Day 10: Machu Picchu!

This day has to be up there on the top of my list! We woke up at 4:30, ate a quick breakfast and got in line for the bus up to Machu Picchu. Even though we got to the bus stop at 5:30 the line was already super long and we were afraid we were going to miss the sunrise. We ended up having to wait for about 50 mins, but we still made it into the entrance of Machu Picchu right as the sun was coming over the mountain.  It’s hard to describe in words what Machu Picchu is like and no pictures really do it justice, but it is amazing!

We also had tickets for Machu Picchu Mountain, which is the taller of the two mountains overlooking Machu Picchu. Most people who do the additional Machu Picchu trail do Wayna Picchu (the other mountain), but I read a lot of trip reports and found that the mountain is a lot better because it is higher, a better view and less traveled.  It is about 1550 ft above Machu Picchu, so you have an incredible bird’s eye view. It was also cool because it was the opposite view of yesterday, so we feel like we’ve got to see Machu Picchu from all viewpoints.  That hike took a little over an hour up and about an hour down. We were glad we started right at 7:00 when it opened because it started to get a lot more crowded and hot as we were getting down to the bottom.

We also signed up for a guided group tour of Machu Picchu, so when we got down from the mountain we ate a picnic lunch and then met up with the tour.  We weren’t sure if we were going to like the tour, but we are really glad we did it because we learned a lot about the history of the place and the Inka culture. Our guide was great and the tour was super interesting.  Man were we beat at the end of the day though. The combo of the hike yesterday, getting up at 4:30, the hike today, a 2 hour walking tour and being in the sun for 8 hours totally drained us. We feel like we took full advantage of our trip to Machu Picchu though and it wouldn’t have been nearly as good without getting there early to beat a lot of the crowds, climbing the mountain and taking the tour, so we did it right and it was well worth it!

After getting down from Machu Picchu and grabbing our stuff at the bed and breakfast we headed out to catch our next train. This train took about 3 hours to get to our resort. Again, it was pretty cool though. They had a fashion show of Alpaca clothing and some traditional Inka dancers this time! Also, our hotel has it’s own private train stop, so that was pretty cool. The resort is absolutely amazing and of course we got an upgrade to a huge suite. When we got there, we got into our plush robes and stayed awake just long enough to order room service for dinner. They also brought us a tray of fancy desserts since I told them it was our honeymoon. This resort is the icing on the cake after the amazing day we had!

Day 9: Aguas Calientes

We had to wake up early this morning to catch our train. Our room included an amazing buffet breakfast, so we had that and then took a taxi to the train station. The train ride to Aguas Calientes (the town at the base of Machu Picchu) took about 4 hours. I actually really enjoyed the ride though. The scenery was breath taking and the train had windows on all sides, as well as the ceiling. They also served us a nice meal during the trip.

We arrived at Aguas Calientes around 12:30 and checked into our bed and breakfast. It was simple, but nice. We didn’t have any plans for while we were here since it is a small touristy town so we decided that we were just going to relax for the day. That lasted for about 1 hour while we were eating lunch and then we heard about this really cool hike you could do about 10 mins outside of town that had views of Machu Picchu. We debated for a while and then decided we had to do it.  I am so glad we decided to do the hike because it was seriously one of the best hikes I have ever done. The hike is of Putucusi Mountain and it is 1550 ft of pretty much straight elevation gain through a series of steep stone steps and wooden latters. It was pretty difficult and a little scary at times, but when you got to the top you had an amazing view of the front of Machu Picchu and all of the surrounding mountains. It was unreal and I was in awe. The best part was that the hike was totally free and we only saw 4 people the whole time. In totally, the hike took about 2.5 hours to get up and down. It ended up being another big day so we just got a pizza for dinner on the way back to the bed and breakfast and went to bed early so we could get up for Machu Picchu tomorrow. 

Day 8: Cusco

Last night was extremely exhausting. We waited in the airport for a few hours then we took a flight from Santa Marta to Bogota. We had a 2 hour layer over in Bogota and then flew to Lima where we had an hour layover.  Finally, we flew from Lima to Cusco. We left Colombia at 10:20 PM and arrived at our final destination in Peru at 8:30 AM. The hotel we are staying at, Palacio Del Inka, is amazing! It used to be an Inka castle and it was then turned into a mansion by the Spaniards. It still has some of the original stone walls and it is decorated with a mix of Spanish colonial style and the indigenous culture. I have to say that Platinum status for Starwood is an awesome perk because they really do treat you like royalty. They let us check into our room right when we got there even though it was only 9:00 AM. They also upgraded us to a large suite with a view of the grand courtyard and our butler sat with us for 45 mins telling us everything we should do for our day. We are guessing that we got about 3 hours of bad sleep max last night. However, we only had one day in Cusco and we didn't want to waste it, so we drank lots of coffee and set out to explore! 

We didn't really know what to expect from Cusco, but it is a really amazing city.  We walked around the whole historic part of the city admiring the architecture and the views (the city is set on a hillside at 11,800). We then walked up to the top of the city to some of the Inka ruins called Sacasyhuaman (pronounced “sexy woman,” which is pretty funny to hear people talk about it). We also went to the local market where I bought an alpaca blanket for our new couch and Jeff bought an alpaca sweater.  We also had a nice dinner at a traditional Peruvian restaurant and pisco bar, which we both agreed was our best meal of the trip so far. We were pretty much delirious after dinner since we were running on no sleep and literary walked up and down hills all day. When we got back to the hotel they had turned down the bed and put on some nice relaxing music, so we got right into bed. It was sooo nice.

We really liked Cusco. The people and the culture reminded me a lot of Quito Ecuador. Everyone is super nice here and I love seeing the people in their traditional dress with all the beautiful textiles and colors. It’s not that people in Colombia weren't nice, but I don’t think they are as use to tourists and hardly anyone spoke English which made it difficult for me. I also felt like you had to be a little bit more on alert while in Colombia, so it feels a little more relaxed in Peru. We are excited to see more! 

Day 7: We're in Paradise

It was already getting dark last night, so we couldn't really get a good sense of what everything really looked like, but today we soaked it all in. You know when people talk about picturing paradise and you have an image of what that looks like? Well, this resort is pretty much it. You literally wake up to a perfect view of the Colombian coastline and the sound of the waves crashing against the beach. You are surrounded by hills and jungle and there tons of exotic flowers, birds and lizards everywhere you look.  There are only 12 huts and then the main restaurant and lodge, so the resort is small and intimate and even though you are in a resort, it feels like you are secluded and you have your own private paradise.   

After waking up to the amazing view, we were then served a breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, toast and Colombian coffee. After breakfast we went down to the beach where there we nice lounge chairs and umbrellas for us. There was only one other couple at the beach, so it felt like our own private beach. The contrast from where we stayed the night before is pretty funny. We had to check out of our ecohab by 1:00, but they let us check our stuff at the front desk and hangout on the patio and in the restaurant until we had to leave. I wish we had an extra day here and Jeff wishes we had an extra week. It was an amazing experience just to spend one day there though!

We left around 4:00 and caught a bus into Santa Marta, which was about an hour drive. We then had to take a taxi to the airport, which was about 30 mins outside of the city. It was interesting to be on the bus and to see the countryside and how most of the people in Colombia live. It makes you feel very grateful.

Now we wait for our flight and then catch a red-eye to Peru! 

Day 6: Ecohab

The sunlight woke us up pretty early this morning and I was pleasantly surprised at how well I slept in the hammock. It wasn’t my best night sleep, but I felt pretty rested. Since it gets dark here by 6:30 and the restaurant closes at 9:00 everyone went to bed early and it was surprisingly quiet at night despite having about 30 tents and 30 hammocks filled with young backpackers. We had some cliff bars for breakfast and set off on a hike to El Pueblito, which is an archaeological site about 2 miles up the mountain. The hike itself was pretty cool and it was very different from what we are used to in CO since it was jungle terrain. I saw a really big snake and there were tons of these little frogs that looked like dart frogs you would see in a zoo exhibit. We learned that about 2000 people lived in El Pueblito from 450-1650. It was crazy to think of what life in the jungle would have been like at that time.  When we started the hike it was still cloudy and there was a nice breeze, but the way down was very hot and sticky. By the time we got back to the beach, we could hardly wait to get into the ocean.  We found some coconuts on our hike and Jeff cracked them open with a rock so we could drink the coconut water out of them, which was fun.

We spent a few hours on the beach and then we set off for our trek to the Ecohabs. The hike was a little more intense than we expected, mostly because our bags were so heavy and not the most comfortable backpacks. It was also extremely hot and humid. Jeff kept trying to wheel his bag on the flat parts of the trail, which looked pretty ridiculous.  Just picture Jeff wheeling a suitcase through the jungle. The people we passed on the trail looked at him like he was crazy. After 2 hours of hiking through the jungle, we finally made it to our ecohab!  We showed up to this amazing resort dirty and dripping in sweat. When we arrived they gave us welcome drinks, which was what they called lemonade de coco (some sort of frozen coconut and lemonade drink).  It was seriously the best thing we’ve ever tasted, partly because we were so hot and thirsty.  The resort is amazing! Our ecohab was the highest one up on the hill and it we were so tired from the day that it felt like a trek just to get up there.  It was well worth the day of trekking though because it was amazing! It was a 2 floor circular hut. The bottom floor was totally open with a nice bathroom and two white hammocks to relax in. The top floor was our bedroom and of the windows open so we had a 360view of the ocean and jungle. After a cold shower we ended our day with a nice dinner at the resort restaurant and then pretty much passed out because we were so tired! 

Day 5: Tayrona National Park!

We woke up this morning and had a nice breakfast on the rooftop of our hostel. After breakfast we packed everything up and went to the beach to catch the boat to Tayrona National Park. It took about an hour to get to the park. The water was pretty rough, but not nearly as bad as the other boat ride. We also only had about ½ the amount of people on the boat, which was much better. We got to Tayrona and they dropped us off at El Cabo beach, which is the best beach in the park and the place where everyone camps. It was pretty awesome. El Cabo has white sand beaches and super clear water.  It’s pretty much a backpacker’s oasis, filled with other backpackers from all over the world. There was one little open air restaurant where everyone ate and hung out. 

We spent the day relaxing on the beach, swimming and snorkeling in the ocean.  Later in the afternoon, I feel asleep on the beach later and the tide came in got me all wet. I freaked out for a second because I didn’t know what was happening or where I was. The guys next to me were cracking up and thought it was just hilarious…I didn’t think it was so funny…ok, it was kind of funny.  We decided to rent the hammocks for the night instead of the tents because we heard it was a lot cooler in the hammocks since you had the breeze off the ocean, plus when else in our lives will we have an opportunity to do that?! We’ll see how it goes! 

Day 4: Taganga

Right now I am writing this blog post in a hammock on the rooftop of our hostel in Taganga Colombia.  We woke up early this morning and took a mini bus from Carategna to Taganga. Took 5 hours to get here, so most of the day was just traveling. We weren’t sure that the bus was even going to pick us up because there was no confirmation and they told just to wait outside of our apartment at 7:00 AM. It worked out thought and it was a smooth ride, so we were happy about that! Taganga is a very small fishing village with not a lot going on except the tourism from backpackers and travelers stopping through on their way to Tayrona National Park.

When we got here we had lunch at a little café on the beach and then we just relaxed. The beach here is more of a local beach and isn’t that great, but it was still nice to layout and watch the fishing boats come in for the day. Well, we hear that the nightlife is pretty good here, so we’re off to grab some dinner and check it out. 

Day 3: Last Day in Cartagena

This morning we didn’t really have anything planned so we slept in and then walked around the old city. There was a really cute café we saw yesterday that we wanted to go to for breakfast but we couldn’t quite remember where it was. We were determined to find it though, so after wondering up and down all of the side streets just as we were about to give up, we finally found it. It was worth the wait because the coffee was amazing! I had to go back and get a second one in the afternoon. After breakfast we went to see the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, which was a high fortress overlooking the city that was built in 1536. We joined a Spanish speaking tour of the castle, so Jeff had to translate everything for me and halfway through we ended up getting kicked out because they realized we didn’t have a ticket. J We finished up the tour exploring by ourselves, which was just was good!  After touring the castle we took a cab up to the highest point of the city where there is an old monastery called La Popa.  From La Popa you had a 360 view of the entire city, which was pretty awesome. Looking down at the city, we soon realized the bus tour we went on did not really give you the whole story of Cartagena. A forth of the city (where we are staying and what we toured) is very wealthy and nice and the other 3/4s is extremely poor and the slums. It was really crazy to see the contrast from a bird’s eye view. It really put things into perspective.

After our castle and La Popa tours we decided to rent some bikes and ride around the new city on a bike path that runs along the coastline. It was a fun way to see that part of the city and Jeff enjoyed seeing all of the fancy boats in the bay. We finished up our last night in Cartagena at another outside bar sitting on Adirondack chairs with a view of the ocean and Club Colombian beers. 

Day 2: Isla de Rosario

We woke up and had a nice breakfast with Colombian coffee at the little café next to our apartment.  Today we decided to visit the Isla de Rosario, which is a chain of small islands outside of Cartagena. I had heard very mixed reviews on whether it was a good idea or not –some people saying it is beautiful and a must see and other saying it was not a great experience. We decided to try it out for ourselves. We wanted adventure on this trip and today we got adventure! Getting to the islands was one of the craziest experiences of my life. You just walk down to the marina and find a tour boat, but there are hundreds of people trying to get onto these boats. You just put your name on a list and wait for them to call you. Then they cram about 40 people onto these tiny little motor boats. We were literally packed in there like sardines—I could hardly move. It took about 45 minutes to get to the first island and the ride was a little rough, but it wasn’t too bad. Once we got there, he told us we had the option to either go to the aquarium on the island or stay on the boat and they would take us snorkeling.  We decided to do the snorkeling option; however, once we got to the place where we were snorkeling they told us it would be another $15 a person to snorkel. Jeff talked him down to $10 and said that we were going to share a mask so we were only paying for one of us. The guy then changed the story and said that it was $10 to even get into the water to swim. After Jeff argued with him in Spanish for a while (Jeff’s Spanish gets better when he is mad!) we both ended up getting to go for $10, which was still a racket.  The snorkeling was ok, but nothing great.

After snorkeling we all got back onto the boat so they could take us to the next island. This boat ride to the next Island was one of the scariest experiences of my life. There were 6” swells that we were speeding though in a tiny boat packed with 35 people….we literally were getting airborne and I thought the boat was going to sink every time we hit the water. Every was screaming and it felt like we were on a water ride at Kings Island. We made it to the beach in one piece though and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the beach. The beach was really pretty and the water was so warm it felt like bath water. We were also served a nice lunch of fish and coconut rice.  It was hot, but there was a nice cool breeze the whole time. Both of us feel asleep on the beach for a while too, which I never do so it was a very relaxing afternoon. However, the relaxation was quickly interrupted once we got back on the boat to get home….Obviously we made it back, but there were a few times that we were unsure if that was going to happen.

That night we had a drink at the Café del Mar, which is a very trendy outdoor bar on the top of the old city wall overlooking the ocean. We sipped on our drinks as we watched the sunset. It was another great day. 

Day 1: Old City Cartagena

Last night we took the redeye from Denver to NYC and then this morning we went from NYC to Cartagena. We arrived at Cartagena around 1:00 and took a taxi to our cute little apartment in Plaza Fernandez de Madrid within the walled city. We didn’t have any plans for today since we weren’t sure what to expect or how tired we would be from the traveling.  We felt surprisingly good though so we asked the guy at reception we should do and he recommended a sightseeing tour of the city. We were a little apprehensive because typically we don’t like to do touristy things, but we decided to try it out and it ended up being great! First there was a 90 min walking tour around the old walled city. Old city Cartagena is beautiful!  The wall was built around the city in the late 1600’s to protect the city from intruders.  All of the buildings are old Spanish colonial style painted with different bright colors with vine and flower covered balconies.  The houses have huge wooded doors with intricate door knockers. All of the door knockers were different interesting shapes, colors and sizes. There are a ton of huge beautiful cathedrals, plazas and parks and cute little cafes. We really liked our guide and we met another young couple from Holland and another backpacker from Nepal, which was fun. We noticed there are a lot of tourist in Cartagena, but not many American which we kind of like.

After the walking tour, we picked up a double decker bus that did a loop around the rest of Cartagena.  It was a beautiful evening—warm with a cool breeze off the ocean so it was nice to ride around. New city Cartagena is built on a peninsula, so you can see the ocean from all sides of the city. It’s not a big city, but it’s very dense with lots of tall, white high rises. The city scape reminds me a lot of Miami.

After the bus tour we found a really cool Argentinian restaurant for dinner. There were bottle caps covering all the walls, crazy signs and pictures everywhere, and hanging lanterns. The food was really good as well. After we were finishing up are dinner and getting ready to walk back, we had a perfect view for an impressive fireworks show. We found out later it was because it is a holiday weekend. I’d say it was a pretty perfect start to our trip