Puno –visit to Lake Titicaca

We left Cuzco and we hit the road heading towards Puno, a Peruvian town with nothing special except for being located by the Lake Titicaca, being the union between Peru and Bolivia for road trips and the strategic point for exploring the lake. Having decided to leave Bolivia for another occasion, our stay in Puno had the only objective of visiting the lake. Lake Titicaca is the natural border between Peru and Bolivia. At almost 4,000 meters over sea level, and still surrounded by high mountains, with its 165 km long and 60 km wide, and with islands inhabited by remote Quechua and Aymnara cultures, Lake Titicaca has impressive statistics that deserve, at least, a visit. And we visited the island of Uros, built over reed platforms, and from there we travelled to Amantaní, where we spent the night with a local family and we enjoyed the celebrations of Pentecostes, which, in addition to lots of dancing in colourful outfits, the biggest incentive appeared to be to drink as much beer as possible. And we also visited Taquile Island before starting our long way back to Puno…. And at least we did not need to use rowing boats, as they did some years ago, which in good conditions implied a 24 for hours trip!

Hasta pronto Cuzco

Y después de tantas semanas, llega el momento de las despedidas, volver a hacer las maletas, coger la carretera y decir… ¡Hasta pronto, Cuzco! Y nos vamos con pena, porque han sido semanas muy buenas y muy intensas. Y decimos adiós a las clases de español, de francés y de karate. También decimos adiós a los niños del asentamiento humano Hermanos Ayar, con sus espectaculares vistas de Cuzco, al que tantas caminatas nos hemos dado y en el que tantas tardes hemos pasado jugando con los niños, tratando de ayudar con las variadas tareas que traían. Y nos despiden con “huatias”, papas asadas en un horno construido con adobes y tierra, y con mucha pena les decimos “hasta pronto”. Y nos despedimos del hostal en el que tantos días hemos pasado. Y Marlis, que ha sido nuestra anfitriona todos estos días, también nos agasaja con una comida especial, y como no podía ser de otra manera, disfrutamos de un plato de papas y choclo (maíz) recién sacados de la tierra, y un cuy (cobaya) de los muchos que había en el criadero de la cocina y que va, en el plazo de dos minutos de estar vivito y coleando a la sartén…
Y nos despedimos de las montañas, del valle, de las ruinas, de las angostas calles, de las plazas, de las banderas arco-iris …. Y a todo decimos ¡hasta pronto! Y nos despedimos de Marlene, de Silvia, de Marlis, de Adrial, de Sandra, de Jessica, de Javier, de Lucho, de Tino…. Y a todos decimos ¡hasta pronto!

See you soon Cuzco

And after all these weeks, the moment comes to say our goodbyes, to pack our backs and to take the road again and to say… see you later, Cuzco! And we leave sad, because these weeks have been very good and intense. And we say goodbye to our classes of Spanish, French, karate. And we also say goodbye to the children from the human settlement Hermanos Ayar, with its spectacular views of Cuzco, where we have walked so many times, and where we have spent so many afternoons playing with the children and trying to help them with the various homework they had. And they say goodbye to us with “huatias”, potatoes (papas) roasted in an oven built from mud bricks and sand, and feeling sad we say “hasta pronto/see you soon”. And we say goodbye to the hostel, where we have spent so many days. And Marlis, who has been our host all these weeks, also treat us to a special meal, and as it could not be otherwise, we enjoy a dish of papas and choclo (corn) taken directly from the land, and a cuy (guinea pig) of the many that they kept in the “cuy farm” that they kept in the kitchen and which made its way, in the time span of two minutes, from being happily alive to the pan….
And we say goodbye to the mountains, the valley, the ruins, the narrow streets, the squares, the rainbow flags…. And to all these things we say: see you soon! And we say goodbye to Marlene, to Silvia, to Marlis, to Adrial, to Sandra, to Jessica, to Javier, to Lucho, to Tino…. And to all of them we say: see you soon!

La ciudad perdida de Machu Picchu

Habiendo caminado hasta aquí, decidimos que sería apropiado terminar el viaje caminando, y a las 4.45 de la madrugada, con la noche cerrada, comenzamos nuestro ascenso a Machu Picchu, ignorando la posibilidad de subir, de forma mucho más cómoda y rápida en autobús. Muchas escaleras y mucha expectación después, llegamos a la entrada principal al recinto arqueológico de Machu Picchu, la ciudad perdida a la que los conquistadores no lograron llegar. La suerte (o más bien la mala suerte) quiso que el día se levantase con una niebla pesada que impedía ver un metro más allá de nuestras narices. Con un montón de desilusionados turistas, terminamos en la cafetería del recinto, intentando entrar en calor y no perder las esperanzas de que el día abriese y nos dejase disfrutar de la vista (¡y mucho más importante, nos permitiese sacar una foto para poder publicar en el blog!). Nuestras esperanzas no se vieron frustradas, y tras varios amagos de despeje, pudimos concluir el día habiendo apreciado la belleza, difícil de describir, del lugar. Contentos y satisfechos, bajamos a pie de nuevo las escaleras de regreso a Aguas Calientes, con tiempo para coger el tren que nos traería de regreso a Cuzco para un merecido descanso.

The lost city of Machu Picchu

Having walked all the way there, we decided that it would be appropriate to finish the trip walking, and at 4.45 am, in pitch darkness, we started our ascend to Machu Picchu, ignoring the possibility of going up, in a much more comfortable and fast way, by bus. Lots of steps after, we arrived to the main entrance to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, the lost city where the conquistadores failed to arrive. Luck (or rather its absence) made the day wake up with a thick, heavy fog that prevented us from seeing more than one meter in front of our noses. Together with a big bunch of disillusioned tourist, we ended up in the cafeteria, trying to warm up and hoping that the day would open up at some point and allow us to enjoy the views (and more importantly, take a photo to post in this blog!). And our hopes were not frustrated, and after several failed attempts to open up, we concluded the day having managed to enjoy the amazing beauty, difficult to describe, of the place. Happy and satisfied, we went down all the steps back to Aguas Calientes, on time to take the train back to Cuzco, for a well deserved rest.

De camino a Machu Picchu – Ruta de Salkantay

Debido en parte a la congestión del Camino Inca, pero mayoritariamente a nuestra falta de previsión, nos aproximamos a Machu Picchu por una ruta alternativa, la ruta del nevado de Salkantay, que en cuatro días de caminata nos llevó a Aguas Calientes, a las laderas de Machu Picchu, punto final de nuestra ruta y colofón del viaje.
Día 1: Mollepata a Soraypampa
Lucho y Javier, el cocinero y el guía que nos acompañarían durante el trayecto, vinieron a buscarnos al hostal en Cuzco, y juntos llegamos a Mollepata, lugar de inicio de nuestra caminata. Empezamos a calentar motores y después de varias horas de camino engullimos una reparadora comida para continuar el trayecto. Por la tarde, la vista del nevado del Umantay, “el primero”, empezó a indicarnos el destino para aquella noche: sus laderas, en las que acampamos con el frío metido en el cuerpo vislumbrando ya el Salkantay, “el inaccesible”, nuestro objetivo para el día siguiente.
Día 2: Soraypampa-Paso de Salkantay-Challway
Un gran madrugón, un chocolate caliente y un matecito de coca nos prepararon para abordar el segundo día de nuestra caminata a través del Paso de Salkantay. El día comenzó con un largo un continuado ascenso desde el campamento base a 3.800 metros sobre el nivel del mar hasta el paso, a 4.650 metros. La falta de aire y el frío no impidieron que cumpliéramos nuestro objetivo (aunque a tramos con dificultad), y pudimos disfrutar de las vistas del paso, donde tradicionalmente se hacen ofrendas de piedras a la montaña de Salkantay, considerada sagrada desde tiempos incas. Habiendo realizado nuestra ofrenda y cumplido el objetivo del día, todavía nos quedaban 3 horas de caminata hasta la comida y otras 4 más, dejando atrás el paisaje andino y adentrándonos en la selva, hasta nuestro campamento base para esa noche. Con mejor temperatura, y gran cansancio acumulado, conseguimos dormir como troncos….
Día 3: Challway-Playa-Santa Teresa
Después de un reparador sueño, comenzamos nuestra caminata por las orillas del río Salkantay, a través de un frondoso paisaje de selva en el que pudimos apreciar gran cantidad de frutas y vegetación y disfrutar de las deliciosas granadillas o frutas de la pasión. En Playa, disfrutamos de otra de las comidas de Lucho y nos relajamos a la orilla del río Salkantay, antes de iniciar el trayecto que nos llevaría a Santa Teresa, donde disfrutamos de unos baños termales construidos en la ladera de la montaña, con un paisaje excepcional.
Día 4: Por fin, Aguas Calientes
Y por fin, después de días de largas caminatas, nos empezamos a aproximar a Machu Picchu, a través del tendido del ferrocarril, única forma de comunicación entre varias poblaciones de la zona. Y así, saltando de tabla en tabla, llegamos a Aguas Calientes, un pueblo sin mayor gloria que servir de base para la reglamentaria visita a Machu Picchu. Y allí pudimos descansar y prepararnos para la esperada visita, y disfrutar de los pequenios placeres de la vida, olvidados durante nuestro viaje: un baño, una ducha, una cama.

On our way to Machu Picchu – the route of Salkantay

Due in part to the congestion of the Inca Trail, but mainly to our lack of planning, we made our way to Machu Picchu through an alternative route, the route of the snow-capped Salkantay, which in four days took as to the valley of Machu Picchu, final point of our route and the icing in the cake of this trip.
Day 1: Mollepata to Soraypampa
Lucho and Javier, the cook and guide that accompanied us during the trek, came to pick us up to our hostel in Cuzco, and together we arrived to Mollepata, the place where our trek started. We started to warm up engines and after several hours of walk, we gorged an energising meal to allow us continue our way. In the afternoon, the view of the snow-capped Umantay, “the first one”, started to indicate the final destination for that day: its valley, where we camped with the cold installed in our bones, gazing already at the Salkantay, “the inaccessible”, our objective for the following day.
Day 2: Soraypampa-Salkantay Pass-Cahllway
An early morning, a hot chocolate and coca tea, prepared us to tackle the second day of the trek through the Salkantay Pass. The day started with a long and continued hike from the base camp, 3,800 meters over sea level, to the pass at 4,650 meters. The thin air and coldness did not prevent us from achieving the objective (although at points with some difficulties), and we could finally enjoy the amazing views of the pass, where traditionally stone offerings are made to the sacred mountain of Salkantay. Having done our offering and having fulfilled the objective of the day, we still had 3 hours way to our lunch, and other 4 more, leaving behind the Andean landscape and entering in the jungle landscape, to our base camp for the night. With better temperature and accumulated tiredness, we managed to sleep like logs!
Day 3: Callway-Playa-Santa Teresa
After a good sleep, we started our walk along the river Salkantay, through dense jungle landscape where we could enjoy a large variety of fruits and vegetation and eat passion fruit straight from the trees. In Playa, we enjoyed another of Lucho’s lunches, and we relaxed in the river, before starting our way to Santa Teresa, where we indulged in some thermal baths, built on the side of the mountains with exceptional landscape.
Day 4: Finally, Aguas Calientes
And finally, after days of long walks, we started to get closer to Machu Picchu, through the train tracks, only way of communication between several villages in the area. And jumping from wooden block to wooden block, we arrived to Aguas Calientes, an unremarkable town except for being the base point for the obligatory visit to Machu Picchu. And there we could rest and prepare ourselves for the awaited visit, and we spoilt ourselves with the small pleasures of life, forgotten during our trek: a toilet, a shower and a bed!