Machu Picchu

An early morning rise to catch the bus to Ollayatumbo for the beginning of the Inca Trail. We had to book this trek back in June for the Oct 7th start date! Unfortunately Buzz couldn't join us as when he decided to join our travels, the trail was already booked.

We began the trek by buying a toque, walking stick, poncho, rain pants and a bottle of water. All proved to be quite useful. At the trail entrance gate we waited in line while passports were being stamped. Only 200 people and 300 porters are allowed on the trail per day which is why there is such a backlog in booking.

The first day hike was about 4 hrs of very leisurely walking. We saw multiple inca ruins including an old village ruin which from above appears to be the paw of a puma. The incas designed there villages to resemble animals (machu picchu is shaped like an alligator from an aerial view).

We began to mingle with our group which consisted of 2 very nice elderly couples from Vancouver, two friends from Saskatchewan, and two chaps from England both named James. It was bizarre to have such a high canadian contingency but it turned out great as everyone was very friendly and interesting. The recent law grads from england were a hoot snood shared the international drinking game which has made it's way in to our night repertoire.

Once we made it to camp the sleeping tents and eating tent were already setup and popcorn and tea were waiting for us. The porters on the trek blew me away. They basically run up the mountain in flip flops, carrying a load larger than a hockey bag, hunch over, munching on a wad of cocoa leaves (for energy and to reduce the effects of altitude sickness). They leave after us in the morning as they have to pack all the gear up, and have to race to beat us to the end to setup camp. Extremely impressive.

Day 2 was the killer day. It had the highest elevation gain and probably the worst weather to boot. I was very impressed both the Vancouver couples finished the day in graceful fashion being in their early 60s! Once we hit the top of the peak after 5 or 6 hrs of ascension, the summit converged and created a hurricane force wind with lots of rain. The first attempt across, James and I quickly turned around and added a few layers for warmth. By this point we were quite wet from the continuous rain. After a change and a few snacks we battled on and made it to camp. We slept very well that night.

The food for this trip was stunning to say the least considering the nature of transporting the food and cooking in on a george foreman like grill. Spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken stuffed with broccoli, pancakes, and even a cake on the 3rd day! We celebrated Linda's birthday one morning with a tasty vanilla cake with icing! The guide/cooks timed this perfectly heading into tipping time however they deserved every penny.

Day 3 proved to have the most scenic landscapes and views. Most of my pictures of the mountains and jungle were taken on this day. The hike was long but very manageable and the incredible sights made it easy of the eyes. We walked to the Antipati ruins near the end of the hike were James and I sat, played a game of crib, and snacked on a bag of animal crackers. Not a bad setting for a game of cribbage. The campsite that night overlooked a massive valley and the river below. The view from the tent easily surpassed Algonquin park. One the top of one of the mountains was a gazebo where for a pretty penny you can hike up and have lunch on the summit with valleys on either side. Similar to the lotto 649 commercial if you have seen it.

Day 4 began bright and early. We woke at 4pm in the morning to beat the rush to machu picchu. The hike was quite narrow and once again offered stunning views. After a few hrs we began to see the revered machu picchu ruins. The camera saw a lot of action over the next few hrs. Once we arrived to the ruins which were much bigger than I initially thought, we began a guided tour from Ruben (our guide). We learned the ruins were used as a type of female school similar to a nunnery. A few male guards were present for protection but most of the rooms were occupied by girls in their late teens.

Machu Picchu was discovered by Henry Bingham, a Yale university professor who was looking for the lost Inca city in 1911. He stumbled upon machu picchu which wasn't the city he was looking for. He found ample amounts of gold and silver artifacts which were used as tools by the incas. They did not know the true value of gold and even painted over the gold. Tension still exists between Peru and Yale University who will not return many of the sought after artifacts.

After multiple pictures of the ruins and llamas James and I headed for shade as the sun was stifling. We found a room with a perfect roof and began to play cards. In a few minutes we got yelled at by another guide as apparently we were playing cards on a praying alter and were insulting the culture by enjoying a game in this rooms. Oops!

We moved down to the base camp of the ruins for a quick brunch with overtly priced food. We took a bus to Aguascalientes Calientes, enjoyed a final meal with our group, and train back to Ollyatumbo. From there another bus ride took us back to Cusco. My overall experience of the hike was incrdible. The sights, ruins, group, and final destination of Machu Picchu were unbelievable.

Peru Scorecard

Food - 7 (more westernized, loom Saltado is a winner)
People- 7 (friendly guides, would be higher if bag wasn't stolen)
Landscape- 9 (desert oasis, inca trail tough to beat)
Nightlife- 8 (loki hostel in cusco was a blast)
Adventure- 8 ( sand boarding, dune buggy both firsts)
Highlight- 9 (inca trail was 2nd favourite event all trip do far)
Overall- 8

Lake Titcaca

The first stop in Bolivia was the famous lake titicaca (highest navigable body of water in the world). The city
Copacabana and isle del
Sol provided great views of the lake and a great hike on the island. Not too much to talk about this stop.

Luna valley

After arriving in La Paz we had a few days to spare before of jungle trek. We decided to check out the Luna valley nearby la Paz.

The Luna valley was a quick day trip just outside of la Paz. We rented a few atvs and Adam rented a dirt bike for the day. We followed a guide along a sweet path with great views over looking the Luna valley. The street dogs didn't agree with our motor vehicles and chased us down. Freaky trying to avoid dogs and steer the quad as well.

Jungle trek

Once in Bolivia, we promptly began to look for a jungle tour to get a taste of the amazon. After talking to a bunch of companies (James did most of the leg work as I was sick with food poisoning and Adam a bacterial infection) we decided to take the advice of several Israelis and book with Shael Bolivia mostly because it was one of the cheapest 7 day treks we could find.

The first morning of the trek couldn't have been worse. Buzz figured he couldn't go as he was up all night with the bacterial infection and James and I were very hungover and riding on 5 hrs of sleep. The bus ride to the Rio Verde (river and name of the trek) was brutal. It was a crammed minibus with zero circulation on a pothole littered road. The perfect storm. After the 6 hr bus ride we arrived at a small village for lunch and to change vehicles as the brakes on ours were poor by local standards which means the driver had to go Fred Flinstone on the pedal.

The first meal of the trip casted some serious doubt on our trip selection. Bread, cucumber, onions, tomato, cheese, and a plate of avocado. What are you supposed to do with that? Not only did James and I dislike 80% of the ingredients, we barely knew how to even cut the veggies. Once that meal was presented we immediately began reanalyzing our portioned snack food and promptly bought 7 muffins from a nearby convenience shop foreshadowing the worst.

After hopping back on the bus we made a quick stop to our first river canyon. We hopped into the water and trudged up the river following our guide. About 15 meters into the river I slipped on a rock and in my wailing to regain balance lost my sunglasses into the muddy river never to be found again (I am sure this draws comparison to my dad, *rolls eyes) Up river the current got stronger and the canyoning became extremely fun. Cutting around rapids and throwing the infinite supply of skipping stones was a blast.

Once it was getting dark we turned back and hopped on the bus. Once arriving to our first campsite we settled into our surroundings. Jungle everywhere and a big river cutting through the valley. We mingled with our other participants...5 israelis and our guides Jose and Pedro. Once we set up our 'tent' and got inside, we realized we were not in Kansas anymore. The tent was 12ft long and 6 feet wide. Oh yeah it's also just a tarp. Doing the math for 7 people in the tent it leaves each person with a little under 2 ft of sleeping room. Awesome.

Turning aside the aforementioned negatives we were excited to continue the canyoning. Next day we awoke to some nice shushuka (israeli scrambled eggs dish) and began to pack our bags. We foolishly expected the guides to carry most of the gear and food similar to the inca trail however that was not the case. After stuffing my bag to its limits and adding 20lbs of veggies we began the days hike. At the next campsite we munched on some similar sandwiches however salami was added along with hot sauce which made them quite tasty. Then in the afternoon we got into the bread and butter of the trip.

Walking up rivers past rapids and waterfalls along with the occasional cliff jump was a common afternoon adventure. One day we brought our inflatable tube up river and rode down the rapids which was awesome! After a few crashes from other group members we began the assisted descent attaching all our tubes together to minimize damage. The next day we used a machete to cut down a few trees to build a giant raft and rode down river to our last canyon. This one was by far the best. It took about 2hrs to get to the end which featured a big waterfall and strong current. On the ledge at the top I noticed a red snake and pointed it out to the guide. He quickly took a rock and killed it. Next he looked at me, took his hand and made a cutting motion across his neck...apparently a very poisonous snake! This was a great end to the trip.

One the way back to la Paz on the raft we got hit with a massive downpour for a good 20 mins. After, I got absolutely rocked by a tree sticking out in the river in the side of the face. Both James and I tried to block the tree from hitting us but our reflexes let us down.

I must admit after reading the last few paragraphs, this trip must sound pretty awful. In hindsight it was unbelievable. There was definitely room for improvement but for the most part it was great way to see the jungle.

A quick update on the NFL pool. In week 8 Adam took New Orleans over St. Loius in which the spread severely favored NO. Th Rams maybe were inspired by the Cardinals winning the world series and beat the Saints handily. This opened the door for my pick (49ers) to win their game and ultimately the pool! For winning, I'll receive a few beers and get Adam to be my beer slave for a night. Make sure they are cold Adam!

Death Road

As scary as the name sounds we decided to tackle the most dangerous road in the world. Almost every traveller in Bolivia has hopped on a bike and made the 4 hr downhill bike ride. The reason it is considered the most dangerous road is that in it's history there have been 85,000 deaths on the road. A large portion of these happened back in the 30s and 40s when the road was being constructed. The ride begins at 4200m of elevation and drops down to 1200m at the end. The beginning of the ride started at a chilling 5 degrees and then at the end hit about 27 near the jungle.

To begin the ride our group of 8 and the 2 guides performed a ritual in which we sprinkle 90% alcohol (basically pure ethanol) on the ground and bike tires as a gift to mother nature for safe passage on the road. We also took a small swig which was dreadful. With the ritual complete, we began the first half of the ride which was on a paved road. I have never gone so quick on a bike...we were going as fast or faster than traffic on the road in a tucked position. Really fun.

The second half was the real death road. This part meanders along the side of a mountain with a big cliff drop on the left. For some bizarre reason that we can't figure out, the traffic laws are changed on this road so the cars travel on the left side of the road. I suppose the driver in the lane can see how close his tires are to the cliff. However the bikers now must travels even farther left of those cars leaving an arms length at some points to a long unplanned free fall.

Our group completed the road with few hiccups. One cool Canadian fellow crashed over some roads and had a gash in his leg. Being a tough canadian he rubbed some dirt on it and continued down. The views were incredible throughout the trip. The weather was crystal clear allowing easy views of the Andes, the jungle, and the occasional waterfall. It was very impressive.

On the drive back to la Paz the weather turned for the worst and our path was covered with clouds, mist and fog. You literally couldn't see 2 cars lengths ahead. Conveniently we were behind a large 18 wheeler and our driver was getting annoyed at our slow speed. He attempted a blind pass....actually couldn't see and began to accelerate until he saw the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Whoops! Hammered on the brakes and turned quickly behind the truck. All of us passengers were left breathless and told the driver to simmer down. We made it home alive and in good time...

Adams computer was recently stuck with some viruses but is finally now working thanks to a computer savvy hostel worker. Pictures to come soon!