PERU: Walking the Saltankay Route to Machu Picchu, Conclusion

Home again, home again.  Up at 4 a.m., we caught a flight to Lima and then from there through Miami and then Tampa.   We were both sorry to leave Peru.

Here are a few overall thoughts and opinions. 

For one, the trip reviewers on the REI website are correct.  It was a 5 star trip in all ways: enjoyment, organization, food, housing - all of it.  Expensive?  Yes.  But worth it.

Secondly, I felt that we had a great group of people.  Not one person was obnoxious: everyone was pleasant and fun to get to know and fun to be with as a part of the group.  I really enjoyed everyone, which I would say is fairly unusual not to have at least one obnoxious person (but maybe I was that person!!!!)

Thirdly, the best trips for me are ones that combine some physical exercise in the out-of-doors.  This was especially true as we walked through different ecosystems: from high mountain passes to jungle.

Fourth, the Incas and "modern" Peru were fascinating to me - as always, at least some part of it is personal preference.  As someone who enjoys building and construction and mountain hiking, the Incan building, design and construction, fascination with the mountains, and trail system kept my interest.

So there you go.  Since my camera up and died, I'll leave you with some of ML's photos featuring food and flowers and lodging.  You're lucky - she usually takes a lot better pictures than I do!

All of the lodges had "towel figurines" waiting for us. 

This is the group area in the Lucma Lodge (the one down in the coffee/avocado area).   All four lodges were just fun to stay in - possibly because they were built for 12 people.

Doesn't this look like a great room to hang out in?

The flowers were amazing in color and configuration.

And the food!  This is what is left of "solterito," a bean and corn salad.   It was great.

Quinoa chicken with a brown rice and vegetable salad, and the "presentation" of the meals was excellent.   I confess that I can't tell you what the red sauce is.

I'm not sure what this is called either, but it's an avocado salad that we had up at our lunch spot overlooking Machu Picchu for the first time.   Talk about fresh and perfectly ripe avocado.  Wow.

I love salmon, and even though I was pretty sure that this is farmed fish from Chile, I had to try "pisco" cured salmon.  And I was glad I did.  It was outstanding.

REMINDER:  DO NOT EAT FARMED SALMON.  EAT ONLY WILD CAUGHT ALASKAN FISH. 

And don't forget the beverages.  This was an Andean brew that tasted mighty fine. 

We also loved the Peruvian Tacama Tinto, which was a "full bodied" red wine blend.

You can see that Tom is enjoying himself in the back.  Cheers!

And don't forget - if you get hungry, there's always the Peruvian treat wandering around you're kitchen floor enjoying the treats thrown on the floor from cooking dinner.

Enjoy!

PERU: Walking the Saltankay Route to Machu Picchu, Day 12

We climb Huayna (or Wayna) Picchu, the mountain behind Machu Picchu - and then take the train and bus back to Cusco.   And my camera dies!

We get up early to hop the bus and get to the entrance gate by 8 a.m., ticket in hand, legs ready for the 1100 vertical foot climb to the top of Huayna Picchu.  The trail is limited as to the number of people that can go up it. 

To be honest, I was nervous about it.  I had turned back on the Angel's Landing trail at Zion National Park. 

But all was well.  The trail, although steep, had vegetation around it.  So, the sheer drops to never never land that bother me never appeared.  Whew!

In fact, you had to go through some tunnels in the rocks!

It was another blue sky, fluffy cloud morning.

There were a few more people than I would have liked, but you can't have everything!

My Canon G9 camera has been a stalwart device.  It has survived rough treatment: freezing temperatures in winter camping, blowing grit and sand on river trips, the incessant rain of Southeast Alaska, and banging around on airplanes, backpacks, boats - you name it. 

But after being dragged across a rock or two by accident in the aforementioned cave/tunnel, it took a few pictures on top and died.  True to a fine camera, it let me take the last pictures of Machu Picchu that you see here!

I confess that I would have liked to take a picture or two of the stone houses and terracing at the top - and I mean almost literally at the top. 

I couldn't believe the effort it must have taken to build them there.  But what a view!  Just be careful when you open the door at night to take a whiz.



The rest of the day was fun, too.  We got back to Aguas Calientes in time for a shower and our 3 course lunch.  Then we boarded the train and rode for a couple of hours to a town where we disembarked and climbed aboard a bus for another couple of hours. 

After 5 days or so of an intense, slow, ground level walking perspective, it was just nice to observe Peru from a greater overview of towns both tiny and large, scenery, cars, people, houses - you name it.   I thought it was a great way to end the trip, just sitting and watching the Peruvian world go by.  I can't say I have any pictures, however!

PERU: Walking the Saltankay Route to Machu Picchu, Day 11

Objective accomplished!  We explore Machu Picchu!

This panorama taken from the top of Huayna Picchu isn't that great, but it does give you a sense of the rugged country that is the setting for the city of Machu Picchu.  To be honest, I don't think any photo gives you a real sense of what it's like when you're there.  It is almost "otherworldly," a rooftop setting with incredible views in all directions. 

And I'm going to warn you now, there are no words in my brain or on this page that will get anywhere close to the magic and mystery of the city.

To begin with, Dalmiro was right again.  He said just relax for most of the morning and we would take the bus (the harrowing bus route can be seen in the switchbacks on the left of the city in the photo above) in the late morning.  He was right - most people want to get there early in the day and the number of people decreased significantly as the day went on.






This may be a "classic" photo with the main city surrounding the grassy courtyard and Huayna Picchu, the mountain behind the city, in back.

The terraces are just amazing and they add depth and character to the site.  Of course, they were also used to plant food and graze animals . .. .


There are times when the walls of the terrace drop off the mountainside.  I have no idea how they built the walls.

I find it hard to get "dropoff" depth to photos, in order to show one step into a 1500 foot fall.  This photo looks out to the side of Huayna Picchu down into the valley.

More interesting to me was where we had been the day before.  If you read yesterday's entry, we visited the Llactapa ruins and had lunch soon after. 

If you follow up the brown hillside in the middle of the photo, you see a tiny patch in a lighter gray color.  At the top of that patch is where we ate lunch.  Up from that is Llactapata, although you can't see it in the photo.

There are a variety of "famous" structures at Machu Picchu, most of which I won't go into because they're so common.  They all seem to have multiple theories as to why they are the way they are.

I like this entry gate with Huayna Picchu in the background and the roof lines at the base of the mountain and doorway.

I was fascinated with the design and construction of the walls, roofs, and city.  That's a might big lintel over the doorway with finely carved rocks to support it.

The two rectangular holes to the left and right of the door were though to hold some type of secure door to keep aliens out.

 In this photo,  I love how closely everything fits together. 

This is a reconstructed roof.  The beam on the right supports the "rafters" as shown.  But what about the carved round protrusion of stone that was part of the wall?  It served to tie down the roof.  There were many of those in all the roof systems.

I think it was Tom, one of our group members, pretended to be a rockworker in old age, "Son, I don't know if you'll be able to carry on the tradition.  I carved 4 rocks in my lifetime - I'll bet you can't beat that!"

The Incans being mountain worshippers, the theory behind this rock was to echo the surrounding mountains. 

Some people go to Machu Picchu and get "energy and great vibes" from it.  To each his or her own.  I just enjoyed seeing it.

As the day went on, we got some little rain squalls and sprinkles.   It added light and texture to the scene.

I like this photo because of the different "echo" of the rooflines and Huayna Picchu behind.

 This is another photo I enjoyed because of the tree, the light, the fine rockwork, and the mountains behind.

Big rocks were often fitted into the other rockwork - I would assume because they were too much of a pain to move. 

I took this to show the green of the terraces and the huge rocks that were worked into the terrace landscape. 

It's an amazing place.  What a great day.

PERU: Walking the Saltankay Route to Machu Picchu, Day 10

 A tough walking day - we go up 1971 vertical feet, visit the Llactapata Incan ruins, and then walk down 3165 vertical fee - all in 7 miles: and then we take the train to Aguas Calientes.

The day did not dawn with bright blue skies and fluffy clouds.  In fact, the rain woke us up pounding on the roof and shooting off the roof tiles on to the ground.  But before the end of breakfast, the worst seemed to be over and we were left with low clouds and intermittent drips.  If it was a little cooler, it felt and looked like the rain forest of Southeast Alaska.

If you look closely, there are small farms dotting the landscape.  There is always a river at the bottom of the valley and in this case, a road follows the valley up from the river.

Now it really looks like Southeast Alaska: mountains and mist.

As typical, the trail is good walking - but it goes up and up - at a steeper incline than we've had to walk in the last couple of days - really since we climbed the Saltankay Pass.  But the habitat is completely different from the mountains - it seemed to get more and more lush.

Horses weren't allowed on this trail, so these are our two porters!  They carried the extra water and first aid supplies.  They wore tire tread sandals and the supplies were wrapped up in blankets and slung over one shoulder.  They were fun, though: smiling and always looking for edible plants that we could try.  I can't remember the different names (partly because they were either Spanish or Quechua but that may be an excuse), but I do remember raspberries that were good but different from the raspberries I know.

By the time we got to the top of the mountain, I was starting to feel like Indiana Jones.  The jungle was so thick it took on a mysterious aura.  Don't leave me behind!

We dropped out of the thickest part of the jungle and perched on the mountain was the ruin called Llactapata.  Some of it was redone, and part wasn't.

This must have been what Machu Picchu looked like when Hiram Bingham "rediscovered" it.

This is a lousy photo, but it was the "entrance" to Llactapata.  Don't you love the triangular door?

But, the fascinating part is that if it was a clear day, you would look right through that door across the valley to Machu Picchu high on the next mountain.

The skies opened up just enough so that we could see the city of Machu Picchu through an opening in the clouds.  There was no drum roll or spotlight of sun, but it was pretty cool.  After all, we had been walking up and down and up and down for the last 4 days to get to Machu Picchu - and there it was - a gray area in the middle of the photo.

But it was a long way down and up to get there.

Fortunately, it wasn't too far until we stopped for our 3 course lunch  on a small field clinging to the side of the mountain with a great view in all directions.  This photo is taken down the valley from our lunch spot.  (Lunch was a delicious avocado salad, fresh trout, and a dessert which was great but I can't remember exactly what it was . . .)

The number and steepness of the mountains were quite impressive to me. And there was no end in sight.

Down down down the mountain we went - pretty steep but not too slippery from the rain.  Finally, our knees got a rest at the bottom of the hill as we bounced across a suspension bridge and walked along the river.

Our boots got a little muddy as we slogged through the increased capacity hydroelectric plant construction, but we arrived at the pictured train ticket booth just before we were doused with a brief but intense rainsquall.

This is the train "station" with the train on one side and "stores and restaurants" on the other.  In the United States, there would have been 12 feet of chain link fence and barb wire to keep away the terrorists and keep everyone "safe."

We waited an hour and said good-bye to one of our guides, "Danee" (make sure you continue with your Spanish accent), who had faithfully and positively walked in the "way back" with ML and I and answered myriads of questions.  This was also where our tasteful and energetic cooks, Rosita and Paulina, took the train all the way back to Cusco.

It was kind of sad to see the walking part of our trip come to an end.  But I wasn't sad to be done with today's 2000 feet up and the 3000 feet down.

After a fun hour train ride, we arrived in Aguas Calientes and walked to the Inca Terra Hotel.  Now we were officially in high class status.  Someone in the group looked the hotel up on Expedia and supposedly it cost over $400 a night.  Now I can say I've stayed in that expensive a hotel - I doubt it will happen again in my lifetime.

PERU: Walking the Saltankay Route to Machu Picchu, Day 9

Colpa Lodge to Lucma Lodge, for which we walk down about 2300 vertical feet and up 118 feet in a total of 10 miles.

The habitat was more lush and jungly the farther down in elevation we went.

The walking was easy: the trail kept heading down and down, but not at too great an incline to be particularly hard on the knees.

Most of the day was spent following the river that you see in the photo.  Our guides stated that if we kept following it, we could paddle down the Amazon and meet the Atlantic Ocean.

I continued to be fascinated by the people living along the river.  You would see houses or a collection of very small buildings and gardens clinging precariously on the side of the mountain - which was very steep if you got off the trail.  I can't imagine farming the plots, much less transporting what you grow to sell to someone.

You can just see a bridge across the river in this photo - and there weren't many bridges.

Every once in a while, we would traverse a drainage coming straight down the mountainside.  I can't imagine what it was like in the rainy season but I doubt that the trail is passable across these drainages.

There were many flowers: begonias, orchids, and many many more.

I just took this photo to show what much of the trail was like: a pass through the vegetation with occasional drops to the river that allowed us to see up and down the valley.

You can never forget lunch!  This is our lunch spot.  Lunches always had a hot dish and three courses: appetizer, main, and dessert.  Peruvians typically have their main meal in the middle of the day.

An interesting sidelight is that our cook and cook's helper, Rosita and Paulina, traveled along the same route and cooked all our meals.  We would leave in the morning and pretty soon they would come walking through - about twice the speed that we were walking.  They would cook and serve lunch and then walk to the next lodge and cook and serve dinner.  We would also see our "pack train" of maybe 4-6 horses or burros packing the food for the lodge part of the trip and our "night" gear.  We only had to haul our day pack.  Nice.

At the lunch spot, there was a tram across the river over to the other side.

Bob and Glenda were fearless and rode it out to the middle and back.  There was a rope on each end of the tram connected to each side of the valley.  You just hauled on the rope in the direction you wanted to go.

ML was game, but I was chicken!  There are some heights I don't like and that was one of them!

Some of you shoppers out there might want to run back to the "Rest Place Shopping Center."  I think you might find some bargains.  I couldn't tell you how to get there, it was just a wide spot on the trail.

Be careful to call ahead and see what hours they're open.

ML declined to shop, but she's not much of a shopper anyway.


REI/Mountain Lodges, in their infinite wisdom, had a van waiting at the 9.5 mile mark to spare us 6 more miles along a road and one of the biggest towns in the area.  I think most of us were glad to see the van.  We said good-bye to Primo, Motor, and Rambo (don't forget the Spanish accent) and the rest of the gauchos who transported all our gear for the last 4 days.  Glenda had some nice trinkets to give them like "Devil's Club" salve from Southeast Alaska.  I think they really appreciated her, and us by association(!), giving them something in appreciation for their work.

The van dropped us off at one of the more classic "Inca" trails.  There are Inca trails all over the place!  This one lead up to 3 or 4 Inca ruins - but fortunately the Lucma Lodge was not very far up the trail.

 Along the way we saw coffee farms and avocado orchards.  There was a much greater concentration of small farms near the road where the trail departed from.  These coffee beans were drying in the sun after the berry part had been stripped from the bean.


We arrived at the lodge for our daily cool cloths and drinks.   After a short break, we had the option to go see a coffee farm - which we all opted for.






First, a walk through the coffee trees.  We were there toward the end of the season.








After a demonstration of the machine that strips the berry part from the bean, we piled into this woman's kitchen to see how the beans were roasted.  This is her kitchen and eating place.  I imagine it is partly built for the gringos, but it felt authentic.

Here the woman and her husband roast the beans in a cast iron pan that fits over a hole in an adobe type of fireplace.   As you can see, the fire is fed from the front.  She roasted the beans from their farm and then ground them by hand and we all got a demitasse of coffee.  It was great!

Part of the authenticity was the gaggle of guinea pigs wandering around under our feet looking for a bite to eat.


But it was time to eat our own dinner.  I shouldn't have been hungry after that lunch, but I was.  I just hoped it wasn't guinea pig.