Peruvian Flat

It turns out mountain biking is hard. I mean I should have known that, but it is really really hard.

Our first day on the MP trek was entirely biking. Granted it was all downhill and such, but out of 5 hours of biking, the last 3 and a half were on bumpy, rocky dirt roads. My bum is still sore. My hands were practically bruised from gripping the handlebars. It poured rain all day and I hav enever been so soaked and dirty.... and it was amazing.

There were moments when I was just pissed off that I was biking in the jungle in a downpour, but at the end of the day, when we rode up to the hostel... I am glad that I didn´t wuss out and take the bus half way through. I am proud that I finished the day in style.

We biked maybe 50 km, to a town called Santa Maria. Dinner was apparently traditional Peruvian (meat and rice.) and tasty, especially after a day like that!

Our group had 7 people in it, which is fairly small. There was a dutch couple, a Belgian couple, a New Zealander and a Brit. I spent most of the time hanging out with the Brit, he and I got along really well. We also made friends with some of the groups doing the same trek at the same time but with different companies. Really social atmosphere, for being stuck out in the Peruvian jungle.

That night I got my own room! Delightful.

Day two was sunny and hot, which was amazing for trekking (rain is less than ideal, shall we say...) although after a while its a bit much. We did 7 hours total. First flat, then up a mountain where we followed an Inca trail (not THE Inca trail.... there are a bunch of them) and then climbed down the mountain.

Now. When a Peruvian person says to you, the next two hours is flat walking, don´t ever listen. The problem is that Peruvians have no idea what flat is. They live in the mountains. Nothing is flat. Peruvian flat, from what I can tell, essentially means it´s not straight up, and the ups will eventually equal the downs. I had a few fights with our guide about this... he laughed at me, mostly.

The other problem with trekking is that bugs love me. Especially sandflies, apparently. I cant so much as look at my legs anymore, they start to itch and it drives me crrraaazy. Yes I used bug spray, yes it had deet, but I think they´re into that sort of thing. Uhg.

But at the end of a long day, we got to spend a couple hours in the hot springs at Santa Theresa, which was divine. I expected just a hole in the ground with hot water, like what we had in Bolivia, but it was a full on resort. Amazing, and just what my muscles needed desperately.

We went out for a few drinks that night, because the hiking day three isn´t too hard, but were still in by midnight. Life is tough when you have to get up at 6.

Day three was mostly flat (remember, Peruvian flat....) and not too tough. A couple of the other groups got to climb up a mountain right near machu picchu and view the ruins from afar, but our giude apparently doesn´t do that in the rainy season, so we relaxed in the town at the base of the mountain, Aguas Calientes, for a few hours. Dinner was Mexican food and bed, in a decent hotel, was early.

And then, on saturday, I got up at 3:45 in the morning for the first time in my life.

I will not be doing that again, let me tell you.

It takes about an hour and a half to make it from Aguas Calientes to the ruins at the top of the mountain, so we started walking just after 4. The site opens at 6 and only the first 400 people in get permission to climb Waynupicchu, the sister mountain that juts off machu picchu, which is a magnificent view.

It´s dark when the walk starts. All you can see is little clusters of people lit up by flashlight, hardly anyone speaks because we´re all too tired and too caught up in the magic of the pilgrimmage. Dawn broke half way up the mountain, and I´d tell you it was magical as well, but quite frankly, I was just trying to drag myslef up the 2000 stairs. It was a tough but fairly short climb, totally worth it over taking the bus. I was within the first 40 people up the mountain, I made it by 5:30 or so, which is a fantastic feeling. The mountain climbing accomplishment, not the 5:30, lets not kid ourselves.

Macchu Picchu gets a lot of hype, and in my travels I´ve heard people tell me both that it was stunning and that it was just a buch of rocks on a hill. I side with the people who claim it deserves its status as a new world wonder. The place is 80 per cent original. The craftmanship of the entire city is phenomenal... massive earthquakes and 500 + years of wear have yet to bring down the Inca architecture. The focus on symbolism, on shape, on knowledge and learning and spirituality is awe -inspiring. Everything means something... although we don´t always know what that something is, everything means SOMETHING. Amazing.

Our guide for the tour was okay, nothing spectacular. The best was just wandering the city and imagining the civilization, the priests who spent their lives in this place, the riches it held once. The climb up Waynu Picchu, 45 minutes of essentially straight up stairs, was taxing after the morning climb, but was worth it for the overhead view of the city. I have some fantastic pictures.

We took the train (and bus) back to Cusco with only a few hitches - some of the tickets were for later than they should have been, and my name somehow got left off the bus list, but there´s nothing a good hissy fit won´t fix... hah.... I am not one to play the throw-a-fit card, but when I´m about to be stranded an hour from cusco anything is fair game. In any case, I got back just fine, showered and drank and danced til 4:30. Which is when I realized, standing in a bar in downtown Cusco, that I had been up for 24 hours, and perhaps this was not the best life choice. Hahah!

Today I leave Cusco. I´ve joined forces with my British guy from the trek - Nathan - and his friends, and 12 of us are descending on Arequipa on a night bus. There, hopefully we can hook up a canyon trek. I´ll stay in Arequipa til saturdya night, get a night bus out, spend one night in Lima and fly home.... scaaaary.

I´ve sent approximately a billion postcards home, to nearly everyone who gave me addresses now, but as far as I know none have arrived. Hopefully soon? Ha.

Take care, everyone, and wish me luck on the last leg of my trip. xo.