How Was My Trip?

How was your trip? What all did you do? What was your favourite part? Naturally, when I come back from my big trips, I am asked many questions about the trip and what I thought of it. Of course, each trip is different and unique, but they all kind of have something in common. This post is about my Peru trip, but can actually be universal for all of my trips. 

So what did I think of it? First of all, Peru is awesome and if you get a chance, I encourage you to visit South America at some point. I think one of the joys of travelling to other countries is experiencing the culture. Everywhere I go is different and it's a real experience when you kind of leave your own culture behind and experience theirs, it makes for a better trip. 

One of the fun challenges I had was the language barrier. They speak Spanish in Peru and even though a lot of the locals speak English, it's generally not very well. If you travel overseas, I encourage you to learn at least the basics of their language. It puts you out of your comfort zone a bit, but I had a great time trying to communicate with people in Spanish. The real challenge was when they couldn't speak English and you have no clue what they are saying. Then, you resort to non-verbal language to communicate. I would have to say that one of my favourite aspects of the trip was trying to talk to the locals. 

If you had to ask what my second favourite part of the trip was, I would have to say meeting the people there. You don't really have to worry about someone judging you because as you meet other travellers, they are just on the same mission as you are. I met quite a few people from all over the world and it's fun to learn a little about their country (and maybe a little of their language). I really enjoyed meeting the Irish person in my group and having a conversation in Irish with her. 

The people you meet overseas are a joy to get to know. But more than that is the bond that is created. When I joined the hiking group I went with, I first saw 15 strangers, but by the end of the 4 days, we were a family. There is just something about accomplishing something challenging, such as the Inca Trail, together and spending that quality time together. By time we had to split up at the end, there were hugs and tears by many of the people in the group because of the bond that is made. It's awesome getting to know people like that and experiencing things with people. 

Lastly, the sights were amazing! As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, pictures, and even words, don't quite capture the sights. The mountains, the landscape, the feel of the different air and climate, and the sights of the ruins. It's something you just have to experience for yourself. And when you accomplish something challenging like the Inca Trail, it just makes the sights that much more rewarding, not to mention many of the sights you can only see by hiking there. 

I highly encourage you to take at least one high adventure, foreign trip and I can guarantee you will want to go on more. 

The Final Countdown to Machu Picchu

Our last day was a busy one. Everyone was excited about it! We woke at 4:20 to pack up and move our backpacks so the porters can tear down the tents. We went straight to the checkpoint that we were to clear and left our bags there with one of the guides. Otherwise, we would be in the back of the line and not get to see the ruins without hundreds of people in the way. 

Some of us went back up to camp for breakfast: omelettes and tea. We ate fairly fast so we could get back to the line where we waited about an hour. When the gates opened, the race was on. We were almost at a jog to get to the Sun Gate first, before the other groups. Most people fell behind when we reached the steep staircase. In fact, we were so fast, our guide said it normally takes and hour and a half to get there and we did it in 45 minutes. 

We were excited when we saw the ruins of the Sun Gate. And there it was, from the Sun Gate, we could see Machu Picchu. It had the same look as I had seen in pictures, but pictures obviously don't do their justice, we sat and enjoyed the view for a while until everyone else arrived. Our guide took pictures of the group with Machu Picchu in the background before we continued. 

It didn't take long to arrive at the ideal picture spot, where most Machu Picchu pictures are taken. Our guide gave us a little history on the tomb that was next to the picture spot before we kept on hiking. 

We finally arrived in Machu Picchu and our guide let us spend some time taking pictures. We had to go to the ticket gate and store bags because the park won't allow large backpacks. When we were there, more people started to show up. You could easily see the difference between the types of people there: the smelly people who experienced the Inca Trail an the clean people who rode an hour on a bus. 

We all met our guide and he took us through the ruins and gave the history of each spot. The day started out warm and sunny, but halfway through the tour, it began to rain. It seemed like the rain stopped by time the tour was done and our guide gave us 2 hours to explore and explore we did. I was going to tell you all about the things we saw, but Machu Picchu is something that can't really be described in words, or pictures. You just have to experience it yourself. 

After Machu Picchu, we were to take the bus to Agues Calientes for lunch. We also had the option of hiking an additional trail to get there. The three Getmans and I were the only ones who did the additional hike, which was rewarding. When we arrived at the restaurant to meet with everyone else, our guide bought us our meals and drinks for doing the additional hike. 

During lunch, we collected a large tip to give our guides and one of the girls gave a thank you speech to our guides and gave them the tips. Our guides gave us our certificates saying we survived the rugged Inca trail. I passed mine around and had everyone sign the back. One of the girls got all of our contact information on the back of hers and will add us to a group on Facebook for us to share our pictures and videos and stay connected. 

After lunch, we were able to leave our backpacks at the restaurant and walked to the hot springs. About 9 of us hung out in the hot springs for about 2 hours to loosen our muscles. 

We hurried back so we could get our backpacks. On our way back, we ran into the Germans who were staying in Aguas Calientes for the night. I kind of wished I would have decided to stay as well. It was a neat little town.  We gave the Germans hugs and were able to say our goodbyes before heading to the train station. 

On the train back to Ollantaytamba, I met 2 others from America and 1 from England. We talked most of the way. In Ollantaytamba, we got our bus and headed 2 hours back to Cusco. I think most of us slept on the way back. 

We were dropped off at the plaza and all agreed to meet for dinner the next evening (where only 3 of us showed up). I had a long walk to my hostel where I checked in, then walked back to my old hostel to retrieve my bag I left there during the hike. I stayed at Pirwa hostel when we got back and I didn't care for it as much. It was a little more upscale, but wasn't busy like I'm used to and didn't seem to be intended for backpackers. 

The whole trip has been amazing and, as our guide said, a trip I'll never forget. I will do a part 2 to this post to sum up what I thought of the overall trip. 

Last day in Cusco:

Start of the Inca Trail

I thought about how I wanted to write this post. We have done so much in the past 4 days and it's hard to just separate it into separate posts, but this will be about day one. 

I woke fairly early and checked out of my hostel. Fortunately, I was able to store a bag at the hostel so I wouldn't have to hike with it. Around 5:30, the bus came by and picked me up from the hostel. I was excited! We had one more stop to pick up two others. As we got closer to the starting point, it felt like standing in line for a roller coaster. You know it will be fun and out of your comfort zone, but nervous about not knowing what is ahead. 

We stopped in Ollantaytamba for breakfast at a restaurant where I had eggs and toast with coca tea. I met a nice, older couple that I ate with who were from Australia, named Peter and Caroline.  

After breakfast, we were able to stop at a shop to get water and bags of coca leaves. We have to carry our own water on the hike. We all met back at the bus and continued to the trail head. As we got closer and could see the trail, we all became excited. We crossed the railroad tracks that the "cheaters" use to go directly to Machu Picchu. There is a sign, that says it's the start of the trail, that we got a group picture with. We lined up and presented our tickets and passports to get in. We waited for a little bit before our tour guide (Freddy) set us free to cross the bridge to start the trail. We started up a high, stone staircase to a landing where we could see one side of the mountains and the river. Freddy met us up there and we continued on. 

The trail was fairly easy, though our legs weren't used to it yet. The paths were much like the ones you see on TV where it's a narrow path and a shear drop. The landscape looked a little like a dessert with cacti. Freddy stopped us and showed us a parasite that was used as dye when smashed. He has to be one of the most entertaining and funny tour guides I've had. 

Most of this section of the trail consisted of rolling hills; a good start. Along the trail were occasional shelters for us to sit and rest (it was hot, reaching 80 degrees). Most of them also had stands selling drinks and snacks. We stopped at the first one and intoduced each other. There were 4 Australians (Peter, Caroline, Sebastian, and Nicole), three Germans (Julius,Paul, and Justas), five English (Kellie and her mom who's name is hard to pronounce and spell, Matt, Emily, and Lucy) one Irish (Aoife), and three Americans (Ray, Jeff, and me). There were also the tour guides Freddy and Pepe. As we hiked, I got to know a little of each of them. It was nice to have a conversation with someone in Irish, not to mention she was the first person I've talked to who knows Irish. 

We stopped for lunch where we had soup, rice, fish, chips with guacamole, potato, and tea. After each meal, we also had tea and coffee. When lunch was over, we continued on the mostly flat trail. We were fortunate to have seen a few ruins and terraces along the way, not to mention the awesome views of the mountains. 

We were given the option of taking the long or short way to camp. We all decided to take the long way to see an awesome Incan site. As we sat on the edge of the mountain, we could see the whole Incan ruins with an awesome mountainous background, not to mention llamas everywhere. 

When we got to camp, we chose our tents. I shared a tent with a German named Julios. I was able to get a small bath in a cold stream and washed my shirt (which didn't dry for 2 days). 

We hiked up to a ruin called the sun gate to watch the sunset. We were there for maybe an hour before it got cold and we went back down. We hung around for a while until dinner was ready which consisted of soup, rice, chicken, potato, flambé banana, and tea. Each meal incorporated rice, meat, and potato. Dinner was great and we all decided to head to bed early. It was a little chilly in the evening, but overnight only got down to 51 degrees. 

This day seemed easy, even though we put in 15 km (9 miles). It definitely was a great day with sunshine and much better than expected.