What an amazing few days! Collin and I spent a couple days in cusco relaxing and seeing some of the sites of the city. There are a lot of gringos here and people are always trying to sell you things as you walk through the streets or convince you to eat in their restaurant. It took us a bit to get used to haggling but after a couple of learning experiences at the start we have managed to get some good prices for things.
Our second day consisted of getting ready for our four day Inca Jungle Trek which culminates with Machu Pichu and just sitting in the main square watching the world go round.
The trek was absolutely amazing and easily the highlight of the trip so far. The first day consisted of driving up to the top of a mountain and then biking all the way down (while avoiding the huge trucks and not going over the cliff) at top speed, only slowing down for the really tight corners. All the way down we were passing through different climate zones and finished off in the humid and warm jungle. After playing some pickup soccer with some of the people on our trip we had a few drinks and went to bed. The second day was the biggest hiking day (about 8 hours) as we trekked through the jungle and partly on Inca trails. With some great views of the country around us our guide told us about many of the plants and animals of the area and of Incan history and culture. After an 11 hour day our group of eleven people had a fun dinner and a few drinks at the towns only bar. The following day, after a start a little too early for many of us, we did some ziplining and then we hiked around Machu Pichu and Wayna Pichu mountains, and settled into Aguas Calientes in preparation for our ascent of Machu Pichu. With the gates open at 5am Collin and I climbed the 1800ish steps to the entrance to the lost city in 35 minutes and were the first ones up in preparation to watch the sunrise from inside the city. We spent the entire day in Machu Pichu which was absolutely amazing. An entire city : houses, temples, public areas and farming terraces all perched atop a mountain is quite the sight to behold. The four day trek was by far the highlight of the trip and will be difficult to top.
We returned to Cusco by train and bus in the wee hours of the morning and had a great sleep. The next day was a nice and slow day, consisting of more sitting in the main plaza and watching the world pass by, laundry and food. Last night we had some drinks with our guide and some of the people from our trek.
We will be leaving Cusco tomor and are heading back to La Paz and then the Salt Flats for a few days before going into Chile shortly after.