A visit to the top of the World - Machu Picchu
A catch up on Pete's Adventures. He has had the most amazing week this week. An experience and an adventure that he will remember for the rest of his life. On Thursday he stop on top of the world here
I asked him in an email earlier in the week if Machu PIcchu was as amazing as everyone made out it was and this was Pete's response to me.
He did the four day trek to Machu Picchu. On the first day they left Cusco and traveled to Ollantaytambo. They then climbed to an altitude of 4350 metres above sea level up to Abra de Malaga where they were given these.
Their first day involved a 50 kms down hill bike ride where they were able to enjoy and appreciate the immensity of the valley and the beautiful views. They also got to enjoy the variety of flora and fauna as they descended through microclimates to a temperature zone down until the mid jungle zone. After lunch they continued biking passing the Inca ruins of Wamanmarka until they arrived in Santa Maria at about 1130 metres above sea level. In total about a 5 hour bike ride, and Pete said that he only had to pedal about three times. (So glad I heard about after he had arrived their safely. They spent their first night at Santa Maria.
The views were amazing...
Day Two they were on foot hiking from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa where they hiked along trails with extoic plants and saw farms where crops such as coffee are being harvested. They got to do some white water rafting and they got to see how they cultivated the coca leaf, a sacred plant to the Incas. They also walked along some of the original Inca trails and heard all about the network of Inca roads found throughout Peru. Santa Teresa also houses some of the famour thermal baths that they were able to check out whilst there.
Day Three saw them continue on the trail again where they had to cross the Vilcanota River (Sacred River of the Incas. They got to cross the river in zip line carts, and then headed towards the Aguas Calientes Hydroelectric Plant. Along the track around here they got to see several different types of butterflies, parrots and small iguanas. They had lunch at the Hydroelectric plant, and then later in the afternoon they arrived at the town of Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town). The scenery around here was incredible, quiet breathtaking. They were only a stones from from here now.
Once they got to Aguas Calientes they had free time until dinner where they had to meet with their guides to get the run down on Day Four....
This was the day they had all been waiting for . They had to be up before dawn. The met at 5.10am to begin the final leg of their journey, no time for breakfast, it went with them in little boxes, left left early to avoid the lines of people wanting to get here
The early start also gave them the opportunity to see the sun rising up over the ruins. More than spectating. This final hike was a climb up about 500 metres and it took them about an hour and a half to get to the entrance of the ruins.
They were given quite a lot of time to wander around and take photos during the sunrise ( Pete knew how to please his Mum, he took over 200 photos at Machu Picchu alone - there will be more to share as they become available)
I asked him in an email earlier in the week if Machu PIcchu was as amazing as everyone made out it was and this was Pete's response to me.
"It is better MUCH MUCH BETTER. I can't really describe it. The amount of people seems to taint it a little, but it really is AMAZING, and I felt much more on top of the world. Ah I can't even describe how great it feels to be up there with the mist and the clouds and the mountains.
The good news, I took heaps of photos, 200 alone at Machu Picchu, and got more from the people I travelled with, and I will try and upload some over the next few days or week.
He did the four day trek to Machu Picchu. On the first day they left Cusco and traveled to Ollantaytambo. They then climbed to an altitude of 4350 metres above sea level up to Abra de Malaga where they were given these.
Their first day involved a 50 kms down hill bike ride where they were able to enjoy and appreciate the immensity of the valley and the beautiful views. They also got to enjoy the variety of flora and fauna as they descended through microclimates to a temperature zone down until the mid jungle zone. After lunch they continued biking passing the Inca ruins of Wamanmarka until they arrived in Santa Maria at about 1130 metres above sea level. In total about a 5 hour bike ride, and Pete said that he only had to pedal about three times. (So glad I heard about after he had arrived their safely. They spent their first night at Santa Maria.
Day Two they were on foot hiking from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa where they hiked along trails with extoic plants and saw farms where crops such as coffee are being harvested. They got to do some white water rafting and they got to see how they cultivated the coca leaf, a sacred plant to the Incas. They also walked along some of the original Inca trails and heard all about the network of Inca roads found throughout Peru. Santa Teresa also houses some of the famour thermal baths that they were able to check out whilst there.
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| Pete using the Zip line |
This was the day they had all been waiting for . They had to be up before dawn. The met at 5.10am to begin the final leg of their journey, no time for breakfast, it went with them in little boxes, left left early to avoid the lines of people wanting to get here
The early start also gave them the opportunity to see the sun rising up over the ruins. More than spectating. This final hike was a climb up about 500 metres and it took them about an hour and a half to get to the entrance of the ruins.
They were given quite a lot of time to wander around and take photos during the sunrise ( Pete knew how to please his Mum, he took over 200 photos at Machu Picchu alone - there will be more to share as they become available)
Then they were given a 2 hour guided tour of the famous ruins, and then had more time to themselves to just wander around and explore the ruins. They were even able to climb up Wayna Picchu, the largest mountain overlooking the ruins. It was just a totally awesome undescribable time. I am sure there will be times when Pete would have wanted to pinch himself to actually make sure he was really having this experience.
Some time after lunch they headed back down the mountain to Aguas Calientes where they had a quick bite of lunch before they boarded the vistadome train back to Ollantaytambo where the tour ended.
I am so far behind in sharing Pete's journey, but I have probably shared enough for tonight. Have photos to share of his time in Huyro on the last part of his project at Projects Abroad as well as some of his photos from Cusco, where he has been based out of for the last month.
Tomorrow he leaves for Puno in the south of Peru. He will also get to see Lake Titicaca. Apparently this is a beautiful part of the country also. It is known as the Folkloric centre of Peru, so I am looking forward to seeing and hearing all about this part of his journey. I will be back in the next day or so to upload some photos from Huyro and Cusco.
We have also had a busy weekend. One of Chloe's closest school friends turned 21 this week and we were all invited to her 21st last night. Will have some photos to share from it also. They roasted a whole pig on a spit. It was a lovely night, nice to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones.
I am finding it hard to keep up with blog posts this year... so much has been going in our family's lives.
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