The trip to Macchu picchu

On the way down the valley be bike

Ok so scratch what i said about going to choquequirao. I went into the agency at 7pm the day before the trek to find out exactly what was going on, to be told it had been cancelled. So instead i got a place on the Macchu Picchu cycle / jungle tour leaving the following morning instead.
I have had bigger disappointments in my life!

Day 2, along the high level path

The next morning i got picked up in a car at the hostal, dropped off a few minutes later, picked up by a minibus, dropped off 5 minutes later at another site, and got onto another minibus which turned out to be correct bus. We then drove for a couple of hours to a fairly remote road about 4300m above sea level, and spend a really enjoyable few hours cycling through really stunning mountain roads, initaily shrouded in cloud, gradualy (sometimes steeply) descending from cold pampas to semi tropical jungle before arriving at the first hostal by the side of a road, next to a petrol station that stunk of petrol fumes(!)

There was no water all the time we were there, so no showers. Having said that the showers had a live wire leading from a fusebox to the shower head so i wasn`t too disappointed.

Day 2, coca farm (legal!)

Day 2 we set off early and trekked along an inca trail that wound through the jungle, past a coca farm, and followed a high level ridge through a steep canyon before dropping back to ground level. Lunch was in a nice lodge and we spend a couple of hours in hammocks relaxing through the hottest part of the day, before continuing along fairly low level paths to the a small town where were to stay the second night. The second night was an experience so bad it great!

Day 2

I shared a room with 2 guys from Bristol, Ed and Simon, and the room was full of insects flying around – there was also an ants nest in the corner so Ed swapped ends so his head wasn`t near it. I went for a shower, there was no hot water this time but the shower was the same sytem as the previous night and i got electrocuted twice, once on the shower head and again when i touched the pipe trying to turn the water off. We then went for dinner in a restaurant, several of us had beef including me that was inedible, i couldn`t even cut through it! I was amazed, it was the worst meal i`ve ever eaten. We then went out for a few cocktails afterwards so at least i was able to sleep and not notice insects crawling on my face, apart from when i first got into bed!

Crossing the river Peru style

Day 3 along the railway

Day 3 started off disappointingly as there was a large hydroelectric building project near the hostal that we had to trek through for 2 hours in unbearable heat. It improved after lunch, as we followed the macchu picchu railway line through jungle and along the river Urumbamba for several hours, through huge canyons. Along the way were boulders larger than I`ve ever seen, some were 4-5 storey’s high lying in the valley that had fallen from the steep canyon edges. The highlight was getting a sort of cable car across the river, we went across 2 at a time initialy propelled by somebody and then pulled from the other side. It didn`t seem the safest way! The cable was wedged into rocks at either side and was very high tension, but it was alot of fun. We spent the final night before macchu picchu in another terrible hostal. No insects this time, but the walls were all peeling and the glass panel next to our room was smashed so no security, great! I removed my valuables and we went out for another atrocious all inclusive meal, accompanied by the ever present rice and chips. We then went for an early night as we had to be up the next morning for Macchu Picchu.

Although it sounds like I am complaining a little about the 3 days, the experience was very enjoyable because as with all trips it’s the people that ultimately make it. It was so ridiculous in parts, and there was small group that had formed with similar sense of humour, with Austrian Julian and Israeli Gil along with the English guys all making it a very funny experience.