Machu Picchu: Day One

Machu Picchu just had to be seen. To have come to Peru and not gone there would have been some kind of sacrilege I feel. And so, like all good tourists, Tobias and I duly booked to go and see this ancient Inca ruin. We decided to forgo the famous Inca trail, and opted for the four day Jungle Trek with Loki Hostels, which included various activities like white water rafting and zip-lining, instead. It sounded much more fun and we also saved hundreds of dollars.

After only one day in Cusco, we got up at an inhuman hour and made our way to the waiting bus, where we met our tour guide and the rest of the group. It turns out I was the only native English speaker there, with other members of the group being from far flung places like Italy, Germany, and Argentina. I was also the only female, which did feel a little strange at first.

It was a long, winding road up to our first activity, and took around 3 hours. The scenery was spectacular though, so I was by no means bored. And as well as this, the weather was so shockingly bad that I was happy at the excuse to sit in a toasty bus. However, the moment came when we had to brave the elements and get ready for our impending bike ride. I was quite looking forward to the mountain biking activity, especially when I learned it was all downhill, but I must admit, I was hoping the weather would be slightly more agreeable. After dressing in our protective gear and choosing our bikes, we gathered for the obligatory group photo before whizzing off down the hill.

Looking attractive

The road was a mountain road (obviously, you might say) - very windy and with a sheer drop on one side. Add to this the fact that it was pouring with rain and you can understand why I was a little cautious. I was the slowest one (slow being relative here - I was going quite fast), and every now and then I would whiz round a corner and see the group was gathered together waiting for me. However, when we set off again, I quickly lost them all, despite trying to live on the edge and not worry too much about impending death or injury. Anyway, despite being 'slow', I found the whole thing rather exhilarating.

A problem did arise after about 40 minutes though. We had to stop when we came across a long queue of cars and people milling about. It turns out that there had been a landslide shortly before (luckily not whilst we were riding past) and so the road was completely blocked. This shortened our ride quite considerably, and at this point we had to give our bikes back to the van that had been following us and take a short cut to our destination. This involved walking down a steep drop covered with loose mud and stones. At one point I landed flat on my back and ended up covered in mud.

Making my way down the hill

We eventually made it to where the car was picking us up and taking us to our well-deserved lunch in an idyllic little lodge, just before we went white water rafting. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons I could not take photos of this activity (not yet the owner of a Go Pro), but I have to say it was the best part of the trip. An absolute highlight. Tobias and I were not actually sure if we were going to do it, partly because we had to pay an extra fee, and partly because I had heard horrific first-hand stories from my friends who had visited Machu Picchu a few weeks previously. However, I am so glad we did. The river was set in the most amazing location, and all we could see around us were mountains covered in forest. It felt kind of prehistoric, as though we'd travelled in time back to the Stone Age or something. 

There were six to a boat and we had a guide telling us how and when to paddle. Fortunately. Or we probably would have ended up being sucked in by rapids. Paddling with the oars was a definite workout for the arms, but I did get into a nice rhythm. The windy weather meant the water was very choppy, but that just made it all the more fun. We did survive, although there was one hairy moment - with most of the waves we'd be lifted up and then plonked back down again, but one was so big that that just wasn't going to happen. As we were thrown through the wave, I headbutted the person in front of me, and learned afterwards that Tobias, who was in front of him, had also hit this guy at the very same moment. In the face. With an oar. Ouch! Going through the wave probably lasted only a few seconds but everything went into slow motion and it felt a lot longer. I was quite scared as I knew that the whole raft was completely out of anybody's control and I was convinced that we'd all be thrown out. We weren't. Despite this moment, I found the water rafting experience to be absolutely amazing, but the best part had to be when we jumped off our raft towards the end and went for a swim in the freezing water.

The day was tiring but incredible, as you can probably imagine, but the adventures weren't quite over yet. Night hiking up the mountain in order to reach our lodge for the night, we happened across a house in the jungle, and stopped for water. The couple living there had a pet monkey, which was (sadly) tied to a pole. Being a monkey-lover, I went over to play with him. All was well for the first minute or so until, out of the blue, he swiftly grabbed my glasses off my face and ran up to the top of his pole. Being blind and terrified that I would be unable to see for the next three days, my first instinct was to wrestle with this little creature and and try and get them back. However, after being bitten (not deeply, fortunately) on the finger, I realised that it was probably not a good idea to fight with an aggressive jungle animal. The owner calmed him down, at which point, the sulky little thing threw the glasses on the ground. I'm not one for tying up wild animals but at that moment I was glad he could only climb the length of a pole and not run off into the jungle leaving me with a lack of sharp vision. Lesson learned: never mix monkeys and valuables. I slept well that night.

Iquitos and the Amazon Jungle

Visiting the Amazon jungle was everything I had anticipated and more. I only had a superficial impression of the place, but I guess I can't reasonably expect more from a 2-day trip. When I look back though, it feels so much longer - I can't believe how much I packed in.

On arriving at Iquitos I was surprised to get off the plane to heavy rain. After living in Lima for so long, which is permanently devoid of the stuff, I was most unaccustomed and terribly unprepared. But it wasn't a horrible England-type shower - it was warm and smelled fresh, and was actually quite pleasant after being cooped up on a plane for 2 and a half hours.

So after the inevitable long wait at the baggage collection area (seriously, why is it always my case that comes out last?!), I was very excited to get my adventure started, wheeled out my suitcase to the pick up lobby, and welcomed the sight of a man holding up a white card with my name on it. It was already dark so for the half hour journey to my hostel, I did not get to see much of the city. However, I did get an eyeful of dirty road water as a car drove past and whipped it up at just the right angle for it to fly through the driver's open window and into my face. I was worried I'd go blind but I seem to be alright so far.

The hostel, Golondrinas, I had booked beforehand, and for a mere 20 soles (£4), I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It scored major points for its pool, and it didn't take long before my bikini was on and I was jumping in. As well as that though, the rooms were clean and comfortable, and I was out like a light when I crawled into bed in anticipation of the upcoming 2 days.

Jungle lodgings

In the morning I was up bright and early ready for my guide to pick me up from the hostel at 9am to take me to the jungle, where I thought I would meet the rest of the group. However, as it turned out, I had my own personal jungle experience on account that I was the only person who had booked up for those days. The only time I was a bit apprehensive about this was on the first day when we went out for a hike and I followed the man I had met earlier on that day into the deep jungle whilst he was armed with a machete. As it turned out though, the machete was to cut down the pesky branches that got in the way and not to carve me up, so I did come out alive. 

The day and night hikes were phenomenal. The size and colours of the butterflies were astounding, and they were everywhere! I also saw some of the biggest moths I've ever seen in my life. By night the wildlife was a little different. The guide, Ashuco, was pointing out spiders the size of my palm running into the undergrowth, but I was less interested in that than the frogs by the waterside. There were everything from the tiniest yellow ones to the hugest bright green. I was having a great time posing with my amphibian friends.

As well as these hikes, the trip was filled with other amazing activities - we went early morning piranha fishing (and I was pleased to have been able to catch 7 of them - despite the fact most were tiny), swam in the Amazon river (occasionally getting peeks of the pink dolphins we were sharing the water with), visited a local jungle village, and went on boat rides to admire the breathtaking scenery and watch the sun set. 

Catch of the day 

Look carefully and you'll spot a parakeet

Boat rides on the Amazon River

But I have to admit, the highlight for me was visiting Monkey Island, mainly because I have immense and indescribable amounts of love for the little hairy critters, and as a result, was absolutely bursting with excitement at the idea of having actual physical contact with them. I wondered if they might be shy, but they were anything but. On the island were a range of different species - capuchins, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys and more.

I was melting anyway as they bounded over to me and held my hand, rested on my lap, or climbed on my head, but I was almost a liquid mess on the floor when I saw a spider monkey, Susie, walk over with her 2-month old baby clinging to her chest. It was maybe a little bigger than my hand, but not much, and I had to resist with every bone in my body the temptation to grab it and run. However, although the baby was outrageously cute, I think my true soft spot was reserved for Tintin, the woolly monkey, who liked to hold and lick my hand and would clamber up so I could hold him. And he truly was the woolliest thing.

There were sloths as well as monkeys

Handling an anaconda is also an option

Tintin and me

Playing with some of the monkeys

Even though I was only there for 2 days, I feel I did and experienced so much. The dream would be to go back some day and spend longer there, maybe going a little deeper into the rainforest and getting a less touristy experience. The city itself I wasn't enamoured of, so I wouldn't be too bothered about visiting Iquitos again. But as an entrance point, it's probably one of the easiest and most obvious solutions for anyone wishing to go to the Peruvian Amazon.

I feel a little sad that the trip I was looking forward to so much is now over, but my melancholy is abated when I think about my trip to Machu Picchu with my boyfriend in 3 weeks time - and I'm guessing that will be equally as spectacular. 

Goodbye for now sweet Amazon - I'm sure we'll meet again.

Jiving in the Jungle

Today I'm super excited and itching to leave tomorrow for my weekend in the Amazon jungle. Mostly prepared but, being disorganised before I came to Peru, I neglected to remember to bring the essential hiking clothing, and so now have to make do with the few things I have. Fortunately I remembered to bring a rain jacket, which is probably a must when visiting the rainforest, and also my hiking boots, which have served me very well in the past when trekking the Brecon Beacons and Mount Kenya, but I am a little concerned that I am going to have make do with wearing my jeans and cumbersome jumpers, as my good gear is usefully sitting at home, in England, tucked away in my wardrobe. Ah well, nothing can dampen my excitement about playing with monkeys, swimming with pink dolphins and boating down the river.

With everything booked and now paid for, I am raring to go. Flight. Check. Taxi. Check. Hostel. Check. I am now suffering the familiar palpitations I normally get before a flight - well, before using an airport to be more precise. I am always so paranoid about missing a piece of documentation or arriving 30 seconds too late or some other such disaster occurring that every time I travel, I see the airport experience as a huge scary black smudge in my mind, obscuring the usually amazing holiday that awaits beyond.

In fact, last year, when holidaying with my friends, it got so bad in the car on the way to the airport with me constantly checking I had my passport and boarding pass (about every 20 seconds on average), that my friend actually took my bag away from me. I'm not sure what I thought would happen in a zipped up bag in a moving car on a motorway, but such is my fear.

So, providing everything goes well and I do in fact manage to get on the plane, I will be travelling to the more northerly Iquitos, the world's largest city that cannot be reached by road. It is Peru's largest jungle city and so very popular with rainforest-hungry tourists (like me). The tour I have booked is only two days long, but absolutely packed with activity from morning til night. Among other things, I will be holding anacondas, fishing for piranhas, and visiting a local tribe.

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, here I come....