Got back on Thursday evening from
the trek through the Inka Jungle. It was much more of a light-hearted trek than
Ausungate with us being able to sleep in hostels each night instead of a tent
that was much too short. The trip started on Monday with Dana (med school lady
from the NYC) and I taking a long drive to the starting point of the mountain
biking portion. The cycling portion is advertised as mountain biking but it was
more of a road ride with crappy front suspension mountain bikes. The ride
itself was just over two hours of descending down the curving paved roads into
the jungle. Before we started I was interested to see the carnage that may be
in the future with what looked to be some peoples first time on a bike and a
curvy mountain decent.Once we started
it was a great joyride and I tried to hide my fears of the sometimes, shaky
bike upon which I was hurling myself downhill. We crossed portions of the road
that looked like they were about to be washed out by water coming off the
mountains and each time I went through I could feel the bald rear tire wanting
to hydroplane. Dana and I both made it out safe and felt lucky that we didn’t
have to perform first aid on the guy who passed an 18-wheeler and then veered
straight for a ditch on the side of the road.
We headed to the hostel after the
ride and managed to grab a room with two double beds instead of having to sleep
in the big rooms with at least ten other people. Once we were settled we bought
some beer and played magnetic darts on the patio of the hostel and for me it
was the first time in Peru I was able to wear a t-shirt after the sun went
down. Dinner consisted of a restaurant that seemed to host only large groups similar
to ours and every meal after was quite the similar setting, of thirty or so travelers
stretched out along the tables. While eating we got to know the others is the
group and our suspicion of being the some of the oldest was confirmed with most
of the people being around 20 or 21.
We woke up to the sound of rain the
next morning and I was upset that I had neglected to bring my rain pants and
pack cover. To our delight the rain let up just as we were leaving for
breakfast and although initially wet, the sun dried everything up by the
afternoon. Almost the whole day we walked along a river that had orange, banana
and avocado trees along the bank and the feel of the jungle was in full force.
Our guide was helpful in explaining things along the way, although mostly in
Spanish because the majority of the group was from Chile.We finished the walk at some hot springs and
were able to enjoy a cold beer before getting in the water, which would turn
out to be our only bath of the trip.
The next day we zip-lined or did
the “canopy” as the locals called it and it turned out to be a great time.
There were 4 good-sized zip lines with a repelling part at the end from a
suspended platform. We headed to the town of Aquas Caliente after lunch and
from there we were to go to Machu Pichu the next day. Little did we know we
would be seeing the scenery and the tracks once again. We arrived at Aquas
Caliente and were told to be ready at 4 a.m. the next morning for the ascent of
Machu Picchu, which was to take around an hour or climbing up stairs made of
stone.Dana and I were pretty excited to
have personal showers at the hostal but our hot water didn’t seem to work, so
we decided to go without.
The early wake-up didn’t seem to
scare any of the tourists away the next day as at least 100 people were lined
up at the entrance when we arrived. Once we made out way in we began the steep
climb to the top. When we arrived we couldn’t see anything due to the heavy fog
and clouds that covered the mountain so we sat and ate bread and avocado we
bought the previous day. The clouds finally cleared around 9 a.m. and we were
able to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Pictures don’t do Machu
Picchu justice and the ruins seemed to go on forever, jutting in between the
mountain tops in which they were built. After exploring for a few hours we
decided to head down to make sure our train tickets were at the hostel and
because we wanted to take the early train back to town before taking a bus the
rest of the way.
When we arrived at the hostel we
found our guide and we asked him for our tickets. He looked disappointed and
told us we would have to stay another night at the hostel because our tour
company had not booked the tickets in time. We tried everything we could to
make it on a train and nothing seemed to work. Dana had her Spanish skills
tested while trying to negotiate with the ticket office but our efforts seemed
doomed to another night in the town and missing our campaign the next day. One
more time we asked if they was any other way to get back to Cusco and we were
told there was a bus arriving at the hydroelectric plant from which we walked
the day before. It was already 3:30 p.m. and the bus was supposed to be leaving
the plant at 5. Our guide said an hour and a half of hauling ass would get us
their just in time, so without second thought we left Aquas Caliente.
Not knowing exactly how far we had
to go, we began jogging to meet the bus. Along the way we passed herds of
people giving us encouragement and probably thinking we were a little crazy. We
followed the tracks and passed familiar landmarks but we had no idea how far we
really had left. We ran for over an hour before someone told us we had only 2
kilometers until the plant and it seemed we would be able to make it in just
enough time to catch a ride. At 4:48 we arrived at the plant and immediately
saw a taxi with a Colombian couple getting a ride to the next town before
heading to Cusco. We paid 15 soles each for the ride and headed to Santa
Teresa, which was an hour away.
We arrived in Santa Teresa with
high hopes of finding a cheap ride to Cusco but it seemed that the only thing
we may find was a bus that left at 10 p.m. and was over a 7-hour drive! We ate
some street food (which may have been a bad idea) and thought about our next
move. While we were waiting, a minibus drove up with the driver calling out
Cusco as the destination. There were only 2 seats left (both in the middle
without a headrest) and the ride would be 50 soles total. We decided this was
our best option since it was only a 4 hour drive, so we got in. Immediately I
realized how uncomfortable my seat was. Within the first hour I was feeling car
sick from the twisting road (or maybe from the street chicken) and what made it
worse was the lack of the headrest and my long ass legs bumping the seat ahead
of me. I was so tired from the early morning, hiking and running that I would
fall asleep only to be woken up by the next turn.
The bus ride was one of the worst
I’ve had in Peru but it finally came to an end and we were dropped off where we
could find a taxi to the clinic. We made it back by 11 p.m. and were thankful
that it was over. The trip turned out a little but different than expected but
in the end proved to be a great story. It was somewhat ironic that earlier in
the day before train situation, Dana and I discussed the need to be flexible
when travelling and that it is necessary to have a travel partner that is down
to make things work. Well, make things work we did and we had to live up to big
talk we put on early that day.
Now, I’m typing this on the couch
of the clinic while everyone else in on a campaign. I think I picked a bug up
in Aguas Caliente and have yet the conquer it. The next two days we have
campaigns and after that I’m headed home……
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