We started out above 13,000ft in the green rocky area that looked like Ireland and immediately began descending into a cloud forest. The scenery quickly changed to be jungle-like. Much warmer, more humid, full of tropical plants.
We had lunch at a beautiful outlook where three valleys come together.
(this is only half of it you can see, the other half is below us. we walked through it)
We descended 7000ft. Our knees hurt. We saw lots of sheep and horsies and cows and donkeys.
Just as the sun began to set and we were nearing 'La Playa' the rain began again. We were all thankful that we had had a full day of nice dry weather, but it really began to rain in earnest. Our little guidebook had suggested camping at one of a couple fields on the outskirts of town but by the time we got there it was nearly dark and the fields had all turned to lakes. Dear, brave Steven went wandering around town asking people where a good place to camp might be when a man who owned a little mini-market said we could come into his store and camp behind it. We were all tired and gladly accepted this offer. We piled into his store, pointing to Pringles, beer, and various other items that would console us. He let us sit down at a table he had to enjoy these items. We drank slowly to draw out the experience of being dry. We finally asked if we could cook dinner on his covered porch. The family ended up sharing some of their dinner with us which was amazing. We hung out more, and slowly drank more beer. Eventually I think they felt bad for us and asked if we wanted to sleep in this covered/walled-in/but open air dirt area at the back their store. Boy were we ever thankful for them. I think they all had a fun evening spying on us (quite a few local kids happened by the store), and we got to set up our tents somewhere dry. Certainly not what I had imagined for the evening, but honestly it was a good time. Sorry, no pictures. It was awkward. But here's one I took as we left town the next morning.
Day four was sunny and hot. Hot hot. We got an early start out of town and spent the morning hiking along and up and large ridge above a valley.
Just after we crossed the top of the ridge and headed down, what did we see but Machu Picchu. One of the cool things about the 'back door to Machu Picchu' is that you get a view of it wayyyyy accross a valley the day before you get there. It was pretty cool to see it in the context of everything else that is around it.
look closely...
After descending for quite a while more we crossed a river and got to another amazing waterfall. This one somehow simply appeared out of a hole in the mountain. It was also gigantic.
The whole trek was truely beautiful and full of surprises. Besides unpleasant rainy surprises, I thought the scenery was very interesting. We hiked about 50 miles total and none of it was 'out and back' like our Patagonia trek, so it really felt like we covered a lot of ground. I feel like we walked through 15 different valleys during those four days and every time we turned a corner it was a new sight. From arid, to Ireland, to jungle - it was stunning.
Late afternoon we got to the 'Hidroelectica' (hydroelectric plant) where there is a train. The trail dumps you out at the back of Machu Picchu and you have to take a train around to the front. After a nice little train ride, you get to Aguas Calientes. You can't actually sleep in Machu Picchu, so Aguas Calientes is the town with all the hotels and restaurants for the tourists that go to Machu Picchu. Boy was it ever touristy. Poor Steven was suffering from a case of heat exhaustion and perhaps something flu-like at this point so we left him sleeping in the hostel while we went to dinner. We ate at Indio Feliz, and if you are ever in Aguas Calientes go there. It was delicious. Reasonably priced. Its off the main drag, so ask about it, and make reservations.
Then we went to bed because the next morning we were up at 4am to catch dawn at Machu Picchu. Stay tuned.
