Time is running so fast and I didn’t have a chance to update you about my 5 days Salkantay Trek over high mountains into the jungle finished by one of the 7 new wonders of the world - Machu Picchu - before I left again into the jungle. I was 16 days in my first project with children in a boarding school. But first I will focus on Salkantay Trek:
As usual, we (Lisa, Lexy, Alex, myself) left the HQ very early (4am) to get to the meeting point at Plaza de Armas in Cusco. Of course we were punctual on German time, but as we are in Peru, we had the chance to watch the military parade around the place - hundreds of soldiers and police men were marching around, playing music, having their guns at the trousers etc. 28./29. of July is Independence Day of Peru, which is celebrated very huge everywhere, but especially in Lima. Few days before we watched as well a part of the parades of the schools - the winning class is allowed to go to Lima for the final parade on Independence Day. For us Europeans it was a really strange and frightened theatre, as it looked like we are in a bad history movie of the 2nd world war.
So far to this, up to the nature. After a 5h bus drive we arrived at the starting point of our trek, where we could give part of our luggage to the horses. We „only“ had to carry our backpack with water, snacks, sun protection and some clothes to change (the weather is very divers, you need to be prepared for everything - holt/cold/sun/wind…). We started walking and arrived at our first camp after around 3h, where we had a late lunch, too. Afterwards it was optional to hike to a nice lake between the mountains full of snow - of course I decided to do so! Although the sun was already behind the mountains and the hike was extremely exhausting, the view was amazing and the feeling great! Back in the camp, we had tea time followed by dinner (4 chefs were with us the first 4 days to prepare every meal - very delicious except of the breakfast which existed of a watery over-sweetened porridge and white „air-bread“ with some jam - and no fruit at all for the whole trek). After dinner I saw the best night sky of my life!! No light pollution, very bright stars, the milky way - topped by a falling star - just genial! Around 9pm was bed time (one layer to sleep on was missing - unfortunately it was mine, but thanks to Claudi who gave me a first-aid-layer before I left Germany, I didn’t have to die in that freezing cold night!!). :-)
Every morning the chefs went around with some hot coca tea - this is a very nice alarm to get up, even if it is 5am.
After breakfast we started the long and exhausting way of day 2 - some hours up until to the Salkantay Pass (4600m high - Salkantay mountain is even higher and full of snow, until now nobody was above). I got to my personal limits of my body (thin air and exhausting hike), but arriving on the top makes you forget everything. Enjoying the adrenalin and happiness that we did it followed by 3 hours downhill hike - lunch - 3 more hours downhill into the jungle to the next camp. The change of the nature around us was unbelievable and as well the change in temperature. After these 22km-hike we enjoyed some nice beer with the whole group, but went to bed again around 9pm.
Compared to the day before, the 3rd day was relaxed, above a small river, fruits to buy on the street (Lisa and myself were the happiest people!) slightly downhill, around 5h until to a lovely coffee garden where we had lunch and of course a delicious coffee of freshly roasted beans from there. We had some time to relax and later we were brought to our next camp in a small bus. An other highlight was the bath in the hot springs this afternoon, after 3 days and around 50km of hike the first water - hot water - to our bodies! What an event! Followed by beer, dinner, music, fire, dance. :-)
The 4th day was again very awesome, I decided to invest some money in Ziplining - this was super fun and exiting! Even with a hurting leg it was more comfortable to drive then the part of the morning hike and joining the group in Hydroelectrica, from where the afternoon hike started. It went along the train road - without hills - to Aguas Calientes, the starting point to climb up to Machu Picchu. We had a hostel that night, but it was very awful, I really preferred the tents the nights before - but at least we had a real and warm shower!
Last day - after this week for us not THE highlight, but definitively ANOTHER highlight - MACHU PICCHU. We left the hostel at 4am, the lower entrance opens at 5am and at 6am we arrived at the top entrance after 1800 steps and liters of sweating. My feeling was not describable - something like happy, tired, exhausted, super, cool, fit, hungry, thirsty, happy again… We had some time to explore this nice Inka ruins before we took a bus back to the hostel, the train back to Hydroelectrica and the cosy bus - 6 hours - back to Cusco. Being tall is definitively one of the biggest disadvantages in Peru.
What a week, what an experience, what a challenge - I only can recommend to do this Trek if you have the chance to! :-)