Machu Picchu - Day 1

So I got to Cusco the night before my 4-day trek of Machu Picchu, and no, I didn't even think about the fact that the city's elevation is 11,200 feet above sea level. I had a slight headache when I laid down to sleep for the night, but managed to get a semi-good night of sleep. Woke up around 5:15am because I was being picked up between 5:45 and 6am. Got my things together and as I'm checking out I do a quick last minute check of my passport, money, and credit cards, and I notice that I don't have my ATM card on me. Huh? I just got money the night before…but SHIT, the machine at the hostel is one of those that takes your card and then you get it back after your transaction. Of course I forgot it in the machine so I'm thinking either someone took it or the machine swallowed it. It's 5:30am now and I'm trying to work with the receptionist dude and he said the machine is independently owned and not sure they can get my card out, but he'll call later that day. Quickly check my account online and see that no one has made any charges, so I take a breathe and hope that I'm gonna get it back when I get back from the trek. I have about 160 Peruvian soles on me, which is about $60. Van picks me up around 6am and I've made everyone wait cause I was dealing with the reception, but I get in and we take about an hour and a half drive to the starting point of the hike. Actually, we first stop to pick up some of the other workers who will be carrying the tents and supplies for our hike (they are called "porters"). Driving around Cusco it becomes quickly obvious that there are more stray dogs in this city than anywhere I've ever been, and I've been in remote parts of India. And these dogs look healthy - weird. Later I'll find out that the dogs all belong to people, but they let them out during the day to rome around. Random.

So we get to the starting point of the mountain and there are 10-20 locals there waiting to sell us everything from water to panchos. I buy nothing cause I have $60 to my name and know I'll need it later. Actually, I didn't even rent a sleeping bag. Yeah - the guides asked me twice if I was sure I didn't want one, and I still held out. I'm from Chicago, right? Anyway, the first day we have to check our passports at the beginning of the trail and then it's a nice few hours of hiking to our first camp. We saw some amazing ruins right away, as well as the train that you can take instead of hiking (cool pic below).  There are 10 people in our group: an Argentinean couple, a Brazilian, a couple from the UK, a girl from Canada, a guy from Germany (Munich!), and two dudes from Duke business school. Quite a random mix, especially cause the South Americans don't speak much English at all. We had two guides, and our group split up between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking during much of the trip.  The guides, Ramiro and Hilthon - both seem real nice and very knowledgeable. They teach us about everything from the ruins to the plants to the animals along the path. We get to the campsite and it's amazingly beautiful: stream running through, mountains in the background, and a nice meal to close out the night. Food isn't much to talk about - soup, rice and veggies, and tea.

I wanna make a quick note about the porters, cause these guys were insanely impressive. They carry anywhere from 50-75 lbs of gear on their backs, and they have to get to each lunch spot and camp site at least an hour before us. Many of them are farmers who do this for extra money, so they range in age from 25 to 55. Some of them were wearing sandals…

Here are some pics from the first day. Yes, my mom gave me a top-hat for Christmas and I told myself I'm gonna try to travel with it as much as possible this year - love you, mom.