Machu Piccu

Well, finally I made it back from four days of mountain biking and hiking through the Inca trail and up to the famous ruins of Machu Piccu. Although the actual trip was amazing, it did not come without a few bumps and bruises along the way. The first day started with our guide picking us up at the hostel at 7:30 in the morning to take us on a 3 hour bus ride to the beginning of the trail where we would continue on with mountain bikes for the next 5 hours. The bike ride was amazing and a little on the dangerous side as well. There were a total of 15 people in our trek, and 3 of us took some pretty bad spills along the way, including me. With only about 20 minutes left of the bike ride, I hit a bad spot in the road and flew over the top of my handle bars at about 20 mph. Fortunately, I had a helmet or I might of had a craked coconut. However, my arm and leg took some pretty bad scrapes and bruises, which would make the subsequent 3 days a little daunting walking to the ruins. We slept that night in a small little village, and had a nice home cooked meal. The following day we woke up at 6:00am to start our foot hike. This would be a total of 8 hours walking through the rain forrest jungle, up and down hills that pushed us all to the limit. Along the way, we saw some amazing views and animals that made it all worth it...at least most of it. My little problem with heights was also tested along the way when we had to walk about a half mile along the edge of one of the mountains on a very thin trail..one wrong step and... Finally, we arrived at our destination for that night, which was a small town where we had a nice dinner, and spent the night dancing at a local club that was filled mostly with locals of all ages. The funniest thing that night was the fact that our tour guide got more than a little drunk, and had to lead us through more jungle hiking the next day on 4 hours of sleep and a whopping hangover. Somehow, he managed to do it, and got us to our next destination on the third day, which was the town of Aguas Caliente. Here we had another good meal, and explored the town a bit before heading to bed early to prepare for the fourth day where we had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to begin our short hike to Machu Piccu. When we arrived at Machu Piccu, it was about 6:00 am, and I had more blisters on my feet than I was able to count, but I tried to just grin and bear it for one more day. Soon we began our tour of an amazing culture that mysteriously vanished before it´s time. First, we walked with our guide for about 3 hours, and got some great information on the history of the Incan Empire and the stories behind the ruins. After that, we were free to roam the ruins for a few hours and get some great photos. I was amazed at how much we were able to see and learn from the various temples and altars that were still in great condition, and they really gave you a glimpse of what it must have been like to walk among the Quetchuan people and Inca kings from so many years ago. Next, it´s off to Puno on Lake Titicaca for a few days of fun and sun. I´ll keep you posted once I get back. Don´t forget, you can check out my photos on Facebook, and I will also be posting to Flickr once I get back to Quito. Caio´