Last Week in Chile, Salkantay Trek on the Way to Machu Picchu!

So the past few weeks have been really hectic!! It was Fiestas Patrias in Chile, which is like their celebration of Independence Day (but not their actual independence day, which isn't until February). But it's a holiday where everyone basically takes off the week from work and parties constantly. There are festivals set up at the fair grounds with rides, lots of traditional food, and plenty of dancing of the national dance, called La Cueca. And during the day, families have barbeques and spend the day relaxing, eating and drinking with their families and friends. It's an incredibly patriotic time and the whole city was covered in Red White and Blue and the Chilean flag. It was amazing to be in the middle of such a patriotic celebration! Unfortunately, I have zero of the millions of pictures that I took during that week because my phone was stolen at the Santiago airport on my way to Peru and I lost all the photos :( I'm really sad that that they were lost and you can't see all the magical patriotism and fun that I experienced, but here's some webpages about the event if you want to check it out for yourself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiestas_Patrias_%28Chile%29

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/ChileDieciocho.htm

http://www.latinpost.com/articles/21708/20140918/fiestas-patrias-chilean-americans.htm


My last week in Viña was an absolute whirlwind because Fiestas Patrias festivities started on Tuesday, and went nonstop from Tuesday night until Sunday morning, and then I had to hurriedly pack everything up and leave Monday morning for my trip to Peru and Machu Picchu. We stayed Monday night in Santiago, I left most of my luggage there, and then we left bright and early for Cuzco on Tuesday morning. Luckily, I had my friend Allie with me to help me carry my insane amount of luggage (I may or may not have had to buy another bag to hold all the things I bought, mostly gifts!)

We had a few days in Cuzco to acclimate to the altitude, since Cuzco sits at about 4,000 meters or 11,000 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, after a week of lots of fiestas and little sleep, I had gotten sick and spent the first few days in the hostel in Cuzco with a fever and just being generally sick, just trying to sleep as much as possible so that I wouldn't be so miserable on the trek. We signed up for a 5 day hiking and camping trek on the Salkantay Trail, that would take us through mountains, plains and the high jungle on our way to Machu Picchu. Here's the link for the itinerary of our trip if you'd like to check it out! http://www.bioandeanexpeditions.com/en/salkantay-trek/trekking-tours/salkantay-trek/salkantay-trek/salkantay-trek/salkantay-trek-peru.perutrek
It was absolutely an incredible experience, despite being sick and weak for the first 2 days. Our group consisted of us and 6 other people from all over the world, and a wonderful guide. We learned so much about each other and our cultures, and I had the best time getting to know everyone. Our group (we called ourselves the Sexy Llamas, per our guide Ferdinand's suggestion) had a really unique dynamic and we all got along so well. I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon this tour guide company and this group of people, because that really made the trip for me. They were so supportive when I wasn't feeling well and was struggling with the ascension to the over 15,000 foot pass at Salkantay mountain, and were fun and friendly people. I'm glad to have made new friends on this journey. The whole experience was very new to me, since I'd only ever been camping for real once before. And hiking for several hours day after day was something that I'd never thought I'd do. It was a huge challenge for me, definitely the most physically challenging thing I've ever put myself through, but I am so glad that I did it. I learned so much about my capabilities and limits, my strengths and weaknesses, and most of all, my immense gratitude that this is my life and that I made this happen. I was out there, completely out of my comfort zone, struggling through parts, thriving in others, and came out on the other side feeling on top of the world. I've never felt anything like that! Here's some pictures from our wonderful journey. Unfortunately, there's a lot more to be seen but I don't have them because I didn't have a camera after my phone was stolen, so I had to rely on everyone else to take pictures. These are the ones that I've got though :)

Just hanging out in the Andes Mountains on our first day

Allie and I at Mount Humantay, and the glacier-fed lake that is at its base. We even got to see a few minor avalanches that dropped snow and ice into the lake. We're at about 4,200 meters above sea level here.

Lake Humantay

Mount Humantay

The insanely green rolling mountains that we saw along the way. The landscape was drastically changing each day. Once day it would look like Ireland with flat green plains, the next we would climb rocky mountains in the snow, and the next it would look like this, and it would be sunny and warm.

I love the shape of the mountains here!

Me, our amazing guide Ferdinand, and Gui in the back

The hot springs that we went to on the 3rd day. It felt amazing to soak in some warm water after a rough few prior days!

Not a bad view from the springs! We were surrounded by mountain and cliff landscapes as we relaxed in the water.

The final stretch walking to Machu Picchu!

We followed the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu where we stayed the night in an actual bed in a hotel, which was a huge change from our tents that we stayed in the past few nights. I felt spoiled and actually missed the tents a little!

We made it!! What an magical place.

One of the rocks that the Incas carved to mimic the shape of the mountains behind it

Llama friend (that couldn't care less about me)

Llama selfies are an important part of Incan culture

On the train on the way back from Machu Picchu. Such a beautiful train ride along the Uruyamba River

Scary man that has something to do with a traditional festival in Peru. I wasn't paying attention to the history because I was too distracted by how terrifying he was. He even made me dance with him. Nightmares for weeks.

Our last dinner in Cuzco. Alpaca meat stuffed with cheese and covered in a fruit sauce. Alpaca is actually really delicious! 

This past week was just so amazing. I was given a unique perspective on Peru, the Andes, trekking, and Machu Picchu that I never thought I would be able to have. It was complicated, it was challenging, and it was tiring, but it was one of the most rewarding things I've ever accomplished and I did it with a truly great group of people. What more could a girl ask for??

Now I'm on to my next job, working at a hotel in the Colchagua Valley, a major wine-making region of Chile. Here's a link to the hotel that I'll be working at! And I bought a cheap little digital camera so I'll be able to post pictures from here on out. I'm sad to not be returning to Viña (It was so hard to say goodbye to Allie as I sent her off on the bus back to Viña!) but I'm excited for this next leg of my Chilean adventure. It'll be nice to be in Santa Cruz, a quiet and tranquil little wine country town. Stay tuned.

Besos xox