Saturday, May 25, 2024
Today we woke up long before any chickens. We set the alarm for 2:30 am and boy was it a rough night. I sprang out of bed, once I figured out that both cell phone alarms were going off, and got dressed. Nathan did too, and I asked him his plans. He said he felt better and was coming with.
So we quickly got ready, brushed teeth, and grabbed our backpacks to wait in the lobby at 3 am.
We wait for the tour van. I’ve signed us up for a group tour to Rainbow Mountain, and this particular company boasts that they get you to Rainbow Mountain before everyone else.
At 3:20, right when I’ve run off to use the bathroom one last time, they arrive. We spend a few more minutes in Cusco picking up other tourists, and we leave town by about 3:30 am. Angel our tour guide introduces himself to us and to his brother Alvaro, who is a tour guide in training. He gives our group the name Sexy Pumas. Since the tour company has three buses all leaving at about the same time, and going to the same destinations, we are all named something different: Sexy Pumas, Sexy Condors and Sexy Alpacas.
The first stop is Cusipata and a breakfast buffet, but that is an hour and a half away. I think nearly everyone snoozes. Its dark outside, and the windows are all fogged up, so you can’t see anything along the way.
We get to Cusipata and are given 20 or 30 minutes to eat breakfast and use the restroom before we hop back on the bus. It’s still dark outside.
Two more butt numbing hours on non paved and bumpy roads, but still, I think most people were sleeping. The sun eventually comes up, but the windows are still fogged up. It’s only in the 30s outside. We stop a few times for our guide to check in to a few checkpoints, and finally Angel our guide says that we are about 10 minutes away. We stop to use the restroom, and quickly get back on the bus.
We arrived at the parking area shortly after 7 am. Angel gives us a briefing. We are currently at 4,800 meters and the top of the mountain is 5,036 meters. He tells us that there are three ways to get to the top. Hiking, horseback or motorcycle. Since Nathan was sick, I had intended for him to take the horse up to conserve energy, but I should have known he’d never go for that. So we hiked it.
Its not a long hike, but it is exhausting at such an altitude. We take it slow, pausing every few steps to catch our breath. The views of Rainbow Mountain and also Ausangate are amazing. The last bit up to the top was quite steep and is nicknamed the Gringo Killer.
We reached what I thought was the top and felt really proud of ourselves for hiking it. There are local men and women selling snacks and drinks, passport stamps, and offering photos with llamas and alpacas for a tip.
We stand in line for our chance at a selfie in front of the mountain. At this point, I run into Angel and he tells me the 5,036 meter mark requires more climbing up some stair step rocks to a neighboring peak. Ugh.
I had seen people up there, and didn’t feel the need to go, but there’s a sign and Angel’s said great views from the half way point so up we went.
It was slow going, but not terrible and we got there after not too long. At the top we got our passports stamped, and stood in line for a photo with the sign. We did it!
We descended slowly, and took in the views. Once down to the bottom of the rock stair steps, Nathan spotted two little girls with alpacas, and asked them how much for a photo. Just a tip they said, so I took the photos of Nathan, the two girls and their alpacas. He tipped them 10 soles, or about 2.70 US.
We ran into Angel again and he asked us if we want to hike to Red Mountain. Its another 20 soles, and I don’t want to overtax Nathan, so I said no. Most of our group, the Sexy Pumas, has already gone and started it. A good portion of them took motorcycles or horses up, so they had more time at the top. I don’t want the entire busload of Sexy Pumas waiting for us, and I don’t know what we are missing by not going, so we opt to slowly walk down to the bus.
By now, there are loads and loads of people climbing up in all manner of clothing and footwear. Nathan saw two women in white Dolce & Gabana flats. Well, before today they were white. Now, I am really glad we went with this tour company, because our three buses were really the first in the parking lot. Now there are literally 100 white tour vans in the parking area and I’m not exactly sure how we would find the one we came in.
Luckily, we spotted a bunch of Sexy Pumas waiting around on a little hill at the back of the parking lot, and we join them.
It’s about 10:30 now, and we wait until 11 for all of the Sexy Pumas to gather together and get on the bus. From here we drive back down to Cusipata for lunch. The road was so bumpy, and now it’s light outside and the windows are not fogged. We can see this winding, hairpin turn road we took to get up here this morning. Us on this tiny mountain road is the kind of thing I’m sure keeps Nathan’s mom up at night.
Lunch was rather quick at the same restaurant, and then Angel gave us another briefing about Rainbow Mountain, the communities we saw, the llamas and alpacas, and how the colors and the mountain were formed.
We hop back in the bus for another hour and maybe 45 minutes, and get into Cusco at 3:40. That was a long day, and Nathan is bushed. We walk to the main square and I set him and our bags down so I can get some cash. More 200 sole bills from the ATM so we’ll have to get them broken down into much smaller bills before we hit the Amazon.
Cash in hand, I walk Nathan to the room and he lays down. I’m feeling quite lucky, so I wash my dirtiest pair of pants in the sink. I hope they dry overnight. Nathan has me wash a pair of his too. I dry them with towels the best I can and hang them up.
Next, I need to run to the pharmacy. We’re almost out of alcohol hand wipes, and Nathan needs tissues, and some other stuff. I make a list, and venture out. This hotel is quite nicely situated by laundries, a pharmacy, a few mini marts, and the San Blas Market.
At the pharmacy I’m able to get everything on our list except OJ. The better mini market is closed, and I popped my head into a small mini market/tour company and ask about OJ, and he said no.
I’ve only explored in one direction from our hotel, so I decide to go the opposite way. I can see another pharmacy a few doors down, so I feel hopeful I’ll find some OJ. What I did find was the San Blas Market. Its not quite as busy or crowded as the San Pedro Market, so I start cruising through. These markets have ladies who make juice, soup, and all kinds of food, in addition to selling wares and fruit, veggies and meat.
I find the juice lady. I ask if the water is purificado in my bestest Spanglish. She shows me a tea kettle, meaning she boils the water she adds to the juice. But then she pointed to the menu and showed me which juices were made with water, with milk, or just fruit with no added water. Bingo. That’s what I want. I bought two mango & orange juices for takeaway. 16 soles, and the excess that doesn’t fit in the cup she lets me drink right there. It’s delicious.
I go to a fruit stand and buy a cherimoya, the custard apple, and exit the market building. Right near the entrance to the market is a barber. He’s just standing around, so I ask when he closes. 5 pm was what I took, but there were more words I didn’t pick up, so I may have gotten it wrong.
I rush to our hotel which is quite literally 5 steps away. I tell Nathan if he was motivated, he could get a beard trim. It’s 4:50.
He hops out of bed, quickly puts shoes on, and I take him to the barber. The man was quick, and precise, took a lot of care in the final product, but I could tell by the look on Nathan’s face that he was a little rough. Anyway, he looks good, and we needed to get it done either today or tomorrow, so I think he’s happy.
We settle back into our room with our mango and orange juices. I pack and get ready while Nathan rests. Tomorrow we fly to Iquitos to begin the Amazon portion of our Peruvian adventure.
At 6:30 or so, we venture out of the room to the same little cafe we went to the night before. Its quite close, and the sandwiches and service were really good. I ordered the same sandwich, but got potato chips instead of sweet potato chips. Nathan got a different sandwich, still with sweet potato chips.
By 8 pm, we were back in our room, packing and prepping for the day ahead. It’s another early morning. Breakfast is at 5:30 and the cab to the airport is at 6 am.