Following the Inca Trail - 4 Crazy Days in the Andes

Hey everyone, after four days hiking through the amazing Andes mountain range we are back on the grid and have more stories and pictures to share.

These trails are called "Peruvian flats" (up then down, up then down...)

Saturday morning we woke up at 4:30 am to catch a bus to the Salkantay trailhead. When we met our bus driver he was surprised at how big our backpacks were and in essence told us that "we would never make it." While the conversation was disconcerting to say the least, we loaded up anyway enduring a two hour bus ride over bumpy dirt roads.

Dustin making the decent

The first day of the trek started off pretty intense, but we still had a good time getting to know the other members in our group. Of the 9 trekkers we were the only Americans and probably spoke the least amount of languages. By the time we arrived at our camp that night we had already reached an elevation of over 12,000 ft above sea level and were feeling the first effects of altitude sickness.

Sunday morning we woke up to our biggest challenge yet, a 20 kilometer hike that would take us above 15,000 ft and past some of the most impressive terrain any of us have ever seen. Even our best photos or most eloquently worded description would fail miserably to capture the splendor of the Salkantay peak. Due to the high elevation the air was extremely thin, making the ascent more difficult than we had anticipated but around 12:00 we finally reached the desperately gasping for air.

After conquering the mountain highlands our descent took us back into the wet and rainy jungle. Our camp that night was situated on a cool little mesa overlooking an impressively vast and narrow valley. The challenges continued, however, as almost all of us (except Justin) got violently ill from a combination of food poisoning, dehydration and high altitude. We found out first hand that the high Andes, miles away from civilization, is not the ideal place to get sick.

Open Field Nap Time

Battling illness we spent the next two days trying to recover while continuing our trek through the jungle. The last two days offered a different look at the breathtaking Peruvian countryside than the previous ones had. We scaled lush, green mountains, crossed waterfalls and stumbled upon exotic spiders and fruit all on our way to Machu Picchu.

Frile Spider

Grenadine fruit

The summit of Mt. Salkantay (15,500 ft.)

After walking over 30 miles in four days, tonight we are staying in a small town at the base of Machu Picchu, licking our wounds and preparing for our ascent tomorrow morning at 4:30 am. Hopefully it's as amazing as we hope! The pinnacle of our trek was when all of a sudden between the trees, we could see why we had been hiking for 4 days. If you look right at the middle of the picture below, you can just make out the Incan city.

Machu Picchu from Incan Trail

 Tomorrow we will post all the pictures we take as we will be visiting the city as well as a neighboring mountain that has an excellent view of all the different ruins. We can't wait!

 -Porter

A beautiful day in Lima, Peru.

Lima is our favorite big city so far. But before we get to the capital of Peru, our transport from Guayaquil is worth writing home about. We sat by a diplomat and a business man, both helped us out in their own way. The diplomat suggested places to stay, places to go and things to eat. We have followed a lot of what she told us and have found some real gems here in the city. The business man, Bert Herrera, talked to Justin for a while about the whole trip. As we were unloading all our stuff, he handed us a 20 and said, "Get breakfast on me tomorrow, be safe." How cool is that? That was actually the exact price of the taxi to our hostal, and breakfast was included where were staying, so it seemed like it was meant to be.

Lima, Peru (from San Cristobal's Hill)

First we took a bus for about 2 bucks to take some pictures from El Cerro de San Cristóbal. There was a huge cross up there with lights you can see at night, it was cool to see the whole city from up there.  The sun was out and the skies were blue, but the pollution made our pictures a little faded. We thought we should put one up anyways to show how huge the city is. 

Derek staring down a guard at "El Palacio de Gobierno"

Speaking spanish has been a huge advantage through out the trip. Derek has been doing his best speaking "Portuñol" every chance he gets. An aged Peruvian lady walked by him and saw his red hair and yelled something to the effect of "You are so gringo!" while petting his head. We have been trying to talk to everyone, and it has been a great experience learning what the locals know about all their own sites to see. 

Palacio de Gobierno (Plaza de Armas)

The Palacio was enormous. They had a march precession right in front, but they closed off the courtyard before and we couldn't get a great picture behind the fence. The guards were just like the ones you see in Europe. Super stiff. They were real though, their eyes were blinking. 

In front of "La Catedral de Lima"

Two girls from Poland took our picture in front of this huge catholic church. This cathedral has tons of history. Just in the last 20 years or so, they discovered the body of Francisco Pizarro, The Spanish conquistador that conquered the Incas.  Kind of a bummer he did that but, the box his bones were was pretty interesting. It was lined with old english saying that this was his real body and what he had done during his lifetime, all in old Spanish.

Main altar of the cathedral 

Parade in the plaza 

An awesome parade started right outside the cathedral, they were nice enough to pose for the camera every time they passed. The costumes were great and they all seemed to enjoy the opportunity to march representing their own culture.

Some kids wanted to pose

Huaca Pucllana (ancient Lima native ruins)

These ruins are right in the middle of the city. It's basically a "pyramid" that has no tunnels or anything, but was the center of an ancient pueblo that would often do human sacrifices at the top. It was mostly women and children for those who are interested. The walls used to be painted yellow, representing fertility and femininity. The blocks are stacked up with spaces in between each other to be able to better withstand earthquakes. These guys knew what was up, in fact, Lima has had some issues with earthquakes in the last 30 years and these ruins weren't affected at all.

Ceviche (Peruvian fish dish)

Not the best picture, but we felt like tonight's meal was the best. Justin did not partake because he dies immediately if he eats fish (exaggeration) and he really missed out. This plate was a Ceviche con pescado y pulpo. Fish and octopus. It was super good, the best so far. Dustin and Porter both agree that the Ceviche from Peru is better than Mexico. (No offense)

But that about rounds up our Lima experience. It was a short trip, but tomorrow we're gonna hit the coast a bit and then head for one of the highlights of our trip, MACHU PICCU. A family accepted our request to stay at their house from couchsurfing.com so we may be able to post one more thing before we leave on our hike, but if not... remember... there is un mundo más allá. 

Exploring Guayaquil, Ecuador

Monday night we caught an overnight bus from Otavalo to Guayaquil, a town on the southern Ecuador coast. All in all, the ride was about 10 hours long and can best be described as "hell." At one point I woke up around 3:00 am because it was so hot that my sweat (along with that of the other passengers) had condensed and was running down the windows. That coupled with bumpy, barely paved roads allowed me to get around two hours of sleep. Needless to say we were all exhausted when we finally arrived around 6:30 am.

The River behind Guayaquil. 

Dustin in 'Iguana Park.' All of the Iguanas were very cordial. 

Porter and Justin drinking Jack Fruit batidos. They were amazing! 

A view of a dilapidated yet beautiful part of Guayaquil.

On a bus in Guayaquil. Bus and taxi have been our primary means of getting around. Plus it's always and adventure, you never know who you'll meet. 

We stayed at the LDS temple hostel which had both hot water and a toilet seat so as you can imagine which was pretty thrilling. We spent the rest of the day on foot randomly exploring the city. We hopped on buses, took taxis and wandered through the myriad of skyscrapers and slums that is downtown guayaquil. Most of the afternoon was spent visiting more cathedrals, buying fake ray-bans and eating everything in sight (luckily no one is too sick yet). At one point we stumbled on a downtown park crawling with full-sized iguanas.

Guayaquil was an interesting city but I think for the most part we were glad to leave. We arrived in Peru tonight anxious for the next step of our adventure which includes two days in the coastal capital of Lima and five days in the Andes on our way to Machu Pacchu!

Around Otavalo. Volcanoes, Waterfalls and Beyond.

Yesterday evening in Ipiales we ate lunch with a guy we met at our hostel named Ivan. While he was driving us around town we saw a row of restaurants that all had these sickly looking rodents hanging from the windows. He explained that the animals were actually food, a popular dish in the area called Cuy. Feeling daring we tried some for lunch. I don´t think anyone really liked it.

We walked across the border to ecuador and caught a bus to Otavalo last night. The whole thing was rather confusing and we had no idea what stop we were supposed to take. We took a guess at one and got dropped off in what felt like the middle of nowhere. Knowing we were close to Otavalo we tried to catch a taxi but none could fit all four of us and our stuff. As it grew both later and darker we got more and more worried. Luckily a random guy approached us and asked if we need a ride. Going against everything we were taught in elementary school we accepted and hopped in the bed of his truck. It was so fun sitting in the back of truck and seeing the town like that. Truly unforgettable.

After staying in a hostel owned by a fellow Ohioan this morning we woke up early to catch a glimpse of the daily market. The town square was flooded with very short indigineuos people and all of their crafts. We bought a few things but really just enjoyed talking with the people. One of the highlights for me was helping some high school kids with their Enlglish homework.

Later this afternoon we hiked to an inactive volcano that had converted into a lake over the centuries. The views of the both the mountains and surrounding country side were stunning and the photos we have don´t do them justice. After the lake our ecuadorian friend, Nelson, took us to a nearby waterfall. we had a pretty amazing time standing a few feet from the bottom getting soaked by the mist.

We got some great photos today but had to upload these ones quick becuase we are in a rush. More might be coming. Tonight we are catching an overnight bus to southern coastal city of Guayaquil. We´re not really sure what we´re doing once we get there but it will be an adventure!


-Porter

Viajamos por Viajar

Last night we arrived in the small, yet beautiful, border town of Ipiales. After paying to use a bathroom with barely any toilet paper and no toilet seats we found a cheap taxi to take us to where we would be staying that night, the Hotel Belmont. After careful deliberation we elected to get two rooms for about 6 US dollars a person, rather than be cheap-skates and have two of us sleep on the floor. Hopefully those extra three dollars dont come back to bite me. The rooms were clean enough but we had to share a bathroom with the other rooms on the floor. Five minutes in a cold shower made me realize how spoiled Ive been my entire life. I even tried, and failed miserabely, to do my laundry while showering. After we got situated we spent some time checking out the main plaza and buying unidentifiable food and un-needed souveniors.

This morning we woke up early to go the local LDS ward. Luckily it was only a few blocks away and we were able to walk there without any problems. The members were incredibly welcoming and I think every single person from the branch came up to shake our hands afterwards. Shortly after church we caught a taxi to a nearby catholic cathedral called el Santuario de Las Lajas. It is difficult for me to remember any other moment in my whole life where I was as captivated by both natural and man-made beauty like I was today. The cathedral rests at the bottom of a deep chasm that a wild river has carved into the earth. Built in 1913 the gothic architecture stands as a "diamond in the rough" in comparison to the surrounding towns. We were lucky enough to stumble on the place on Sunday afternoon, just as mass was being held. It was a spectacle to say the least. I think we all felt like rockstars as maybe a half dozen or so teenage girls came up and asked to take pictures with us. One even asked for our phone numbers and when we told her we didn´t have them with us asked if she could add us on facebook. For being so normal back home we sure attract a lot of attention down here!

Tonight we are heading the Ecuador border and hope to catch an overnight bus to Otovalo. Stay tuned!

First Update from Colombia!

As we are updating this, we are on a bus to Ipiales, Colombia.

We landed safely in Bogotá, and took a taxi to the LDS Temple. The taxi driver didn't know where the temple was at first but we found it and once we got there, we checked into our room and crashed. It was a long day of traveling.

In morning on May 3, we went into the temple. We had a small breakfast in the cafeteria and then did some temple work. What a way to start our trip. After checking out of our room, we packed everything and headed towards the gate to to the bus station. There was a large group of missionaries outside the Temple, and they were all staring at us. We talked to them and remembered how it felt to be in their shoes.

We took a bus to the central portal in Bogota, and from there another bus to Zipaquirá. Bogotá seemed so busy, but it was an 'organized' busy. While on the bus to Zipaquirá, we asked for help getting to the Salt Cathedral. A very nice lady named Anita gave us directions.

After the hour bus ride, we arrived and headed to the Salt Cathedral. A large group of school kids flocked around us admiring the fact that we were foreigners. We talked with them for a while, then they led us through the city to the Cathedral's entrance.

The Cathedral was breath-taking. At the lowest point, we were 180 meters below the surface. Attached are a few pictures of us there. The tour guide was very well informed and incredibly interesting. I had a hard time understanding the guide's Spanish, but I'll get the language down some day.

We were not able to stay for long after the tour, because we needed to catch a bus to the southern part of Colombia, to a city called Ipiales. After arriving back in Bogotá, we headed straight for the bus terminal. We got there just in time to buy our tickets and catch a 24 bus ride.

Stay tuned for more info and stories as we discover... el mundo más allá.

-Derek

At the SLC airport

After a hectic few hours we made it to the salt lake airport. It hardly seems real but it's actually here. We're stoked!

-porter