Ok, so we are just over halfway through the trip and just under 4 months in so I think you probably deserve another stat update.
Countries visited: 7
Hours spent on buses: 273 (1 week 4 days)
Passport stamps: 25 each
Different Accommodations: 47
Last Minute Flights to Orlando Booked: 2
Fridge Magnets: 23
Anyway, back to the trip. From Cusco we set off for the small mountain town of Lares to start our 4 day epic trek to Machu Picchu. A family of 5 dropped out at the last minute due to illness so once again it was just Nikki and I with the guide, and we didn’t see another tourist for 3 days. Like most things in Peru so far it was terribly organized but a lot of fun. The scenery was amazing:
On the first night we stayed in a tiny Village, very high up in the mountains:
The second day involved a lot more hikking:
The obligatory alpacas and llamas:
And we met some great local kids:
These guys really put us to shame the way they powered up the mountains. Still we managed to reach our highest point at over 4500m:
(I know, I also thought Titicacca was the highest lake)
We spent the second night in an even smaller village, and I think this is the most isolated I have ever been:
After our tent was blown over in the middle of the night we moved it to a more secure location. It was kind of like camping inside:
The third day was blissfully all down hill, and although still beautiful not much to report.
I noticed that on this trek and also at Machu Picchu I saw a load of plants and flowers, most of which had been unique to this area:
We ended this part of the trek in Ollantaytambo, where we were supposed to be catching the 11am train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the bottom of the mountain that Machu Picchu sits on. Obviously when we got there we found out there isn’t an 11am train, and in fact we were booked on the 7pm train. Lucky we started trekking at 5am that morning to make sure we got there on time.
Ollantaytambo has ruins all of it very own:
We didnt pay to get in though, as the next day we were off to Machu Picchu from where I will continue in the next Blog. Thank you and goodbye.