Peru - Part 2

Sunday, March 16th - this was the day of our long (7.3 mi) and high (15,213').  We started out strong and confident, then we hit the anaconda switchbacks.  I think the going up was harder on us than the altitude.

Lots of water coming down alongside the trail.

Looking down on the switchbacks.  Notice our 911 mule bringing up the rear (green & red specs).

Occasionally we had to yield the trail to pack mules or horses.  This group was carrying propane tanks to the 2nd lodge (Wayra) which is not accessible by road.  

The happy group at the top of the pass.  Yes, it was a bit cool up there.  We headed down to our lunch stop. Served in a tent by two chefs who hiked ahead of us with our lunch fixings.  There was an eating tent, a cooking tent, a potty tent, and a tent for our backpacks.

Eating our lunch of corn soup, pasta, and wine pear.  We are at 13,799' now.

We arrived at our 2nd lodge around 4pm in a light rain.  The staff were there to welcome us with hot wash cloths and tea.  They had a dry room for our wet shoes and jackets.

Above is the lodge the morning of March 17th once the rain stopped.  We have an easier hike today from Wayra lodge to Colpa Lodge.  We are moving mostly downhill into the cloud forest.  We encounter some very narrow parts of the trail with mountain on one side and a drop off on the other side.  We share this trail with the mules and horses.  Some spots were very muddy.

Walk carefully or risk dropping 100' or more.

Our snack stop with chickens and dogs in attendance.

Mud!!!

At last we arrive at Clopa lodge (9,372').  We watched as they prepared our lunch, a pachamanca.  A traditional Peruvian celebration feast prepared in a stone oven outside.  We had chicken,pork, lamb and guinea pig with several types of potatoes, fava beans and plantains.

Our pachamanca buffet.  Yum yum!

Tuesday, March 18th - today we celebrate Jim's birthday with cake for breakfast.  As we leave Colpa Lodge we have a view of three valleys.

We cross the river on this ancient style log, stick, and mud bridge.  Once we get to the road we hike on the road.  It is all pretty good except for a couple "water across the road" spots where I get my boots a little wet.  After hiking 5.3 miles from Colpa Lodge we are met by a van.  

Our bags are transferred from the mules to the van and we say goodbye to our mule drivers.  Notice the mule off to the right with a scarf over his head.  It keeps him calm.  All the drivers carry a scarf for that purpose.

The scenery continues to delight us.

They grow corn on what looks to be nearly vertical hillsides quite high up the mountains.

We stop at a local organic coffee farm.  The owner roasts, and grinds some coffee beans so we can taste Peruvian coffee.  Even though David and I don't drink coffee, we gave it at try.  With a little cane alcohol and sugar it tasted good even to us.

We arrive at Lucma Lodge and are greeted with cool wash cloths and juice.  All of the Mountain Lodges have been fantastic.

Wednesday, Mar 19 - we celebrate our third birthday with a cake for Maria.  Our chefs are knocking themselves out.  We leave Lucma lodge around 7:30am.  

We hike over 2 hrs uphill to Llactapata ruins where we catch our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

That lighter green in front of the big peak is a part of Machu Picchu.  A bit past the ruins view point we arrived at what will become Llaqtapata Lodge.  Presently it is a camping site for backpackers and a small restaurant.

After lunch we walked downhill a couple hours.  Eventually we crossed the Rio Ahobamba and made our way to the Hydroelectric train station.

Getting ready to take the train to Aguas Calientes, our base for Machu Picchu.