Day 3 starts with more coca tea at our little huts… a girl could get used to this type of service! Lol. Fortunately, this campsite was very small, and our dining area was not up a large hill, hehe. After another wonderful breakfast, we began hiking.
The tricky part of today would be crossing landslides. Yes, you read that right; there were many landslides in the area, and the trail was actually off-limits, so we had to walk the road. Well, the road also had large landslides, which blocked our only way onwards. The scariest one was the second one we came upon. Our guide was our lookout, and he stared up to watch for any movement at all. The first person crossed without difficulty, but just a moment after the second person crossed, a rather large rock/small boulder came hurdling down. If he had been there seconds before, he many have been hit by it! After this, our guide changed his strategy, and rather than have us pass one at a time, he started yelling for us to go go go! Omg. Lol. So we RAN. When I say we booked it, we booked it, lol. Apparently, there was a man at the top who signaled to our guide that he was concerned more rocks were gonna slide down. Yikes! We passed close to each other’s heels, and the end of the “path” was extremely muddy, so we smashed into the puddles and it was tricky to move through without getting stuck. Now is NOT the time, haha. Fortunately, we all made it across with no other rock movement, but it certainly got our adrenaline going. Goooooooodmorning! 😅🤣 Hahah.
The rest of the journey to our campsite was pretty smooth, although we had to cross a few more landslides, some more recent than others. And only one other that was a little suspect. There was a small waterfall flowing down it, carrying with it small stones and sand. The guides did an excellent job at watching out for us and keeping us safe. Thank you, Machu Picchu Reservations!
Our campsite tonight would be in actual tents as opposed to the Andean Huts. We had some free time in the early afternoon, and we all decided to get comfy and enjoy the beautiful scenery of this place. There was a soccer field as well, and a rather competitive game broke out between the “Peruvians” and the “Gringos.” Hehe. It was quite fun to watch.
I made use of the free time to grab a beer and toilet paper from the little store, and as I’m walking towards the cheering section for the soccer game, I think to myself, “a beer in one hand, and a roll of toilet paper in the other… what more could I want?” Hahah. We also overhead someone shout, “toilet paper!” To which we all chuckled and instantly understood, lol. Hiking in the wilderness is a great reminder of the small pleasures in life, like toilet paper. Hehe.
Later on, we all chose to do the excursion to the Santa Teresa Hot Springs. Ohhhhh yeahhhh, haha. After 3 days of hiking, it was time to soak in a warm pool, hehe. On the way, we had a blast listening to some “old”music from around 2010, played by a young, quiet Dutch man, which was a surprise for all of us, hehe. We van-karaoked, and laughed hard as we were careening down the bumpy, windy road, being tossed to and fro.
The hot springs were lovely, and we soothed our sore muscles and enjoyed each other’s company, getting even closer as a group. After our time in the pools, we had a chance to grab a drink outside. I tried a passion fruit Pisco Sour, which is the popular cocktail to have in Peru. It was quite tasty, even if our table was crowded and the atmosphere chaotic, hehe. We were jammed into a small area, and it was difficult to move around at all, and to try and order a drink was even harder, lol.
Eventually, a big tray of “Inka Tequila” gets passed around, and one of the guides leads us in a big cheers in honor of what we’ve accomplished so far. Here we go! Haha. And with that shot, I could instantly feel my cheeks getting red and my body temperature rising, lol. And that’ll do, haha. We have our longest day ahead of us tomorrow, and we need to be ready, hehe.
Before bed, I try to charge my phone with my portable charger, and I get an error message I’ve never seen before: my phone was telling me the charging port was wet! Noooooooo! It wasn’t ever near the water at the hot springs, and I didn’t drop it or do anything that would accout for this issue. Dannnnng it! Well, I left it overnight, hoping by the morning, I’d be able to charge it. Nope! Uggggghhhh. I’m feeling so dejected and worried….I can’t believe my phone is gonna die before getting to Machu Picchu! It CAN’T happen! So I ask the kitchen staff for some dry rice, and they look at me like I have 3 heads, haha. I explain why I need it… but that morning was our last breakfast with the cooks, so maybe they really didn’t have any, but I found that hard to believe. Oh well. I try going to the little store, owned by the people who live here, and they have rice! OMG! Yesss! I got my half kilo of rice and immediately submerged my phone, lol. I just won’t take many pictures today, in case it can’t charge, that way I’ll have some juice left for the biggest day.
We begin hiking, and we have a total of 3 hours uphill, which sounds awful, but I tried to frame it in a positive light….we wouldn’t be at altitude, so it should be “easy.” Haha. Rigghhht. It’s so steep! And by the end of the day, we’ll have walked around 15 miles. Sigh. We’ll get thorugh, somehow, though! Haha.
Part of our ascent was along the ancient Inca Trail, complete with plenty of large steps. How did they do it? They were shorter in stature, and my 5’7’’ self had trouble propelling myself up some of the steps, lol. Despite having plenty of oxygen to breathe, it was extremely exhausting.
We make it to a place called Llaqtapata, an Incan building, with, get this, a view of Machu Picchu from across the valley! WHAT?! Hehehe. Again, upon seeing the cradle where the Incan city lies, the muscle soresness was instantly gone. Haha. It was impossible to make out much more than the mountain peaks and the terraces, but there it was! Hehe. I turned my phone on for some photos, and tried to charge it, and it worked! YAY!
My relief and joy was short-lived, though; the phone only charged for a moment before quitting on me again. Dammit! Back in the bag of rice, it goes, lol. My phone’s own purgatory. Haha.
We continue our descent, which will also be about a total of 3 hours. We quickly come to another excellent viewpoint of Machu Picchu, and we have a bit of a photo shoot, our spirits are raised, and we find ourselves ready to keep struggling with the downhill.
This downhill was, without doubt, the absolute worst, lol. It was extremely steep, very muddy, and it had those loose rocks, which made slipping an imminent danger, lol. Thank God for walking sticks! Some hikers refused them, but I have no shame and will never turn down a pair of hiking poles, lol. I like to think they make me look like a professional hiker, haha. Oh, and they’re VERY useful, hehe. 😅🤣.
Just when we thought we coudn’t go on anymore, we saw the bridge we needed to cross at the bottom of the mountain! Wooohooo! We made it! Another hiker, Brit, and I decided to run down in excitement, lol. It was adrenaline fueled and was exactly what we needed. We make it to the meeting point and wait for the rest of our “Sexy Donkeys” to arrive. It was a much needed and deserved break….our poor knees! Haha.
The next bit of hiking was mostly flat as we trudged on towards Hidroélectrica for lunch. We passed an absolutely stunning waterfall that immediately reminded me of the Steall Falls in Scotland. Very Harry Potter looking, hehe. And then, as we were walking, there were loads of butterflies everywhere! It almost felt like a butterfly tornado, hehe. One even landed on my backpack! What an amazing experience! Something to distract us from the now scorching direct sunlight, beaming down on us, lol.
We make it to the main road, and the moutains that surround Machu Picchu loom over us, and it’s intimidating to see just how tall and remote they are. Our guide pointed out what was left of the original Inca Trail, right across a giant rock face. How in the world?! It’s now impassable due to a landslide, but I just can’t imagine constructing the trail there.
We have a much needed, perhaps overdue lunch….it’s clear everyone is wiped out. Pink faces, sweat dripping down from everywhere, less conversations, and blister first aid treatments, lol. We were spent. We ate our food and at this point, we were given back our duffel bags, and were instructed to take out whatever we’d need for the rest of the trek, as our bags would be sent back by car the next day to Cusco. Normally, they’d be back the same day as us, but due to the many landslides, the journey back is a bit difficult, and so we had to adapt.
My daypack is now STUFFED. Lol. Luckily, it’s a flat walk after lunch, but another 3 hours worth of walking along the train tracks. It’s a fun walk, way more shade that I expected, and I’m grateful because I was getting quite burnt at this point. Along the way, we spotted some Inca terraces that were part of Machu Picchu, but this was at the bottom of the mountain and inaccessible to visitors. Cool!
The train tracks were sketchy in some places, crossing on the wooden ties, with gaps over a rushing stream of water. Better not misstep! Haha. And we passed by a construction site where they are rebuilding the tracks after what looked like a devastating flood destroyed an entire section. We were rerouted and crossed a bridge that had sandbags to step on. This sure feels safe, lol. Not to memtion their construction tape, bright red with a skull and cross bones, which absolutely inspired confidence in the structural integrity of the bridge, haha.
We make it off the train tracks, and now we’re on the main road in Aguas Calientes. Hooray! Only 30 more minutes to our hostel for the evening. But guess what. It’s uphill. Uggghh, haha. By now, we’re all more than ready to get there, so we hustle our way up the steep road.
Once in the hostel, we are grouped into our rooms for the night. I’d be rooming with Julia, Brit, and Kim, all of whom I’d spent the most time with during the past several days. Perfect roommates! We hurriedly get to our room and are so excited to sleep in a real bed! And have a hot shower! Hehe. We take turns showering but soon realize our room has zero ventilzation, no outside windows, no fan, no A/C. Lol. So it was quite humid in there. Gross. But, coming from 4 days of hiking, this was a 5 star hotel! Haha.
We head down for our last dinner as a group, and we have to turn in our hiking poles, as they’re not allowed inside Machu Picchu. Dang it! The hike up there will be….fun without out them, haha. Almost our entire table orders a Pisco Sour, haha. We’ve become so close in such a short amount of time, and we laugh about this and reminisce about the last few days together.
After dinner, our guide gives us a briefing for the following day. It’s quite chaotic, as the individuals in the group have different circuits, different entry times, and different train departures. There is so much information given that I can’t possibly retain it all, and my only hope is that it all works out, haha. Which it usually does.
My entry ticket to Machu Picchu was for 6am, but our guide told us we should meet up there by 6:30, and the plan on entering at 7am. On the ticket itself, in the small print, it says you only have a half-hour window to enter. Ummmm… I ask our guide for clarification, and his response is, “It’s Peru, it’ll be fine,” hahaha. My favorite quote of the entire trip. Hehe. He does this all the time, and I trust him. It’s supposedly a 1.5 hour hike up to the entry point. I plan to go with Julia, and as we had routinely brought up the rear of the group, so we planned to leave earlier.
Time to rest up for the big day tomorrow! Machu Picchu, here we come!!! 🤗🥰😁.
Taking Off With Amelia 