Cuzco and the Holy Grail of Peru

After we had this very interesting time in Lima and the Andes region, we finally made it to Cuzco, the base of the possibly most hyped attraction in South America: Machu Picchu!

We arrived early in the morning, and as we heard before, Hostel Loki was usually a good choice for traveling people of our kind, and thus we jumped the cab with another two American girls, who’d just arrived in Cuzco with us, and off we went.

Unfortunately, the place was packed and chances were little that enough people would check out so that the 4 of us could reside there together. Also it was insanely expensive, compared to the hostels we have been to before. SO, next stop “Pariwana Hostel”, a place that was recommended by some other friends, and which was even closer to the centre. There they had enough space for us, and after having put down our stuff, we went into town to book ourselves one of the mystic Jungle Inca Trips with a visit to the holy Traveler’s Grail on the last day.

Badabing Badaboom, first place offered tours for 170$ and we were hooked instantly. The party would begin the next morning around 6:30am and happily we returned to our hostel, only to find out that it was the Dutch Queens’ Birthday. Usually, no one would really care about that, but as our neighbouring hostel “The Point Hostal” threw a massive party in Her Majesty’s honor, with a beerpong competition, we were hooked for the second time this day.

Chris and I competed in the Beerpong thing, and unfortunately lost the 3^rd round due to me being already too wasted and having blocked the opponents ping pong ball before it hit the glas… (who knows the game and it’s rules knows that this is such an unnecessary reason to lose. :-/ ) Anywho, the place recommended another party after their Pong competition and with the flyers lying around in the place, a free drink was even included when going to the Mystery club (or something like that). Chris was again on top of it and grabbed about 16 free-drink flyers and off we went.

Now having the free drink flyers doesn’t mean you can get drunk instantly, or let’s say worsen the state we already were in, because when you don’t get through to the bar, you can have all the flyers in the world, but will still stay dry. Luckily for us, I had brought out my orange glasses and one of the guys from the bar staff absolutely loved them. As soon as I punched my way to the bar, I offered the champ a deal: He could keep my glasses and be the star of the party, if he made sure that every time I waved with our “free-drink” flyers he’d instantly get them Vodka-Orange drinks prepared and pass them over to me. Said, done.

Long story short, we tumbled out of the place around 4 towards our beds and were completely plastered. I didn’t even think about the tour which would start only a few hours later, cuz I was that much abuzz with having a good time around all these orange people.

Inka Jungle Tour – Day One

Around 6:30am our two American companions, who did not come out with us the previous night, jumped out of their beds and screamed in panic that we were late and we’d miss our tour. Chris and I couldn’t care less in the first minutes. We got out of bed and Chris slowly moved towards the bath. When I found out it was 6:45 already, I started moving faster and upon Chris’ return from the bath, the three of us were already gone and looking for the minivan which was to pick us up. The greatest thing this morning was Maggie asking for Chris and upon seeing him stating “OMG, he moves like a fucking turtle…”

The drivers and guides were really pissed at us and after breakfast actually did move us into another bus as they didn’t want us to be in their group. :D After breakfast, we drove up a mountain for about 3hrs, just to get out into the freezing cold there and being handed a mountain bike to cruise down the whole damn thing again. In the beginning no one enjoyed being in the cold, but after a while the cold went away and after we went below cloud level we were rewarded with an astonishing view of the mountains.

After about 4hrs we arrived at the bottom of the mountain, grabbed some lunch and drove to our first night’s accommodation in the next village. There we discovered a small soccer pitch and luckily for us, the hostel even had a ball, so Chris, another guy and I went out and harassed everyone in town to join us for a little bit of kicking around. After 10 minutes, the place was packed with local children and we played for a good 2hrs, despite some rain and some really annoying wind. GOOD TIMES!!

The night was finished of by a decent dinner and a single beer in the town’s only bar, who surprisingly had a great collection of games to play there.

Inca Jungle Tour – Day Two

In the morning we got up around 7 and walked towards breakfast, only to start our two days of hiking towards Machu Picchu right after. In comparison to some other groups, our tourguide was THE SHIT!!! He was amazingly funny and simply a good tour guide, constantly stopping along the way and explaining this and that and giving us great inside into the Inca culture.

Apart from the astonishing views we got along the way, we stopped at one point and received Coca leaves to try, which would (against all prejudices NOT make you high, but rather) suppress hunger, thirst and altitude sickness. Additionally, our faces were painted with some part or a local flower and after a good 45min break continued our way up to the highest point of the Inca Trail.

After another 3hrs of hiking we reached a little bridge which could only be crossed by a tiny gondola. There we had to wait for about 30mins as almost 6 other groups were ahead of us and the gondola only fit like 3 people at a time. The wait was rewarded though, because after another 30 minutes of hiking we reached the local hot thermes, which were the final stop of the day.

After a good 90mins of warming up in the thermes, we grabbed a cab and drove into town. It was some Peruvian holiday, as we found out the next day, but none of us were able to go out and celebrate big time. The Queen’s birthday still hung in our bones, plus we didn’t even bring any cash with us, except for the dough we needed to get along (water, snacks, entrance to Machu Picchu and so on). So again we were in bed early and were asleep after just a few minutes.

Inca Jungle Tour – Day Three

This day, we again had to get up early, even earlier than the night before. After a strong cup of Coca-Leave Tea we were off towards Machu Picchu, or rather Aguas Calientes, at the bottom of the Machu Picchu Mountain. And it was a strong piece of work we had to do that day. The sun was burning down on us mercilessly and the dusty path we walked on, made our lungs suffer additionally.

After a good 2hrs we arrived a little control point, just half an hour before lunch, from which we could look up the Mountain and see the first stones and terraces from the old Inca City. And it was a good teaser, that made us rush along the last 30mins towards lunch.

After lunch we had to walk the last few kilometers towards Aguas Calientes, which basically meant we needed to walk on the Railway tracks that lead towards the town and which were for the lazy people that were not physically able or willing to walk towards Machu Picchu, but still wanted to see it.

It took another few hours, with lots of breaks organizes by our tour guide, to gather or “Inca Power” for the last bits of the track. Upon arrival, we had like an hour to buy some groceries and snacks for the next day on Machu Picchu, because lunch wasn’t included, nor was Dinner. So we packed our bags and after a decent dinner went to bed again really early, as the alarm was set for 4am the following morning.

Inca Jungle Tour – Day Four

The alarm mercilessly kicked us out at 4am sharp to gather our stuff and get ready for the long day ahead. At 4:30am we started walking towards the bottom entry gate of the Grail Mountain and finally entered around 5:10am only to be confronted with another 45min hike up the steep mountain side. On the upside, the Spaniards had carved a set of 2800 stairs into the side of the mountain to make it easier climb the place, but still it was a sunofabitch to get up. For the earlier mentioned lazy or unwilling people there were even buses driving up the hill, to get even the un-fittest bloke up there and let him enjoy a culture he’d never heard of before.

After arriving at the top we kinda lost track of our fellow group members and as we were transferred to another guide the previous day (our tour guide had some other business to attend in Cuzco and had to leave) we didn’t even know who to look for. After a good 30min search we finally found them and followed to one of the terraces on which we hoped to see the sunrise on Machu Picchu. Sadly, the clouds prohibited any sun to shine through and thus we listened to the new tour guide in the cloudy darkness, as he explained things about the lost city. After a 2hr tour we were dismissed and were allowed to explore the lost city by ourselves. This opportunity was gladly embraced and after having taken some of the classic Machu Picchu pictures, Chris and I basically pissed the day away by just chilling in the sun on one of the terraces overlooking the ruins.

As the clock hit 2pm, we had already eaten most of our lunch stuff and went to see the Sun-gate, an entrance through which all tourists came, when doing the actual, real Inca Trail. And I can imagine that the first view onto the ruins from the Sun Gate must indeed be breath-taking and stand in no comparison to just entering the site through the front door.

Upon arrival at the Sun Gate we saw that heaven was closing in on us and that massive black clouds were rushing into the valley. Without hesitation, we grabbed our stuff and raced down the mountain. It took us about 20mins to get back to the ruins and from there another 30mins down to the front entrance. An additional 25mins walk towards Aguas Calientes was inevitable but was rewarded with some delicious dinner in one of the many restaurants in the little town. Also, we enjoyed and feasted upon the 5 for 1 cocktail offer of one of the other restaurants with at least another 15 other Inca Jungle Tour members, before we had to leave for the train station, and our train that departed at 9pm sharp.

After a 60min ride on the train and another 3hrs after, we touched down back in Cuzco around 1:30am and rushed back to our beloved Pariwana Hostel, where we had pre-booked another two nights in advance. Exhausted and reeeeeeally tired we fell into bed at 2am, but everyone with a broad smile on their faces. Great 4 days!!!! GREAT!

The next day was a Saturday, and despite our tired feet, we still decided that we need to hit Cuzco another time loud and hard. This time we’d all go out, including our new friends from the Jungle Inca Trip. But first, laundry had to be done, our stuff smelled horrible and this had to be changed immediately. In the evening, I unpacked my cooking skills for a few friends and made up a fantastic “mushroom - white wine - cream - sauce” which went splendidly with some rice and vegetables. And after this delicious dinner, we got our drinks on and went to rip Cuzco a new one. Mission completed, I would say, because we returned home around 5am and were loaded like seldom before. :D

The following day was used solely to recover from the previous night and write some blog. Additionally, I managed to book my flights back home, which is sad, but inevitable, and finally I’m looking foreward to fly home soon. It has been amazing so far and I’m sure there is so much more to discover on this incredible continent, but the fun has to end at one point, and I can’t wait to see all my friends again.

The following day would be our last in Cuzco, as Arequipa and after Bolivia were waiting for us and we were running out of time. So we packed our stuff and left for the Bus station at 6, but not before we had not gotten a 60min massage in one of the little relax-centres which are everywhere to be found in Cuzco. And for only 25 Soles per person, our body and souls were crunched, hurt and finally relieved of all the pain that had accumulated during the previous week.

Well then, thank you Cuzco, it has been a pleasure. Arequipa, you´re up!