Machu Picchu

We took the bus back to Ollantaytambo, ate a lot of good food and took the train to Aguas Calientes so we could go to Machu Picchu the next morning. The train ride was very fun even though people were staring and wondering who these dirty looking extremely happy people on the train were. We enjoyed another good meal in Aguas Calientes and took showers that we were very much looking forward to.

We woke up very early the next day and got to the entrance of where we could hike up to the entrance of Machu Picchu from at 4.15 am. We wanted to get a very early start and get done with the 45 minute - 1 hour hike before the buses made it to the top because only the first 400 people to get to the top would be allowed to hike up the mountain peak called Wayna Picchu. But when we got there they said the gates wouldn't open before 5 am. So we waited until the gates opened and then ran ahead to make it to the top. We were still at a high elevation with reduced oxygen levels and the hike was just climbing up a million stairs. It was very hard. Kevin Shallcross is a life saver and the best friend you can have in hard situations. After the really tiring hike we made to the top before the buses and just as the sun was coming up. It was beautiful sight in which we celebrated the fact that we would be able to go up to Wayna Picchu.

We started our hike up to Wayna Picchu at 7 am and it took us an hour and a half or 2 hours to get to the top. The weather was beautiful and this was a much more relaxed hike where we took lots of breaks for pictures and other fun stuff. Rob pretended to jump off one of the steep cliffs and if you were watching it could be frightening if you didn't know he was joking. I knew he was joking and it still didn't stop me from getting really scared and screaming out loud. The hike up was a little scary because it was steep and you had to be careful otherwise you would fall off the side of the mountain since there were no railings and not a very wide path. However, if you were careful it wasn't too bad. Some people battled their fear of heights but all of us were in awe of the beauty and how peaceful our surroundings were. We spent some time at the peak of the mountain and then started our descent. Going downwards was a little scarier than going up because the steps were very uneven. Some were big and high, other very narrow and short. I had to do the crab walk down a couple of stairs.

Going up Wayna Picchu! That windey path in the distance is what we climbed up in 45 minutes at 5 am

Taking a break on the way up for pictures

Beautiful!

Rob pretending to jump off, there is a narrow ledge that he was going to land on that you can't see unless you go really close to the edge of the mountain

Almost at the top!!

Enjoying the view at the top

Coming back down

We got to the bottom around 10 am and went over to go see the famous ruins of Machu Picchu. They were gorgeous. We went all the way to the top and met some llamas. There was a huge sundial there that some film crews broke while filming there. What a shame!

Machu Picchu!

EGL!

Girls!

By 12 pm we had seen all the wonderful things around Machu Picchu and were ready to take the bus back down. We were all starving and exhausted so got some great lunch. We got to hear some Peruvian Hombres performing a Peruvian song out in the street.

Following lunch, we went to the internet cafe to tell our parents we were safe and back to civilization following which we took trains back to Ollantaytambo and then a taxi to Cuzco. I was so tired and after some dinner got a good night sleep before catching our flight back to Lima.

We spent our second to last day in Lima shopping and exploring the night life. Our flights back home were the next evening and though everyone went shopping the day of our flights I stayed at the hostel as I had a case of food poisoning along with 2 other people. However, by the time people came back with their goodies, I was feeling much better. We watched the movie UP in our hostel, ordered in some Pizza and then took cabs to the airport. The next morning we were back in Detroit with new deep friendships and somehow changed because of this experience.

Nayana

Amazing Peru!

We awoke early the next morning after our last slumber in a bed for 7 days. We ate breakfast at the hostel, picked up our packed lunches, our backpacks that contained the bare essentials required to survive at the village and toilet paper for the entire group. We tried to keep our backpacks light because we had long hikes ahead of us. We rode the 3 hour journey to the end of the road in a 15 person van. The closer we got the more apprehensive I got about our 3 hour hike that was to follow once we hit the end of the road and the van could no longer go on. Eventually we did get to the end of the road. We loaded our backpacks on our backs and got ready to get started on our 13 km hike to Chupani, which is an Andean village at an elevation of around 13,400 feet. Ollyantaytambo is at an elevation of 9,000 ft. The end of the road was 1.5 hours uphill from Ollyantaytambo which meants we still had a couple of feet to hike up. A couple of donkeys and some of the villagers came to help us carry materials for our volunteer work to the village.

Our donkeys

So it begins! km left = 13

And so our long hike began. It was an uphill hike for a couple of km. During this part I found myself often gasping for breath because of the reduced levels of oxygen at this altitude. But finally it flattened and there were even downhill portions. At this time our backpacks started to seem much heavier than they actually were but we kept going because we knew the village was close by.

Rob and Kevin trying it the 3 legged way to see if it was more fun

Brief stop to say hello to the Alpacas

Are we there yet?

There was a last uphill stretch after which we finally arrived at the village of Chupani! As soon as we collapsed on the ground to rest, the curious children of Chupani came out to investigate. We quickly made great friends with them especially a little boy named Elvis. Communication was a little bit of a challenge because the kids only spoke Quechua and we only spoke English or Spanish. That, however, did not stop us from laughing and playing together.

WE MADE IT!

Our friend Elvis

We were served dinner and shown to our huts. The 14 of us were split between 2 huts, one which was uphill and one which was downhill. Of course I was in the uphill hut. Our hut was made of big rocks and mud. It had a roof made of straw and no windows. Our beds were a layer of straw, with alpaca hides over it, with a blanket over it and 2 additional blankets. We rented sleeping bags in Cusco and used those as well. I used all blankets, the liner for the sleeping bag and my sleeping bag to become a "cocoon" and keep warm. Before we went off to bed, we found out that some donkeys got tired and stopped at the village before chupani which was 5 km away. So the next morning we would have to go back 5 km, collect the materials and walk the 5 km back to Chupani. What I didn't know was that the following day was probably going to be the hardest day of my trip.

The downhill hut

Bathroom and Ben

We were up with the sun, had some hot breakfast and headed out towards the other village. We got there and saw the logs we had to carry back. We split up so that there were 2 people to a log. Except Ben who decided he could carry a log all by himself.

Katie's and Colleen's log

Tom and Ian had the heaviest log

Ben - log carrying superstar

The walk back was hard and very very tiring. I had to take lots of breaks but Rob would go ahead with a log and come back and switch out with one of us so all of us could handle the weight of the logs on our shoulders and the strenuous hike. We also had some villagers carrying the logs. Carrying those logs for 5 km is probably the most physically challenging thing that I have ever done. Once I reached the village alive I was sure that in life I could do ANYTHING!

We had some lunch and then got started on the weaver's hut. This was meant for the weaver women of the village to have a place to weave together and a place where they could share ideas and learn from each other. We split up and some of us started collecting big rectangular rocks for the hut. Some people made mud which involved mixing dirt, water and straw with a shovel and then delivering it to the construction site also with a shovel. There were tiny streams of water everywhere and we had to control how much water got into the mud we were making. Stephen got pretty good at making mini dams to control the tiny streams of water. The hardest task was shoveling and pickaxing the ground inside the hut to level it.

Stephen collecting rocks for the awanawasi (weaver's hut)

the children helped us collect rocks on their way back from school

Making barro (mud)

Levelling

Sun's almost setting - after effects of leveling

Since there were no lights or any form of electricity, all work stopped a little before sunset after which we usually took a short break and then headed down to the dinner hut where we ate soup, potatoes and vegetables. On good days we got pasta, eggs or pancakes. On a very special day, the villagers made us a specialty dish of Peru - cuy (guinea pig). Tom C was especially pleased with this meal. the villagers would also especially boil water for us at every meal. I would have loved to have had more water than they gave us but I completely understood that it wasn't possible for them to do anymore than they were already doing for us. After dinner and our famous round table discussions which we used as a means of bonding we went to sleep. We always woke up with the sun.

Dining hut!

the school kitchen caught fire because of their old stoves which validated our project

(no one was hurt)

Carbon buildup on the pots and walls of hut

Mixing clay, sand and straw for the stoves

Completed stove!

Tom on the roof putting in the chimney

Eddie, Tom and Ian teaching the kids how to play baseball

our sleeping hut - headlamp because that was our only source of light

We spent the next 4 days in the village alternating between building the awanawasi and building the stoves. Stoves were desperately needed because the way the villagers cooked their food was just by burning wood in the tiny hut with no windows. This would lead to a lot of carbon and carbon monoxide buildup which was harming the health of the women who cooked. It was equivalent to them smoking 40 cigarettes a day. It also posed as a fire hazard since the embers would land on the straw of the roof and it would all catch fire.

Our stoves were designed brilliantly by Rob to ensure efficient heating and proper escape for the smoke and embers. We installed new stoves made of big flat rocks, mud, clay, sand, straw, metal sheets. We also installed chimneys on the roof. There was quite a bit of mixing of clay and sand involved but we worked in teams of 3 -4 so the company always kept it interesting and fun. Once in a while, the children of the village would help us and we'd get treats from the women of village as a token of their appreciation for our hard work.

On the evening before we were to leave the village, the villagers built us a bonfire and we stood around it and said our farewell speeches. Rob, the presidents of Chupani and the neighboring village and our contact and excellent guide Helder all gave excellent farewell speeches. We reitred for the last time into our huts after the fire died out.

The next morning before leaving, we bought some merchandise of the weavers of the village and started our hike back to civilization.

Weaving!

Women and girls of the village

Farewell Chupani!

It was harder going back because it was more uphill. Fortunately 10 km in, we came across a truck going our way on this unpaved path so the 14 of us hitchhiked our way back to our bus. Unfortunately, it started hailing and we were very cold and very wet by the time we got into our bus. I had mixed feelings as I boarded the bus.

More on Machu Picchu, the rest of the trip and my reflections on the trip in the next post

Nayana

21st Century Peru

I'm back from Peru and back to school. However, I am back with a different perspective, changed opinions, different life goals and with a more open mind.

I spent the last 2 weeks of my summer in Peru. It was my first time in South America and I was very excited to eat the foods, wear the clothes, (try to) learn the language and meet the people. The main reason that 14 of us came down to Peru was to volunteer at a rural village called Chupani that was hidden high up in the mountains away from electricity, cars, cell phones and almost anything that came to world after the 18th century. But before we decided to immerse ourselves in this culture, we decided to spend 3 days exploring the part of Peru that belonged in the 21st century.

On August 18th midnight, 13 of us landed in Lima and took cabs to our hostel in Miraflores. We spent a day exploring Miraflores. We toured the museum of the Spanish Inquisition and the Catacombs museum. We visited a water park with gorgeous fountains and saw a wonderful water show which included lights and lasers. While exploring we were getting used to getting complimentary pisco sours with our meals that usually consisted of meat, various varieties of potatoes and avocado.

Kunal and Tom tried to avoid getting wet

Jossie, Ben and Bruna walk through the water tunnel

The next day our volunteer abroad coordinator, Kunal Patel, made sure we all caught our early morning flights to Cusco which is at an elevation of 11,200 ft and warned us of the altitude sickness we were about to experience. We loaded up on water and landed in Cusco feeling a little different. Rob Cerato, an EGL student who took a year off from school to volunteer in different parts of Peru picked us up from the airport. He knew everything about Cusco and our project and soon assumed the role of our amazing guide.

Cusco, Lima

Festival at Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Lima

We spent the first day exploring the local markets and purchasing alpaca sweaters and other peruvian tourist artefacts.

Rob and his tourist hat

That evening we hung out in our hostel for a while and then headed out to Inca Team for some salsa dancing :).

Saqsaywaman and Christo Blanco were on the agenda for Day 3. Saqsaywaman, also know as Sexy Woman, has immense terrace walls that are made of huge rocks that are fit together perfectly by nothing. The Incans were genius civil engineers. They transported the rocks without the wheel and we don't know how they fit them together so compactly. We went through some of the caves which were very low and very dark. Tom decided to have some fun and jump out at me when I was going through. That was however not fun for me especially right after Rob told us a story of how 2 boys got lost in these caves for months and even though they found gold, they couldn't stay alive long enough to enjoy it.

EGL at Saqsaywaman

These were the transportation system that the Incans used for rock transportation. All the kids were sliding down so there was no way we wouldn't (Kevin on slide)

At this time we were already feeling the effects of the altitude. Ian had altitude sickness and the rest of us would be out of breath really quickly whenever we tried to do any physical activity. Climbing up the terraces of Saqsaywaman left us really out of breath at times.

We walked over to Christo Blanco and admired the city of Cusco from the elevation we were at.

Christo Blanco

Nayana, Ben, Rob, Bruna, Colleen, Katie and Tom admiring the view

Day 4 was White Water Rafting Day! We drove 1,5 hours to the river and suited up. We were in 3 rafts and spent a few hours enjoying the level III rapids, water fights and sea weed wars with the other rafts. We were rafting towards the ruins of Ollantaytambo and on the way we came across a bridge that looked ideal for jumping off. Firstly the voice of our EGL advisor echoed through our minds - " If it's not safe, then I won't do it and I won't allow others to do it!". But we were given a safety talk by the guides and we had helmets and lifevests on.. so it counted as safe. We all jumped off this bridge into the water below. I'm pretty sure I started screaming even before it was my turn to jump. It was a TON of fun!

Bruna jumping!

Post jump adrenaline rush

We visited the ruins of Ollantaytambo next, visited the tourist shops and made the 1.5 hour bus ride back home so that we could sleep in a bed for the last time before heading out the village of Chupani early next morning.

Ruins of Ollantaytambo

View!

Nayana