Buenos Tardes todos!
It is a beautiful day in Copacabana, Bolivia on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We have been here only 1 night but i think i could stay here forever! We are headed, by boat, to the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) tonight which is supposed to be very tranquil and beautiful! These few relaxing days are much needed after our past week in Cusco, and Macchu Picchu.
Here is how we spent the last 4 days...
There are a few ways to get to Macchu Picchu from Cusco- one is the direct backpackers train (which i am sure some of you would think i took) but alas, I did not! Another way is known as the ädventurous and dangerous route¨. Of course being with Kevin and our friend Will, the boys wanted to be daring so we were!
We left Cusco at 8 am on Wednesday in a minivan with 5 other people bound for Aguas Calientes which is the city of Macchu Picchu. Our first stop was to be a small jungle town of Santa Maria. Little did i know that this trip was to scare the shit out of me. As we drove up and up into the mountains, i started realizing there were very very few guardrails, so i obviously thought we would not go much higher. ha....well we went up and up and up...scaling mountains with horrendously unsafe switchback turns and one way gravel roads-no big deal that we were about 14,000 ft in the air on cliffs known for landslides! At one point we were so high up that they had signs readng ¨La Zona de Neblina¨...CLOUD ZONE! We went in and out of clouds while our view of ice caps on the Andes was priceless, my life flashed before my eyes numerous times.
We stopped in Santa Maria, switched cars en route to another jungle town of Santa Teresa. This road was nothing but rocks, gravels, and no guardrails at all! Once we arrived safely in Santa Teresa we had to get another ride to the infamous Hydroelectric plant to finish our journey on foot. This hydroelectric plant is exactly what it sounds like, just a random plant in the middle of the mountains where a railroad track ends. From here, we walked 15KM (about 9 miles) to Aguas Calientes. This was an amazing walk, though very difficult because you are walking on railroad tracks above water at some points and through the jungle, the views are absolutely incredible. I cannot even start to describe them.
Finally, 2.5 hours later, we walked through 2 mountain-made tunnels and we saw the city in the near distance!
At 3:30 am the next morning, we were off to Macchu Picchu so that we would be 3 of the 200 people they let climb Waynapicchu every day! And luckily, we were numbers 142, 143, 144! (obviously because we took the bus up the mountain instead of hiking)
We saw the sun rise over Macchu Picchu and I could not fathom how an entire tribe of people lived there. It truly was an incredible feeling and eerie as well. At about 7am, we made our way through the ruins, up and down stones, taking in the 360 degree view of the Andes. And finally, we made our way to Waynapicchu, the famous mountain that when you are on top, you can barely see the Macchu Picchu ruins. We hiked and hiked up steep stairs and just when I thought I was going to pass out and fall off the mountain, we hit the top. By the top, i mean there were 10 huge rocks all slanted and dangerous with no railings or anything! But people had no qualms about sitting up there, I on the other hand could not go up this last ladder to these rocks because of my newly found fear of these 15,000 foot heights. I actually almost vomited.
At about 9am when we thought about how much we had already done so early in the morning, we ventured back down the steep mountain, through Macchu Picchu to the other side where we then had to venture down the mountain in which we had previously taken a bus up. By the time we hit solid ground, my legs were trembling and we all thought we might pass out. This is why we took the train from Aguas Calientes back to the Hydroelectric plant instead of walking 9 miles. We slowly started our journey back...actually not slowly at all. Our driver was nuts, he was going soooo fast while scaling the Andes Mountains that at one point when we were in the cloud zone, i had to hide my face in kevins hands and i may have shed a tear. I truly feared for my life. Even Kevin said there were points he did not think we would make it! But, no worries because after a flat tire from driving too fast over rocks, we made it back to Cusco safely.
We spent 1 more night in Cusco to rest our bodies and then we headed to Copacabana overnight and over the border! (P.S-All Americans have to pay $135 dollars at the border... sweet) This was a little humorous because we were the only Americans on our bus and everyone had to wait for us to fill out forms and pay but nevertheless, we made it into Bolivia and we even got to to catch the sunset on top of a mountain overlooking the lake.
I feel so fortunate to be on this trip and I am taking everything in for what its worth. The culture and way of life down here is something that you read about in books, and many people never get the chance to experience it.
Off to the Island of the Sun today....
It is a beautiful day in Copacabana, Bolivia on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We have been here only 1 night but i think i could stay here forever! We are headed, by boat, to the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) tonight which is supposed to be very tranquil and beautiful! These few relaxing days are much needed after our past week in Cusco, and Macchu Picchu.
Here is how we spent the last 4 days...
There are a few ways to get to Macchu Picchu from Cusco- one is the direct backpackers train (which i am sure some of you would think i took) but alas, I did not! Another way is known as the ädventurous and dangerous route¨. Of course being with Kevin and our friend Will, the boys wanted to be daring so we were!
We left Cusco at 8 am on Wednesday in a minivan with 5 other people bound for Aguas Calientes which is the city of Macchu Picchu. Our first stop was to be a small jungle town of Santa Maria. Little did i know that this trip was to scare the shit out of me. As we drove up and up into the mountains, i started realizing there were very very few guardrails, so i obviously thought we would not go much higher. ha....well we went up and up and up...scaling mountains with horrendously unsafe switchback turns and one way gravel roads-no big deal that we were about 14,000 ft in the air on cliffs known for landslides! At one point we were so high up that they had signs readng ¨La Zona de Neblina¨...CLOUD ZONE! We went in and out of clouds while our view of ice caps on the Andes was priceless, my life flashed before my eyes numerous times.
We stopped in Santa Maria, switched cars en route to another jungle town of Santa Teresa. This road was nothing but rocks, gravels, and no guardrails at all! Once we arrived safely in Santa Teresa we had to get another ride to the infamous Hydroelectric plant to finish our journey on foot. This hydroelectric plant is exactly what it sounds like, just a random plant in the middle of the mountains where a railroad track ends. From here, we walked 15KM (about 9 miles) to Aguas Calientes. This was an amazing walk, though very difficult because you are walking on railroad tracks above water at some points and through the jungle, the views are absolutely incredible. I cannot even start to describe them.
Finally, 2.5 hours later, we walked through 2 mountain-made tunnels and we saw the city in the near distance!
At 3:30 am the next morning, we were off to Macchu Picchu so that we would be 3 of the 200 people they let climb Waynapicchu every day! And luckily, we were numbers 142, 143, 144! (obviously because we took the bus up the mountain instead of hiking)
We saw the sun rise over Macchu Picchu and I could not fathom how an entire tribe of people lived there. It truly was an incredible feeling and eerie as well. At about 7am, we made our way through the ruins, up and down stones, taking in the 360 degree view of the Andes. And finally, we made our way to Waynapicchu, the famous mountain that when you are on top, you can barely see the Macchu Picchu ruins. We hiked and hiked up steep stairs and just when I thought I was going to pass out and fall off the mountain, we hit the top. By the top, i mean there were 10 huge rocks all slanted and dangerous with no railings or anything! But people had no qualms about sitting up there, I on the other hand could not go up this last ladder to these rocks because of my newly found fear of these 15,000 foot heights. I actually almost vomited.
At about 9am when we thought about how much we had already done so early in the morning, we ventured back down the steep mountain, through Macchu Picchu to the other side where we then had to venture down the mountain in which we had previously taken a bus up. By the time we hit solid ground, my legs were trembling and we all thought we might pass out. This is why we took the train from Aguas Calientes back to the Hydroelectric plant instead of walking 9 miles. We slowly started our journey back...actually not slowly at all. Our driver was nuts, he was going soooo fast while scaling the Andes Mountains that at one point when we were in the cloud zone, i had to hide my face in kevins hands and i may have shed a tear. I truly feared for my life. Even Kevin said there were points he did not think we would make it! But, no worries because after a flat tire from driving too fast over rocks, we made it back to Cusco safely.
We spent 1 more night in Cusco to rest our bodies and then we headed to Copacabana overnight and over the border! (P.S-All Americans have to pay $135 dollars at the border... sweet) This was a little humorous because we were the only Americans on our bus and everyone had to wait for us to fill out forms and pay but nevertheless, we made it into Bolivia and we even got to to catch the sunset on top of a mountain overlooking the lake.
I feel so fortunate to be on this trip and I am taking everything in for what its worth. The culture and way of life down here is something that you read about in books, and many people never get the chance to experience it.
Off to the Island of the Sun today....
But for your enjoyment...
Kevin and I during our 9 mile walk to Aguas Calientes...a picture break was much needed!
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