The Return to Machu Picchu and Colca Canyon

There are certain places in this world that you may visit more than once in your life, two of these places are Machu Picchu and Colca Canyon.  One is the one of the greatest achievements of humanity, the other one of the greatest achievements of mother nature.



Street in Ollantayambo



First it was off to Machu Picchu.  I spent a day in Cuzco planning my route.  Everytime I've been to Machu Picchu I've been on a tour of some sort.  This time it was all me, no boring tour guide.  I had plans on meeting Julia and her friends in Machu Picchu when they got off the Inca Trail, so I had limited time to complete the mission.  I planned it all out, a two day visit to the Sacred Valley of the Incas then off to Aguas Clientes, great plan!  I get up the next day, to get my train and park pass.  While in line for my park pass, I begin to realize that my dates are all screwed up.  My plan to take two days in the Sacred Valley does not concide with meeting my friends in Machu Picchu, classic Hobbit!  So, the plan changes and I'm of to Ollantaytambo.



Inca ruins on the side of a mountain

I grab the collectivo and I'm off.  I get to Ollanataytambo, find the cheapest hostel in town and go for a hike up a mountain to the Temple of the Puma and Moon.  Atleast, close to them, it was later in the day and it was a long way.  The view was insane, saw the pueblo from above and the mountains were amazing.  The town itself still shows sign of Inca culture, with it's narrow coblestone streets and terracing.

Got down the mountain, had dinner and went back to the hostel, you know the cheapest in town.  Well there was a reason for the incredible price at this place.  It was the worst bed of the trip, paper thin mattress laid upon wooden slats that embedded themselves into my body throughout the night, gotta love cheap hostels!!



Machu Picchu with classic Inca terracing



The next day I went to the market, bought a bunch of fruit and headed to the train for Aguas Calientes.  I got there, found my Swiss friends and checked into their hostel, quite a step up - private bath with hot water and a real bed!!  Luxury!!  I went to dinner and back to the hostel for a hot shower, right....wrong - no hot water in a town called Aguas Calientes (translated literally - Hot Waters)  ARE YOU KINDING ME?!?!?!  False advertisement all around!!  Luckily, the hot water was back in the moring before I left for Machu Picchu.



Llama at Machu Picchu

I planned on walking up the mountain to Machu Picchu, but it was raining.  I'm old and wise so I grabbed the bus.  I got there about 7AM, and headed straight for the Temple of the Sun for the view, well, it was raining and overcast, so running up the mountain for the view was actually unwise and quite stupid.  I went back down and meandered around the site, checking things out without the chatter of a tour guide and enjoyed the hell out of it.  I had time to kill becuase I knew that Julia and company would be at Huayna Picchu at 10 AM, so I found a spot overlooking the ruins and had breakfast and took it all in.  At ten, I headed to Huayna Picchu to find the Swedes.  Well, they were a no show, I got stood up, but as I always say, eveything always works out.  As I was sitting there, enjoying the light drizzle, who walks by but Niki Tiegland and her boyfriend Chris.  Go figure, small world.  Niki is from Mankato, but now lives in Alaska with Chris.  I knew they were in South America headed in the opposite direction that I am headed.  I figured there would be a planned meeting somewhere along the way, not this!!  It gets better, I ask her what the hell, she says she just got off the Inca Trail and was getting ready to climb Huayna Picchu, sound familiar?  I ask her if she saw four Swedish chicks on the trail, her response - "No, but there are four Swedish chicks staying at our hostel."  My response - "Hospedaje Inka?"  Yes she says, funny thing that's where I was staying also - small world people, really small world!! I spent the rest of the morning perched in different areas of the site, eating my fruit and loving the views.  I headed back to town and to the train for my return trip to Cusco and to meet up with my growing pool of friends.



Colca Family lovin' the Gato!



The next day we became seven, three Americans and four Swedes.  My Swiss friends were off in a different direction, thank you Manuela and Tanja for a wonderful week of sun and wine!  The seven of us decided that Arequipa would be a great next stop, Colca Canyon bound!  We all loaded up on the bus and 10 hours later we arrived in Arequipa.  We found a great hostel, cheap and comfy with hot water! and began looking into options for the Colca Canyon trek.  Done, leaving in the morning, now what?  How about a grill, meat, a few boxes of Gato Negro and Pisco Sours...I love the plan!!  By the way, I've become quite the wino on this trip - gotta love cheap box wine from Chile!!

The Swedes, one switchback below me - steep!



The next day it's off to Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world.  We begin our decent in the mid-morning.  It is a full kilometer to the bottom, switch backs and loose rocks all the way.  On top of the canyon it is your classic Andean mountian scene, scrub brush and high plains desert.  As we decend into the canyon it begins to change towards the bottom and becomes more tropical.  The views are stunning and the decent is relatvily easy.  We all make it down, have lunch and start our trek across the canyon to a hostel known as the Oasis, pools included!  Great day of hiking with great views and great folks, loads of fun, and the weather held out until we arrived.  Then the rain started, luckily we were smart enough to bring our dear friend El Gato with us!  Made dinner that much better!  In fact, a South African couple saw how much fun the Gato brought us and joined us.



Almost to the top



The next morning it was up early for the hike out of the canyon.  We started at 5 AM and got to the top at 7:30 AM, 2.5 hours to hike switch backs a kilometer up.  I have no idea how long the trail was, but going pretty much straight up for 2.5 hours was hard, tiring and sweaty, really sweaty.  So worth it though, the views with the rising of the sun were great and the reward of reaching the top incredible.

So there it is, the return to two of the greatest places that I have ever been.  Was it worth it, yes!  I rarely like to go back to places that I have been to already, there are very few places that I would return to, these are two of those places.  Everytime I've been to Machu Picchu it takes my breath away, this time was no different.  The size and layout of the city are awe inspiring.  The location of the city, on top of a mountain, not just any mountain, a mountain with a such a steep climb it is basically a monster cliff face.  The Incas were incredible architects, they did things that mordern day technology could never imitate.

The return to Colca also brought awe to my eyes.  Shear natural beauty, and the thought that people have been living at the bottom of this canyon for hundreds of years and farming it is incredible, gotta love Peruvians!  It has changed alot in eight years, electricity, running water and more.  The people here have benefited from tourism and they appreciate it.

What did I learn about myself....time to gloat....I am in much better shape at age 40 then I was in my early 30's.  Yes it is true.  It took me over three hours to climb out of that canyon at age 32 and I thought I was gonna die when I reached the top.  When I was 30 walking around Machu Picchu, I was completely winded and had to take constant breaks.  This year I ran around the site like I owned it!  Who would have thunk that a heavy Blue Bricks diet would make me a 40 year old machine?

Stay tuned the next update is incredible, more trekking, more injuries and great pictues!  Go Packers!!  or Vamos Los Empacadores!!  Time to watch the game...in Spanish - BONUS!!