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On the Road: Trekking the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu – Day 4

September 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: If you’re just interested in a particular day of the hike or only Machu Picchu, jump to that specific day here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 – Machu Picchu

I got a great night sleep and was up well before 6, right as the cooks passed by with the Coca tea. We had the latest start of the trek that morning which began around 8:30am. The guides asked numerous times to check if we had our passports ready because we were all passing a checkpoint up ahead. After we got there, had passport information taken, we were on the final march to Machu Picchu.

Most of this path is now along train tracks that have been built to bring tourists who weren’t as crazy as us to trek for many days to Machu Picchu. We basically walked on the edge of a jungle that was now opened by these train tracks. The scenery was still beautiful with tropical trees on both sides and an occasional stream. The bridges that were built on this path over the streams were very rickety. Some were also very high up with large gaps in the middle where you could have fallen a long way. It was wise to not look down while crossing many of these.

At one point we got to see the backside of the Machu Picchu mountain. From so far below you can hardly make out there is anything up there. It was interesting though because while we were at Machu Picchu the next day, it was clear as day to see where we were standing now looking up:

 

A few more miles and we were at a shaded break area. We sat on the benches there and rested while having our boxed lunches.

An example of one of the sketchy bridges which was just some larger wooden blocks for the train tracks:

There was another angle that we were apparently supposed to see Machu Picchu from again, but it wasn’t very visible:

Slowly but surely we could start to make out hotels and hostels in the distance and we knew we’ve arrived at Aguas Calientes.

The city is pretty interesting. Essentially a make-shift traveler’s community, it seemed to me what a tropical resort town might look like. There were hot springs, spas on every corner, restaurants lining the blocks, hotels/hostels on every street, and no shortage of tourists walking in all directions — some awaiting their turn to see Machu Picchu and others who had returned that day from seeing it.

We checked into our hostel and dropped our stuff off before setting out to explore what Aguas Calientes had to offer.

The first thing we did was walk as far away from the touristy-filled main streets as quickly as possible. We headed to a side of the town that looked to be completely residential and where the local peruvians who worked in Aguas Calientes mostly lived. You could tell how far you were getting from the touristy areas as the prices of restaurants were dropping from 30 Soles to 20 Soles to 15 Soles to eventually 8 Soles when we were at the opposite corner of the city. This part of town reminded us of how other Peruvian towns look and feel with narrow streets, mom and pop stores lining the blocks and small apartments or houses right next to one another.

While we were wandering this side of town, we stumbled upon probably the biggest gem of the entire city and possibly the best kept secret: an unbelievable, well-maintained, massive, soccer practice field. It was beautiful. Even by american standards, the way they kept this field maintained was stunning. There were groups of kids playing in different areas and it was free like a park for anyone to use. We saw many pickup games and couldn’t help but sit in the bleachers and watch in awe at this field in the middle of, by contrast, run-down houses all around it. The interesting part is how it’s almost purposefully placed dozens of streets away from the main touristy part of town as a deterrent to travelers.

After awhile, forgetting to eat because we were staring at this field, we got hungry and began searching for food along the street. We passed by a strange concoction being cooked and couldn’t help but stop and see what it was. It turned out to be Peruvian-style doughnuts. They tasted like those super-fresh doughnuts you get at Krispy Kreme without the glazed topping. It was a great appetizer while we walked around trying to find a restaurant to eat at.

Walking along the streets back in the direction of the touristy-area, we noticed we had wandered for quite awhile (or stared at the soccer field too long!) because the sun was getting ready to set. We were told earlier that everyone was gathering together for dinner, so it wasn’t worth eating now so we did the next best thing:

Ah, that cold Cerveza. We actually passed by the Floridian and New Yorker and decided to have a couple beers with them before dinner. It was right by the train and they were waiting on the next one which was bringing their extra bags they had placed on it somehow early that morning (we didn’t even know that was an option until that point). Conversations with other travelers are always fascinating because you reminisce about your short time and experiences shared together, but you also trade stories about your past and how they brought you to this moment. The Floridian and New Yorker mentioned that they planned the trip as a way to experience Machu Picchu before it would be too late for their legs to do a trek. They ventured down memory lane to the first time they met which happened to be 40 years prior in junior high. It was startling at first hearing this, because Nathan and I actually also met for the first time in junior high and we asked about how that bond stuck with them throughout all these years. I’ll never forget their response and the stories that followed about how no matter where each of them went with their lives — the New Yorker even living in Venezuela for many years, a simple phone call would bring them back together as if no time had ever passed. It seemed in that moment that the friends who you’ve known the longest will always be the easiest to reconnect with in the future despite any changes in your life.

After the train arrived, we were joined by the Frenchman, the Frenchwoman and Young Miguel just before we convened for dinner.

It was bitter-sweet at dinner. Many of us had bonded over the past 4 days and this was going to be our last meal together before hiking up over 2000+ steps at 4am the next morning. We clanged our glasses of Pisco Sour (the famous peruvian cocktail) and laughed together, happy to be in such a great place with great company.

A few of us headed to a pool bar afterwards for a couple more drinks before calling it a night. The next morning was going to be a moment to remember forever.

 

The final hike up Machu Picchu here! - On the Road: Trekking the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu – Day 5 – Climbing Machu Picchu

 

 



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On the Road: Trekking the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu – Day 3

September 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: If you’re just interested in a particular day of the hike or only Machu Picchu, jump to that specific day here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 – Machu Picchu

The rapping came early in the morning, “Coca tea Amigos! Coca tea!”, as the cooks and porters slapped our tent and unzipped it while pouring some tea. It was much more bearable that night, under layers and bounded in a sleeping bag. It was only slightly chilly, not the biting cold of the first night. We slowly drank our tea as everyone began packing things up outside their tents. Breakfast was pancakes with a peanut butter-like jam. The only others from the US in our group, two women from Florida (the Floridian) and New York (the New Yorker), were sitting by us. Humorously they commented on the fact that Peru apparently had no concept of syrups like Maple syrup — everything was marmalade or jam. After the pancakes, bread and cheese we started heading out on the trail along the mountain that approached the edge of the jungle.

 

This trail would be the most scenic one we would hike, and it started with crossing over a river on a rickety bridge that even the mule refused to go on. It felt like walking through a fruit plantation. Thousands of strawberry plants lined the path below on either side of us, many with small ripe berries. The Ecuadorian and his friends mentioned that the small, blood red ones were the tastiest and we would constantly seek them out while walking along. Above us were passion fruit trees, pineapple trees, and banana trees. Every now and then we would come across stray coffee plants as well with the red buds on them and coffee beans inside.

 

At our first rest stop, we even saw some turkeys wandering around.

We continued on over waterfalls and rapid fresh water rivers. Disappointingly, I wasn’t able to ever find any ripe bananas still on the trees, so when we reached our next stop I purchased some fresh ones for 0.50 Soles. Something about eating a banana while walking through dense fruit trees just seemed right.

I had a long conversation with the Ecuadorian professor while on this path. He mentioned he actually teaches at two different universities and has a strong affinity towards the American author Paul Austere. The vividness with which Austere described New York really drew him to want to visit. Apparently he had visited Miami and NYC on business, but never had a chance to roam around and see familiar spots from the books. He taught me two common spanish phrases, “Beuno Dias” and “Beueno Noches” meaning “Good day” and “Good night”. Life, he said, was tough in Ecuador, working two jobs, but he still loved everything about his country. The beach apparently is right by his home and warm all-year round. His true passion was writing and when he told me he had a single chapter written for a novel he was working on, I told him now was the time to finish creative works and get them out to the world. The internet provides so many opportunities for us to reach people who resonate with what we share, and the barrier of entry to get traction on a self-written/published book is ripe with possibilities at the moment. I provided additional encouragement to, at the very least, continue working on his passion as we approached a small town near our lunch camp ground. Many of the villagers in this town were coffee farmers as was evident by the drying of coffee beans in their lawns. Apparently they sold fresh coffee beans from their door as well if you wanted completely fresh un-roasted peruvian coffee.

The campsite for lunch was just around the corner, and the cooks had quite a feast waiting for us. Nathan and I grabbed an ice cold cerveza while we waited. As I wrote in an earlier post, I wasn’t fond of their Cusquena beer (Fort Collins has spoiled me with amazing craft beer — I’m sipping on an organic Maori King saison in a tulip glass from Funwerks Brewery as I write this), but there was just something about having a cold beer after the long walk that felt very refreshing. It was interesting that the closer we got to Machu Picchu, the more touristy the campsites got. This one had massages, a bathroom with a flushable toilet (and seat!), a pool, and the few restaurants here had hamburgers and shakes on their menu. We sat around a table the cooks had arranged, and watched in awe as plate after plate of different typical peruvian dishes came by.

 

Some type of small rice with veggies:

Soupy chicken curry:

Pasta with cheese:

Quinoa and boiled cauliflower and broccoli:

Quite delicious to say the least!

After our hearty lunch, we headed to our actual campsite which was very close-by. That’s when we got the exciting news we would be heading to a naturally made hot springs just down the street! A bus came by to pick us up and after an hour we were on our way there.

I had many ideas of hot springs before we got there: would it be like resting our feet in small cracks where boiling hot water was coming out of? Or like the ones in Japan depicted in the movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, where it appeared like hot tub spas? It was actually neither — more like a large pool created by expanding the rocks near the edge of the mountain. They also filtered the water by having it pass through a few layers so it remained warm not boiling hot. It felt so nice being in the pool. We all stayed in for well over 40 minutes until our skin began wrinkling. Young Miguel was asked a couple times what the plans ahead were and I absolutely loved the repeated response he gave with a bright smile: “I know nothing. Just this moment right now. Enjoy this moment because it is all that matters right now.” And that we did — leaning back against the rocky wall and allowing the warm water to soothe our muscles.

After we got back to our campsite, we had around an hour before dinner and mingled for awhile at the table. While waiting, I saw one of the cooks wearing a NY Yankees hat and absolutely had to get a picture for my friend Lance who I knew would get a kick of out it:

 

I figured there was no way the cooks were going to top the feast we had at lunch… but I was wrong. We were in for another feast, this one even better than the last. Some macaroni-style noodles, a baked chicken, chinese-style chicken, fried rice, and pizza. Yum!

Afterwards we got a quick briefing on the hike to Aguas Calientes (the town just below Machu Picchu) and went to sleep.

On to Day 4 here: On the Road: Trekking the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu – Day 4



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The Many Traditional and Typical Foods of Peru

August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Wow, I just got back from Peru! What a trip!

Before I even left for Peru, I stopped by my favorite brewery in Fort Collins: Equinox and had one pint before heading out of town. That afternoon there was a server who, when I told him of my trip to Peru, said to absolutely check out the different varieties of potatoes while I was there. When I inquired as to why, he informed me that potatoes are indigenous to that region and there used to be hundreds if not thousands of varieties grown in all parts of Peru. Before departing, he said to pick up a couple varieties, bring them back and he’d make an interesting trade — potatoes for beer! I chuckled, finished a delicious pint of their special alt beer and said I may take him up on his offer.

There are many common peruvian dishes, and as I would soon find out, almost always consisting of either fries or puréed potatoes — likely having to do with their vast amounts of potato sources based on what the server at Equinox had said about them in Peru .

One dish in particular that I truly loved and sought out a cookbook primarily for the recipe was Lomo Saltado(pictured below). If you eat beef, this is a delicious dish they prepare that consists of specially spiced beef, onions, tomatoes, peppers, fries and rice (fries, as I mentioned, are common with any meal no matter what you get — omelet? Have some fries with it!).

 

They seem to be very fond of rotisserie chicken and it tastes similar to what we find in the states. It was very common to see menus like the one below from Nazca with choices on a fourth, half, or full pollo (chicken) and a rack of rotisserie chicken in plain view of the entrance to entice onlookers.


Other popular Peruvian dishes to try:
Grilled Alpaca with Rice/Fries - 
Arroz con pollo (Chicken with rice) - 
Empanadas (turnovers with different meats or cheeses in it) -


And can’t forget street food! This was the most common, grilled steak, chicken or ham/sausages with a potato:

I was surprised to see some fresh tamales being served on the street… although I’m not sure it’s typical peruvian:

One thing to avoid until you’ve at least tried some typical Peruvian cuisine are the tourist trap restaurants in some cities. They’re very noticeable because they usually have everything from tacos and quesadillas to pizza, burgers and milkshakes. These are similar in quality to frozen meals found at your local supermarket and should be avoided if at all possible. There seemed to be a high frequency of these restaurants in tourist-heavy cities like Aquas Calientes so seek out places that say “Typical Food” (probably spelled wrong like the restaurant below and you’re sure to be happier with the quality of your meal).


The last thing I’d say to check out are authentic Italian-style pizzerias. Make sure to stick your head in and see if they make their pizzas in an authentic italian clay oven and only specialize in pizzas like the above restaurant we found in Arequipa and you’ll be transported to heaven on Earth as you take your first bite. Pizza lovers should definitely not miss out on one of these, and just be wary of certain pizzerias or restaurants simply including pizza on their menu, because some are tourist traps that are not using traditional methods of preparation.

And a list of typical Peruvian cuisine wouldn’t be complete without authentic Peruvian drinks, so here’s two popular drinks I encountered:

Cusquena Cerveza – A beer brewed in the high altitudes of Cuzco and their special beer for this year is a celebratory edition for the 100 year anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu. To be honest, after having drank real craft beer in Fort Collins, beer elsewhere just doesn’t taste like real beer. It was nice having a cold brew in a new country, but I can’t say it was even close to being good. It tasted somewhere between Miller Lite and Heineken.

Pisco Sour – Pisco is a type of hard liquor they make from grapes. I was lucky enough to tour one of their wineries where they were also aging their pisco, and this drink was quite delicious. It tastes like a lime margarita.

And you can see how popular this was on the last night before the grueling 2000+ step hike up to Machu Picchu with everyone in our group from the trek!:

I have lots of pictures, videos, and panoramas of the different cities we visited while in Peru. Stay tuned to early next week when I plan on posting a series of posts about the epic 5-day, over 60 mile, and 2000+ climb up to Machu Picchu trek we did! It can all be done on budget too, so I’ll let you know how you can plan a short 1-week vacation and indulge in all the best sights, sounds and tastes of Peru I experienced.



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