the best of the trip) and then to bed.

After under five hours of sleep, we were picked up to begin our tour. The drive was smooth sailing till we hit the part of the road where the strike was supposed to happen. They had setup early! The entire highway was blocked with huge boulders. Just when we thought we might have to turn around, some annoyed truckers in front of us got out and quickly cleared a path through the rocks so that traffic could pass through. The tour was saved!!

Our first stop was in a rock park, where weather and natural erosion had made interesting rock formations. We then drove through a natural reserve where there were a lot of free roaming Llamas, Alpacas, and the very rare Vicuña.

We continued on, driving through the plain of Patapampa (at an altitude of 4900m) looking at the hundreds of mysterious stone piles. The road then significantly drops 3,650m to the gateway town of the Colca Canyon, Chivay. After lunch, we drove through a bunch of the neighbouring towns along the canyon including Yanque, Achoma, Maca, and Pinchollo. The final stop was the town of Cabanaconde where we stayed for the night. The next day, we woke up early again and started our 5.5km hike and descent into the canyon. After just under 3 hours, a drop of 1200m and some amazing views, we were at the bottom. To our surprise, there was an oasis complete with palm trees and swimming pools. We camped here for the rest of the day and night.

This morning we hiked out of the canyon, and made a visit to La Cruz del Cóndor. This condor lookout is arguably one of the best places in the world to see the Andean condor (an enourmous vulture with a wingspan of just over 3 meters). It was awesome to see, as these giant birds soared right over our heads.

After the hike and the bird-watching, some relaxation was in order and we went to the hot springs in Chivay. Before leaving back for Arequipa, we stopped for lunch, where Laura and I finally got to try the most famous delicacy in Peru......Cuy (guinea pig)!! In short, it tasted kind of like fried chicken. We only managed a bite each. They serve the whole body including head, claws, etc. so we were underatandably a bit grossed out. Either way, we have pictures to prove it! It is true, Laura will try anything at least once!

All in all it was a great trip to the Canyon!

Tomorrow, in our final day in Peru we plan to checkout the sites of Arequipa, before making our way home. I hope you all enjoyed this blog as much as I did writing it.

Until our next adventure...Adios!

Yesterday, we finally had another chance to go to Pisac to visit their market (the last time we tried, we couldn't because a strike blocked the road there).

Pisac is the highest town in the Sacred Valley and only about a 45 minute drive from Cusco. We decided to take a local bus, which turned out to be quite the experience due to our lack of Spanish. In the end we found it, and it got us to Pisac (for only 70 cents Cdn each!).

Pisac is a small town nestled between the Urabamba river on one side and a mountain with huge ruins and Incan terraces on the other. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday they have a huge market that takes over the whole town. Anything can be found there from handicrafts to fruits and veggies to shoes. We spent the day walking around looking at the wares being sold. It was a great way to spend our last full day in Cusco!

Today we leave for the last leg of our trip, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. The Colca Canyon is the world's second deepest canyon, even deeper then the Grand Canyon. We will be going on a 3 day/2 night hike into the Canyon starting tomorrow.

Hopefully, I will be able to update this blog again when we finish that trip on Thursday night.

Peruvian He-Man? Awesome!

The market

We're back! I am happy and proud to report that Laura and I survived our long, arduous, and stunningly beautiful trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. There is so much to share after doing something like this, so I will try my best to summarize how it all went down.

On the 1st day we were picked up at 5:20am. It was early, but we were so excited for the coming adventure, we could barely sleep. The bus stopped in Ollantaytambo (last town before Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley) so that we could have breakfast, and get some last minute supplies. This would be our last taste of real civilization for the next couple days. At breakfast, we met our guides and group. There was thirteen of us in total, the youngest being 22 and the oldest 39 from all over the place (Austrailia, Belgium, Canada, England, and the US). After buying some cheap wooden walking sticks, we departed for Piscacucho (better known as Km 82 of the train line). After a group picture the trek began. Again for those keeping track, we were now at 2700m and breathing easy. We walked along the Urubamba River in the Shadows of towering mountains. Every so often our guide would stop to show or explain something to us. He showed us a cactus that when crushed turns crimson. Apparently locals use this for cheap makeup. We also stopped at some Incan ruins and got a history lesson on the area and the Incas. After 12km of hiking and an elevation gain of 500m, we camped at Wayllabamba (a campsite with amazing views of the Huayluro Valley).

Before I get to Day 2, I should mention the porters and the food. Our group was accompanied by 16 porters and 2 chefs. The porters carried all of the camping supplies (tents, food, propane, tables, etc.). It was super impressive. These guys would run ahead with all this stuff on their back and make sure that camp was setup by the time we got there. The oldest porter in our group was 50! Obviously, he was very fit. The meals surpassed our expectations and rivaled everything else we have had so far to eat on this trip. It is incredible what can be made on two propane stove tops in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, back to the trek.

On Day 2 we were woken up at 5:00am for what was hyped as the hardest day of hiking. Every morning we got woken with a cup of coca tea or coffee in our tents, which helped warm us up. The temperature dropped to just below zero most nights. Good thing we had very warm sleeping bags and tents. We quickly found out why this was supposed to be such a hard day. The trail takes us over two mountain passes, including the famed Dead Womans Pass (it is appropriately named this because the peak of the mountain looks like a woman lying on her back). After climbing 1200m in elevation, 9k up and 3k down for a total of 12km again, we were exhausted. We arrived at our campsite at around 2:30pm, ate lunch and then took a nap. After dinner we were all still tired and went to bed at 8:30pm (those who know me well, know that is is an all-time early to bed record for me).

After a solid sleep (wait, I should be honest...we were out cold) we began our 3rd day. This day promised to be one of the most interesting, hiking through varied terrain and eco-systems for a total of 16km. This was probably my favourite day of the trek. We entered the Cloud Forest (a fancy name for jungle) which was just beautiful. Picture moss covered rocks, dense forest areas, and tons of flowers including orchids. On this day we visited numerous big Incan ruins. Our guide even took us to one which was 10 minutes off the path, hidden deep in the jungle that looked like it hadn't been touched for hundreds of years. After walking on narrow paths, and going through a couple of Incan tunnels, we reached our last major pass of the trip. From there, we could see the back of Machu Picchu Mountain and the town of Aguas Calientes (call Machu Picchu Town by the locals). Seeing how close we were motivated us to descend to the final campsite Wiñay Wayna which was 1000m down and 3000 stairs away (no knees were harmed!). The campsite was a bit fancier then the previous ones, with a restaurant, bar, and hot showers. Did we indulge? Nope! Being dirty is fun!! (Laura just rolled her eyes).

The 4th day is all about getting to the target, Machu Picchu. The plan was to get there for sunrise so we woke up at 3:30am! We happened to be the first group through the checkpoint, and then raced along the mountainside in the dark (with our headlamps) to the Sun Gate. This is where we would get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, the mountain was covered in a cloud, so when we got there we could see nothing! We continued hiking down to the ruins, where we waited for the sun to burn off the mist.

Finally, at around 7:45 the mist cleared and we saw what we had been aiming for all these days, Machu Picchu. After 45km, going up and down mountains, and passing more then 30 Inca sites we had reached the pinnacle. Words cannot describe how proud we felt for having survived what was probably one of the hardest things we have ever accomplished. Personally, getting to Machu Picchu was a lifelong dream, finally realized. And was all the work getting there worth it? Definitely! The ruins of Machu Picchu is as breathtaking in person as you can imagine.

Laura waiting in the dark on Day 4

Michael finally in the lost city of the Incas

Today we decided to take it easy since the next 4 days will be long and gruelling. We visited some museums, art galleries, and an Incan Sun Temple.

We are now packed and ready for the almost 45km hike to Machu Picchu. I won't be updating this blog again till we return to Cusco. Time for bed, we are leaving at 5:20am! That is if we can sleep. We are both very excited/nervous for the upcoming adventure.

Goodnight! (and good luck to us!)

Yesterday was our last day in Puno. We decided to spend the afternoon touring Sillustani. What is so special about this place? There are pre- Incan (200 BC - 200) funeral towers there. It was actually more exciting than it sounds. The ruins were in decent condition and it was in a very picturesque setting. Interesting fact, they were modeled after the penis. True story, no joke!

This morning we woke up at 5:00am (blah!) to catch a flight to Cusco. The airport transfer was running very behind and we almost missed our flight. We checked in five minutes before boarding time. Let's just say I was super stressed. Laura on the other hand slept for the whole 1 hour bus ride to the airport.

The good news is that we made it to Cusco! Cusco is the tourist captial of Peru (and the Incan capital).First thing we noticed is that it is way hotter here, 20ish degrees! The altitude while still very high (3300m) is lower than Puno (for those keeping track). Yes! And it seems that Laura and I have both now acclimatized to the altitude meaning no more killer headaches. Hell yes! As well our B&B here is super awesome.

The first thing we did after checking in was go for an orientation for the upcoming 4 day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This got us pumped for the next adventure.

We then hiked 2km up a steep hill to get to the Incan fortress of Sacsayhuamán (pronounced Sexy Woman). With a name like this, it had to be good. In fact, many people regard this site as the second most important Incan site after Machu Picchu. And yes, it was very impressive. With both wonderful views overlooking Cusco and a colourful history (1500 Incans died in a massacre there) fun was to be had by all. We then hiked another 1km to the ruins of Qenko. These ruins had caves and a colourful history (a lot of animals were sacrificed here) fun was to be had by all.

Tomorrow we had planned to go to the Pisac market (one of the most famous in Peru) but the strike struck again. Apparently the road is closed and there is no way to get there. Maybe on Sunday we will try again (it only runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays). Cusco is full of things to do, so tomorrow will bring a new adventure we are sure.

Goodnight from the Incan Capital.

Never seen this before at an airport.

Pretty view of Cusco.

A sexy woman in "Sexy Woman"