Monday 21 November 2011

GapBreakers finally visit Machu Picchu!

Lonely Planet’s South America On A Shoestring promotes Machu Picchu as the number one highlight of Peru and the continent as a whole. Now, for our group, we are proud to say after five days of serious trekking, and for some a 2 day train and trek, we have finally visited this incredible place.

We started the challenging Salkantay trek November 9, finishing up at the rewarding Machu Picchu November 13. On the starting morning with 81km ahead of us, the group was a little apprehensive but looking forward to the final reward of our trek. Our guide Nilton led us at a cracking pace with no complaints from the group across the beautiful countryside.

With 5 days of hiking; hours of constant uphill inclines and treacherous declines dodging rocks on the dusty trails we powered across the mountainous terrain. As the days progressed our surroundings changed to muggy jungle, crossing rivers and side towns to arrive at our beautiful campsites nestled in valleys shadowed by enormous mountains. We were provided with history lessons on the Andean spiritual culture of Pachamama (Mother Nature) and the power of the Mountains.

On the second day we reached the 4600m above sea level summit with a fantastic view of the snow capped Salkantay mountain. Thankfully we were incredibly lucky with the weather for the 5 days, making the success of the hike all the more rewarding. We all felt such a sense of achievement as we pushed ourselves physically and mentally hiking day in and day out, supported by excellent cooks and an encouraging guide.

Upon reaching Aguas Calientes, the pit stop town before Machu Picchu, we rested our sore bodies as the prospect of the next day dawned on us. Up at 4am we were welcomed by a 40minute continuous stair climb to the sacred site. Upon entering the ruins we were met by a sight more incredible than anything we could have expected, a view to beat any postcard. As the morning mist and haze lifted from the mass of mountains surrounding this oasis, a perfect day was revealed over this world famous site. We spent the morning exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu in total awe of this experience. Some climbed Waynapichu to take in a more wholesome view of the site, then a few even made it up to Sun Gate. The day was perfect, all injuries, sore feet and leg muscles were forgotten as our cameras clicked constantly.

As we creep closer towards the ending date of our three months in Cusco, the visit to Machu Picchu completes the trip for our group. Less than two weeks to go now the reality closes in. Our last visits to Corao school have been made sweeter as we finished the Water Reservoir and delivered much needed items to one of the houses we visited. Blankets, pillows, food, shoes and warm items were amongst the delivery, cementing why we are here. A big thank you goes home to those who donated to our cause, the gracious and thankful families makes our work here worth it.


With our time winding down it leads us to reflect on how incredibly lucky we have been these past three months, how fortunate we are and how far our presence here can go for those in need.

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