Machu Picchu!

Onwards to Cusco for a trip we had been planning for since last July - Machu Picchu (Picasa link). Machu Picchu was one of the destinations Awanti had wanted to visit for years and frankly, by this point, I was really excited too. The right way to approach Machu Picchu is on foot via a four day hike on the ancient Inca Trail, which is regulated by the Peruvian Government to just 200 hikers a day. In order to ensure our spots on the trail, we booked the hike over five months ago, and even then we were only offered our second choice of dates! Asmiti and Samit, Awanti's siblings, were to join us for the hike - so it promised to be an interesting family trip.

Machu Picchu!

Machu Picchu was built by the Incas between the 12th and 14th centuries and while its exact purpose is a mystery, it is hypothesized that it functioned as a religious center as well as agricultural laboratory. When the Spaniards arrived in 1532 AD and grabbed control of the Inca empire, the ease and speed with which they accomplished it, resulted in utter confusion and panic throughout. However, the one smart thing that the Incas did do, was to destroy the initial section of the trail leading to Machu Picchu. As a result, the city, in spite of being less than 2000 mts away from the primary route used by the Spaniards to explore and conquer the Inca empire, was never discovered and has survived the centuries relatively unscathed. It was only in 1911 AD when an American historian by the name of Hiram Bingham happened to stumble upon the ruins, was Machu Picchu rediscovered. Ever since then there has been a stream of tourists - 3000 per day - paying homage to the Inca's stunning skills and we were next in line.

Post lunch climb in the distance

The trek, which covers 45 kms over 4 days, is not too hard in itself - its the altitude that's the kicker. Ranging from 10,000 ft to almost 14,000 ft, packing an extra set of lungs is definitely recommended. Failing that, you just huff and puff your way past the multitude of ruins and passes enroute. This being a regulated trail, you are required to go with a tour company and we had forked over a large chunk of our travel budget to one of the supposedly more reputed agencies. Well, who said you have to rough it out on a hike - imagine hot water wash basins upon entering camp, morning wake up calls with hot coca tea, two four course meals a day, tables and chairs - and you just about begin to get an idea of the hardships we had to endure. We got an idea of what lay ahead when we showed up at the trailhead and the eleven of us hikers were vastly outnumbered by the seventeen porters - and that did not include the guide, assistant guide or the cook!

Day One was fairly relaxed with a couple of stunning ruins on the way and a moderately strenuous climb to camp. We got to camp by 4PM and since it got dark around 6PM, we ate an early dinner and settled in for the night. Day Two was the big day, and in preparation we were woken up at 5AM. After a hearty breakfast, we started off on the trail by 6AM. Right out of camp was a 3000 foot climb to the aptly named Dead Woman's Pass, though in all fairness they should make it gender neutral. The climb took too long to recount, but the views from the top just about made it worthwhile.

Sayacmarca

From the pass we plunged down to the valley below and after a largish lunch headed out for the second pass of the day. This one was a bit lower, and a couple of stops along the way to check out some more ruins and an alpine lake made the going a bit easier. From the pass we made our way down to yet another ruin - the Incas apparently loved building mini-cities, checkpoints, towers etc. - which deserves special mention. The ruin is called Sayacmarca (The Inaccessible Place) and its location atop a mountain itself ensured that it made my list of all-time best ruins. Its orientation, however, is what sets it apart from all else in my mind. On-site was an oval shaped room that seemed out of sync with the rest of the site. Turns out, on the day of the summer solstice, the first sun ray appears exactly through a notch in the afore-mentioned pass and lights up the center of the room. Just thinking of the accuracy that must have gone into constructing a structure in so difficult a place, with only your hands, and in-line with an event that occurs only once a year, in my mind displays the mastery the Incas had achieved over the solar calendar and their environment. Having explored the ruins a bit more we finally got to camp and after another extensive dinner, gratefully crawled into our sleeping bags. Day Three was a relative walk in the park, as by this point we were well acclimatized and the walking was relatively flat. We got to camp by lunch time and spent the afternoon visiting another impressive ruin, lazing around and building up anticipation for the big day.

Hiking at dawn

Day Four was the day we finally made it to Machu Picchu and given that it was only a two hour walk to the ruins from camp, you'd think we'd have it easy. But no. Turns out the rangers open the trail at 5.30AM and in order to not be stuck behind the other 189 hikers on the trail, we were up at 3.30AM and at the ranger station at 4.30AM, waiting in the bitter cold for the rangers to show up. Once they did, and we started hiking though, we were treated to one of the most amazing dawns I have seen. I say dawn, as there was no sign of the sun as yet, but the early morning hues of blue were out of this world. Two short hours later we were at the Sun Gate and were treated to our first views of Machu Picchu - and what stunning views they were. The city is built atop a hill that falls off steeply in all directions. It contains of a number of farming terraces surrounding the administrative and religious buildings, that are in great condition considering that they were built over 700 years ago. We spent the rest of the day getting a short guided tour, climbing the neighboring mountain of Wayna Picchu for some more great views and just aimlessly wandering through the ruins, taking in its magnificence. Finally, as afternoon rolled around, we caught a bus down the mountain and after four peaceful and stunning days entered the world of gift shops, internet, and mechanized transportation.

To sum it up, we had a fabulous time on the hike and the ruins are definitely worth any amount of time and money that it might take to get there. So quit making excuses, and make the trip.

- Ashish

Traveling High!

Getting back to mainland, we spent a few days relaxing and checking out the sights in Lima. We had booked the Inca Trail hike to Machu Pichu, but that was still two weeks away and we were still figuring out our next course of action, when Awanti suggested we head to Bolivia (Picasa link). Bolivia wasn't really on our S.American itinerary, but seeing that they issued visas on arrival, we booked a flight to La Paz for the next morning (literally).

Love the hats

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 13,000 ft, and stepping off the plane it certainly felt that way. The approach to the airport is over the Cordillera Real range - a snow-topped set of peaks that top out at over 20,000 feet. The sight of the mountains and the city takes your breath away, a feeling that continues once you disembark and attempt to breathe in the rarefied atmosphere. The setting of the city is quite spectacular - the airport and the new city is located on the altiplano, or high plain, while the old city and the nicer neighborhoods are located in the valley below, a vertical span of almost 4000ft! We spent a day and half exploring the sights and attempting to ward off any signs of altitude sickness. Given our time restriction, we decided to focus on two popular areas of Bolivia beyond the capital city - the Uyuni Salt Flats and Lake Titicaca.

Nap time

First up were the Salt Flats and the surrounding volcano and lagoon spotted desert. After an overnight bus we arrived in Uyuni, a dust bowl of a town that evokes memories of old Western towns, only a lot dustier and grimier. The town does serve as a base for all trips into the desert and we signed up for a three day tour, glad to be getting out of there. The tour consists of piling oneself, along with a couple other travelers, into a 4x4 and then driving across the salt flats and the volcanic landscape. The driver, who also doubles or rather triples up as the chef and guide, provides commentary (in Spanish) and sustenance along the way. Each night you stop in some remote hamlet where rustic living takes on a new meaning. The weather's very cold, the food basic, and the lodging spartan - but the views more than make up for everything else. We were lucky to be clubbed with a tour group from Intrepid though, and thus were treated to an English speaking guide and I assume better food. We piled into the car and headed to the train graveyard, which as the name suggests, contained of a number of ancient trains rusting in the desert, one of which was supposedly robbed by none other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. From there we headed to the Salt Flats, which at 10,000 sq km, are the biggest in the world. Its hard to describe the sensation of standing on an enormous white plain, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. From there it was onto the first of the aforementioned lodgings. The one consolation was the stunning night sky. The desert is part of the great altiplano and lies at over 13,000 feet. The total lack of artificial lighting for hundreds of miles meant that there is no light pollution and you are treated to a stunning display of stars and the Milky Way each night.

Sweet reflections

After spending a cold cold night in the desert, with temparatures dropping down to -15 C, we headed out the next day to catch some of the other sights the desert had to offer. These included in no particular order a valley filled with twisted rock formations, a black colored lake (courtesy the algae in that lake), a couple more differently coloured lakes, and my personal favorite, a red colored lake filled with flamingos called Lago Colorado. The lake derives its color from the various mineral deposits in it and the flamingos derive theirs from eating the bacteria that live in the lake. Another freezing night later we trooped out at 5AM to catch views of geysers at sunrise, climbing up to more than 15,000 ft. The desert contains a number of volcanoes and the area contains geysers, fumaroles and hot springs, which did look stunning at sunrise. Having almost frozen to death in the early morning cold, we then headed to one of the best hot springs I have ever been to. Smack in the middle of the desert, with water at a warm 40 C, and views of snow capped volcanoes in the distance - its hard to ask for more, and we spent a fair amount of time soaking in the thermal bath. From there it was back to Uyuni and then to La Paz via an overnight bus from hell. For a reason I cannot begin to fathom, the buses out here refuse to turn on the heat, or close all the windows, and when you are traveling overnight at over 13,000 feet on dirt roads, it gets very cold and very dusty indeed. They do provide the token blanket, which is a pitiful defense against the cold, and we arrived in La Paz with our extremities ready to fall off.

Hiking across Isla del Sol

Last up on our Bolivia trip was a visit to Lake Titicaca, one of the highest navigable lakes in the world at 13,000 feet - and yes, every damn place in this country likes to situate itself at an altitude that encourages pulmonary edema. One of the highlights of the lake is Isla del Sol - or Island of the Sun. The island is the legendary Inca creation site and the birthplace of the sun in the Inca mythology. Rather than take the boat directly to the island from Copacabana - the base town for exploring the lake - we decided on doing a long walk to a small village just across from the island, and then take a rowboat across. The walk was beautiful and wound its way through the countryside dotted by small villages perched on picturesque bays, and the occasional rabid village guard dog. We made it just in time to convince a villager to row us across, and after climbing the famous Inca staircase, found a hotel to spend the night in. The island has no roads and consequently no cars or bikes - or even bicycles! It is dotted with walking trails, and we spent the next day walking from one end of the island to the other, exploring the Inca ruins enroute. Having seen all the ruins on offer, we caught one of the slowest motor-boats ever for the two hour ride back to Copacabana. If the water wasn't so damn cold, I had half a mind of giving the boat a run for its money. We arrived back in time to have a grilled trout dinner on the lake-front and settle into our splurge for Bolivia - La Cupola - which they say is one of the best hotels in the country.

Peru and the famous Inca ruins of Machu Pichu are next.

- Ashish

Easter Island

Cluster!

Right ho...onto the most exotic destination of the year - Easter Island (Picasa link). Courtsey of British Airways, we were in possession of a ticket from Lima to Miami that allowed us to stop in Easter Island, Lima, and Guayaquil before catching the final flight home. All this spread out over three months, and for next to nothing - gotta love mileage programs!

The flight from Lima to Easter Island was almost six hours long - all over the Pacific - which served to heighten the remoteness of the location. Unbeknownst to us, our co-passenger was the First Lady of Chile, and were lucky to catch a beautiful Rapa Nui dance performance on the tarmac upon landing. After checking into our guesthouse, we headed out for a walk along the water and our first sightings of the stone statues that have made Easter Island so famous - the Moai. The history of the settlement and subsequent decline of the island make for fascinating reading, especially Jared Diamond's piece on the island history and its subsequent decline.

Looks like something out of 'Lost'

The next morning we took it easy and after a big breakfast, walked past the airport, and began climbing the volcano called Hanga Roa. The summit held special importance in the local culture as a religious site and is the location of a well restored village, Orongo, occupied by a select few. Well, the shamans certainly chose well - imagine a couple of houses perched above 300 foot cliffs that drop straight to the ocean below. On the other side, steep crater walls that drop to the crater lake! You'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better location. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the volcano and then headed back to town. The next day we picked up a motor-bike and headed out for a tour around the island. After catching a few fallen Moai, we reached the highlight of the island - Rano Raraku. This was a volcano that also functioned as the quarry from which all the Moai were quarried. Both, the inner crater (along with the requisite stunning crater lake) and the outer slopes are dotted with over 400 Moai, in various stages of completion. The setting is spectacular and we spent a good chunk of time weaving our way through the various statues. From there it was onto the one and only beach on the island. At the end of the day, there's only so many statues you can look at and we were on a Pacific island. The sand was fine, the water warm, and we enjoyed a well deserved break from the ruins.

That's a big head - not mine!

Our last and final day on the island involved walking along the shore and catching the remaining Moai that had eluded us until then. Our flight to Lima was delayed by two hours and I mention it just to give you an idea of the pace of life here. Upon enquiring as to the cause of the delay, we were told that the flight from Tahiti was delayed by two hours and there were a couple of passenger on that flight who were connecting onto our flight. If we didn't wait for them, they'd be stuck on the island for two more days, for that's when the next flight to Lima was!

- Ashish