Machu Pichu 5 Day Hike







Total hike = 78 km/ 48 miles


Day 1: (Hiked from 2,900 m - 3,900 m or from 9512 ft - 12,792 up)  Weather: cold but with all the hiking and great sleeping bags, wasn't too bad


- Woke up at 4am and rode a bus
- Horseman packed our bags, so we didn't have to carry them... Pretty Nice
- Began our 8 hour hike, uphill, in altitude that us beach people are so not used to.
- After lunch, Bren began to feel the altitude, and after the 8 hours of hiking he was feeling not so                    good..(He was well taken care)

- Went to bed and in the middle of the night, my heart woke me up beating at 96 beats per minute!  Yikes, I'm usually 64 beats per minute



Day 2: (Hiked from 3,900m - 4,650m up & then from 4,650m - 2,900m down or from 9,512 ft - 15,252 ft up and from 15,252 ft - 9,512 ft down) Weather: cold and windy for the first half and the second half was warm


- Bren woke up with teh same bad headache and his stomach really upset.  My heart was doing better, but when I moved, it began to beat really quick, so....
- We rented horses for the first 4 hours; very beautiful and peaceful
- Got to Salkantay, where there was all these cool rock formations.  The Incas were very into praising mother earth; the sun, the rain, etc.  When we got to Salkantay (the highest point) there was a ceremony with incense and coca leaves.


Ceremony
  Coca Leaves: Leaves that are used in tea, candy    and chewed when hiking for altitude purposes.  They numb your mouth, especially when chewed with charcoal, to activate the ingredients.  This leaf is sacred and also why it's used in the ceremony.
- Walked for 7 more hours (1/2 hour in the rain) and got to our campsite where there was good food waiting!
- After dinner and the rain stopped, we had a bonfire to warm up!





The two that were so nice to take all our backpacks!

Day 3: (Hiked from 2,900m - 2,200m down or from 9,512 ft - 7,216 ft down) Weather: warm to hot, jungle with mosquitos


- Woke up at 4:30 and started the 6 hour hike
- Got eaten alive by mosquitos (itchy, itchy)
- Brendan's headach wasn't so bad!! Yeah
- I randomly got a burst of energy and the 1st half (3 hours) I ran; so not like me
- Got to campsite and met 2 really cool monkeys.  The assistant cook (Jessica) gave me and Brendan a monkey and I was so excited, ut apparently you can't travel with monkeys many places around the world, so we had to leave the monkey.





Day 4: (Hiked from 2,200m - 2,000m down or fro  m 7,216 ft - 6,560 ft down)  Weather: very hot jungle with lots of mosquitos

- Didn't have to wake up till 7am!

- Started our 4 hour hike through hot jungle
- Walked across a bridge for trains that was around 70 ft high and the tracks were anywhere from 6 inches to 2 ft apart.  As we were walking across we were really hoping a train wouldn't come, or in Brendan's words "We would be screwed."  Now me and Bren both aren't hte biggest fans of heights, but it's fun to get scared a bit.   Bren was behind me, and the entire time Brendan was saying to himself "Focus on the wood, focus on the wood, focus on the wood."
- We got to a town called Aguas Calientes and stayed in a hostel.  1st time we got to shower!

Day 5: (Hiked from 2,000m - 2,400m up or from 6,560 ft - 7,872 ft up) Weather: cold and rainy and then warmed up

- Woke up at 3:30 and started the 2 hour hike up the very steep part of the Inca Trail in the pouring rain and in the pitch black.
- Finally at MACHU PICHU!  Truly incredible to see how smart teh Incas were and to hear about their tradition, culture and history.  Too much to tell all, but check out Bren's pictures.


The Incas used wood and wet the wood and then put in rock to crack rock!





After the 2 hour hike, my jeans got soaked, so I wore Bren's shirt as a skirt












The Kiing's Bathroom (the only bathroom in Machu Pichu)








Comments

  1. What a great experience :) I'm so happy for you 2. Looks like you are having a great time. Love you guys.

    Sigan Disfrutando de esas maravillas :)

    ReplyDelete

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