Air Trekking!

I think everyone is ready to get home!   Its been a long, tough adventure. Our flight from Cusco was at 9:50 a.m., through Lima, Miami, and on to Nashville.  We’re scheduled to land in Nashville tonight at 10:20 p.m. and, God willing, will make our way back to our homes, families, and “hounds”.    One of the ladies on the trip asked me as we were approaching the peak last Thursday if I would ever travel with these guys again.  My response at the time, as I was gasping for breath, and trying to follow Antonio’s instructions of “just like Jack the Ripper….one  piece at a time” was not NO, but HELL NO!    She asked me the same question again on the last day at lunch and I smiled and said “only if they ask me to”!

Addendum:   Our LAN flight from Lima to Miami didn't land on time, then with immigration having minimal workers, having to pick up our luggage at baggage claim, only to recheck it.....well we missed being able to check our luggage in for our next flight by 15 minutes!   Believe me, there was a lot of pleading at the American Airlines counter (a wife having a birthday, a mother recovering from surgery, another mother very sick, and a hound dog "home alone"), but we're now settled into the Element Hotel in Miami, Florida for the night.   Plans are to be back at the airport around 5:30 for a 7:30 a.m. flight to Washington DC.....then hopefully on to Nashville!  But at least we're back in the USA!

Machu Picchu!!!!

This is the big day!  We leave our hotel at 7:15 a.m. , walk to the bus and arrive at Machu Picchu.   It is bigger and better than we’d ever imagined!  Thankfully we’d been reading guide books and learning about the controversial discovery and history of this magnificent Incan site, because the substitute guide was less than adequate and we would have missed a lot.  Its not the city itself, but the location that makes it so special.  It’s a plateau nestled in the middle of mountains surrounding it on all sides  Its no wonder the Spanish never found and destroyed it.    







The Alabama gang had purchased tickets to climb Huana Picchu, the large cone shaped mountain that you see in the background of this photo.  
What a spectacular view looking down on Machu Picchu from there.  It was a tough climb, but well worth it.  Three of us decided to stop when we reached the first large landing, which was about 10 minutes from the top.  But one of our group was feeling spry, after having his immigration situation resolved, and climbed to the very top!   

We stayed until around 1 p.m. and caught the bus back to town to have our final lunch together as a group.  After lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, we took an 1-1/2 hour train, then a 2 hour van trip back to our hotel in Cusco, where the desk clerk at the hotel ordered pizza and beer for us for dinner. 

Another Exciting Day!

Yesterday (Day 5) ended with the group enjoying a cold beer on the patio when we arrived to the lodge. Everyone is generally healthy, except for a couple of foot (blister) issues. None of us have had stomach issues primarily due to the fact that we have gone through several small bottles of hand sanitizer and we have avoided fresh vegetables. Antonio arranged for a tour of a local coffee plantation but after settling into our room, and hearing rain on the lodge’s tin roof, we opted to rest instead of taking the tour. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing the coffee beans being roasted.

At dinner that night, the discussion centered around a dead horse that we hiked past on the trail. This was actually the 2nd dead horse on the trail in 6 days. Our guide, Antonio, said that most likely the unstable soil after all the rains had caused the horse to fall to his death. Another exciting event during dinner, was the spotting of a bat inside the lodge. It was seen behind a picture on the dining room’s wall that just happened to have a clear glass mat. It caused quite a bit of excitement as the trekkers scrambled for their cameras.

Day 6 began with lots of excitement that we would finally see our first glimpse of Machu Picchu, from a distance. It had rained the night before, so we were excited to see blue skies as we began our day. Part of our trek today was on the Inca Trail (not the Royal Inca Trail). This is the kind of trail that we had expected more of (fairly smooth trail, rather than stream beds with lots of unstable rocks, mud, and poop).  We even got to cross a swinging bridge.  Everyone had their own technique for this crossing, some approached it with fear and either walked cautiously or "ran like a girl" all the way across.  Others skipped along or felt safety in numbers and crossed together (although we'd been told to go no more than 3 at a time). 

We hiked upwards for approximately 2000 feet in the first few hours to Llactapata, which gave us a view of Machu Picchu across the gorge (maybe 3 or 4 miles as the crow flies). There, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of trout, salad, and fruit under a covered pavilion. This park like setting came also equipped with an outhouse complete with a flushing toilet!!!! I haven’t elaborated much on this subject, but let’s just say this was really special to me!

After lunch we descended around 3000 feet over a couple of hours to a stream which led to the Urubamba River. 

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There we boarded train for the 30 minute ride to Aguas Caliente.  We checked into the Inka Terra Lodge, which was situated near the train station but in a beautiful tropical setting. It seemed very out of place in an otherwise depressed town.

The only vehicles we saw here were buses that would take you to Machu Picchu. The only way to get to this town is by train or by foot. If Machu Picchu hadn’t been discovered, this town likely wouldn’t exist.

We learned that our assistant guide, Whilder, was leaving us here due to feeling sick over the past couple of days, and that we would have a substitute guide at Machu Picchu tomorrow. Our group had a great dinner at the Inka Terra this evening and called it a night.

One more thing that I can now publish (that is, after we get back home safely), is that one of our Alabama foursome misplaced his immigration card that he had been given at the airport upon arrival. It was believed to have been left in Cuzco, but all during this trek, this issue had to be resolved, or he wouldn’t be leaving Peru with us in two days! We managed to contact our hotel in Cusco to have them open up a suitcase we’d stored with them. Since the luggage was ours (and not his), the hotel did not want to open it up. Instead, they said that they’d made a copy of the immigration card upon check in and that they could fax it to Mountain Lodges Peru. However, a photocopy would not be good enough to get him out of the country. It would have to be taken to a local bank when we reached Aquas Caliente to be notarized. But since we arrived there on Sunday and the bank was closed, it would be Monday (the day before we were scheduled to depart) before it could be resolved. So, what do you do? See one of the seven wonders of the world, the purpose of this trip, or stay in town and get your paperwork in order so that you can leave the country the next day? So, at dinner on Sunday night, we asked the guide if they could call Hotel Torre Dorado (back in Cusco) again after dinner and personally ask them to check inside the luggage. The hotel clerk informed our guide that the original immigration card had been found in the safe in their room! Crisis averted! On to Machu Picchu!

Day 5 of trekking!

We left the lodge at 8 a.m. this morning and walked past a farm with a huge pen of chickens. Our guide pointed out that the baby chickens had bright plastic strips attached to their feathers! It looked as if they were wearing dresses. He explained that the baby chickens often fell prey to falcons, but if the falcon saw the bright color, it wouldn’t come near the chickens! Pretty ingenious! 

Although this is the end of the rainy season, there have been several heavy rains that have caused severe damage to the trails. The trail that we were supposed to be on today was closed and we instead walked on the other side of the river on a dirt road on the edge of a sharp cliff.  Still there were several landslides and washouts on this path as well. 

We learned that most of the income in this area comes from tourism, so the trail that was closed has affected quite a number of people in the area that depend on trekkers passing their homes and businesses. 

After hiking for several hours, we met up with the bus that was to take us closer to our lodge. While driving along, the bus had to stop more than once to let all the passengers get off so that the driver and guides could clear huge rocks from the road. They had us walk past one section of washed out road and the driver managed to get the bus to a much safer place on the road before we reboarded. It was a pretty hairy day but we managed to make it to the last lodge safely. Tomorrow will be our last trek, and hopefully we’ll finally get a glimpse of Machu Picchu off in the distance.

Down Hill All the Way

We woke up this morning to a beautiful blue sky and spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains It rained last night so the trail was very muddy but the good news was that the sun was shining and the weather was warmer, not to mention that we would be going downhill all day. That sounds easy, but at the end of the day, the old knees were screaming.

The trek took about 4-1/2 hours. We either walked in a dry or shallow creek bed with loose rocks under our feet, or slopped through 2-3 inches of mud and mule poop for most of the walk. After four days of hiking, I’ve noticed that everyone has stopped trying to step around the poop and instead are just walking right through it.

Because it was so slippery, trekking poles were absolutely necessary today. (So far, I’m the only one from the Alabama clan that hasn’t taken a fall!) I certainly don’t want to jinx it by saying that and luckily nobody was hurt (other than maybe their feelings). We came across several landslides that had partially or totally blocked the trail. Our trusty guides did an excellent job of maneuvering us over obstacles. We arrived at our 3rd lodge, which was perched on a plateau overlooking beautiful mountain streams and only accessible by foot, around 1:30 p.m. and had the rest of the afternoon to relax and recuperate. We are lucky enough to live in a town that has four distinct seasons. On this journey, we’ve been lucky enough to experience all four seasons in four days!

The staff at this lodge was busy preparing lunch for us and Antonio, our guide, called it a "meat orgy".   They had prepared an underground bbq pit and cooked chicken, pork, lamb, and guinea pig, along with potatoes and root vegetables. 

The guinea pig was displayed for us and then returned to the kitchen to be sliced so that we could all get a taste of it.

The Highest!

When we awoke this morning, it had rained during the night and snowed at the higher elevations. This was our big day! We were up early and the trek began at 7 a.m. Everyone was outside the lodge, eagerly waiting this day. This is what we’d been training for months to survive, 15,200 feet!  
You can barely see our lodge down in the valley.

The day began with a drizzling, cold rain. We dressed warmly and left the lodge wearing our rain gear. Thank goodness we did, because we had either rain, sleet, or snow all day! And this was an 8-hour day!  

After about 4-1/2 hours into the trek, we made it to the top! The Salkantay Pass (15,200 feet). Our two traveling companions set the pace for the group by staying in the front all morning. As we neared the pass, Richard and I caught up with them (as painful as it was) and the four Alabama trekkers arrived at the pass first. No trophy, but we did share a flask of Captain Morgan private stock rum.

The rest of today's trek was all downhill. Everyone walked like a bunch of horses, headed back to the barn! We were to stop along the way for lunch, which was served under enclosed tents and cooked onsite by a group of Mountain Lodges of Peru staff. But before we could get there, Richard and I, who were in the middle of the pack, were briefly separated from the group when we couldn’t see anyone in front of us, or behind us because of dense fog! We came to a place that the path seemed to split and opted to stop and wait for the others to catch up, rather than to continue in uncertainty. It was only a few minutes before our assistant guide (at the back of the group) sent the mule driver and mule to lead us to the lunch spot. We had hot soup and pasta and cocoa tea, which warmed us up. At that point, everyone was pretty wet, tired, and ready to get to the lodge. We finally arrived around 4 p.m. Everyone was pretty quiet at dinner due to pure exhaustion. The good news is, we get to sleep in and are not leaving until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. So back to our room to dry out our clothes, repack, and get ready for another day of adventure.

Avalanches and glacier lakes

We had an optional hike today to a glacier lake. Naturally, we took advantage of this opportunity. We hiked from 12,690 feet in elevation to 13,845 feet for a total of 4 miles. Along the way, we heard a loud roar, which sounded like thunder.  It was actually an avalanche.  We were able to see and hear it.  Before we got back to the lodge, we heard about 5 avalanches.  The good news is, it was off in the distance!

The lake had more shades of blue than a 64 box of Crayola crayons! It was surrounded by snow-capped mountains that were breath taking. While at the lake, not only did a few brave souls go swimming, but two Shamans held a religious ceremony paying homage to the earth, wind, mountains, and water. Their belief is centered on communication with the spirit world. About half of our group participated while the rest stood by respectfully watching. One couple knew about the ceremony and brought their dearly departed cat’s ashes to be included in the ceremony. It was a way to bring closure to a painful loss.

So whether you chose to participate or to watch, agreed or disagreed with their beliefs, it provided us an opportunity to witness how others in this world worship and to show tolerance and understanding of their customs.

The ceremony ended just as everyone began getting really cold, so we quickly headed back down the mountain to the lodge (and to the outdoor hot tub overlooking this beautiful place).

The only mishap of the day came that night when we turned in for the evening. The hot water bottle that was placed in our bed with turndown service leaked. It drew lots of excitement from the staff, which quickly came to flip our mattress and to put new sheets and duvet on our bed. It was actually quite humorous.

Spectacular Peru

Hotel Torre Dorada provided an early breakfast and our guide for the week (Antonio) was there ready to go at 7 am. We left one piece of luggage at the hotel for the 4 of us to use as storage for stuff we did not need on the trek. We drove a nice paved road for an hour or so then stopped at a “farmers market” for a few minutes. Another 30 minutes to an Inka ruin called Tarawasi where we ate a snack.

Also, another stop near the end of the paved road where we visited a weaving and jelly making operation supported by MLP. We also saw the guinea pigs like the ones we will get to know better later in the week.

The fun began when the paved road ended and the mud road began. We probably drove 2 hours on the one lane road. Recent rains made it really difficult almost the entire way. Along the way, we passed a number of backpackers that looked pretty weary. One young man didn’t get out of the road, or far enough off the road soon enough and just like in the movies, we hit a mud puddle and his pants were covered in mud. We also passed a vehicle evacuating a sick or injured trekker.

About half way through this adventure, we stopped before turning a sharp curve and our guide got out and ran ahead to check things out. He returned to the van and told us to all get out and walk around the bend and past the washed out road. Then, with video cameras in hand we heard the engine rev up and here he came, slipping and sliding and then he got stuck. Both guides were behind the van pushing it forward as the driver gunned the engine. The passengers boarded the van once again and the adventure continued.

About 12:30 p.m. we arrived at our covered picnic area and a box lunch awaited us. After lunch, we began our trek, down the same washed out, muddy road that we’d been driving on. The road opened up to spectacular vistas. We were headed towards snow capped mountains, then a few minutes later after the dirt road curved, we were looking at green pastures with picturesque mountains in the background.

Finally, after walking for almost 3 hours (which doesn’t sound too bad if you’re at sea level), we finally arrived at the Salkantay Lodge, which is at 12,700 feet above sea level. We removed out muddy, wet boots (thank goodness they were waterproof) and left them at the front door. We were greeted by two Peruvian ladies, one holding warm wet wash cloths for us to wipe our hands and face, and the other handed us a mug of hot cocoa tea.

After relaxing and showering for dinner, we noticed several young men outside the lodge with scrub brushes, washing our boots. They then brought them inside and put beside a fireplace to dry, ready for tomorrow! The entire lodge was great. After a wonderful dinner of pumpkin soup, baked trout, sweet potatoes, and passion fruit mousse, we returned to our room to find towel art of a huge heart in the middle of our bed, chocolates, and hot water bottles under our duvet. As my sister in law put it, this is glamping (glamorous camping)!

Exhilarating Day!

After 14+ hours of sleep, I do believe we are caught up! Everyone woke up this morning feeling great. After coffee and breakfast at the hotel, we hired a driver and car to take us on a tour of some of the archeological sites around Cuzco (Saqsayhuaman, pronounced sexy woman, Qenqo, Tambomachay, and Pukapukata) then headed about an hour away to the Sacred Valley in Pisac. The ruins at Pisac were the most impressive thing we saw today. There were huge terraced gardens, winding stone steps up the side of mountains, tiny caves to walk through, and remnants of temples and workers’ houses. We hiked to approximately 12,400 feet today. It was a pretty strenuous trek! The air was very thin and if was sometimes difficult to get a good breath.


We stopped at a restaurant and had our first meal of alpaca and Cusquena cerveza. No, Alpaca doesn’t taste like chicken….it tastes like beef!

This area of Peru is so very poor. Both adults and children surround you trying to sell you their homemade wares. At least they are trying to earn a living.

The driver from Hotel Torre Dorada was excellent as were the two additional guides we hired. We saw beautiful scenery and lots and lots of huge stones that the Incas had creatively hand stacked to last, thus far, forever. I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the stones we’ll see over the next 10 days! Stay tuned.

Arrival Day In Cuzco, Peru

The good news:  we arrived safely and with little or no altitude problems.  The bad news:  we left home at noon on Friday and arrived at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.  The Hotel Torre Dorado had a car waiting for us and took us directly to the hotel and let us check in early.  Although the sight of a real bed was very attractive to these weary travelers, we managed to keep going.  We dropped our luggage, drank a cup of cocoa tea, and had the driver take us to the city square so that we could have lunch and see the city of Cuzco. 

I understand that Cuzco has about 300,000 people.  It appeared to be a very poor city.  We at lunch at a German restaurant,  Heidi's (recommended by our hotel).  The special of the day was cremo de pallar (lima bean soup), ossobuco in a bright orange vegetable sauce (which is beef that comes from the leg), rice, and salad (which we all four thought would be unwise to eat), and a carrot cake for dessert.   We were assured that the water in our tea had been boiled, so we had tea made from a variety of fresh leaves (one can only imagine what they were).   It was a good lunch, but only made us that much sleepier! 

We continued walking around the town and finally gave in and called the hotel to come and get us around 3 p.m.  We all disappeared to our rooms and what we agreed to be a short nap at 4:30 p.m. became a six hour nap for me, and Richard is still sleeping.  We have big plans tomorrow to be rested and feeling good so that we can take a tour of the Sacred Valley.

Get Ready, Get Set......

Here we go!  This (upcoming) trip has required the most prep work of any of our trips!  By prep work, I'm talking about physical preparation.  It began in January with conquering the Iphone App, C25K.  Glad that's over!   Richard has been riding his bike (I don't do bikes, but that's another story for another time), we've both been running, hiking the TVA nature trail with loaded backpacks, making 10 trips at a time from the top of our driveway down to the lake, and lifting weights.  Are we ready?  I'm really not sure, but in two days, we'll be headed out. 

This trip has been on Richard's bucket list since we met.  Then, last fall his George friends (yes, they are both Georges) came up with this really cool way to see one of the seven wonders of the world.  I must add that these two Georges are also responsible for taking him to Sequoia National Park a couple of years ago to hike and camp.  As they fondly recall, it didn't rain the entire time, some of the time it snowed too!  

The trip was sold to me with dramatic descriptions of the beautiful landscape,staying in five very exclusive lodges (by exclusive, I found out they only have 6 rooms), excellent cuisine, hot tubs to relax in while enjoying the scenery, and porters to carry your luggage.  We'll actually get from one lodge to the next, one step at a time.  Literally!  I can say I almost made it 54 years without owning a backpack, hiking boots, sock liners, 2nd skin blister pads, or trekking poles.  But I can honestly say, I am very excited!  This will definitely be different for us.  Oh, sorry, I never said where we are headed, did I?