In the Land of the Incasby Emily and CK | |
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After the Swiss Alps and Kilimanjaro, for this year we decided to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of Inca. Machu Picchu was buried in the Andean forest for four centuries until being accidentally rediscovered by Hiram Bingham (supposedly one of the prototypes of Indiana Jones) in 1911. Since then it had became the top tourist attraction of South America. However, there are no roads connecting Machu Picchu and its vicinity to the external world. From the Inca capital Cusco, there are two ways to Machu Picchu: either take the train (4 hours each way), or walk the Inca Trail. Not surprisingly, we opted for the later. The Classic Inca Trail started at a point on the railroad called Km 88 (from Cusco), headed uphill and climbed through three mountain passes, only to descend to Machu Picchu at almost the same altitude as Km 88 after 4 days of trekking. In peak season (June - September), the Classic Inca Trail can be really crowded with tourists. Hoping for a more adventurous experience and more pristine sceneries, we decided on a 6-day trek: 3 days on the much less visited trek around Mt. Salcantay, before joining the Classic Inca Trail in the middle of the climb towards the first pass. An additional advantage of the longer option was that we would be always half a day behind and/or after the bulk of the hikers on the Classic Inca Trail, allowing a less crowded, more tranquil experience.
At first, we planned to fly into Peru through its capital Lima, then transit to Cusco, and return by the same route. That changed when we decided to include Lake Titicaca, the sacred lake of the Incas, in our itinerary. CK was wondering how to get to Titicaca, at the southern end of Peru and way off the main Lima - Cusco axis, when he noticed something on the opposite side of the Lake. It was the Bolivian capital La Paz, which saw much fewer tourists than its more famous neighbor. Sometimes an idea just takes root tenaciously and refuses to die. It was a pain to arrange for entering South America through La Paz. (We needed to get an entry visa in advance; fortunately we lived near Washington DC and could visit the consulate in person.) However, a journey from La Paz through Cusco to Lima just sounded more interesting than a Lima - Cusco round trip.
Our post-trek self-reward would be a trip to the Amazon rainforest. While the Amazon is mainly associated with Brazil, its headwaters lie in Andean Peru. We signed up for a trip to the forest along Rio Manu, a tributary to the Amazon. We were told to expect lots of humidity, lots of bloodsucking bugs (we had to get preventive yellow fever shots and malaria drugs), but also lots of wildlives.
We spent several months preparing for the trip. CK worked with the travel agency to finalize the itinerary, and with the Bolivian Consulate to get the visa. On the other hand, Emily spent a lot of her time diligently learning Spanish. Since we would be on our own in cities, having some ways to communicate with the locals are essential. As September rolled around, we were ready for the adventure. So on a sunny Friday afternoon, we left early from work to board an overnight flight to La Paz... |
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Created on 24th Oct 2007. Last updated on 8th Nov 2008. |