When we arrive in Lima we will immediately arrange a flight to Cusco to get accustomed to the height.
Three days after arriving in Cusco we will start the 6-day Vilcanota trek.
A new road has opened up this exciting region of snowfields and lakes.
On this remote trek, Llamas will transport all the equipment as we walk the high valleys beneath towering peaks and ice fields.
This isolated and splendid place is home to the traditional Quechua highlanders.
Cusco
Wednesday morning we took the plane to Lima, followed by the flight to Cusco. Right after we arrived in Lima we found out that we could even take an earlier flight, so after changing our ticket we went straight to boarding for Cusco.
Since our hostel would arrange transport but didn't know that we arrived early, we went looking for an internet cafe first to look up the phone number of the hostel. Immediately in the arrival lobby we were ambushed by tour operators, taxi drivers and caddies wanting to carry your luggage. Fortunately we were warned beforehand (thank you Luke!) that practically everyone in Peru lies to you. So when we asked taxi drivers for an internet cafe and they told us that these could only be found in the city, we knew that they were lying!
After having called our hostel we were picked up from the airport.
Our hostel lies in the hills overlooking the center of Cusco. Only a few streets can be reached by car, the other streets can be reached by many, many stairs. We were very kindly received by our hostess, who immediately offered us coco tea, the best remedy for altitude sickness. This is really helpful considering that Cusco lies on 3500 mtr! The rest of the afternoon we took it easy, only going out for some shopping for lunch and dinner. We could make use of the kitchen so we didn't have to go out every time.
The temperature during day time really surprised us. We had thought that we had to put on our gloves and sweater right away, but the daytime temperature easily reached around 20 degr. Only directly after sunset the temperature drops dramatically! Just like in Chile, people never heard of central heating in their houses. So we have many layers of blankets on our bed which are all needed.
Thursday the 15th of June we spent discovering Cusco and looking for warm clothes for our trek, which would start on Saturday. Lucky us, it was a religious celebration that day, so all cuscians were gathered around the main plaza (Plaza de Armas - like it is called in every South American city).
Again we had to use the famous Spanish words 'no gracias' about every other second. We were already used to locals offering their products to you on the streets travelling through Guatemala, but this was nothing compared to what we experienced here in Cusco. When we were having lunch, at the same time three people were trying to sell us their products (paintings, dolls and fruit). This was actually quite funny, also since some of them just don't take no for an answer. They left their product on our table and waited around the corner, just in case we might change our mind.
Finding warm outdoor clothes proved to be quite a challenge. In Cusco they do not have big clothing shops, only small shops which sell besides tours also a few clothes. You can however find nice clothes typical to the area, made of alpaca wool (sort of llama). We were also lucky enough to find a second hands store which sold outdoor clothes from several good brands. It will hopefully all fit in our backpack again!
Friday we had our briefing for the trek which would start Saturday. We met our guide Richard who explained the route through the mountains and what we should bring with us. During our trek we would climb as high as 5300 mtr, so quite a challenge!. We then also learnt that only 2 others would join us on this trip, so not really a big group!.
The rest of the day we spend doing some more shopping for the trip and packing all our bags. We rented sleeping bags (which will keep up warm till -10 degr.) and another 40 ltr backpack. We would only have to carry a day-pack and all the other stuff would be carried by the llamas (lucky us!).
Vilcanota trek
Saturday morning the 17th of June, we left our big backpacks in the storage of the hostel and had breakfast, before being picked up at 8 o'clock by Richard. The cook and assistant cook also travelled with us. At another hotel in Cusco we picked up Don, a retired chemistry professor, and Craig, a law student, both from the United States.
We travelled east over the new (not yet finished) unpaved Interoceanica, which will eventually connect Peru to Brazil and finally thus connecting the two oceans. After a few hours of driving we had lunch. Instead of having f.e. sandwiches, we got delicious pasta from the oven! This set the standard for the rest of the trip, and exceeded all our expectations we had beforehand about the food during such a trip.
Around three o'clock we reached a small highland town, Tinqui, the trail head for the Vilcanota Range.
Here the campsite was set up by three local wranglers, who were also responsible for the horses (6) and the llamas (7), who would carry all the camping equipment and all our personal stuff. Our camp site consisted of sleeping tents, a dining tent, a cooking tent and a toilet tent.
After a tea break we walked into the small town of Tinqui. Richard had told us that we would meet a lot of children during our walks, who would all appreciate to get some gifts from the tourists. For this purpose we all bought pens and pencils to hand out.
After a wonderful dinner, we went to bed quite early (this also set the standard for the rest of the trip). During our first camping night (at 3800 mtr), we found out that the rented sleeping bags didn't live up to expectations. Although they should have been suitable for -10 degr., we had it pretty cold, whereas the temperature didn't even reach the -10 C!
Sunday morning we were woken up by the cook and his assistant with hot tea. After finishing our tea we got 2 buckets of hot water to wash ourselves. Before breakfast we had packed all our stuff, which would then be placed on the llamas. All we had to carry were the things we would need during the day, like f.i. a sweater or a hat. We also got some snacks for underway.
Since Don and we hadn't been comfortably warm during the night, Richard advised us to buy alpaca blankets in town.
We all bought really nice blankets on the market for only EUR 6,-! The market was just being set up when we got there, but we could already see that it would be quite an event. The really amazing site was all the dead llamas and other animals (still in one piece!), lying in trucks or on blankets beside the road, ready for sale. The people of the town looked at us as if we came from Mars, but where all very friendly.
Our first day in the highlands, we walked for about 6-7 hours climbing steadily through the hills. Especially the first few hours we came across many Indian people walking to the market of Tinqui.
Woman in traditional clothing carrying children, men with horses carrying products to sell and complete families leading their pigs to the market. They were all very friendly and also very happy when we gave pens or pencils to the children.
Many times we saw children running through the fields alerting the other children that we had presents. Then older children picked up their younger brothers or sisters and ran to the road where we were.
The people living in the highlands of Peru are very poor and still live like they have been doing for many years. They work on the land (most of them grow potatoes) or have a herd of animals, which they use for the skin and the meat. They also sell their handcraft to the occasional tourist like f.i. cloths and shawls made of Alpaca wool. For their own consumption they also keep many guinea pigs in their houses. Apparently they taste very well, but we have not tried it yet. Before being able to try this local speciality, we first have to get over the fact that it is a pet in many countries.
The people living farther away of the city also don't have electricity or running water. They collect their water from the rivers and dry the meat of the animals which they don't eat straight away.
Lunch was set up on top of a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. The cook, his assistant and their carrying horse had arrived there before us with all of their food supplies. We got soup and nice sandwiches with cheese and healthy stuff like cucumber and tomatoes. We were definitely not going to starve during this trip!
Around 4 in the afternoon we arrived at our campsite, which had already been set up by the wranglers. All we had to do was unpack our big bags, so it would be finished for the night. The campsite was situated within the traditional hamlet of Paccanta at 4570 mtr near hot springs.
Right after our arrival some indian ladies came and spread out their handy craft work. But more importantly (to us), was that they also sold cold beers! We took them with us when taking a dip in the really hot spring. It was really nice to get sort of clean and warmed up. During the day the temperature had been fine, with sunshine and clear blue skies.
But we knew that temperatures would drop dramatically as soon as the sun had set. That night was indeed a lot colder than the night before, so we were really happy that we had bought the blankets!
Monday morning we walked for a little over 3 hours before arriving to our campsite in Ccommerccocha. We overlooked a beautiful lake and the surrounding mountains.
The further we had walked through the mountains that morning the less people we ran in to. We did however see some original farmers houses and some herds of llamas and alpacas. After having had lunch at the campsite and a little break, we climbed a mountain near the campsite.
After a steep climb of 1 1/2 hr, which literally took your breath away due to the high altitude, we reached the summit. The view was stunning so completely worth the effort of the climb.
Day 4 of our trip, Tuesday, we passed the magnificent Jampa Pass at 5050 mtr. The trail followed a moraine above a glacier that flows down from the snow covered peaks east of our route. After having reached the pass we descended down to the Acero camp at the head of the Jampa Valley. Underway we came to see wild Vicuņas (elegant sister of the llama). There are not many left in this area since they are being hunted for their skin/wool.
This day had really been strenuous, leaving us pretty exhausted at the end of it.
Wednesday we were woken up at 5.30hrs, since we had to climb a 5300 mtr col that day. But since the night had been extremely cold, it wasn't all that bad to get up and wash our hands and face with nice warm water. After 2 hours of gradual climbing we reached the base of the mountain. It took us another 3 hours of extremely difficult rock climbing to reach the summit of the mountain. Although we were completely exhausted, the view made it all worth while.
At the base of the mountain we enjoyed a nice and well deserved lunch. It then took us another 3 hours to finally reach the campsite. This had definitely been the most difficult day of the trip!
For dinner they had prepared the local speciality; Pachamanca (lamb & potatoes in the oven). First they made a fire heating up a pile of rocks. Then removing part of the rocks and placing the pieces of meat and the potatoes on the hot rocks and covering it with more rocks. Then putting dried grass on top of the pile and finally covering it with plastic and earth. After 45 minutes the meat and the potatoes were finished and delicious! This had been really one of the best dinners ever!
The final day of our trip, we had a 9 km hike down along the Chillca River to the village of Chillca, the first sizable community since the start of the trek. During the hike we spotted wild chinchillas and rabbits.
We could really tell that this was the last day, since we were all pretty quiet and concentrated solely on the walk down. We were very happy to finally see the van who had come to pick us up. After having bought some beers in town we had our last lunch.
Late in the afternoon, after a drive of around 3 hours, we got back in Cusco. This has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip so far. The camping, trekking and nature has all been amazing. We were also pleasantly surprised by the kindness of the local people we met.
After having said goodbye to Don and Craig, we were dropped at our hostel.
We then brought back our backpack and sleeping bags to the store. Since there are a lot of festivities in Cusco this week, we walked around town some more.
We saw a few bands playing and it was pleasantly busy in town.
Finally we enjoyed a nice long, hot shower in our hostel to try to get all the dirt from our skin (it will probably take some more showers to get rid of it all!). After having spent 5 nights on a sleeping mat (which was too thin), we also really appreciated our hostel bed.
Friday we used for doing our laundry and working on our site. End of the afternoon we met Patrick and Stephanie, whom we had met on the Galapagos cruise, to have drinks and dinner.
Saturday we watched Netherland play together with Patrick and Stephanie. Too bad they lost! Sunday, the 24th of June was the celebration of the Sun in Cusco - the Inti Raimi.
On top of the hill, at the fort of īSacsayhuamanī where Inka ruins can be found, they had organised a colourful ceremony with music and dance based on the old Indian traditions. Since we didnīt know the exact time, we arrived at the hill too soon and finally ended up waiting for 3 hours. In the beginning we had found quite a nice place too sit, but near the start of the ceremony, the people started to crowd us more and more. One thing which has to be said about the Peruvians, they donīt know the concept of personal space!
The ceremony itself was quite nice, but we left after about an hour since it began to rain. The people of Cusco didnīt seem to care, since there were still people coming uphill to watch the spectacle.
Monday morning we went by taxi and train to Aquas Calientes where we arrived in the afternoon. This is the starting place to visit Machu Picchu.
The village is situated in a narrow valley and built around the railway track. Since they almost solely live on tourism, the village consists mostly of hotels, restaurants and internet cafés. The temperature was a few degrees higher than in Cusco, so it very pleasant to walk around there.
The funny thing was the competition between the different restaurants. You only had to look at the different places and the waitresses and waiters came running out of their restaurant trying to persuade you to come to their place. The longer you stood outside talking to them, the cheaper the menus and the more free drinks! We really appreciate the local Peruvian drink, pisco sour. This is made of the liquor Pisco mixed together with lime and egg-white.
The next morning we got up at 4.30 to be able to catch the first bus at 5.15 to Machu Picchu. After a drive of 45 minutes up the mountain we arrived at the entrance gate.
We were probably number 10 in line, so we got the chance to see the ruins without any people walking around.
The first look we got on the ruins, was just like the pictures on the postcards. We had however thought it to be bigger than this, but is was still impressive though. When the sun finally rose at 7.15 it got even more beautiful. At 8 we met our guide who explained us a lot about the history of the site and the history of its inhabitants, the Inkaīs.
After the tour finished we decided to climb the Waynapicchu. This was a strenuous climb of an hour uphill, but the views were great! The top of the mountain however was quite crowded with young backpackers, which didn~t create a nice serene atmosphere! (Luckily we were warned for this, so we were prepared).
After the descent we were quite exhausted, so we didnīt walk to the Sun-gate (the original entrance when you finish the Inka Trail), since this would take at least another hour of climbing uphill!
We took the bus back to Aquas Calientes where we had a few drinks while watching football. When we arrived back in Cusco at 8, we met Patrick and Stephanie for drinks and dinner. They really knew all the timetables for happy hours and places with cheap menus! (we do too now!)
Wednesday we went rafting with them on the Urubamba river. Since it wasnīt the rainy season, the rafting only got to grade 3+, but it was still great fun. (I even fell in twice and that was not because I canīt raft!).
That night we had a nice farewell dinner and drinks (lots of them) since we were leaving for Sao Paulo the next day. It was a great night although we do have a few blanks in our memory and we came into close contact with the pavement!
Thursday we flew to Lima in the afternoon and later that night to Sao Paulo, Brazil where we arrived at 3.30 in the morning.
We can honestly say that Peru has left a great impression on us. The people were extremely kind and the scenery was beautiful. We will definitely return one day to explore the rest of this beautiful country.
Now we start our Brazilian adventure!
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