June 11, 2024 - Machu Picchu
Our last stop in Bolivia was right on the Peruvian border, leading to a very uneventful customs and immigration... just the way I like my border crossing. After a delay because the road was closed for two hours (?) we arrived at our first stop in Peru, Puno. Still located on Lake Titicaca, this city is a pretty major thoroughfare for people traveling to/from Peru and Bolivia but is even more noteworthy for its floating villages.
Although we were on a bit of a time crunch, I made it a priority to at least do a half-day trip out to the Isles de Uros, and I was glad that I did. Not sure what to expect, I was fascinated by village life out on the manmade islands constructed of reeds. Our tour included a tutorial on how the islands are made and what it takes to keep their community afloat....literally. With less than 24 hours in Puno, as soon as the tour was done, it was a quick lunch of Cuy (Guinea pig, a traditional dish here) and then on a bus to Arequipa.
Colca Canyon is arguably the second most famous hike Peru has to offer (after the Inca Trail of course), and although many opt to do it as a tour because of its remoteness, we decided to go it alone. The self-planned logistics went smoothly, other than the fact that I way underestimated myself and how fast I can still hike as a 40-year-old who has done almost no cardio (or workout of any kind for that matter) for the past two years. There are various options to choose from, but we selected the popular Eastern loop that drops you into the canyon at San Juan de Chuccho, then cuts across the Northern side to Sangalle, a small collection of hotels with waterfall pools to relax after a long day hiking and rest up before the climb out the next day. A bit nervous after reading various accounts and blogs that describe people breaking down to tears during the climb out, I set out bright and early, well before Johnny, to ensure I'd have time to make it for our bus out of town. Totally unnecessary. Sure, it was all up, but I'm convinced the people who described it as "the hardest thing they've ever done" have probably just never gone on a hike before. Two hours and 15 minutes later, I was at the top before Johnny even started his climb out. He did beat me significantly at 1 hour 40 mins, but I stopped trying to keep up with him years ago.
With the hike a success, we hopped a bus to the nearby town of Chivay for the evening to catch the bus to Cusco in the morning. With no local bus service from Chivay to Cusco, most people have to take the extra 3-hour trip south back to Arequipa to then take an overnight bus to Cusco from there. Not wanting to add an extra 5+ hours to our trip by backtracking, plus having to hop on an overnight bus after the hike (possibly without a shower), we decided to pony up the dough for the tourist bus that runs between Chivay and Cusco just a few times a week. WAY more money than we usually spend on a bus, it was the easiest and most direct way to get us to our next stop in time for our tour.
Our next destination of Cusco was one of the few spots I had heard about before arriving in Peru so before heading out for the tours we had booked, we wanted to spend some time in the city itself. Our plans took on a twist when we realized we happened to be there during the
Corpus Christi festival where local communities pull out all the stops to parade heavy wooden platforms adorned with saints down the street with elaborate decor, bands, and dancing. The city was absolutely packed with Peruvians out to see the festivities. After enjoying the local revelry from our balcony view of an Irish pub, it was time to set out on our first big tour from Cusco and into the Amazon.
The Amazon is massive, so trying to decide how and when we would visit has been an ongoing question since we landed in Brazil back in January. Which country? Which reserve?... there are a lot of options. Through his research, Johnny found us a 6-day Amazon tour in the Manu reserve in Peru that uses Cusco as a jumping-off point, which seemed a good alternative to the more popular Iquitos tours based on price and expected wildlife. It was some long days traveling by boat up the Rio Madre de Dios, necessary to get deep into the reserve to see the best wildlife. A highlight for me was when, on the second night, we hiked about 90 minutes away from the camp to sleep on a raised wooden platform near a clay lick to be able to observe the nocturnal wildlife. We took turns keeping watch while camouflaged, alerting the group when something came around. We got to see a lot of tapirs, but unfortunately no jaguars. It was an overall unique and pretty cool experience. One of my other favorites was seeing the giant river otters. After failing to see them that morning on the lake, our guide took us back at sunset for one last shot. Not only did we get to see them, but they came over to investigate the boat, giving us more of a show than I was expecting. Overall we didn't see quite as many animals as expected and although it was neat to be that deep into the Amazon, I think I'd rank our Borneo river safari a bit higher in terms of the number of animals you get to see. And Johnny will get another chance for his Anaconda sighting when we head North to Iquitos in mid-July.
We only had two days to relax back in Cusco before it was time to leave on another big tour, this one representing a major, major dream destination of mine...Machu Picchu. Not one to book too much in advance, I knew Machu Picchu would need to be an exception if we wanted to do any sort of hike. When I started reaching out to companies back in early May I was disappointed to find out that all Inca Trail permits were already gone through the end of July (only 500 per day). Many tour agencies were offering the popular alternative, the Salkantay Trek, but as the non-permitted option, it sounded a bit crowded for my taste. Further research revealed a second alternative, the Lares trek, hardy mentioned and with few companies offering it, I took a chance and booked the lesser-known option. One major advantage is that the Lares trek is combined with the "Short-Inca", a separate permitting system that actually has you to walk into Machu Picchu on the Inca trail through the sun gate, allowing us to experience about the last 1.5 days of the popular 4-day Inca Trail trek.
Additionally, an unexpected advantage to doing it the way that we did was that we had the whole Peruvian Andes to ourselves. Lares being a more difficult hike, with higher elevation and colder nights, my attempt to avoid the crowds of the Salkantay Trek was rewarded when NO ONE else signed up for our 8-person group tour. This meant that Johnny and I had a private tour, allowing us to go at our own pace without worrying about waiting for a group or dealing with any additional logistics. We did feel bad that our trek still required a team of 4 staff (guide, chef, assistant cook, and horseman), as well as 4 mules to carry the whole camp from place to place, but being able to experience the natural beauty in such isolation was really cool. I think we maybe saw 6 other people on the trail in 3 days, really adding to the peaceful surroundings. We climbed two passes, one at over 14,800 ft, stayed in remote mountain communities, and got to pet the baby Alpacpas as we passed. A really memorable and special experience.
At the end of three days, we hopped off the Lares trail and into a van to get dropped at Ollantaytambo for the second leg of the tour, the Short Inca trek into Machu Picchu. The short Inca involves disembarking the Machu Picchu train at kilometer 104 and hiking the rest of the way in. Because we were only two from Lares, we were combined with a group that had signed up for the short Inca only and together, made our way into the city via the Sun gate. When I emerged for that first view of the sacred city, Johnny looked over at me to see if I had started crying happy tears, but I think I was still recovering from the final vertical climb to produce that level of emotion. Sitting there looking at it though, I was able to reflect on finally making it to a place that had been on my list for so long.
From the sun gate, it's all downhill into the city, but we would just stop for a photo spot at the top that day as we would be returning the following day for our tour in and around the city itself. The windy bus ride down the hill delivered us to Aquas Calientes for the night where Johnny and I enjoyed happy hour in the very cute but very touristy town. Unfortunately, a cold I had been fighting off for the last few days finally won and we headed off to Machu Picchu the next day with my pockets stuffed with tissues and cold medicine. I didn't let it ruin my day and enjoyed Machu Picchu even more than I thought I would. After dreaming about a place for so long, you sometimes wonder if it can live up to the expectations, but I'm happy to report that in this case it absolutely did. The ruins themselves are not all that unique in some ways, but it's the setting that you can't really get over, with the sheer drops on all sides and the looming peaks in every direction, I've never really seen anything like it.
Back on the train and back to Cusco, we had two more days in the city before our flight to Lima, which for me was mostly stuck in bed coughing and trying to kick my cold. 18 days after first arriving in Cusco and two big tours later, it was finally time to move on and take a few days in Lima to map out the rest of my time here. With another month left in Peru before I catch my solo flight to Ecuador and the Galapagos, there are still a number of places on the list to try to visit, ending in Iquitos for our Peru, part #2.
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