Day 5: Machu Picchu Hike

When we arrive at Machu Picchu, everything is covered

in a thick layer of fog.

WE ARE HERE!

We wake up at 4:30 in the morning to set out for Machu Picchu. After four days of struggle and hiking, we have finally made it!

A thick, heavy fog hangs low as we enter the grounds. The fog lends a mystical feeling to this ancient, mysterious architectural feat. We are finally here: Machu Picchu.

After all the effort and hype, we are here. We are here, and it is all worth it, every second.

From our vantage point, we can see it all; the religious and scientific center, the residential district, the famed terraces, and the dramatic jagged cliffs of Wayna Picchu Mountain. To stand above this, looking down, is truly awe inspiring.

We complete our three hour tour and spend more time wandering around the grounds, pondering the Incas. What was this city used for? Why was it abandoned? How did they possibly manage to build this into the side of a mountain? We marvel at the trails that approach it from all sides. Compared to the other half dozen ruin sites we have visited, this is far and away the most impressive. Above all else, the Incas were amazing architects and builders.

No photo or post card had adequately prepared us for the imposing grandeur of this ancient ruin. The day flew by as we explored all things Machu Picchu.

Day 4: Machu Picchu Hike

Today is our last day of hiking before we reach Machu Picchu. We walk on a new road next to the Hydroeletric Dam, which a plant made in the 1960s which produces power for the entire region.

The weather is hot, and the road is long. After several days of walking, we have just a few more hours before we reach our destination of Aguas Calientes, the town where we will spend the night before visiting the ruins. For most of the day, we walk along the railroad tracks. About an hour outside of town, we get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

It's the guards' tower, and it sits stately atop a cliff. From here, we can't see Wayna Picchu Mountain or any of the famous terraces, but this is definitely part of Machu Picchu city, and we can see it! Standing on the railroad tracks, low in this valley, slapping off mosquitoes-- we can see Machu Picchu!

It's finally starting to seem real!

Day 3: Machu Picchu Hike

After the drama and excitement of Days 1 and 2, Day 3 has been a relief. Today, we descended from the high Andes mountains into the jungle. There is a marked contrast between the scenery of yesterday and today; just a day ago, we wandered amongst glaciers with winter hats and scarves on. Today, we follow the a lush green trail where we see coffee and banana plants. The altitude is much lower here, so walking and breathing becomes easy and enjoyable.

This afternoon we stop early (meaning no three hour post lunch hike) at our campsite, La Playa. Not a beach exactly, but the local river thunders by, lending a hushed, natural sound track. This is the first time we've had running water or electricity in three days; Shakira videos play on loop.

Tomorrow is our last day of hiking- Machu Picchu is just around the corner!

Day 2: Machu Picchu Hike

Day 2 of the Salkantay Trail is well known for being the hardest day of the hike. We started with a 5:30AM wake up call, the beginning of a twelve hour day. I was feeling much better than the night before (my Exorcist impression now over), but mentally exhausted and afraid of the trail to come.

The first two hours of the hike were on a gradual incline, and the scenery of Salkantay Mountain and its glacier was absolutely breathtaking. Despite the natural beauty and the promise of Machu Picchu ahead, I still struggled to breathe and keep up with the group's pace. At the base of Salkantay, we faced over a 1,000 feet ascent. Christina bravely plugged ahead, but I had a mild to moderate meltdown. Looking up at hikers literally a thousand feet above me, hiking up steep cliffs, it seemed impossible that I would be able to move my own body (and tears) upwards while still managing to breathe. Ernesto saw my struggle and in a classic cowboy move, whistled for a horse. That's right, this city girl managed to catch a taxi while high in the Andes Mountains. Christina, determined to make it the old fashioned way (what, hiking by one's own feet?) learned that each turn in the pass brought another steep ascent. Tears ensued.

One horse, two hours, and hundreds of tears later, we had made it to the top of Salkantay Peak. Here, it is traditional to leave a small stone or leaf as an offering. I wished for easy breathing; it's amazing how an intense journey like this brings one right back to the basics.

Seven hours of walking later, we arrived at our campsite. Andes Mountains, 1, Erin, 0, Blisters, 8.

Day 1: Machu Picchu Hike

At the crack of dawn (truthfully, about ten minutes before), we began our trek to Machu Picchu. The tour company that is leading our hike picked up all the hikers from their respective hotels, and then we began the short drive towards the Salkantay Trail.

Our guide, Ernesto, lectured us on the importance of SPF and bug spray, and then led us up the first stretch. Welcome to Salkantay Trail, he said. Day 1, your vacation in the Salkantay Mountains. Your restful break.

Vacation? Sure, it was beautiful (mountains are novel to us Chicagoans), but hauling it up steep paths while short of breath for hours at time is not exactly what we middle aged ladies would call restful. By the time we reached camp, I had such a pounding headache and nausea that a very public display of vomiting ensued. For you Grey's Anatomy fans, in medical terms: acute mountain sickness, or altitude sickness. After a multitude of weird homeopathic remedies from Ernesto's mysterious first aid kit, I fell into a deep sleep until morning. Christina, however, was conscious enough to be aware of the sub-freezing temperatures.

With the promise of Day 2, the "hard day" looming, it was a long night for everyone.

Week 4: Cusco

After some serious tussling with Star Peru (my vote for world's worst airline), we arrived in Cusco, nestled in the Andes Mountains. With its elevation at nearly 11,000 feet, we arrive here several days before our trek to acclimate to the environment.

Cusco is a lively city full of Incan traditions... and tourists. As the gateway city to Machu Picchu, most visitors begin their trip here. The food ranges from the very traditional (guinea pig, anyone?) to various interpretations of 'pizza.' The city itself is a mix of Spanish and Incan architecture, and the clothes and food is differ from Lima. There is a marked contrast in the regional cultures.

Tonight, we met our fellow hikers at an orientation meeting. Together, we are ten: six Americans (amongst them your dos maestras), three Canadian students, and a Danish nurse. Our guide, Ernesto, prepared us for our journey, warning us to take warm clothing as we will be sleeping in sub-freezing temperatures.

We are filling our packs with canteens, boots and blister patches; even though the van is coming to pick us up at 5:00 tomorrow morning, the anticipation wards off sleep.

Photo: Christina and Erin in Plaza de las Armas, Cusco, Peru

Week 4: Lima

Erin and Christina in the historic Barranco

neighborhood, the artistic center of Lima.

Erin catches a ride during a break from the bike tour.

We are spending just two days in Lima before we head off on Incan adventure. We decided to make the most of our time here through taking a bike tour of the city. Bike tours are a great way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

On this tour, we were able to tour the several of of the city's famous landmarks while visiting multiple neighborhoods and to catch a bit of horseback riding, kind of...

Lima is a gorgeous city, right on the water. The people we've met have been very friendly and helpful, and the food is absolutely top notch- ceviche for everyone!

Tomorrow we fly to Cusco, a famous mountain city which is home to a lot of Incan architecture and giant chocle (corn). From there, we depart for our 5 day hike through the mountains and jungles towards the pinnacle of Incan ruins: Machu Picchu!

Week 3, Continued: Los Mayas (Tulum and Coba)

Erin atop the cliffs of Tulum... beware of the iguanas!

Erin (slowly) ascends the Temple at Coba while

working on her Irish tan and wishing she had

done more cardio before this trip.

Christina and Erin at Coba, en route to the Temple.

This week, we continued our exploration of the Mayan civilization through visits to two Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula: Coba and Tulum.

Coba is one of the oldest Mayan ruins hidden deep in the jungle. This ruin was an active community for more than 50,000 people during 300-900 AD. What's especially neat about this site is that much of it is still uncovered and left in its seemingly original state. You can even climb to the top of the super tall temple (see not super flattering picture of Erin). This temple is terrifying to descend, with over 100 super steep steps, making it the tallest temple in the Americas. The jungle canopy is so thick that we could barely feel the rain down pour when it began.

Next, we headed to Tulum on the coast. Tulum, while one of the smaller ruins sites, is the only known Mayan trading post. This site was very well maintained and even had a beach where you can swim just below the temple on a cliff. The views were breathtaking, the oversized iguanas which ran amok on this property were not.

The best part of our day was talking with our driver, Eduardo. Eduardo is a Tulum resident and a Maya man who speaks both Spanish and Mayan. Eduardo gave us lots of great information about the area, the ruins, and Mayan culture today. We even got to learn a few words in the Mayan language. Iguanas, anyone? That'd be juuj. Which when pronounced, kind of sounds like a disgusted, scary gasp, how appropriate.

The weather is intensely hot and humid, a condition which only a dip in the Caribbean can cure. Next week we are off to Peru to study the Incas.

Week 3: Los Mayas

Erin and Christina in front of the El Castillo

at Chichen Itza

Christina in front of the Observatory at Chichen Itza

This Monday, we flew from Mexico City to Cancun in order to visit Mayan Country. Despite the temptation to visit Senor Frogs (kidding!), we headed directly to the site of the biggest Mayan ruins in Mexico: Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza (a Mayan name for at the Mouth of the Well) is not only the birth place of chewing gum (Chiclets, anyone?) but is an amazing display of Mayan culture. The Mayans, who traveled up to the Yucatan Peninsula from Guatemala, settled here and built amazing temples, an observatory, multiple homes and palaces, as well as an enormous handball court.

We drove over two hours to get here in a cramped van and it was well worth it. The ruins here are top notch, both in quality and quantity. We took the tour in Spanish, and learned all about the Mayans' outlook on everything from daily life to spirituality (turns out 2012 is just a big hoax, phew!) The grounds are enormous and it took us over four hours to see everything. What was most impressive was the technology and mathematics the Mayans commanded. Several temples were built to display complex shadows on Solstice days, and the observatory displays the Mayans' advanced knowledge of astronomy.

After the tour of Chichen Itza, we visited the local cenote, a natural fresh water cave and went swimming. This is literally a hole in the ground (about 50 feet deep or more) that has filled up with fresh water. The Mayans used to throw sacrifices (both human and inanimate) into these caverns (although hopefully not this one!) Swimming was super refreshing, and Erin even worked up the nerve to jump off a high platform, plunging into the water. After a long and informative ride home (our driver took it upon himself to be our personal guide), we managed to fit in some ice cream before falling into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow we leave to see the ruins of Tulum and Coba.

Week 2: Los Aztecas

Christina and Erin atop the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan:

Christina and Erin at the buffet lunch, en route to Teotihuacan.

(Note: This picture does in no way reflect Aztec culture, or any culture, outside of the culture of horrid tourist trap buffet restaurants.)

Ms. Korbakis arrives! And she wastes no time delving into Aztec culture...

The day after her arrival, we made our first visit to Teotihuacan, the 'Aztec' ruins more commonly known as the Avenue of the Dead. We traveled with a tour group full of friendly Costa Ricans (Pura Vida, baby!) about one hour outside the city. Along the way, we stopped to see the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a famous Mexican Roman Catholic Church where an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is said to have simultaneously appeared on maguey cloth in around 1531. This image is now framed in gold and silver at the front of the church, which is the richest and most visited shrine in all of the Americas. This church serves as a pilgrimage for many devout Catholics; we witnessed multiple people walking on their knees (as a sign of reverence for Our Lady) for quite a ways up to the church.

After leaving this site, we arrived at La Plaza de Tres Culturas, a site that hosts some Aztec remains, a Spanish Mission style church, and a modern Mexican housing project all in one, thus representing the three cultures of modern Mexico.

Finally, we reached the city of ruins known as Teotihuacan, where we proceeded to climb up to the top of both the Sun and Moon temples. Several days later, our legs are still hurting from this hike! Hundreds of people are hiking up a thousand steps or more to get to the top of the temples. Amazingly, anyone (including several toddlers we spied) can do this without supervision and apparently without injuries or lawsuits. The view was amazing and totally worth it!

While here, we learned an incredible fact: this famous site, which is most often attributed to the Aztecs, was actually built by another indigenous group called the Olmecs. The descendants of the Olmecs were then conquered by the Aztecs, who took over this area for religious activities (such as human sacrifice!) It really opened our eyes to a new ancient culture (the Olmecs) as well as gave us insight into the bloody nature of Aztec history. One 'interesting' buffet lunch later, we are packing up to head to Mayan country!

Week 1: Settling In

Hola!

So sorry for the delays in postings, but we've been having a few issues with the internet during our first weeks here. So, two of these posts are long overdue, but trusty ol' copy and paste has saved the day yet again.

I arrived in Mexico City alone to a heap of trouble during Week 1: a messy host family situation, getting lost on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, and a nasty case of food poisoning. I felt completely overwhelmed by the language and the hustle bustle of Mexico City (overheard by my waiter conversing with another waiter in the restaurant: Does she speak Spanish? Reply: Just a little). While I'm not an expert in either Spanish or travel, I wasn't prepared for the adjustment period.

The situation drastically improved once I started attending language classes. My Spanish (read: confidence) improved immediately (past pluperfect tense, anyone?) and I made friends with some lovely people who steered me towards safer restaurants. By the end of the week I had visited several of D.F.'s fabulous museums and had my first foray into Aztec culture, taking in the sights at Templo Mayor, the city's Aztec ruins.

Templo Mayor is an interesting site into Aztec culture; one of the only existing original (not conquered) Aztec structures, it sits in the heart of the Historic District. This ruin harkens that feeling you get in Rome and Athens; the weird juxtaposition of the old and the new. The busy progress of the city surrounding something ancient and unchanging. I am really looking forward to the Teotichuacan ruins next weekend, and of course, the arrival of Ms. Korbakis!