Yearly Archives: 2015

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

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May21MP_008I know that in La Paz we decided that biking is far superior to hiking, but we decided to give it a second chance here in Peru. Of course, we had also booked our hike to Machu Picchu way back in January, so it’s not like we had too much of a choice! In the end, we had a great time. The weather was good, our guide was personable, the scenery was outstanding, and the food was excellent. For most of the 4-day hike we were in various stages of recovery and relapse from previous stomach ailments, so it was more challenging than it should have been for us. Besides the stomach problems the hike was a breeze. We did less than 10 miles a day, and the porters carried the heavy stuff. More on the porters later, since there is still our ride into Cuzco to describe.

Last time we updated we were spending a day in the city of Sicuani, about 100 miles from Cuzco. We were stuck there for a day because I (Daisy) ate a pomegranate that gave me food poisoning. I spent an entire day alternating between the bed and the bathroom, and Jason was absolutely wonderful about taking care of me. He only left my side to venture out for food. The next day I was recovered enough to ride, but just barely. We made sloooow progress towards Cuzco, and managed to make it about 45 miles down the road to a cute town with a simple hostel. The next day we again made slow progress, but it was fast enough and we entered the city of Cusco exactly on schedule. Minor miracle!

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As we approached Cusco we started to see ruin sites everywhere!

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We had a bike lane for most of the ride into the big city.

The next day we met our guide, Ronald, for our hike briefing session. Ronald is about our age, and worked first as a porter when he was a teenager, then as a cook, and finally as a guide. Our hike started the next day at the incredibly early hour of 5 am when the minibus came for us at our hotel. It was about a 2 hour drive to the trailhead, where we loaded up our packs and started walking.

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May21MP_005It was nuts. For each tourist that hikes this trail, there are about 2 people hiking it to support them. For our small group of 3 tourists, for example, there were 4 porters, a cook, and a guide. The porters carry these giant sacks (25 kg, 55 pounds) with simple shoulder straps, and many of them wear sandals as they run up and down the trail. They are supermen. Why do they need to carry so much? Because this hike turned out to be a luxury hike. We ate every meal in a meal tent, and they cooked elaborate meals fresh every day for all three meals. For breakfasts there were pancakes, or omelettes, for lunch and dinner we had soup followed by a plate with four different preparations. On our last night, there was even a fresh baked cake!

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Enough about the food though. You probably want to know all about the beautiful mountains, lush valleys, and the Inca paved trail. Well, they were all just as wonderful as we had hoped. The mountains were so steep and impressive that it was like being inside a postcard. The valleys were full of rushing rivers and tiny hamlets. On the Amazon side, the forest was lush and we were serenaded by birdcalls. Finally, the trail was unbelievable. The Inca trail is carved out of steep hillsides and high mountain passes. For much of the trail we were walking up or down steep stone steps, and a couple times we had to go through tunnels created on the hillside. Walking this trail was like walking through a little bit of history.

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On our first day we were mostly in a valley where people still live, so we saw Peruvians going about their daily life with livestock and crops. We also saw the first of many Inca ruins.

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May22MP_003That night we camped in a farmer’s terrace, and spent time in the evening playing cards with our fellow hiker and our guide. Our group was small, just three, so we were lucky to be matched with Thiago, a friendly Brazilian. We had a nice time chatting with him during the day and in the evenings. When we had stomach problems he gave us some medicine, and when he got sore legs from the climb we gave him some ibuprofen, so we really were a team!

That night we fell asleep early, which is unsurprising considering the early start. The next day we got to sleep in until 5:30 AM! Ha. The porters woke us up by pounding on the tent and pouring us cups of coca tea. We spent all morning climbing up and up to a high pass with spectacular views. Many of the other tourists we saw on the trail seemed to be suffering from the climb and the altitude, but we had a nice time. The descent on the other side was tough! It was essentially a very long and very uneven staircase. We made it though!

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May23MP_003Our third day was our longest, and most eventful. We got up early again, and were climbing another pass for the first two hours of hiking. After that we got to poke around a lovely Inca ruin before walking through a cloud forest to yet another pass. In the afternoon it was all steeply downhill, and sometimes it was very, very steep. We reached another Incan ruin composed of agricultural terraces stretching up and down a huge hillside. It was stunning, and we learned that the Incas used some of their agricultural terraces as huge agricultural labratories. They domesticated and modified crops, as well as learning about what conditions produced ideal crop growth. The terraces, with their regular altitude shifts, made this possible.

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Near our final camp was yet another ruin, and this one was our favorite so far. It was another agricultural workshop, but it also included 20 stacked baths where the pilgrims to Machu Picchu would wash themselves. The best part was wandering through the ruins without another tourist in sight.

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May24MP_006The final, much awaited day began at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am. The porters needed to catch the early train out of the valley, so we had to be out of our tents and moving super early. Of course, we didn’t move very far. About 5 minutes of hiking after leaving camp we had to sit and wait for 1.5 hours for the trail control to open. It was cold, but we managed. As the sky slowly brightened we hiked quickly towards the Sun Gate, the overlook from which we would get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

View from the Sun Gate.

View from the Sun Gate.

We were very lucky, and the conditions were perfect. The sky was clear, and we watched as the sun slowly climbed high enough to reach Machu Picchu. It was lovely. From there, it was all downhill to the lost city of the Inca.

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May24MP_017Our adventure wasn’t quite over though. We still had to climb Huana Picchu, the hill behind the city. There is an ancient fortress at the top, and a long series of perilous steps that wind up the mountain. When we signed up for this ‘bonus hike’ we didn’t actually know how terrifying it would be! The trail wound up the mountain, and near the top it became a set of narrow, insanely steep steps. AfterMay24MP_018 a few celebratory photos at the top it was time to start down again, but this was the scariest part. Imagine climbing down with that view, without anything to hold onto, and on narrow, uneven, steep steps. It is unbelievable that up to 400 people do this (and survive) every day. It was a great relief when we were back on more even ground.

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Even though we were done with Machu Picchu by 1 pm, we still had many hours before returning to Cuzco. The nearest town (accessed by a very curvy bus ride!) is called Aguas Calientes, and it is only accessible by train from the outside world. This made for a fun afternoon of wandering the car-free town and eating lots of cake and coffee. Our train left just after dark, and we were back in Cuzco close to midnight. A very long day!

Town accessed only by railroad.

Town accessed only by railroad.

The best part of returning to Cuzco was our welcoming party: Jason’s parents! They made the long trip to Cuzco so they could spend a week with us, and we have had a truly lovely time with them. You’ll have to wait for our next update to read about it though!

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Leaving the altiplano and entering Peru

This past week we’ve been moving quickly towards Cusco. We had an exiting exit from La Paz, a beautiful ride along Lake Titicaca, and have entered our 7th country: Peru!

Country number 7: Peru!

Country number 7: Peru!

After taking a day to let our legs recover from our hike, we got up very early to leave La Paz before traffic picked up. Unfortunately, Daisy got a flat tire 3 blocks down the street! We changed the tube on the sidewalk while avoiding a couple puddles that were probably urine, based on the smell. It seems that people just pee all over the place in this city.

Flat tire in downtown La Paz

Flat tire in downtown La Paz

Crazy traffic in El Alto. We dodged cars, trucks, buses, and minibuses, and all the people trying to get rides or walk across the street!

Crazy traffic in El Alto. We dodged cars, trucks, buses, and minibuses, and all the people trying to get rides or walk across the street!

After escaping the traffic, we found ourselves back in the flat altiplano. Soon enough, we were riding along the famous Lake Titicaca. We took a short ferry (actually a small wooden raft) with a couple cars and then climbed our way up and over the hill to get to Copacabana. The road wound along the ridge and we could see the lake on both sides. It was beautiful!

Back on flat roads in the altiplano

Back on flat roads in the altiplano

These guys pushed our ferry (aka raft) off the dock before turning on a small motor. We shared the boat with 2 cars, although it looked like 3 or 4 could fit.

These guys pushed our ferry (aka raft) off the dock before turning on a small motor. We shared the boat with 2 cars, although it looked like 3 or 4 could fit.

The road wound up the hills and we got great views of Lake Titicaca.

The road wound up the hills and we got great views of Lake Titicaca.

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Our bikes get a break

Our bikes get a break

The next day we entered Peru, and we felt the difference immediately. The people are very friendly! A lot of people smile and wave to us as we ride by. Also, there are a lot more bicycles, cargo tricycles, and motorcycle taxis. In general, people seem to be a bit happier and a lot less reserved. When we stopped for our picnic lunch the first day, a woman with 4 cows sat down nearby and chatted with us.

The wheat was cut and set to dry

The wheat was cut and set to dry

One of many motorcycle-trucks

One of many motorcycle-trucks

A fishing village along Lake Titicaca.

A fishing village along Lake Titicaca.

Cut reeds drying in the sun. Along the road there were ladies tying them together to make mats.

Cut reeds drying in the sun. Along the road there were ladies tying them together to make mats.

Our first city in Peru: Puno.

Our first city in Peru: Puno.

Many of the small towns have municipal sports stadiums. Most of them have livestock inside!

Many of the small towns have municipal sports stadiums. Most of them have livestock inside!

Cargo tricycle traffic in Juliaca

Cargo tricycle traffic in Juliaca

Meeting Erik and Garbi, a friendly Spanish couple that have been heading south since Mexico.

Meeting Erik and Garbi, a friendly Spanish couple that have been heading south since Mexico.

Alpacas along the road

Alpacas along the road

Snowy mountains as we head up our first Peruvian pass, very gradually. Peru is known for having low grades and many switchbacks.

Snowy mountains as we head up our first Peruvian pass, very gradually. Peru is known for having low grades and many switchbacks.

"Summit Lake" -- or at least that is what we called it.

“Summit Lake” — or at least that is what we called it.

Our first summit sign in ages.

Our first summit sign in ages.

We got a little rain near the top

We got a little rain near the top

We are excited to arrive in Cusco in just a couple days. We will meet up with my parents and visit for a week – we haven’t seen them since San Francisco! We will also do the 4-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu. I think after that we’ll be happy to retire our hiking boots until after the bicycle trip is over.

They are serious about their guinea pigs!

They are serious about their guinea pigs!

Three days hiking to remind us that bikes are better

Up at the top near La Cumbre, around 16,000' (nearly 5000 m)

Up at the top near La Cumbre, around 16,000′ (nearly 5000 m)

Our time in Bolivia (on bikes) has been restricted to the high and dry altiplano, but we wanted to get a glimpse of the tropical lowlands before leaving the country next week.  For this reason, we decided to do a three day hike that starts in the high mountains and winds down a river valley into the steamy jungle.  We also wanted to break in our new hiking shoes (bought in La Paz) before our 4-day hike to Machu Pichu which we will start in another couple of weeks.

Because we didn’t have backpacks, and we were nervous about undertaking the hike, we decided to hire a guide through a travel agency.  Our ‘guide’ turned out to be more of a porter and a cook.  This was all good and well, but we could certainly have carried our own gear and cooked our own food.  We were disappointed that he didn’t tell us anything about the areas we were hiking through, and even more so when it came time to return to La Paz.  It was a nightmare half day of finding public transportation (4 separate vehicles), and our guide seemed just as lost as we were.  In fact, Jason was the one who found us the main transport to La Paz!

Despite the shortcomings, we are glad we did the hike.  Our legs are more or less destroyed from descending so many miles on rough, slippery trails, but we got to see the lush jungle and even a wild monkey!  In the narrative below I’ll try to share a bit about our time on the trail.

Day 1:  
We were super excited to start the hike, and a little nervous too since it’s been over a year since our last real hike. We agonized over what items were actually worth carrying. We decided we only needed one sleeping bag, and that we didn’t need too much warm gear since we could use our sleeping bag liners as warm togas. We might have looked a bit funny, but it worked!

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We were transported in a taxi to the highest part of the trail. When we got there it was high, beautiful, and cold! We got wrapped up in our sleeping bag liner togas, and started down the trail.  The views were good when the clouds parted enough to let us see. Our guide took off in front of us, and we made our own careful way down the steep and rocky path. This first bit of hiking before lunch ended up being one of our favorite parts of the whole thing. There were very few plants, but there were steep rock faces, cute llamas, and stone ruins. We watched the clouds rise from the depths of the valleys until we were in them, and for the rest of the day all we saw were clouds.

It was a long way down...

It was a long way down…

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Just as we stopped for lunch the rain began, and it continued for the rest of the day. The path was actually very nice, and we mostly stayed happy, but not completely.  They didn’t give us a rain cover for the rented backpack, and we had to do quite a bit of shuffling to get our gear in places where it would stay mostly dry.

Stone-paved trail, in the Inca style

Stone-paved trail, in the Inca style

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Everything got a lot greener!

Everything got a lot greener!

For the rest of the day we picked our way downhill steeply on slick stones, with our guide somewhere off ahead of us. It was with great relief (and the beginning of tired legs) that we arrived at our intended destination with a covered camping area.

It got wet.

It got wet.

Jason was very excited to see the bridge to a covered camping spot!

Jason was very excited to see the bridge to a covered camping spot!

That night was pretty fun. We had snacks and a little chat with our guide, Tomas. He has four mostly grown kids, one of which is in college. It was nice to chat with him, and this was our only chat for the rest of the trip, which was passing strange. He cooked us a yummy dinner of soup, pasta, meat, and some simple veggies. We chatted some more with a lovely Belgian couple also doing the hike, then headed to early bed.

Day 2.
Luckily, the day dawned a bit drier, and it wasn’t too cold.  Tomas insisted that we get up at 5:30 am, so the alarm went off in complete darkness.  We were hiking by first light.  The trail began to be overgrown with jungle-type plants, and there were many crossings of raging streams. The first three hours were super slippery, but after that the trail improved and we could walk more or less normally. Of course, by this time our legs were already sore from the previous day.

It was clear and not raining early in the morning.

It was clear and not raining early in the morning.

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The entire day was long and tiring, but through lovely scenery with some great views when the clouds parted. At times the hot air rose from the valleys and made us feel like we were in a sauna. At other times a cold wind came down from the hills and cooled us off. The trail went up and down, following the side of the mountain and dipping down to cross many streams.  We finally emerged to our destination of Sandillani. It used to be a happening place, with manicured japanese gardens, an eco-hostel, and snack bars. Currently, however, it is abandoned and strewn with trash.  We set up the tent, hobbled around a bit, and were mostly incredibly sore from 8.5 hours of hiking.

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Jason's nasty wet foot, I'm sure you wanted to see that!

Jason’s nasty wet foot, I’m sure you wanted to see that!

Working out some soreness with a hot water bottle massage.

Working out some soreness with a hot water bottle massage.

The trash pile is under the roof of the only covered camping spot.

The trash pile is under the roof of the only covered camping spot.

Day 3.
That morning was lovely – our other favorite part of the trip. The day dawned clear and the sunrise over the mountains was beautiful. We enjoyed taking pictures from the overlook and having a slightly more mellow morning. Our guide suggested that we get on the road by 7 so that we could be in town by 10 in time for the direct bus back to La Paz.

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Our final descent to civilization was a mostly easy and pleasant 2.5 hour walk. We kept our pace up high so that we could get the bus, and we were super relieved when we emerged from the jungle. This was when things started to go wrong, however. Our guide seemed to have been confused about the timing to the bus, since this first town didn’t have one and it was an hour walk along the road to the next town. When we got there we learned that the only bus was at 2 pm. Our guide was supremely uncommunicative regarding how we would get back to La Paz, and he seemed mainly concerned about doing it in the cheapest way possible. We kept asking him what was going on, and he would respond evasively. He said we needed to get to the main road, but wouldn’t pay the 5 Bolivianos per person to get us there in a vehicle. We were exhausted at this point, but still unwilling to start paying for the transport that was included in the tour. We started walking, but luckily a truck was willing to give us a free ride.

Finally, we see a small town!

Finally, we see a small town!

At the main intersection we had to stand there and hope for a minibus to come by. After a long while, one did. It was a crowded and incredibly bumpy 30 minute ride in the wrong direction to get to the hilltop town of Coroico.

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Once there we needed to transfer to a minibus for La Paz. The guide didn’t seem to know where to find one, and was hesitant to look at the nicer seeming ones because of price. Jason found the minibus for us, and within moments we were flying back down the bumpy road towards La Paz.   Our guide didn’t give us the promised lunch, so we bought empanadas from some ladies at a quick stop through the bus window during the ride. We finally reached La Paz, but still had to transfer once more to another crazy minibus to get back downtown. It was with very great relief that we returned the backpack, gave our guide a reduced tip, and hobbled back to the casa de ciclistas.

Looking back at the hilltop town of Coroico as we fly up the highway to La Paz.

Looking back at the hilltop town of Coroico as we fly up the highway to La Paz.

We are now taking another day of rest in La Paz to let our legs recover before we brave the climb out of the city.  My legs feel like someone has been hitting them with a meat tenderizer!  Next we will ride the two days to Lake Titicaca, where we might take another hike.  From there we will enter yet another new country: Peru. We have heard fantastic things about Peru, and we are very excited to get there!

1 Year on the Road

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It has been a a full 365 days since we’ve left State College, PA, and we have come a long way. To help celebrate, let’s look back at how far we’ve come…

We really have cycled a long way this past year!

We really have cycled a long way this past year!

Distance cycled: 13,614 mi (21,910 km)

Countries entered: 6

Degrees N/S traveled: 94

Time zones crossed: 6

Nights camping: 209

Our favorite camping spot

Our favorite camping spot

Showers taken: 150 (each)

Family visits: 8

Touring cyclists ridden with: 10

The blog: 73 posts from the road, 22,719 pageviews

Flat tires: 11

Jason's favorite puncture - a rusty nail

Jason’s favorite puncture – a rusty nail

Chains replaced: 4 each

Mexican states visited: 20 of 30

Chilean regions visited: 13 of 15

Rides taken in car: 2 through construction areas (less than 50 mi)

Big fights: Just 1!

Most small fights are resolved by eating, preferably ice cream!

Most small fights are resolved by eating, preferably ice cream!

Money spent: $12,480 on the road (not including flights)

Coldest night in the tent: -6 deg F (-21 deg C), at 15,600 ft (4,755 m)

Highest altitude: 16,220 ft (4,944 m), Paso Sol de Manana in Bolivia

Hardest climb: Hito Cajon in Chile, a pure 7,000 ft (2,000 m) of climbing at high altitude

Largest earthquake: 5.8 near La Serena, Chile

Jason's keychain for Bolivia

Jason’s keychain for Bolivia

Keychains for Jason’s trip collection: 15? We’re not really sure…