The "Gringo Killer"

Salcantay

After a much needed rest and recovery day following Lee's 23 birthday celebrations, we were ready to begin our trek to the highly anticipated mysterious wonder of the world, Machu Picchu.  After talking to different people who had already participated in guided treks to Machu Picchu, we were left deciding between the "Jungle Trek" and the "Salkantay Trek." A number of people we have come across seemed disappointed with their Jungle Trek experience, where as many travellers have highly recommended taking the Salkantay Trek. Seeing as we  had already spent some time in the jungle and gone biking and rafting, and both Treks were similarly priced despite the Salkatay trek being one night longer, we decided to book the Salkantay Trek leaving the following morning at 4:30am.
We arrived at a small Peruvian village around 7:00 am to eat breakfast before beginning our first days hike. Our group consisted of around 12 people from all different parts of the world including Israel, France, Columbia, Holland and the United States. Our Guide was a Local 24 year old man whose real name was so long and difficult to pronounce that he  insisted everyone just call him Nilton , but since that was also hard for some people to say, he just said to call him Neil. Neil was a really wonderful guide as well as person who never ceased to motivate the group to keep on going. He was full of cultural knowledge and taught and showed us many things including a cactus used for dying Inca clothing which stained Jason's hand red for a week, stories and legends about the Inca's, and of course numerous Peruvian dirty words. He also told us that Machu Picchu means old city, but when the word Picchu is commonly misspelled as Pichu only containing one letter c, it actually translates to old penis. Neil was quite the joker, especially with us goofy Canadian boys, so whether or not this is really true we are still unsure. Either way, it was funny. Neil will be remembered for his great sense of humour and incredible in depth knowledge of Peru's history and Quechua/Inca culture.
Our first days hike consisted of about 5 hours uphill through rugged terrain, and another 3 hours on either flat land or steep down hill. In between the 8 hour hike we had a 1 hour lunch which was prepared by Peruvian cooks who followed us each day on impressive horses who also carried our large heavier bags. The meals were actually quite nutritious and tasty, usually consisting of soup, some kind of meat, rice, vegetables and of course magical coca tea. When we finally arrived at our first camp site we were 3800 metres high and feeling the altitudes effects on our lungs, and overall felt extremely exhausted and quite weak. However our spirits were lifted by the magnificent view of Machu Picchu's protector just above us, Salkantay mountain. Yet at the same time knowing we were waking up again the next morning at 4:30 am to climb that very peak was  exhausting just to think about.
Day two was by far the most difficult day of the entire 5 day Salkantay trek. After an absolutely freezing night full of shivering and frustrating attempts to fall asleep, we waited with our eyes open in our shitty sleeping bags for the cooks to deliver hot coca tea before breakfast. The following 4 hours was an 1000 metre steep climb up to the peak of Salkantay, only to continue for another 7 hours down hill to make our next campsite where the scenery would be completely different than before. Getting to the top of Salkantay felt quite fulfilling and accomplishing, and the surreal view of the surrounding mountains was well worth the  trek. As we continued our hike down hill, the atmosphere became more and more jungle like, and at some points the view was like nothing we have ever seen before. It was almost like seeing three entirely different backgrounds amalgamated together into one contrasting picture, with the highest point  being snowy mountain caps, towering over a middle section of dirt hills, leading to a thick forest of giant green trees.

MACHU PICCHU!!!!

The second camp site was about 1000 metres lower than the first night, so it was not so cold and we were able to get a few hours of sleep before being woken up at 5:00am to begin our third day, which would end with a muscle relaxing swim in natural hot springs, followed by a bonfire and cerveza party with all the different groups on the Salkantay trek. Although it was difficult for some of us to keep our eyes open and party, we can always count on Jesse to be the last one awake to drunkenly chase away the irritating barking dogs keeping everyone awake.
Our fourth day was much easier than any of the others, which was quite relieving as by this time our legs could take little more abuse and Grahams feet were riddled with pulsing blisters. We had a choice to pay some extra money to go zip lining through a 2500 metre zip line course 200 metres high. Since Jason and Lee have ziplined in the past and found weights and a giant friendly dog to play with, they decided to stay behind and get even more jacked than they already are (If that is possible), while Jesse and Graham flew through the air on a barely visible cable. The zip lining was fascinating! Graham was able to capture the intensity on the Gro Pro. The platforms that we zipped onto were so small and just attached to the side of the  cliff, which was terrifying as we approached the last few meters of the cable. At the end of that day we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the small city beside Machu Picchu. Everyone went to bed early that night, as we were waking up at 3:30 am to be the first ones to get to Machu Picchu.

Our awesome guide Nilton explaining the wonders of Peruvian flora

As we began our 30 minute walk in the middle of the night to the never ending staircase, also known as the "gringo killer," leading up to the gate of Machu Picchu, we were accompanied by a group of 5 dogs which we nicknamed "our protectors" who stuck by our side ready to alert us of any potential attacking zombies. It was still pitch dark when we began our climb up the dreaded "gringo killer." After about 30  minutes of climbing this relentless staircase, we successfully conquered the "gringo killer," and  Graham and Jason were the second and third people to arrive at Machu Picchu gate, only trailing 1 Israeli, who to be fair had a false start.


The first thing you see when you finally reach the top of the "gringo killer" is not a beautiful scenery, but instead a lit up candy machine.This picture epitomizes the mixed emotions one feels when visiting Machu Picchu. Despite the magnificent architecture, breathtaking landscape and mysterious aura which is inevitably felt by walking through Machu Picchu, the immense amount of swarming tourists together with the modern buildings just outside Machu Picchu gate make the experience seem less authentic. I suppose this is the reality of visiting one of the worlds most popular wonders. Either way, we feel very privileged to experience the Inca's Mystic Machu Picchu in person, especially after Neil told us that in the not so near future the Peruvian government may be limiting the amount of tourists allowed to visit Machu Picchu due to the erosion caused by all the constant visitors.
Over all we all agreed that the Salkantay trek was one of the hardest physical challenges we have ever endured, and although at some points we felt like our legs could take us no further and we were very cranky to each other, we pushed through together, and had an incredible and humbling experience which we will never forget.