Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Day 1
We woke up early. Had to be by the hostel's door by 4:45am. The trekking company came to pick us up at 5:15am...late of course. We then continued on and picked up the rest of the group.

Our group consisted of Sophie and I, Barry from the UK and Michael and Corina from the US. Our guides were Walter and his assistant Percy. We also had a cook with us, but we never got a chance to speak or really see him so I don't even know his name.

The drive to Mollepata started on a paved winding mountain highway. It was bumpy and windy. I couldn't even drink my water without splashing all over myself. On the descent down some switchbacks the driver suddenly stopped and got out of the car looking at the left front tire. We all got out and had a look. One of the brakes had thick smoke coming out of it. We waited a bit for it to cool and continued on our way. No problem.

The views on the way were amazing. We could see Salkantay mountain and were told we were passing next to it on our trek. We couldn't wait to get started. We finally reached the trailhead. A beautiful little town called Mollepata. We had a quick breakfast introducing each other to the rest of the group and then got started. Our driver left us to return the van back to Cusco. We wished him good luck, as he probably needed it going down the steep switchbacks downhill with his barely working brakes...

Our big backpacks and the other supplies were carried by three mules and a horse and were travelling accompanied by our muleteer and cook. The rest of us were going on our own and planned on meeting at specific points for lunch and then later in the day for setting up camp.

The start was a bit uphill and we immediately felt a bit breathless but it wasn't much of a problem. We started at about 3300m. After about half an hour of walking our guides looked a bit confused and started asking the locals for directions. Once they figured out which path we should take we had to descend (off trail) down to the real path. Sucked to lose all that elevation only to have to regain it again. We also had to negotiate this difficult steep section. We all managed to get passed it without problems and then Walter, our main guide falls down it and scratches himself. As soon as we found the real trail the mules and the muleteer passed us. They were quite amused that our guide took us the wrong way and explained that all we had to do was continue on this very well marked path to our destination.

We regained the elevation we had lost but it was tough. I had to take many breaks to catch my breath. I noticed Sophie was having even more problems than me so I stuck behind to make sure she's ok. After that section it got pretty level so it was all great again. The sun was a bit too strong though. It was incredibly hot and dry. I took a quick stop with Sophie to get some cookies out and at that point my nose started bleeding. A bit annoyed I stuck a tissue up there and continued the rest of the way like that. I looked ridiculous.

The rest of the group seemed a bit worried about me, but I was fine so we continued on. We reached another steep section and we went up it relatively quickly considering we had to break a lot to get more air but Sophie seemed to lag behind a bit which got me worried. Once she reached us she didn't look so good and was saying how difficult it was. The elevation was getting to her and shortly after she threw up. I got extremely worried and was set to cancel the trip and head back. If she was already suffering from the elevation it was only going to get worse. She insisted she wanted to continue and after some oxygen and a quick chat with our guide we decided we'll go very slowly the rest of the way while the rest of the group goes ahead. And the plan was for the next day to get Sophie on a horse for the high pass.

I gave Sophie some Diamox and carried her pack from there and we walked at a very slow pace with our guide Walter. We didn't take any steep shortcuts this time. Just continued on the gentle slopes that lead all the way to camp.

Shortly after, we reached our lunch spot and our guides prepared us a meal. We were shocked. They set up a table with chairs and full restaurant style treatment. I felt very spoiled. From the spot we stopped for lunch we could see Salkantay. It is a 6280m mountain that we were planning on camping near that night. The name means something like "Temperamental Mountain" in Quechua. This is because it tends to have crazy storms around it and every once in a while it would drop massive avalanches and cause floods and mud slides. It looked immense and incredible. You could even see that smoke-snow trail being blown off the peak...Himalayan style. Took my breath away.

Sophie seemed to be feeling better so my worries subsided a bit. We continued on from the lunch spot. I was able to offload Sophie's pack onto one of the mules and only carried the essentials (lots of water and warm clothing). We kept going slowly on a path that seemed to last forever. Luckily Walter kept us entertained with some of his stories about traditional Quechua weddings, local customs, different treks he was on and the different jobs he used to have. He was a very interesting person. We were happy to have him for our guide.

The going was tough. Not so much because of the elevation but due to the sun. It was beating us down. I asked Walter if the lunch point was the halfway point and he said yes. Of course after 4:00pm (which was supposed to be our arrival time) it didn't seem like he was right. We had already spent about 8 hours on the trail by this point. Walter pointed far in the distance to a flat section in a valley where our camping spot will be. I estimated another 3 or 4 hours to reach it. I knew for sure it was going to get dark before we reached it, as it gets dark there around 6:00pm. Sophie also seemed to be doing worse and worse and started throwing up again. I was getting extremely concerned and asked Walter to go ahead and come back with a horse for Sophie while we continue on slowly. He gave Sophie some more oxygen before he left and started ahead at a quick pace.

I continued on with Sophie and eventually it got dark. Our destination was still far away at the point and since it was getting dark we could no longer see it. Luckily the trail was obvious and huge so there was no chance of getting lost. I turned my headlamp on and we kept going. Once the sun was gone it got a bit easier for both of us. The cool air was wonderful after that scorching heat. It was about 6:00pm and it was completely dark. No sign of our guide Walter. We ran into a convenience store (weirdest thing ever). I don't know if I hallucinated it or what but there was some kid in his early 20s or so who lived on his own in a little hut right by the trail selling various things like chocolate bars, water and beer to the hikers. I had a quick chat with him in Spanish and he told us the camp was 15 minutes away.

Onwards we went. We put one foot in front of the other, both of us completely exhausted and desperate to reach the camp. We could see some eyes reflecting our lamp light in the distance and as we approached we saw about three cows on the trail looking at us funny. We walked around them trying not to scare them too much. Weirdest thing. I'll never forget the look in their eyes. Oh, I failed to mention that all over the mountains there were farms and small houses. They live off the land at this crazy elevation of 3900m.

Our spirit still strong we kept going. We passed by one of the locals - a woman carrying her child on her back in complete darkness on the same trail. No idea where she was going. It was all so surreal, like some dream. We eventually reached some lights and saw a bunch of tents. Some guy came out from there and was shouting at us in Spanish: Arriba Arriba. I guess he was mad we were not at our campsite yet. He was from another guiding company. We were freaked out a little to have someone shout at us.

It was completely dark out with nothing but a few gas lamplights visible in the distance and millions upon millions of stars above. So we continued on and went by another camp. We couldn't tell who's who so we started calling Walter's name out loud. No response from anyone. I went into the camp while Sophie stayed on the trail. I started talking to someone with a bit of difficulty. I was so tired I couldn't even think straight and kept forgetting Walter's name when anybody asked. I did find out how many people there are in each camp and where they are, more or less. The camp we were at had two very large groups and the camp we passed earlier had another large group. No one from our group was at this camp so we headed back to the first camp and shouted Walter's name. I was getting a bit desperate here. I couldn't find our camp and there was no sign of Walter. The strange person from before showed up then and I started asking him if he knows where Walter and the ATV camp are. He said it's another half an hour of walking ahead. He must have felt sorry for us so he decided to lead us there.

I was so happy to get his help. Not even five minutes of walking and we ran into our muleteer who came with a mule for Sophie. Walter was shortly behind too. I thanked our friend for his help and we got Sophie onto the mule. Walter then gave us both some Coca tea and we headed towards the camp. With Sophie on the mule we started walking at a near run pace and we quickly reached the campsite. It was about 7:30pm.

Sophie was still quite sick so she didn't eat much. Our tent was set up so all I had to do was inflate the thermarests and put the sleeping bags in. I did this quickly and then went into the dinner tent and joined the rest of the group. They had arrived only an hour and a half before us and helped set up camp. We had walked about 25km and gained about 600m of elevation gain. We were at 3900m.

I had a bit of a headache. I thought it was due to the elevation so I took a Diamox and gave one to Sophie too. I had taken one at lunch as well, just in case. Sophie then went to bed and I quickly joined her. Sophie seemed to sleep like a log the whole night...she must have been so exhausted. I slept quite a bit too although I was extremely concerned for her so I kept checking she was ok by asking. She always responded she was fine although she doesn't seem to remember anything from that night.

Day 2
Morning came. I woke up refreshed and feeling strong. My headache completely gone. I realized then that it was just a small migraine due to the heat. The elevation headaches feel a bit different. Sophie seemed to be feeling a little better but nowhere near the point where she could hike up higher.

We had breakfast and broke down the camp. I marvelled at the views for many minutes. We were at the base of some massive mountains with Salkantay being the biggest. There were big glaciers on very steep terrain. Looks impossible to climb from this angle...not that I would want to climb it...although I had heard it is climbed often.

We then got introduced to a new member in our group. His name was Alejandro. Sophie would ride him up to the high pass we needed to cross that day.

We started heading up. The going was easier than I expected. Maybe the extra boost from the Diamox was helping (as I wrongly figured). We reached a little gate and took a break. Sophie felt sick again and threw up some more. I was quite worried but I knew we were close to the pass and from there it will get better for her. We continued on as the sun got higher in the sky and started scorching us again. Luckily a bit of a wind off the glaciers kept us from overheating. The trail was well marked and easy but steep. I had to maintain a rhythm. Every switchback I took a break and breathed in deeply to catch my breath. Every second break I drank some water. It was slow going but we were progressing well. Michael and Barry seemed to be going up without much problems but Corina was starting to suffer the effects of altitude. Luckily she was still able to continue.

Sophie was up ahead on Alejandro. She hadn't thrown up anymore so things were looking well. I managed to get ahead of the group and I caught up to Walter who told me I just missed a massive avalanche coming down from Salkantay. He said it was the biggest one he'd ever seen. Percy and Sophie were waiting for us at a tarn ahead and I explained to Walter that Corina was feeling sick now.

We all reached the tarn and Sophie was telling us about the great avalanche she saw. In the meantime we rested, had some snacks and Corina got a bit of oxygen. With everyone feeling better after the rest, we continued on. There was still some elevation to gain. After another half an hour or so we finally reached our destination. We were at 4650m. I ran to Sophie to show off a bit and got a slight dizziness as a result. Luckily it quickly went away. I was feeling surprisingly well. No pains due to elevation at all. I guessed that the Diamox worked to help but I know now it doesn't work that way. We took lots of pictures and met a bunch of other groups that caught up to us. Sophie and Corina got some more oxygen and we continued down. Sophie was walking down this time.

The descent was easy for me so I ran ahead as I usually do and occasionally I would wait for the rest to catch up. I checked on Sophie and she was feeling really crappy still and convulsed a few times. Since she was still feeling sick, Walter got her to ride Alejandro down to the place we were supposed to have lunch. We sat around basking in the sun. Lunch seemed to take 2 hours this time and we were starting to wonder what they're doing that's taking so long. Last thing we needed to do is stay up at elevation more or hike in the dark again.

After lunch, we all started walking down and quickly descended to the jungle. We gained 750m in the morning and were now dropping to 2900m over 25km. The change of eco systems was spectacular. From glaciers and desert like conditions to lush green thick vegetation. We walked through a bunch of small farms with llamas, pigs, cows, horses, ducks and chickens. It was amazing to see all these farms and people living so high up here. The locals offered us some warm beers but none of us felt like warm anything. It was hot. It was really hot. The trail was dry and very dusty. We had plenty of oxygen down so low but it was hard to breath because it was so dusty.

Sophie had fully recovered. Colour had returned to her face and Walter was telling her that she's no longer yellow. She thought something was lost in the translation but then I told her that her face turned quite yellow when we were up there. I was so relieved she was ok. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my heart. I was feeling so horrible while she was sick. I can't describe how worried I was...

We kept going through the jungle stopping often for mule trains and other groups of people. It got dark of course. As we lost light completely around 6:00pm we reached our campsite. Our mules hadn't arrived though so we had to sit around waiting. The place was noisy and crowded with a ton of people. We were camping on some local people's property and the place was full of chickens. Our mules finally arrived and we set up our camp and had dinner. Tired we went to sleep around 9:00pm. It was hard to sleep with all the noise though. A couple of Israelis had their tents right next to ours and seemed to enjoy screaming at each other. I sat around waiting for them to get quiet but they wouldn't shut up so I got annoyed and screamed at them to be quiet in Hebrew. They were a bit confused and were wondering where that came from...then I told them I'm trying to sleep...also in Hebrew. That seems to quiet them somewhat. On the other side of the tent another group was having a fire...all the smoke was entering our tents so I overheard Corina getting annoyed and telling them that we were all choking because of their smoke. So they put it out and then we all slept great...until the bloody roosters started their coo coo ricoo at 4:00am....

Day 3
The whole camp woke up with incredible hostility towards the roosters that were running around our tents. The roosters were chased around and had their life threatened again and again but somehow managed to escape becoming breakfast.

For the second morning we woke up to see for the first time where we had camped. The sun was out and the area was beautiful. There were tents all over the grassy area next to a farm. The locals and owners of the farms were playing some music that had a very oriental feel to it. For a split second I thought I woke up in Nepal rather than Peru. It was warm and there was vegetation everywhere. It was quite a contrast to wake up one morning in a desolate moonscape by a massive mountain and the next to wake up in a hot jungle.

We left the campsite early and headed down the mountain some more. The terrain was so completely different we had forgotten where we came from. There were flowers and tropical plants everywhere we looked. We walked across a trail on the side of a cliff, passing by rivers, waterfalls, hot springs and other wonderful things. We saw the occasional flock of parrots flying with a lot of noise over the valley next to us.

The trail was still quite dry but not as dusty as on the previous day. We took it easy this time, as we only had to walk for about 4 hours that day. We stopped numerous times whenever there was a clearing in the jungle. Every clearing had a shop that sold various goods. One of the shops was a grenadine farm so Percy got us all one to try out. It tasted great and had the texture of a pomegranate - many seeds.

After about 4 hours of easy walking we reached a small village. The houses were the standard we had seen all over - made up of mud bricks. There were chickens and pigs and ducks and various other barnyard animals running free all over the village. There were also a bunch of kids in uniform returning from school. After a few minutes we crossed the village and went over a bridge to where our truck was supposed to wait for us. I inspected the bridge and noticed that the support structure underneath wasn't even attached. It looked as though some crazy nailing pattern was used to keep the floor of the bridge up. We crossed it anyways.

Since we had to wait for our mules to arrive (they seemed to arrive consistently late), Corina suggested we walk down to the river. We all were happy to take our shoes off and wash them in the cold river water. It felt amazing to take off the socks I had been wearing for three days straight...

The mules eventually passed us and we went to join them at the end of the village. On the way we ran into another school kid who kept asking us for caramels. I only later realized caramel refers to candy and not just caramel specifically. We had none but he followed us up anyways. I asked him what he learns in school and he said math, which he said he's good at. Our lunch was eventually ready and we ate inside a small restaurant where we watched a guinea pig running around the place (guinea pig is one of the traditional foods eaten in Peru).

Walter promised us a truck that would take us down into the village of Santa Teresa. He said we would be able to collect various fruits off the trees on our way down to the village. He also told us our muleteer and our mules were leaving us so from here on we were carrying the big packs ourselves. As it turned out there was no one available to drive the truck we were promised so we had to take the local bus, the only bus that goes from the village of La Playa where we were to Santa Teresa. We were a bit annoyed with this change of plans but didn't argue.

We got on this bus that looked like it was 50 years old and barely holding itself up. The seats were puny and there was no way any of us could fit in them properly. I was luckier and got the back seat so I didn't have to squeeze into anything. The bus then left but went into the wrong direction. It went back over that bridge I had a really difficult time crossing earlier... And then it stopped and more people got on the bus even though the bus was full to capacity. Most of them were trekkers so they all had big backpacks. The roof looked way over packed. And to make it all worse, since there wasn't enough room on the bus, there were four people sitting on the roof. And off we went and over that crazy bridge again.

The ride was a bit rough, as the road wasn't paved. Every time we went over a pothole the roof bent down and looked like it was about to collapse from all the weight. We then reached the switchbacks and started going down them. We were centimeters away from very big cliffs in this over packed, roof heavy bus. Twice when we had to turn over onto a switchback the bus didn't quite make it, so the driver had to back up the hill to be able to make the turn properly. It was insane! It was fun! Corina was sitting by the window so at one point she turned to us and showed us with her hands how close to the edge we were...mere centimeters... We passed through some jungle farms, growing various things like coffee plants and bananas and such. The vegetation was so thick we were wondering how the people on the roof managed not to lose their heads or be dragged off the bus. The locals on the bus were nearly all asleep. Ignorance is bliss I guess. We eventually got past the switchbacks and stopped on a bridge where we picked up a few more passengers. The locals were laughing and pointing at the people on the roof so I'm guessing it was not a normal occurrence.

After another few minutes we reached Santa Teresa and unloaded everyone from the bus with the exception of our group that was dropped off last. As people came off the bus it looked like total chaos outside. Nobody knew where they were or what was happening and whose luggage goes where. Luckily our guides were outside too standing watch that our luggage doesn't get unloaded by accident. We were eventually dropped off at the lower part of the village, near some monastery or school on a soccer field. To make the place all perfect for us, our bus driver made sure to mark his territory all over the lawn by walking and peeing for a good 5 minutes. We were hoping our guides wouldn't set up the tents on that spot... The area where we camped used to be the old part of Santa Teresa. It was apparently wiped out by a massive avalanche off of Salkantay that caused a massive landslide and flood only a few years back. That happened in the last decade. The village was since rebuilt, slightly higher up.

Walter and our cook said they'd prepare the campsite and cook our dinner while we went with Percy to the hot springs. We followed Percy down to the river and then across a trail for 40 minutes. It got dark when we arrived at the hot springs. We all got in for a wash in the slightly warm waters. Sophie didn't have a bathing suit so she just put her legs in. She felt happy she didn't go all the way in when she found out there were no designated toilets anywhere around there...which might explain why the water was warm... We only stayed about 15 minutes until the crowds arrived. We followed a different way back and after another 40 minutes Percy suddenly stops and says we have to hike up there. It was really dark so all we could see was a crazy steep hill, almost a wall. We were asking why we had to go there when we came down a perfectly safe route. Percy's explanation was that he didn't want us twisting our ankles on the slippery rocks where we came. Somehow twisting our ankles seemed better than sliding off a cliff in the dark. We stood there for a while seeking alternatives with Percy saying "Walter" over and over again as was his usual explanation, blaming Walter for the route chosen, whenever we had to do something stupid. After a few minutes we decided to go up and as it turned out it wasn't too bad. We reached the village and then were told by Percy to wait. He disappeared into the village for a few minutes to do some unexplained thing. Once he returned without explanation we went down back to our campsite.

Our tents were up but our Walter and our cook hadn't even started cooking yet (even though they promised they'd be ready within an hour...and we came back two hours later). We looked at our tent and it was set up completely wrong. We quickly undid it and remade it in less than a minute. I'm still wondering how they could have possibly got it wrong...it's the easiest tent to setup I've ever seen. We waited another hour or so and our food was finally ready.

The plan for the next day was to hike up with our own backpacks for about 4 hours to the Hydroelectric Dam where we could either catch the train for very cheap and get to Aguas Calientes, or hike up the train tracks for another 4 hours to get to the same destination. Walter came to us after dinner and told us he had some bad news. He said that all the tickets for the train back from Aguas Calientes to Cusco were sold out but not to worry because if we hike up really early in the morning and get to Aguas Calientes before everyone else then we'd secure some tickets. We were all outraged, as it was obvious he knew this all along and got us on the trek without telling us this "small" detail. We were extremely annoyed and decided to wake up at 6:00am and head as fast as possible to Aguas Calientes. I was extremely upset about this. The last thing I wanted to do was race to Aguas Calientes. I was certain we wouldn't find any tickets either way. We went to sleep and prepared everything in advance for the early morning start.

Day 4
We woke up early and had a quick breakfast. We then quickly packed our stuff and went on our way. My pack was heavy. I don't know what crap I keep carrying with me to make it so heavy.

First step was to cross the river by cable car. This was essentially one metal cable hooked to both sides of the river with a metal frame hanging off it and two ropes hooked to either side that you can pull yourself with. It looked very scary and the rapids below weren't that inviting. There were crosses all along the side of the river, indicators of the many fatalities that occurred crossing the river by that method. Percy got over to one side by himself and then him and Michael got the rest of us across the river. We were all hanging on for dear life when we crossed. We then got a demonstration on how the locals do it. A knee braced against the ground of the car and nothing else. Then pulling on the ropes quickly. We understood why there were so many crosses there then.

We continued on the other side of the river walking on a gentle gravel road. I was walking behind with Sophie when all of a sudden everyone stopped and offered to carry Sophie's things. It made no sense since I was the only one that was actually lagging behind. Sophie got really upset at this. She was walking at a decent pace. I guess by then they had her pegged as the gringo princess having to ride a horse up the pass...I told Sophie not to be upset. If they wanted to make her hike more enjoyable, why complain? After a couple of hours or so we made it to the Hydro Dam and waited a few minutes for Walter to arrive by truck. Why we didn't just take the truck too I was wondering...

The train station was where we could have taken the train at 3:30pm, however we were there around 11:00am. So we kept hiking on the train tracks. It was painful. There was no good road so we either had to match our steps to the wooden planks or walk in gravel. Neither option was any better. Worse part was that the region around was just spectacular. We were approaching the area where Machu Picchu was. There were big granite peaks sticking out of the jungle. The vegetation was beautiful. It was even more spectacular than the previous day's jungle. But since we had to rush to Aguas Calientes we couldn't really stop and enjoy the views. We couldn't even look up from the train tracks, as one look would have meant a fall.

We stopped for lunch at a garden/restaurant. There were flowers of every color and big leafy trees of every sort. The view across was of some massive granite cliffs that make the Chief look small. The mountains around there were only in the 3000 meters so the jungle covered them. Another hour or so after lunch (which was the fastest on record) we reached Aguas Calientes. Right before we could see some houses at Machu Picchu from below.

We waited by the train station while Walter went and (probably pretended) he was trying to buy tickets. They were obviously all out despite our early arrival. He said they'd pay for an extra night for us though and get a pair of tickets for two of us. Walter's explanation for where the tickets were coming from was that he knew the Mayor's daughter and could arrange two tickets. Since neither Barry nor Sophie and I were in any hurry, we agreed that Mike and Corina get the tickets.

We got set up at Hostal Joe. Our room had a shower with hot water. Sophie took the first shower and I followed shortly. The water was cold for me of course but at least I could clean the 4-day grime off of me.

Before dinner we met up with the group and got the restaurant hosts to do a bidding war for the cheapest beers. One of them eventually won and we ordered some cold, refreshing and oh so tasty beers. They were playing Britney Spears in the restaurant so I asked the waiter to change the music for us to something local. The music he changed it to was so nice and relaxing. While we were chatting, Barry was saying that he was happy that they're not playing Bob Marley like the restaurant at the beginning of our trek. A few seconds later the music stopped and they started playing Bob Marley...the waiter overheard us and thought we wanted to listen to Bob. I quickly told him to change the music back, while we all had a good laugh.

The dinner was still paid for so Walter took us to a restaurant he knew and told us to choose from the touristy menu. I ordered chicken. After 4 days of traveling with vegetarians and eating nothing but vegetarian food it was quite welcome. Walter and Percy were thinking the same thing as they also ordered meat.

We went to sleep...or tried to. Our room was right by a noisy restaurant and the music was loud until late at night.

Day 5
In the morning we had to wake up at 4:00am. The only way we could get those train tickets for the next day was to go line up at the train station's office when it opened. We met with everyone there and waited while Walter bought us all tickets. He had to use our passports so that's why we were there with him. We also wanted to hike up to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu.

We hiked up with our headlamps from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu and arrived up there around 5:45am as the sun rose and it got light out. It took us less than an hour on a hike that seemed about as steep as the Grind but 200m shorter. We left Walter behind and Percy came running after us with the entrance tickets. He caught up to us at the top. He said he hadn't slept all night and that he got out of a nightclub around 4:00am. We were all impressed he was able to make it up this hike after a night of partying and drinking.

We were first through the doors at Machu Picchu and quickly hiked up to a high point to take the early morning pictures. It was spectacular. A big city carved out of a granite mountain with some of the most amazing scenery wherever you looked. The Incas sure knew how to pick a spot. Most of the city is made up of the farming terraces that can be seen all over Peru. The rest are one spectacular construction after the next. There are parts that are simple rock walls while others are massive polished slabs fit perfectly together by some mysterious and artistic means. With all that granite everywhere I had the overwhelming urge to climb something...

After the early morning pictures we returned to the gate and waited for our guide. The guide turned out to be the same confused person that came to describe our trek for us the night before we left. She was terrible and I haven't found a single thing she said to be of any use. She seemed like she was making things up as she went along and not mentioning a single fact or thing to explain why something is thought to be what it is. To her everything was special this and special that. I lost count of how many times she said special. I was happy when the tour was over so I can enjoy Machu Picchu for its mystical and unusual beauty.

We had the good luck of enjoying Machu Picchu before the crowds came in. There were very few people there and most of them were trekkers. The tourists were coming by train and bus later. We spent a few hours there and then we hiked up to the top of Wayna Picchu, the biggest of the peaks next to Machu Picchu. There were stairs all the way up so it was an easy walk. The last section right before the peak was a bit scarier. The stairs were so narrow I had to walk sideways with half my foot sticking off the side. The last 15 meters we had to scramble up an easy granite slab...finally I got my wish.

At the top we (Sophie and I) met up again with Barry and Michael. Corina stayed behind in the ruins. I went to take some pictures from the peak and was surprised to see a hawk standing there, mere centimeters from my face. It seemed completely undisturbed by my presence and I took a picture of it with Machu Picchu in the background. It ended up posing for a few more shots for me.

From the top there was another route leading to the Temple of the Moon. Those ruins are new and just uncovered. Barry and Michael returned to Machu Picchu while Sophie and I took the alternate route down to the temple.

The descent trail was scary at first. It was hugging a cliff. At one point there were some old puny stairs carved out of a granite slab that had moved over the years and were pointing down slightly. There was nothing to the left of them but air. We crossed those and went down a ladder and the trail got easier from there. There was no one on the trail for the entire way down. There were beautiful trees and every once in a while we disturbed some butterflies that would circle us for long periods. The butterflies were everywhere and it was quiet and beautiful and the occasional lizard would run around my feet. It all felt so peaceful. We reached the Temple of the Moon and were less than impressed. It was just a small cave and a couple of unimpressive ruins. A bit dissapointed we headed back up to Machu Picchu. It was midday and it got insanely hot. After the early morning start and all the hiking we had already done, going back up hill did not feel very fun. We were glad to reach Machu Picchu again and glad again for leaving it. It was crowded with tourists and we could barely make our way to the gate past the well-proportioned ones.

We met up with the group again and took the bus back down. We then had lunch with the group and bid Michael and Corina farewell. They left shortly after and we met up with Barry for dinner before we went to bed early.

Day 6
We woke up early again to catch the 5:45am train. The train ride was uneventful and we reached the half way point where we had to take a bus back to Cusco. I chatted on the bus with an Israeli that has been on the road for over 6 months, traveling through Nepal and South America. He was telling that the reason why so many Israelis take that same route was that after spending 3 years in the military they would do anything to take them away and clear their mind after that hell of serving.

We reached Cusco shortly, bid farewell to Barry and headed for our hostel. I felt a bit sad of splitting up with our Salkantay group. They were all fun people with great stories. I really enjoyed their company. All in all, it was an amazing trip. Seemed like an experience I won't soon forget.

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