Machu Picchu

The day had finally arrived to go to one of the biggest highlights of the trip. Most people we spoke to were a lot more organized than us and had already booked their train tickets and tours to get to Aguas Calientes - the jumping off point for Machu Picchu. We ended up booking a more unconventional, though becoming increasing popular route, to get to the famous remote site. Instead of paying for the more expensive train, we opted to have a small bus take us up through the mountains through various little villages, that would eventually drop us off at the Hydroelectric station where is the last point vehicles can go. At 7:30am on the Saturday, the mini bus picked us up and the Machu Picchu adventure started!

Right away we picked up another couple from Sweden/England whom we hit it off with and ended up doing most of the adventure with. It took almost 1.5 hours to finally get out of Cusco, already setting us off pace. The first part of the drive what was we´d done the day before on the Sacred Valley tour, right to Ollantaytambo. That´s when the drive started to get crazy. Upon leaving Ollantaytambo we immediately hit dirt road off and on, and then finally back to concrete where we started to climb - high! 1.5 hours of switchbacks led us to a mountian pass that was at 4,350 metres - that´s over 14,000 feet! The views were absolutely spectacular, although their lack of guard rails and adequate space for 2 lanes somewhat frightening. There´s also bike tours you can do from the peak riding down the other side, so the road made even more sketchy by the hundreds of cyclists in random packs swerving all over the roads! This traffic also set us back on our schedule. We finally made it to a small town called Santa Maria where we had a quick lunch, and then set off on the final bus portion of the journey.

If we thought the first part was sketchy, this part brought a whole new meaning to the word. Not quite the same heights as the mountain pass, but dirt roads, with NO room for 2 lanes, NO guard rails, and mere INCHES between the road and 3,000 feet down. Wow, is all I can really say about this in written text. After 1.5 hours of fearing for our lives, we made it to the Hydroelectric station. From here, you can catch a train, but we were to trek the last 10kms into Aguas Calientes. We were looking forward to this part, as it is a beautiful flat hike along the train tracks, although with all our delays, we were about 3 hours behind schedule, which only gave us about an hour left of daylight. We foolishly did not bring our headlamps, so the group of us set off right away, walking at a good pace to make time. Darkness did settle quickly though, and I was very, very thankful for the flashlight app on my iPhone! After much confusion, we finally made it to Aguas Calientes after rounding a corner, and were greeted with a phenomenal silhouette of the valley we were in, the dim lights of the small town in the distance, and more stars than I´ve ever seen on any camping night in our own Rocky Mountains. A very welcoming site!

We and the other couple found our guide, Edgar, at last (aren´t guides supposed to GUIDE you on treks? hmmm...), and settled down to celebrate our adrenaline filled journey with several grand cervesas while waiting for the included dinner. After that we received our tickets to Machu Picchu, then were off to bed.

The next day, Sunday, started at 4:30am, as we were to meet our guide, Edgar, at the bus ticket booth to get our tickets for the ride up. Needless to say we weren´t feeling up to walking 3,000 steps at 5am! The bus got us up there super fast, and with all our tickets pre-arranged, we were sitting on the perfect vantage point, just at the top of the small hike in, with our new friends, on a miraculously clear morning, to watch the sun rise over magical Machu Picchu. Words cannot describe the energy we felt that morning!! :D:D:D

We relaxed here for a few more minutes to take it all in, snap a bajillion photos of the postcard picture of the face of Machu Picchu, and waited for Edgar. Somehow it ended up being just the 4 of us on a private, English speaking tour by this awesome Quechua speaking Incan descendant, and we couldn´t have asked for more out of the next 3 hours. Edgar told and showed us so many amazing things about this already mystical place that our tour really would have been worth triple what we paid. He told us all about the symbols, meanings, secrets and ways of the Inca people when Machu Picchu was in it´s heyday, and pointed out so many little things throughout the ruins that none of the other tours seemed to be getting. The sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky all day, and being there so early, we got through most of the ruins before the real crowds set in. We really honestly couldn´t have asked for more.

After the tour, we split from our new friends as they were catching the train back that day, while we headed out of the site for a lunch and bathroom break. We headed back in for another hour or two in the afternoon, sitting on the top of the agricultural fields overlooking the whole site and enjoying the sun. This place has such a comforting calmness about it that makes it really hard to leave! Eventually the effects of such an early morning started to set in, and we started down the stairs backs towards Aguas Calientes. 3,000 stairs and 2 hours later we were back in our hostel, changing our sweaty gear as quickly as we could to head out for a much needed pizza! After refueling we went to check out the Hot Springs, hence the name of the town - Aguas Calientes means hot water. They were, well, hot springs by the definition, but compared to some of the secret hot spots we´ve discovered in our own British Columbia, it was hard to compare to these ones. 4 levels of pools - cold, luke warm, a little warmer, and the niños pool - with local males packed in shoulder to shoulder :S There´s no seats, rock bottoms, and on us tall Canadians the water only came up to my mid-belly and Colin´s waist. Still cool to say we´ve been, though! We grabbed another snack, and then were sleeping like babies shortly after.

The next morning we slept in a little bit, then went in search of some bacon and eggs - something we were told we would miss on our travels, as they just don´t do breakfast here like they do at home. This has turned out to be very, very true, although we did find something close to satisfy for the time being. We knew we needed to fill up, as we were doing the return journey back to Cusco over the same trek/bus route, and besides our snacks we packed weren´t sure if we were going to eat again until night time. It´s a good thing we did, as the next few hours were not exactly pleasant!

We started the 10km trek back to the Hydroelectric station in good time, and this time in the daylight, enjoyed it immensely. It also turns out that this trek takes you all around the mountain that Machu Picchu sits on. Super cool, as even when you know it´s there, you can´t see it, only recognize the rock formations! I loved this "secret" part of it and took way too many pictures of the same thing. We made it to the Hydroelectric station right at 2pm, when we were supposed to meet Edgar again to get our bus back to Cusco. This is when things went downhill. After getting rude or no answers from all the other gruff looking men with buses hanging about, Edgar finally showed up 20mins later. He then started arguing with the drivers, not a good sign, and then finally told us to get on a bus - a much smaller, and much more uncomfortable one than the way out. We thought things seemed fishy, but trusted Edgar. He gave us one final wave and took off. As soon as he did, two other drivers started yelled at us to get off the bus. We refused, but after one of the other travellers explained it was to accommodate a large family who wanted to stick together, we reluctantly, agreed. What else can you do when you don´t speak the language, and the other backpackers are saying to do it too? As soon as we did we realized it was a mistake, and long story short, ended up on a crappy, extremely uncomfortable bus with all the stragglers who didn´t pre-book transportation, with the drivers trying to charge us. We stood our ground this time, said we were not paying, nor getting off the bus, and somehow, after the longest anxiety ridden 7 hours of the entire trip so far, made it back to Cusco at 9:30pm. We grabbed some comforting McDonalds as were were starving and brain-dead, bought some cervesas back at the hostel, and breathed big sights of relief that we were back in our bed safe and sound.

Definitely some ups and downs to this adventure, but in the end, all was well, and we had the extremely lucky pleasure of seeing one of the most magical Wonders of the World, on a clear, sunny day, with eachother :)

Start of the trek to Aguas Calientes

Shot of the University at Machu Picchu

The Temple at Machu Picchu

Sunrise!! :)

Llamas at attention on the east agricultural section of Machu Picchu

Us and our new friends, Devina and Andre, early morning at Machu Picchu

Classic Machu Picchu shot - the face, and classic llama

Soft baby llama

:)

Edgar, our amazing guide

VIew from Machu Picchu of the trek below we did to get to Aguas Calientes

The "back" of Machu Picchu from the trek

Train going by on the trek

There´s so many more photos we could have posted, but due to computer loading abilities, we tried to choose the best. Cheers to spiritual Peruvian adventures, as the next part of our journey now takes us into Bolivia!!

Sacred Valley

We took a day off from the tours to relax on Thursday. Then Friday morning we were off again for a tour of the Sacred Valley. The tour group came to our hostel to pick us up. We started about 830 am for a full day lasting until around 7pm. We got in the bus to head out for a great day! Our first stop was a little market for a couple bananas and a baño and to buy some gifts.

Pisac was the next stop and it was very cool. It was very high up and was quite a hike to the top. It was a good way to start the morning and get the legs moving. We spent over an hour checking out the site. Next we went to our buffet lunch which was awesome. Salads, fresh guacamole and three different meat choices. A nice break and some fuel for our busy afternoon.

Ollantaytambo was our next stop and it was our favourite of the day. I slept after my huge lunch and the hour drive and woke up staring at this magnificent monument. This was the place of the last stand of the Inca Empire. There were many cool sights. The face of the Inca warrior that is facing perfectly east to receive the first sunlight each day. Also the face of the old man with the beard in the middle of the mountain, half eroded but easy to spot. We spent over two hours here enjoying it's splendor.

Next we were off to our last stop of the day. Chinchero was interesting - it is the place where they still make textiles in the same way as the ancient Incans. A young girl talked to us and showed us how they used llama fur and sheeps wool to make clothes etc. It was neat to see the items they used to dye the fibers. The different plants they used for the colours and what the colours mean to them "symbolically ". We should have had more dineros with us to support them but we missed a good chance to buy some hand made articles.

It was a great day and we enjoyed it immensely! Hope you enjoyed our details. Love and miss everyone!

Top of the valley heading down to Pisac

Pisac Ruins

Friends at lunch

Ollantaytambo ruins - amazing!!

Ollantaytambo ruins across the valley - see the old man with the beard in the middle? The structures on the sides are their "fridges", where they kept all their produce and meat at higher altitude as it´s that much colder up there.

Further out view of the Ollantaytambo ruins across the valley. The Inca warrior face is on the far left.

Ollantaytambo ruins. For LOTR fans, they reminded us of Helms Deep!!

Gorgeous sunset enroute to the last stop on the tour.

 Ladies weaving at Chinchero.

Cusco & City Tour

Flying in to Cusco is an experience in itself, cruising through mountains with a bunch of hair raising turns in to the airport. Leaving Lima's grey sky's and coming to pure blue horizons around Cusco. The altitude of 11,156 ft above sea level caught us a little of guard as we tried to collect our luggage and find a taxi. Peruvian airlines was about an hour late arriving and we missed our hostel shuttle. We found a taxi and made our way to "Flying Dog Cusco" through cobble stone streets and beautiful old structures! Safe and sound.

We had arrived late in the afternoon so we stopped in a little Irish pub called Paddy's. Beverages and lunch were good and we made our way around the main plaza to get our bearings. Back to the hostel for some much needed rest. This hostel room was a suite, price was 150 soles but we ended up getting it for 90 soles.The only way we can describe it is the "Pigeon Coup". A very nice big bed with windows all around, ensuite bathroom and colour t.v. We found out how cold it gets at night, and how much racket the tons of pigeons make! All those windows don't provide much insulation and it was hard getting out of bed freezing! It is beautiful and sunny and warm each day, but then at night freezing.

The next day we needed information on how to get to see all the sights around Cusco. Tour prices and companies are all over the map and it was tough deciding on a person or agency. We booked our first tour the same day  at 12.30, and were set to leave at 1.30 for the City Tour. After a very quick lunch at Mr Giros, a very tasty and inexpensive falafel shop, we were on our way.

Qoricancha was the first stop on the tour. We met some Canadian girls on the bus from Winnipeg - three sisters. Manitobans really are everywhere!! Chatted with one I had seen on the flight from Lima the day before and compared itineraries. This first place was crowded and not very interesting and we spent too much time here. It was too much for our Winnipeg girls who ditched out on the rest of the tour for some sun, patio and beers. We were almost convinced to go along but wanted to see the sights.

Saqsahuamanm pronounced "sexy woman", was the next stop and was quite cool. At the entrance there is a 70 soles fee for a one day tour or a ten day "bolisto touristo" card for 130 soles for entrance to all the main sights around Cusco. We decided on the full bolisto touristo card and made it into sexy woman. Huge granite boulders make up most of this sight located on top of Cusco's east side. It was a major site of one of the last battles for the Incan empire against the Spanish. It´´s walls were made of the biggest boulders in all of the sights we saw. 18 feet tall 10 feet wide and weighing 40 tonnes. There was also some cool caves to walk through on our way around the sprawling complex. It was truly amazing!

The next stops were a lot quicker and right beside each other. Next was Pukapukara. It is a nice sight but fairly basic, showing us a ruin that was used for the basic people to worship and used for gatherings. Tambomachay was next and was a water source for the people to use for irrigation and farming. Scientists studied this sight and still to this day cannot find the source of the water. The water comes out of the fountain at the same pace no matter what time of year. It continued down all the way to Cusco.

The last sight we saw (or didn't see) was Q'engo after night had fallen. It was a major spot for rituals and sacrifice of the llamas. It had a cave like structure and in it was a huge carved table they used to do the sacrifices. Also it has a huge rock formation nicknamed the " frog " because of the shape of the shadow of the rock and symbolizes fertility. After this last sight was a quick stop at a market for some coca tea, a bit of shopping, and then back to the Flying Dog and the Pigeon Coup for some much needed rest.

 Saqsahuaman, aka Sexy Woman, looking over Cusco

Ginormous rocks at  Saqsahuaman, with all kinds of crazy angles that magically fit together.

 Saqsahuaman

One of the many caves at  Saqsahuaman that was used for both transport and waterways, depending on the cave or tunnel

 The flowing water at Tambomachay. It pours out from the top, then splits perfectly  between the two hole at the bottom. It flows the exact same at all times of the year, and to this day scientists still can´t figure out the source of the agua.

The Pigeon Coup - we weren´t kidding!!

Lima

On thursday July 12 we started our journey to make it out of Venezuela! It was to be a long day of traveling since we had to make it from puerto la Cruz to Caracas to make our flight! 5 am came early and we still had to pack our bags and make our way from Jakera lodge! So about 6 am we departed on our big adventure! First was a bus trip to puerto la Cruz about 30 mins and we were hoping to find a bus to Caracas. This is when things got interesting. Venezuela had canceled all bus routes for the day! So our next option was to take a pour peso. Basically we had to get in a taxi and drive the 6 hours into Caracas. A pour peso is a shared taxi, 5 people plus the driver cramped in the car for the duration of the ride. We accepted our fate and were off to Caracas.

It was a wild ride traffic jams, our driver passing other cars in the wrong lanes, typical venezuela antics. Jessica was in the middle between myself and another hefty individual. She was more than happy to see the end of that ride. I guess to see the brighter side we got dropped of at an airport shuttle service which got us a cheap ride to the airport. We made it to the airport four hours to spare. We checked in and went to an American type restaurant in the airport. We enjoyed a few beverage and some lunch and caught our flight to Lima!

We were quite pleased to get through customs and out of the airport in lima. Jumped in a cab and made it to our destination " the flying dog hostel". We were able to get a private room with hot showers a nice bed and a great view. We got our second wind had a couple beers and proceeded to pass out. Five different modes of transportation 15 hours of travel but safe and sound.

We started our next day in Lima and searching for a plan for the day. We decided to go to La Mar mall a mall with open views to the pacific ocean. We were very happy to find a place called Mangoes a posh restaurant with great views. We waited in the lounge to get our great table with ocean views. A delicious lunch followed and Jessica had vegetable risotto with trout . We were also spoiled to some sunshine and got some great pictures. An awesome first day followed with a nice dinner and some Pisco sours a local drink we really enjoyed! A friend we had made at the hostel gave us some free passes into a club and we partied pretty late! 3 am to bed!

Little were we to know but outside our window at 8 am the next day. A parade! Marching bands with drums and trumpets and singing children. A shocking way to start our day. We were forced to get up and go for breakfast. We also decided to book a flight to Cuzco for our next leg of the journey. After we thought It would be a good idea to pay for another couple nights in our room. Hung over and tired we asked to pay for another couple nights and of course they were now booked. All we wanted was to chill out next we were forced to find a new hostel. Lion backpackers is what we found and walked over and checked in!

Luckily we got another private room with a hot shower and were still really close to the main park where all the action happens. We spent the rest of the rainy day relaxing. The next day we set out for the Museo de Nacional upon recommendation from Lonely Planet and a few friends. Not sure what's happened there in the past few years, but it was a major bust! Tiny empty exhibits, zero English unlike what we were told, and the biggest exhibit was a very graphic and disturbing one about the rebellions during the 80s. No dioramas of Cusco ruins as told, so we were outta there pretty quick. That night we checked out the Circuit Magique del Agua. We hopped on a bus after dark (so nice to feel safe to do that) and went down to Parque Reserva to see the 12 different water fountains, all in different shapes and themes. The biggest one puts on a really cool light show through the water with hologram birds and dancers and music. Pretty cool, and the camera once again proved itself with some great photos.

Our last day in Lima we went to Huaca Pucallo, some ancient ruins right in the middle of the city. We had a great english speaking guide and got more out of that 45 min tour than the whole museum the day before! After that we finally found a grocery store, so stocked up dinner supplies and lunch for our flight to Cusco the next day. We knew before we left we had to try the famous ceviche, so by chance, we found a restaurant serving exactly what we wanted on special. Gourmet trout ceviche in a killer citrus/pepper sauce with their amazing sweet potato on the side, some of the most perfectly done and delicious calamari we've ever had, a corn/calamari raw salad that was also nommy, with 2 cervesas. All this was 30 soles (about $12Cdn) and we even got Pisco sours on the house. Best meal yet, sooo delicious!! We chilled out and made dinner at the hostel that night and met a few of the other travelers - including a baby. Who brings a baby to a hostel?!!!? We won't get started on that, but all in all Lima has treated us well, and were looking forward to the next big adventure on this journey - Cusco and Machu Picchu!!

Still didn´t leave the coast, except this time we´re on the Pacific!

Lunch at Mangoes

Lima!!

 Circuit Magique del Agua

Circuit Magique del Agua

 Circuit Magique del Agua

Jakera Lodge & Mochima Kayak Tour

We took a ferry off Isla Margarita on July 2. The ferry was a long way from Playa el Agua. We started our journey at 6am, walking the main road with heavy backpacks in search of a taxi. After 20 mins we caught one and drove for an hour across the Isla to the ferry terminal, not knowing what time the ferry was leaving or how to purchase a ticket. We arrived a the terminal about 8:15 and we sad to realize we were at the boarding area, with no tickets! A very nice taxi driver saw our distress, and after some very weak Spanglish he figured out we needed tickets. A short taxi ride, a very nice ticket lady learning English, and all was well as we made the 9am ferry!

It said in Lonely Planet that the slow ferry took about 4 and a half hours to get to Puerta La Cruz. After 6 hours we were hot, sweaty, a little seasick, and quickly losing patience as we tired of the stink of gas fumes, children and noise. We eventually made it, and after a short taxi ride to the bus terminal and a brief introduction to Puerta La Cruz, we were off to Jakera Lodge!

We made it to Jakera Lodge in Playa Colorada around 5pm. We were very, very happy to find a lively place with lots of friendly faces from all over the world. Everyone who was there had arrived a day earlier to start an eight week traveling Spanish course, so after some discussion, we joined the group for the time we would be there. The program had different events happening each day, with 4 hours of Spanish classes. We have a great teacher named Isaias (try pronouncing that one!), and with 20 hours of Spanish classes under our belts we can now make some sentences.This really, really helps us out in the day to day in this country, and no doubt the rest as we go along, and we now feel a lot more confident asking for what we need.We also got breakfast and dinner included, and with a little convenience store with beer, and a fruit and veg stand nearby, lunch wasn´t difficult either. One of the activities one night was a merengue class/competition, which ended up being won by the Canadians!! Along with the friends we´ve made, this place has been just perfect for us!

The next big thing on the schedule was the kayak tour. 16 students and two guides/Spanish teachers set out Saturday for our 3 day kayak tour of Parque Nacional Mochima. There are tons of islands around this area, not so unlike the West Coast in Canada, except the water is like a bath, the foliage birds and animals way different, and the temperatures over 30+ degrees everyday!

The first day was about 2 hours paddling along the coast, and then more open ocean to get to our camp. Camp was on a peninsula and called La Peña. On the way we spotted two pods of dolphins from far away, but still awesome to see. The next day was a 6 hour tour around 2 Islas to snorkel and tour around. As seems to be the norm in Venezuela, everyone was up at 6am, fed and packed up and ready to depart by 8am.

The first spot was a snorkeling spot with a chance to jump in the water to cool off - man was it ever needed! The water was a calm as a lake and we spotted two more pods of dolphins, but again from a far distance. After that we paddled to a pristine beach with awesome snorkeling to and to stop for lunch. Jess and I hand in hand, snorkeling with beautiful fish all around was truly a moment to remember! We saw parrot fish, butterfly fish, trumpeter fish and all kinds of colourful ones we have no idea of the names!

Next was on to the open ocean where we felt some swell and some waves as we paddled and used most of our energy. We rounded the bend and back to calmer waters and a short break. Two hours to go and the heat and exhaustion had taken its toll. But then, all of a sudden, we could see lots of birds, and then a pod of dolphins chasing a school of fish! The sight of these heading straight at us and the dolphins jumping out of the water at full speed put some needed energy back into our tired bodies! Excited by the dolphins and the sight of home, we finished our paddling and made it back to La Peña.

The next day we packed up camp and headed to La Piscina, a teeny island inbetween two bigger ones, that was like a swimming pool with an abondoned house built on it. It is paradise itself here. A coral reef surrounds the island and a private beach is the house´s backyard. WOW is all we could say. We spent an hour here, then had one hour to go to make it back to Jakera Lodge. The weather was perfect, the seas calm, and on the last stretch we got within 10 metres of another pod of dolphins just cruising along. One jumped about 5 metres from our kayak! We couldn´t have asked for a better kayaking experience in Mochima - more memories to last a lifetime!

Kayaking in Parque Nacional Mochima

Colin´s best Monday ever!!

La Piscina

Playa Colorada