When you come to a fork in the road...take it

Rain, rain, rain! Day 3 of Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

All night it poured! Putting the waterproof claim of our tent to the ultimate test. And it passed with flying colors! By morning it has cleared up and looks to be a nice day. The rain last night had me dreaming of landslides. In the dream, the tent was starting to slide. Luckily I was agile enough to get up, unzip the door to the tent, and get out...even grabbing my bag along the way....before it fell off the side of the mountain :)

Today is going to be a pretty easy day. Just 4 hours of hiking. We wake up at 6am this morning as we don't need to get such an early start. Since we are lower today and it is nice out, I decide to wear shorts for the hike....which I'll come to regret later! Today most of the hike is downhill or flat. I am not going to complain about downhill (much...) because it is a TON easier than the switchbacks and steep uphill, but I'm pretty certain I am going to slip and therefore move very carefully through the downhill...unlike my hiking partners :) We hike down about 45 minutes and come to a river crossing. Shortly after that is a rest area.

The rest area we stopped at. Chickens and dogs intermingling :)

After the river crossing, the rest of the trek today is pretty flat. We arrive at Playa, the town where our campsite is, at midafternoon. It is sunny and warm....perfect relaxing weather! I wish I had a deck of cards right now, though!

A past landslide we had to hike through!

Yep...this is why shorts were a bad idea. Tons of mosquito looking bites. Oh well.

Silver used to be mined through this part of the hike. You can still see some silver in the dirt.

Turkey at one of the rest stops we stop at. I really want a picture, but am nervous to get this close to him!

The CHALLENGE- Day 2 of the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

This morning we wake up at 5am to be on the trail by 6. We even get coca tea to help wake us up. (Of course, I spill mine all over my sleeping bag and mat in the tent!) It was a chilly night and I am having a hard time getting out of my nice, warm sleeping bag! Today will be a long day with lots of uphill climbing at high elevations. The view outside our campsite is so gorgeous, it puts me in good mood to get started today!

We start off on our journey. The first hour or so is just slightly up hill. Then starts the switchbacks and our climb to the summit of Salkantay.

3800meters

Sabino and I at 3800m

The weather starts to get more cloudy and dreary as we get higher. It also gets colder! Finally we make it to the top of Salkantay. My lungs are burning and it is a tough climb to the top. A lot of wind and some rain...or sleet! I can't really tell at this point. I'll be honest, the last 15 minutes of the climb I was saying a rosary in my head! Thank goodness for 10 fingers to keep track of the 10 Hail Mary's :) At the top there are a bunch of sets of 3 rocks balanced on top of eachother. I'm not sure what that means and I am too tired and cold to listen to the explanation Sabino is giving for it haha! Not much of a view at the top due to the weather conditions. But I have made it to the summit of a 4600m mountain. Just over 15,000 feet. The highest I have ever climbed. Mount Everest anyone??? ;)

We get to lunch and it is still raining, but luckily we are a little lower so it has warmed up a bit. Lots of ducks wandering around at this spot! Maggie and I assume we have made it through the hardest parts. Sabino says the afternoon will start with a lot of downhill, then a short uphill climb followed by downhill to our campsite. Sounds easy enough, right??? About an hour into our afternoon hike the sun is shining and it is a lot nicer out. The downhill and flat hiking is nice. Then we get to the uphill part. This is not just an uphill! This is a CLIMB up a MUDDY, narrow trail. I am breathing so hard and taking short breaks every 30 feet or so. Sweat is POURING off me and my shoes are sinking in the mud. Not gonna lie...this part SUCKS :) Luckily, it only lasts about 30 minutes and we are at the top. Great view! It's a short hike to our campsite which turns out to be the wrong site, so then it is another short hike to the right campsite.

Our "bathroom" at the campsite. Yeah...I think I'll just stick to the great outdoors. I don't even know how I'd use that!

CANNOT beat the views here!
What a day this has been. About 12 miles of hiking, started at 3800m to 4600m, and ending at 2800m. All kinds of terrain, all kinds of climate. Truly a challenge, but a conquered challenge!

YOU might call it excessive sweating, but I'm just making good use of my body's natural cooling system- Day 1 of Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Our guide, Sabino, picks us up from our hostel at 5:30am. We are going to drive 2 hours to the town of Mollepata and then begin our trek to Machu Picchu via the Salkantay Trail. It is one of the "backdoor" trails to MP. The main Inca trail has a waiting list of about 8 months to get on. This trip sounds better to me anyway, 4 days of hiking and camping and then viewing Machu Picchu on the 5th.

Back to day 1. Sabino speaks English pretty well and even notes Mr. Bean as his favorite movie haha! After a quick breakfast we start on the hike. We will go about 7 hours today. The neat thing about this trip is that we have a guide, a cook, and a mule to carry our equipment. Pretty sweet deal!

Today's elevation starts a little lower than what Cusco was, but by the end of the day we will be at about 3800 meters (13,000ish feet). Most of the walk this morning is up hill. Probably about an hour into the hike Sabino comments that I sweat a lot. Nice huh?! Oh well, at least it keeps me cool :) Lucky we brought some extra water this morning, because I am drinking like a camel! Towards 1pm, clouds start coming in and it looks like it will rain. Luckily, we get to our lunch spot, which is covered, before the rain starts. Although it is nearly summer in Peru, it is also the rainy season. So rain is pretty common. Lunch is good...soup, rice, meat, garlic bread...way more food than I am used to during camping! After lunch we put on our rain coats and ponchos and get ready to set out for the afternoon. It will be a shorter hike to the campsite, with very little uphill.

Maggie and I in our rain gear. The rain stops about 5 minutes into our afternoon hike. Pretty good timing! What great views on this trek. I have songs from the Sound of Music running through my head. The scenery reminds me of the end of the movie when the Von Trapps were escaping into Switzerland. And then I see some snow-capped mountains and immediately Bette Midler's "From a Distance" starts playing...for the next 2 hours. Oh joy! Along the way we also run into various animals...pigs, chickens, horses, etc.

We arrive at our campsite for the night about 4pm. I am ready for a nap! Sabino tells us "happy hour" will be at 5:30. Hot chocolate and popcorn!!! After happy hour, we have another great, big meal. By 8pm I go to bed....a LONG day. Maggie stays up a little while longer and tries to tell Sabino jokes. It's pretty entertaining to listen to, because I don't think he gets any of them! :)

La Misa

Truly one of the best parts of my trip. The Mass! I have said this before, but I get a lot out of it...even if it is in Spanish and I dont know most of the prayers. Does that mean that maybe I dont pay very good attention in English Mass??? Nah...I just really like all the emotion and participation here. And I enjoy the music SOOOOOO much! But I do really miss playing the piano and singing with my music groups back in Wyoming :) So for this blog post, I have decided to take you through the Mass. And throughout have included some pictures of the church (both during Mass, morning prayer, and just me creeping through).

Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help)

Prior to the start of Mass the choir warms up and practices the music for the night. There is a keyboard, at least 3 guitars acoustic and electric, multiple drummers, and 6 or 7 singers.

Mass begins within 10 minutes after 8pm on Sunday night (or 7pm Saturday or 8am Sunday). When Mass starts, the church is probably 50-75% of the attendance it will be by the end. Fr. Jack (and usually Fr. Juan, but not tonight in these pictures) enter the church accompanied by 6 or 7 alter servers and the readers.

This is the 2nd week of Advent, so after Mass begins the two candles are processed up and Fr. reads the blessing.

As the Liturgy of the Word continues, people continue to fill in for Mass. Now benches that probably would seat 6 or 8 people at home cram maybe up to 12 people. There is always room...everyone just scoots closer together. Lawn chairs are brought in when extra space is needed.

During the music, Christian, a developmentally delayed young man takes it as his job to hand the microphone to those who need it and "direct" the choir. I didn't get a very good picture, but he is in there!

Tonight there are confirmation candidates present. Their confirmation will take place next weekend. There are probably about 30 kids, teen-aged.

During the offertory, 2 baskets are brought to the front and people come up, putting their money offerings in.

The Our Father begins and everyone moves to join hands. Before the prayer starts, a song is sung to the tune of Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle, then the prayer is spoken (this one I can participate 75% of....thanks Senorita Gibson!)

Then the sign of Peace! It gets a little chaotic, in a good way! It is the Peruvian custom to give a kiss on the cheek. During it, a song starts, with lots of clapping.

During communion, it is kind of a free for all. There is no order to the line. Id say only about 20-30% of the people go up to communion. Not sure why...probably a mix of people not having recieved their first Communion yet or not being in the state of grace to go to Communion. The second Mass I went to, I actually missed it because I was sitting towards the back "waiting my turn" until all of the sudden, Communion was over!

Mass is over then Fr. Jack tells everyone to sit down because one of the volunteers is leaving. Oh that's me! Gotta get up in front of the congregation...yikes...and get presented a plaque for my time here. Note the fish tank alter in the picture. How cool is that???