Day 5 - Victor's House and Mission Accomplished

Today's the big day. If everything went according to plan, we would meet Victor at the hostel at noon, he would bring a horse to carry our stuff, we would buy some food to help his family with dinner, and together we would hike up to his house. But when do things ever go as planned? 

Victor arrived at Hostel Tinki at 7:30 that morning. After introductions, we began to talk about how the day was going to go, and we had one of those moments while listening to Victor where we realized our Spanish sucked. Even Victor himself said he thought our Spanish was going to be better...Fail. But it all worked out eventually. A little misunderstanding here and there, some frustration for both parties, and embarrassing for us, but everything fell into place in the end. Up to 13,000+ feet we go!

You could see Asangate from our hostel window.

Victor tightens the ropes that secured our bags and other supplies to the horse.

The one and only tree on the road for 2 hours.

Andes. Alpaca. Those clouds. "Where the hell am I?"

My friend Sang who went on this hike last year printed out pictures for me to give to Victor's family. He made prints that fit neatly into one of the books that I brought along in my backpack. It seemed like an easy enough task, and since I have proof that the photos made it to their final destination, it's okay that I tell this story: On one of the first days of traveling I was smart enough to not fully tighten my water bottle and everything on the bottom of my backback got soaked... but not the photos because they were safely tucked in my book!! Phew. Mission accomplished.

And they loved those photos. 

Peder!

Dinner by candlelight. Rice with fried potatoes, carrots. and cauliflower.
One of the best meals on the trip. Possibly one of the best meals of my life. 

We ended up not having to camp because their house had a storage room that was big enough for the three of us. Within an hour, there were two beds that were set up for us with a mattress and everything! I can't imagine how cold it might have been if we had to camp outside, because that night, along with two thick blankets and my sleeping bag, I was wearing two pairs of pants, 4 layers of shirts, two hats, a scarf, and gloves. Tomorrow, we hike to Victor's alpaca farm. 

Day 4 - Tinqui, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinqui, or Tinki, is a funny little name for the cutest little town that is about 1000 ft higher than Cusco. To get there you have to take the bus, but we had no idea if the bus we got on was going to take three hours, according to Tim's notes, or seven hours, according to other people's accounts, or if the bus was going to Tinki at all. It basically went like this:

Sasha: Vamos a Tinki?

Bus driver: Si, si.

Sounds good to me.

The view from my bus window. The skies here are unreal. 

She matched the wall. We are delirious. 

Fortunately, the bus ride was just about 3 hours. We arrived at the hostel and all took a nap for a couple of hours. For dinner we all agreed that we were tired enough to just stay in that night, which meant avocados and squished bread was on the menu. It was delicious. I don't know if I could say the same if I was to have the same meal at home. Maybe the avocado was really good, maybe we were tired and hungry, maybe eating made the cold go away. 

Day 3 - Sacsayhuamaaaan

We spent the morning trying to find a market that didn't exist, so eventually we settled for the little markets around the square for buying souvenirs. Afterwards, the crew hiked up to Sacsayhuaman (pronounced "sexy womaaaan" with a little shoulder roll... This one might need a demo...just ask the next time you see me) and began preparing for the trek up to Victor's house. Remember when I said I would hike a lot this summer to prepare for the hikes in Peru? Yeah, they didn't really help. Altitude, man.

Starting the climb up to Sacsayhuaman.

It's harder than it looks.

This photo cost me 5 soles. Fell right into the tourist trap. Bleh

We made it up to the gate of the ruins and find out they wanted to charge us 70 soles just to get in! Sasha remembered that she and her friends found some back way up to Cristo Blanco when she was on the program 5 years ago, so with a thread of hope, we turned around to find the elusive alternative trail. We were getting nowhere fast when this guy appeared and gave us really detailed directions. Thank you for random acts of kindness.

Sasha rediscovers the ravine she walked along 5 years ago in the dead of night with a group of friends. It was a good moment.

Then out of nowhere, we stumble upon a basketball court.

Just a little surreal...

The stairs by the basketball court led to a playground that overlooked all of Cusco. This was one of those moments where the question "Where the hell am I?" came to mind. The first of many times I asked myself that during this trip.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE ON A SEESAW?

Cusco flag

REST

At last, we made it to the top. Now to find Jesus. 

This photo did not cost me anything.

Found him!

That night we went to the supermarket to buy water and lunch supplies for the next three days at Victor's house. The deal was that he makes us breakfast and dinner, so we bought avocados, bread, jelly, and granola bars for lunch. We couldn't find peanut butter anywhere in the store and couldn't remember the word for it in Spanish to even ask. Mantequilla de mani, mantequilla de mani, mantequilla de mani.

I got to shoot volleyball for the first time today! It's definitely a lot faster than baseball. And I got a little too excited at some points and forgot to take pictures...