The group was all packed up that night and ready for an early 5:00 am wake up when we got the news that a city wide transportation strike would delay our departure 24 hours. So one day after our intended departure we boarded a bus and rode two hours to the head of the Salkantay Trail and began hiking. Salkantay means ”Wild Mountain” in Quechua and on the first leg of the trek we found out just how wild the mountain is. We were challenged by three intense individual climbs. The altitude made difficult for many of us but the immensely beautiful views were worth it. We hiked to the high point on the trail, the Salkantay Pass, which sits at 14,000 feet above sea level; when the fog rolled in, the visibility dropped to zero. The air was thin, snow was beginning to fall, and most of us were feeling very chilly. We stayed up there long enough to take a group picture before beginning our descent. We stopped in a TINY village, comprised of only 3 houses, for lunch. The village also had a snack bar selling drastically overpriced Snickers bars, which I patronized. We hiked for another hour after lunch before arriving at our campsite for the night. To some of our dismay, and to others pleasure, this trek was supported, which means we didn’t carry backpacks or tents. Apu Andino, our trekking company, provided mules to carry our gear. We arrived to a campsite with tents already pitched and hot chocolate already made. It took away from the experience a little bit and it felt a bit glamorous, but after a long climb and decent I didn’t have much energy to complain.
We awoke at 5:30 am the next day so we could roll up our sleeping bags, eat breakfast, and be on the trail by 7:00 am. Day two was nothing but downhill the entire time, which sounds nice in theory, but a six hour descent will rub blisters on even the most calloused feet. Some group members said they’d prefer six hours of uphill to one hour of downhill. We walked along a raging river until arriving at our next campsite, marked once again by a snack bar selling ice cold Coca-Cola…I indulged myself once more. We passed some time in camp reading and eating lunch before heading to the local hot spring. The hot springs were very aesthetically pleasing, made entirely of local stone, and the hot water felt incredible on our tired muscles. We headed back to camp and ate dinner before a high jungle downpour kept us in our tents for the rest of the night.
Day two proved tough enough that some of us bypassed the morning climb and took a bus to meet the group at lunch in Hidroelectrica. The rest of us climbed on the original Inca trail for three hours before arriving to the ruins of Llactapata. From the ruins we looked across the valley and got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. After a brief siesta at Llactapata, we started our descent into Hidroelectrica for lunch. The meal refueled our bodies with the energy to allow us to walk along the train tracks at the base of Waynu Picchu Mountain to the town of Aguas Calientes. Arriving at Hostel Tambo and falling down onto our beds was the the decompression we were all looking for after three days and 36 miles on the Salkantay trail. I had not felt so sore since football season my senior year. We headed to dinner that night and feelings of anxiety came over me. I’ve seen pictures of Machu Picchu for my entire life, I was afraid that finally seeing it in person wouldn’t live up to my expectations.
On Saturday, the 10 boys of Carpe Diem woke up at 4:30 am and grabbed a piece of bread and jam before embarking on the final leg of our trek. TJ and I walked together to the base of the mountain where we opted to take the stairs rather than the bus to the top. The 2,000+ steps to the top took about 35 minutes and we got to the gates right as they opened at 6:00 am. I met up with Topher, Lindsay and Jack and we walked into the ruins along with the 6,000 other tourists who visit Machu Picchu each day. As we walked over the crest of the hill and the ruins came into view my anxieties were eradicated. The fog rolling over the expansive and awe-inspiring ruins took my breath away. Words can’t do the sight justice, all I could find to say was ”Wow”. We spent the next six hours touring the ruins with our trek guide Hans. We learned about Incan agriculture, religious and architectural practices, as well as what daily life would look like at Machu Picchu. It would be an understatement to call it incredible.
That night we boarded a Perurail train back to Cusco where we are spending the next 24 hours before boarding our flight home. We have a closing ceremony and last supper tonight and the entire group is having mixed emotions about our return home.