Sexy Women

Okay, this is FAR overdue, but I was aprovecharing all my time with D. before we went our separate ways last night: I on a 16-hour overnight bus ride back to Lima, and her towards her last week in Peru before heading back to a new job, house and civil status. We had an absolutely fantastic two-weeks exploring Cuzco and trekking through the mountains of the Sacred Valley. I am working on getting pictures up...

We began hiking at Chayacancha (3500 meters) along the Rio Blanca looking up at the Umantay and Salkantay glaciers (about four hours outside of Cuzco). Throughout the morning we expected our guide to take a sharp turn at any moment and begin leading us straight uphill...the nervousness was tenable. After lunch, as the trail began its inevitable ascent, above us on Salkantay it began to get quite stormy so our guide suggested that we set up camp. We disagreed and decided instead to brave a few more hours of vertical hiking into the mountain to camp at the planned spot. Fortunately for us, the rain passed and we made it into the campsite just as dark settled, to sleep at 4200 meters. Salkantay pampa was a beautiful site, just below the glacier, but bitterly cold even with all our possible layers.

The next morning we were greeted with mate de coca in bed before beginning an hour of rough uphill to the Seven Snakes pass, our hightest point at 4600 meters. This was the beginning of our longest day of hiking, all downhill from the high mountain pass to puna, through cloud forest, and even to the doorstep of the selva. We spent our second night camping in a field with horses, pigs and chickens but with a lovely view and only 15 minutes from a natural hot spring. This was a day full of wonderful scenery, however our view of the glacier and other mountains was obscured by clouds (a consequence of trekking during the rainy season).

After again being greeted with mate de coca (we finally figured out it was not out of kindness, but instead to ensure we got up) we spent the next day doing more downhill, except kindly more of a rolling trail than the ski slalom angle of the previous day. Another lovely day of scenery down to La Playa at 1600 meters, which we wrongly assumed would be a river beach campground. Sadly mistaken, we were instead greeted by a camping spot at the intersection of cancerous chickens, bus exhaust and stagnant water (with the requisite mosquitoes). A literal hole, or perhaps more fishbowl, as we were gawked at non-stop. While eating lunch we casually asked about alternatives and our guide just as casually suggested that we could pack everything into a minibus and ride an hour away to the resort hot springs of Santa Teresa and camp there. We all jumped at the idea and while we were skeptical about where we were heading, were thrilled to be leaving.

Driving up to Santa Teresa did not calm our nerves as we initially landed in the construction of a hotel. Once we were inside, however, fear subsided as we set up camp next to two large natural hot spring pools. All other reservations melted away as we realized there was not only a small store with important survival items like chocolate and Doritos, but also plenty of beer. We quickly realized however, that while it looked like an oasis, one had to stay in the pools or the tent to avoid being eaten alive by the thousands of mosquitoes. Any exposed skin was immediately attacked...we left there with hundreds of bites that continue to itch like crazy today. Through the following week we were identified as having been around Machu Picchu by fellow travelers through our bite covered arms and legs. Thankfully the mosquitoes went away at night (strange twist), so we were able to enjoy our beer while lounging by the pool as soon as the sun went down. We were also the only folks to camp at the springs, so had the place to ourselves. And we were smart enough to buy a few big bottles of beer before the place cleared out...it was lovely.

We awoke early the next day with large welts on our bites and slightly less ready for the day than previous mornings (surely that does not coincide with beer availability) and prepared for what we didn't realize was the most difficult day yet. We drove back towards the trail where we hiked several of the 40,000 kilometers of Incan highways to get an alternative view of Machu Picchu from the Yactupata Mountain over the Urubamba River, from 1500 meters to 2800 and back before lunch. After climbing up, we were able to rest at the Incan ruins of the same name before the knee jolting hike back down.

That afternoon we boarded the tourist train to Aguas Calientes where we found more beer, plenty of palta and hot showers! Although there are buses that shuttle tourists from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, we decided to haul ourselves out of bed at 4am to hike the hour of steep steps up to the site where we stumbled into line with the masses of clean, fresh-faced tourists. Once in the ruins we were regaled with tales of how Machu Picchu was 'built with love', although we were hoping to get more on how exactly the love built them, or used them... The ruins were wonderful, and significantly less crowded than any of us anticipated, but the highlight for me was our final hike, the hour scramble (as in, on hands and knees) up Wayna Piccu, the well-known mountain just behind the ruins, where additional temples and terraces awaited. Already fantastic views were made better by the fact that while waiting in the line to enter (only 400 people/day) we were all questioning whether we really 'needed' this last hike or would rather just lay in the grass with the alpacas (we were exhausted). We rallied, climbed and were thrilled with the reward.

A fantastic time was had by all with the mosquitoes and the threat of camping at La Playa being the only negative aspects we could come up with that evening while lying nearly comatose in bed after our second round of hot showers.