The final video of the Trek to Machu Picchu is now uploaded. This video is the final part (day 3 and 4) of our trek on the Inca Trail to
Machu Picchu. Highlights in this episode are some amazing Inca ruins,
trail scenery, pre dawn departure on day 4, the sun gate, a make-out
couple sighting and the grand finale: Machu Picchu. Please go to our video tab or click on this link:
The Trek to Machu Picchu (part 3)
Our latest video is now uploaded. This is part 2 of our 4 day trek to Machu Picchu. Day two is the high altitude day over Dead Woman's Pass. Please go to our videos tab or go to this link:
This first part of our Inca Trail video is now uploaded. This video is of the first day of trekking, including a coca leaf explanation, Andes scenery, and guinea pig eating! Please go to our video tab, or click on this link:
The World Effect travelogue video 9 -Peru part 1
Cusco, Peru is one of the more cultural cities we've encountered on our trip so far. Cusco was the capital and center of the Incan Empire. Now Cusco has an interesting mix of the original Inca culture and Catholicism with an artistic and new age vibe mixed in to make a very vibrant city. Like Quito, the city climbs up the steep valley walls making a sea of burnt orange rooftops. The high altitude would make this a crisp and clean back drop, unfortunately the city is plagued with traffic making exhaust fumes the most common scent in the air. This is a great city to walk around, or like most Latin American towns, it has a great central area, Plaza de Armas. The plaza is a good place to sit in a park bench and watch the people go by.
This is the second Monday we've lucked out and stumbled upon a big event. As the start of holy week, there was the Fiesta del Señor de los Temblores, Which is translated into "The Black Lord of the Earthquakes Festival." A black crucifix is paraded around the city from church to church while the people shower it in red orange flower petals to protect the city from any more devastating earthquakes. That night we had dinner over looking the Plaza de Armas where the procession ended. I have never seen so many people packed into an area so densely. The people spilled into the streets leading to the centro for blocks. I would guess that tens of thousands of people came to Cusco for the ceremony. It was an amazing sight.
After four days of hiking, we climbed up our last 50 steps towards the Sun Gate to find Machu Picchu completely socked in with clouds. Several hours later the clouds began to lift eventually revealing the famous site. Looking back on it, we're glad that we didn't have the crystal clear day that we hoped for. The rain, mist and wisps of clouds added to the already dramatic place of Machu Picchu.
We have consistantly read that Machu Picchu has a unique feel and an energy about it. After being there, we now know what this energy feels like. It's hard to describe, but once there, you know that Machu Picchu is a very special place. There is no dispute from us why Machu Picchu is one of the seven new wonders of the world.
We spent 4 days of hiking and camping on the Inca Trail to reach the mystical Machu Picchu. This turned out to be a pretty intense hike, but well worth the effort. There are about 7 major and several smaller Inca ruins to explore along with the breathtaking scenery of the Andes.
The Inca Trail was the Inca's way to communicate between settlements. They had no transportation other than by foot. The trail was essentially a human line of communication made of granite stones and steps that reached to all corners of the Andes. The portion that we hiked started near Ollantaytambo, a town that still has the original Inca narrow pedestrian streets and waterways. The trail winds through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, up over "Dead Woman's Pass" (4200 M) and down into a cloud forest.
To hike the Inca Trail, you must have a permit and go with a guide. GAP Adventures made this adventure a very memorable one for our group of 16 travelers. We had AMAZING porters that heaved 20 kg (around 50 pounds) of gear up to each lunch spot and the night campsite. These porters all come from the same community, much like Ccaccaccollo in our last post. These porters each had the strength of 10 of us and a contagious amount of kindness. While we sucked air hiking up the pass, they literally ran by us with smiles on their faces. We stayed in comfortable tents and had delicious multi-course meals every day. It was truly an amazing experience. We will soon have a video of the hike. Machu Picchu deserves a post of its own, soon to follow.
On the way to the Inca Trail, we visited a little community called Ccaccaccollo. This is the community for many of the GAP adventures porters for the Inca Trail. GAP helped organize the Women's Textile Project, where the women and wives of the porters make traditional textiles of alpaca and wool. As part of the Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu, GAP takes its travel groups to Ccaccaccollo to learn every step of the traditional weaving process including spinning the wool, dying the wools with all natural dyes and different weaving and knitting techniques. This program is a great way for a little community to benefit economicly from tourism without having a negetive social or cultural impact.
