Rough times in the Andes

Off Katie and I went on our trek. Not too sure if the deal we got was a scam or not. ($500 US for the Salkantay trek and the Amazon lodge). We left our hostel at 4:25 in the morning, still dark out and headed to the San Francisco square where we were to meet other trekkers and our guides. We got to the square, no bus and no one else around. Finally we saw someone unloading food and assumed that they were preparing for the trek. Finally people and busses started rolling in around 5am...not sure if people were late or we were told to come 30 minutes earlier than everyone else!

Of course the first thing that happens on the bus is the guide informing us that we have to pay an entrance fee to our first town (no one had mentioned this earlier). This was pretty much the theme of the trip. We arrived in Mollepata in 2.5 hours where we would begin our trek. We had a nice breakfast and the guides put our packs on the donkeys and away we went.

Day 1's plan was 17km mounting 1,000m in altitude, in 6 hours or so to arrive at camp around 5pm. Our first camp would be at an altitude of 3,900m. We left Mollepata around 8am.

The sun is shining hard. Katie and I were dressed in full thermal underwear with lots of layers. Its very hard to gauge the weather here as you will see.

Our team was called Los Pumas and we were fifteen people. An English couple, Jo and Ian, 3 Francais, Sylvain, Christophe and Aymeric, an Argentinian, a Dutch Menon, Sonia the German, a Colombian couple, an Israeli, and a Japanese and an American Mike. Our two Peruvian guides were Darwin and Milton.

Away we went and things were going well. The climb wasn't too bad and there were several breaks. But after one of the breaks the steepness hit and the altitude and heat hit me. I was incredibly dizzy, feeling faint, seeing spots, wanting to vomit etc. And lunch wasn't until 1pm or until I got there. And to make matters worse the hike was getting steeper! I didn't feel like my body was tired, I just could not get any air in my lungs. The heat was also not helping and while I was down to a tank top (with the rest of my clothes in my back pack, I still had my long underwear on).

At one of the rest stops, our guides told me to start chewing cocoa leaves. I almost gagged because he made me put so much in my mouth. But I found a happy equilibrium by sticking a few leaves on both sides of my cheek. It at least gave me something else to think about but Milton told me it would not kick in for another hour or so (like all drugs!). Cocoa is supposed to help with altitude sickness.

Eventually, I made it to lunch camp just wanting to die and knowing that we had another 3 hours of hiking left. The good news was that we had already hiked up 700m in altitude! So we ONLY had 300m left in the afternoon. After our lunch break back on the track. The afternoon went a lot better but I was still feeling incredibly light headed. Actually my yoga breathing techniques came in really handy in getting a bit more air in my lungs and to keep a steady pace. The last bit of our trek it started getting cooler. We were reaching 3,900m. We arrived at camp with our tents set up but it was freezing cold and the wind was howling. I put on all my layers including tuque and mitts. As everyone is setting up their tents, Katie and I find out that they had forgotten to bring our sleeping bags. We thought they were joking. We were in the middle of no where camping at around 0 degrees and no sleeping bags! We wanted to cry. Luckily we have two amazing guides who some how found two sleeping bags and a blanket for us (we think they may have given theirs to us).

We went to have tea time. Agua caliente and popcorn, all 15 of us huddled inside a 3 and a half wall "room", trying to stay warm. Then we had dinner. All of our meals were pretty standard and became a running joke with all of us. Soupa, carne con arroz and agua caliente. Barely anyone touched their dinner that night as we were all exhausted from the day's hike. And knowing that Day 2 was the most difficult.

After dinner (around 8:30pm) we all passed out. Katie and I slept in every piece of clothing we owned. The night sky was gorgeous, we could see every single star and the milky way was crystal clear, but it was too cold to stay outside and everyone was exhausted.

Day 2's plan was to hike 22km in 9 hours. 3 hours in the morning up another 750m to the highest point of our trek. And after that we would be heading downhill towards camp.

The next morning, I woke up still feeling sick and opted to take a horse up to the top of Salkantay. I know I cheated but I would not be able to hike another 750m in altitude since I was still feeling light headed. And again the morning hours the sun was incredibly hot but chilly at the same time.

I wrote for another 45 mins before it all got deleted so here is the short form.

Hiked through the Cloud Forest and High Jungle to reach camp 2. Everyone was in better spirits and we had a great dinner spoken in 3 or 4 languages. (Spanish, English, French and Other). We also learned all the important words in everyone´s language like Chug, Cheers, Drugs, etc.

Day 3 - More jungle trekking and saw tons of plants - avocado trees, banana trees, passion fruit, wild raspberries and strawberries, coffee bean trees, etc. People live off these and its amazing because it is so fresh and delishous. Arrived at camp, where we proceeded to go to the Hot Springs. We also took a "shower" under the natural glacier waterfall. It was amazing! The hot springs also felt amazing after the long hike. That night we had a bunch of beers around a bonfire with the whole group. It was one of those moments Katie and I will remember forever and no one will ever really understand how great it was. (sorry but its true). Went to bed a bit drunk and tipsy even though we had to get up early again to continue the trek.

Day 4 - Some of us were not feeling too great on the trek this morning but it was ok because we were all in it together. Today we trekked behind Machu Picchu. It was hard to imagine the huge ruins behind that mountain but the mountain was the distinct shape from the postcards. We hiked on an old set of train tracks no longer in use. This was actually quite annoying as there were tons of rocks and it was about a 4 hour hike. We did get to take a break from the sun by dipping into the water which was incredibly refreshing. Made it to Aguas Calientes around 5ish. (The town at the base of Machu Picchu). We were all quite happy to finally get a hot shower slash any shower - yeah we didnt shower for 4 days. And also to sleep in a real bed! Had dinner but everyone crashed early because we had to be up at 430 to do the hike up to Machu Picchu.

Day 5 - I was up at 430 to do the hike. Katie opted to take the bus. And we all met up a little before 6am (when the gates open) to enter. Machu Picchu is stunning and a lot bigger than either of us imagined. It was so beautiful to see as we were one of the first few to enter. The sun was just coming over the mountains and Kates and I managed to snap a few pics with absolutely no one in them. Amazing. We had a quick tour by our guides then hiked up Wayanpicchu. It was one of our scary heights. Keep in mind apparently someone fell off 3 months ago and her body has yet to be found. There´s just no safety and the steps are quite dodgy. Anyways it was amazing to be at the top of this mountain, looking down at Machu Picchu.
After touring around some more, we never got to see everything because it is massive, we left to catch our train and bus back to Cusco.
Just to let everyone know. Our friends Chris and Duff visited Machu Picchu in July and hid a postcard for us. We had picture clues as to where it was and we had our entire group helping us find it. Which we did and we can´t believe it lasted 3 months!

Next up the jungle tour.

She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes...

22 hours on a bus that went around and around and around. Katie felt sick and couldn't sleep at all and I had some minor hallucinations or dreams I'm not quite sure. I woke up with a very fast heart beat and sweats, not sure if it was the altitude or not. Although we both bought Diamox we both opted not to take it. We did finally arrive safely in Cusco. The landscape in the morning was gorgeous but the roads wind round and round and its quite easy to feel nauseaus.

We walked around Cusco, which is a gorgeous town. Lots of little alleys with markets to get lost in. We also booked our hike to Machu Picchu and right after that an Amazon jungle trip to Manu National Park. We managed to be coerced into the hardest trek up Salkantay, which is the highest peak of the Peruvian Andes and still currently has snow caps. And just the altitude in Cusco is giving Kates and I difficulty in breathing so we're a bit nervous but I think we'll pull through. (fingers crossed)

We leave on Tuesday and will be back from the Jungle Tour after 9 days....so this will most likely be the last post for a bit. Here's hoping we come out alive...from the mountains and from the jungle!

ps - the computers here are super slow. I tried to upload even ONE photo today but it was taking forever! I will figure something out after these two major adventures (if we survive...just kidding).

Paragliding and raw fish!

We opted to stay in Lima for an additional day. We explored Miraflores and went to the boardwalk slash outside mall where we found an actual Hooters! yeah ridicolous.

The outdoor mall is high up in the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Its gorgeous. We then decided to go PARAGLIDING! It was the best decision we had taken. The ride is amazing, floating in the sky. I can´t believe I managed to convince Kates to go! But the views of both the city and the coastline were stunning. I´ll try to post pictures soon!

Tonight we went to a hole in the wall local restaurant. Very small and family run. And way cheaper than the over priced tourist places. We tried the ceviche (a Peruvian dish of raw fish cured in lime juice). It´s good but I´m not sure I would have it again. We both ate big meals for super cheap. It was delish too! Our spanish is somewhat improving but still lacking big time. Our waitress was probably laughing at us. But we did chat up some locals who gave us some tips on local cuisine.

Afterwards we stopped in a cafe with a live band covering Bob Dylan. We´re calling an early night since tomorrow we hop on a bus for 23 hours for Cusco.

I promise to post pictures soon but I have to go to a faster internet place vs. the free one in our hostel. In due time I promise.

Day 1

Our first day of exploring Lima was extremely successful. We originally planned to walk to the city centre from MiraFlores. Turns out we would have been walking for awhile. Luckily our roommate from Argentina convinced us to cab with her. And we didn´t even have to negotiate with the cab driver because she spoke Spanish!

We made it just in time to catch the changing of the guards at noon at the Plaza de Armas. The marching band played some familiar songs (namely the typical war song). The elaborate display was about an hour long, with the soldiers doing a choreographed march. There was a lot of side stepping and diagonal marching it seemed almost like a dance. But after all this, the guards didn´t even change! But it was fun to watch nonetheless. The square itself is beautiful, with a large fountain in the middle.

The highlight of the day was the San Francisco Convent located behind the Plaza de Armas. The English tour began at 2pm so we wandered around with our Australian roommate Kerry. The pedestrian shopping street is off the city square where people are trying to pull you into their shop to sell you a tattoo!! random. We also stopped for a local drink - Inka Kola. Its yellow and a bit like cream soda but not as fizzy.

We also walked along the boardwalk lining the monastery. They have restored parts of the wall that used to fortify the city as well as protect against the river overflows. From here we could see the shanty towns of Peru which are colourful houses set into the mountain, which also has a cross set on the top. (Probably what I saw the first night here). Apparently Montreal isn´t as original as I thought.

We finally made it into the monastery which is the COOLEST part of the day. It is famous for its catacombs that house over 75,000 bodies. The monastery itself is incredibly large, with many different rooms. The first being this gorgeous library, very similar to the one in Harry Potter (as pointed out by our guide). This monastery was built in the 16th century and the books in there were mostly from the 16th century! They even had a choral book that weighed 40kg! (I think it weighs the same as me...if not more!)
In the catacombs, the bones were arranged by whichever bone part it was, with the femurs together, pelvic bones together, skulls etc. It was so cool and so eerie at the same time. Unfortunately they don´t allow phots so there are none of this convent but believe me it was well worth it!

After this we decided to head back to the hostel, and our Argentinean friend had told us that we should only pay 10 soles for a ride back. We hailed a cab and negotiated our rate from 20 soles down to 10 ! We are slowly getting the hang of things!

Our hostel is in centre of Miraflores. And there are so many American fast food chains, Pizza Hut, McD´s, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, Burger King and Starbucks! Insane.

We had our first Peruvian dinner and afterwards Katie and I wandered around and ended up at the street with food and bars. We found a bar called Canadian Bar...it looked like a hooters type bar, so we opted to skip out. We sat down at Rustic for 1L of beer each. I think it was well deserved!

Safe and sound

Well, after an 8 hour flight and corrections that Lima IS indeed an hour behind we arrived safely at our hostel. There are some remarkable similarities to Montreal in what I have seen of the city...and we haven´t seen much. (The airport, taxi ride and the hostel)

The first song to come on the radio in the taxi was Celine Dion circa mid-90s. Something tells me there will be A LOT of cheesy english songs on this trip. There is also a lit up cross way off in the distance looks like it is floating on top of the water rather than a mountain though...

Well Kates and I made it safely and its time for a nap.
More to come once the real visiting happens.

Last minute run-ins.

One last post before I head out. I still can't believe that I'm heading to South America in 5 hours. Its quite surreal.

Had a minor freak out with timing already. I ran out to run some very last minute errands (clearly I'm still not ready!) and I return to my car only to find two cop cars sitting in front of my car. I overhear the officer say something to the guy in the back seat along the lines of that isn't your car and where is the evidence that you own this car. So I'm guessing this is attempted auto theft. And I don't want to interrupt and ask them to move their cop cars while they question this guy. So I'm sitting at my car hoping that this will get resolved soon. 5 mins pass, 15 mins, I'm slowly freaking out because I need to get home and finish packing! I walk around to take a look and see if I can actually get out of my spot without hitting a cop car. No way is that possible, especially in the van I'm driving. So I sit and wait a bit more. Finally one of the cops notices me just sitting there and comes over so I ask him very politely if it would be possible to move one of the cars for me to get out, but if it was any trouble at all I can just wait. He tells me something about his supervisor or whatever so I sit for another 10 mins and then luckily he was able to move his supervisor's car to let me out. But seriously, who tries to steal a car in broad daylight in the middle of the week?

Anyways, I've just checked in online. And the next post will be from our first stop Miraflores, Peru!

Rain vs. Sun

T-minus 2 days.

Last day of work!

T-minus 5 days. Let's start testing out this blogging thing. Please bear with me as I try to figure out how all this works.