When my mind isn't wandering, I can think pretty intensely.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
A few railroad shots from Alex’s Canon T2i:
Following the railroad to Aguas Calientes and a cool snap by Josh Kling in Aguas Calientes.
Day 9.5: Exploring Machu Picchu. After a brain boggling tour of the ruins, team Kling, took the afternoon to wander the area and summit the mountain. Locating the Inca Bridge, we stood amazed at the pure determination and courage the Incans had, crossing this narrow, solid rock bridge running the length of an almost vertical >1900ft rock face. They were serious about potatoes.
As it was our last day on the journey and one of the wonders of the world, “to summit or not to summit” Macchu Picchu mountain slipped in to conversation. Friends, you may laugh here; however, team Kling swallowed a deep breath and pushed with no desire to come short of one last adventure. After an insane, 2000ft rocky staircase, we arrived at one of the most incredible views I’ve witnessed. The look down on Machu Picchu and surrounding mountain range pressed such a sense of size in to my worn out self.
Photo two is Alex snapping me under the Inca flag as I shot photo three.
Day 9: Machu Picchu. What do you do when you’re in Machu Picchu?
Jump around like a bunch of loonies. Here’s a couple quick shots.
Day 8.5: Photos in Aquas Calientes, Peru. Between intense games of Gin Rummy, intensive bartering at the local market, and looking up at the mountains, we took a few-many photographs around the town. These specific, subject oriented shots have stuck out as a couple of my favorites. I left out the broad landscape shots, as day 9 will highlight Machu Picchu itself.
Day 8: Walk to Aquas Calientes, the village at the base of Machu Picchu.
After a short shuttle ride to Hidrolectricas(a hydroelectric project), we did some checkpoint procedures with our passports and disembarked to begin the day’s walk. Following a railroad track to the town of Aquas Calientes, cruising along a river, flat and scenic. Dotting the mountainsides, we witnessed history preserved through legendary architecture as more agricultural terraces seems to blend in as one with the landscape.
The pictures show one of the many dogs, strolling the trail, looking for handouts and part of the river running through the valley. After some previous experience with flowing water and slower shutter speeds, Alex and I hiked(slipped and slid) down from the railroad tracks to the river. We snapped a few shots and managed to get back up to the path. Side note: I believe the mountain on the far side of the river is Huayna Picchu.
Day 7: Strolling downstream with the glacial runoff. With a lot of time on the trail and most of it downhill, we took advantage of plenty photogenic scenes in the Andes. Armed with my ultra-wide angle lens (10mm-24mm), landscapes became an experimental focus. Balancing light, shuttle speed, ISO and f-stop pushed me to play excessively in the manual setting. With frequent opportunities to shoot moving water, I began to play with slower shutter speeds. The challenge became making amazing scenes look cool; however, I don’t think I’m quite skilled enough, but a few examples found their way to tumblr. Thoughts? Tips? Critiques? I now have a tripod, so “get a tripod” has already been addressed.
Day 6: Second day on the trek to Machu Picchu. Today, we met Mt. Salkantay, up close and it did not get any more friendly. This mountain holds the title as scariest mountain I’ve seen in person. We managed the trek from camp to 15,088 feet, taking a break at Salkantay pass. Having some spare time due to our pace, another guide gave us a top that an incredible glacial lake was just over a ridge, about a quarter of a mile off the trail. OUr buddy Josh, turned to Alex, Mick and me, and with some “last one there [sucks]” line, we took off, Canon T2i or T3i’s in hand and we sprinted toward the ridge. If you’re reading fast or skimming this, I’ll reiterate that we’re above 15,000ft. After about 200 yards of hoping over rocks, weaving between boulders and avoiding all the loose rock debris, this writer needed to slow his roll. No need to bust an ankle (or worse) or destroy my camera before we arrived at Machu Picchu.
We snapped a few shots and broke off, back to the group, and the side adventure was completely worth any extra effort. If you’ve ever been to a place of natural beauty, you will understand the word “beautiful” lacks true power to describe what you witness.
Elevation adventure: Wake up in the dry mountain valley at approximately 12,600ft, attack the pass of 15,088ft, and complete the day around 9600feet, in a jungle. Take that body.
Day 5: The first day of the trek to Machu Picchu. After a late, 2AM departure from our newly embraced Peruvian club, Mama Africa (odd name; we agree), we returned to our hotel only to wake up at 4AM to meet a spacious bus around 5AM. When I said spacious, I was lying. Upon arriving at a small village, Mollepata(approx 9500 feet elevation), we chowed some breakfast and loaded our gear. We finally arrived at the trailhead. The actual trek began after an hour to an hour and a half truck ride, where the 15 in our travel party cattled up in the bed of an open cargo truck. Bumpy and dusty don’t highlight the real feeling of backroading the high, dry mountains of Peru. From there, we began a simple 7-ish hour warm up hike, up to 12,600ft to camp.
This picture highlights how tiny our tent-village setup(near the center, left of the photo) cowers below Mt. Salkantay(middle right, elevation just above 20,550ft).
Day 4: Tour outside of Cusco.
I find two highlights in this photo, making it post-worthy. First, the child’s face reminds me of the overwhelming emotion of joy when opening a fresh Kit Kat bar; exciting. The second facet of this image revolves around the perfect posture of the llama. It’s almost as if this is a usual happening. Showing off with pride, the lady holds a hearty guinea pig, which I must say tastes like fantastic lamb on a chicken wing. These characters stationed themselves near the vendor at a market outside of Cusco, where I’m pretty sure the guinea pig would be stuffed back in to a dark sack between tourist groups.
Don’t mind the brothers on the left. They’re pretty legit travel partners.
Day 3: Cusco, Peru. In hopes of a view many don’t get to experience, this image birthed about 4 or 5 blocks uphill from Plaza de San Francisco. If you must walk the length of this street, carry little.
This day, my amigos from Houston and Durango arrived in Cusco. Union of the team could not have come at a more confusing time, as the originally planned hotel had no reservation for the group. Rather, our names had no ink on the list of reservations for either of the nights. I checked…3 times in 24 hours. Doing what I could to avoid the bears of internet and the haunting on-button of my mobile phone, I strolled the streets for two hours looking for my fellow adventurers. Thinking ahead, we concluded a preset time, in fear of not finding each other, we would turn on our phones and shoot for the verbal contact. Yes, I called a Houston phone number from a Dallas number in Cusco, Peru. After a moment of Angry Elf-dom, I harnessed my packs on to my determined self and step after step paced my way up a hill to the base camp hostel my team occupied, post call. Did I mention AT&T greeted my phone’s startup with a $19.97/mb reminder? Oh, “Domestic data rate does NOT apply in this location.” Thanks AT&T, I gathered that much.
This picture view down on the town/city of Cusco from Hostel Loko.
Day 2: Cusco, Peru. Boy Scouts be warned. You will frown upon this day, and for those that are not Boy Scouts, enjoy this fumble.
Taking a step back, relaxed and ready to travel Thursday, July 21st at DFW International Airport in terminal D (the one missing a gate, D35, much like Kings Cross Station Platform 9 3/4), a thought popped in my head - I don’t have a place to sleep Saturday night. No worries, friends, for I am leashed to a smart phone. After a quick panic tweet, I googled hostels in Cusco, found one with good enough reviews and booked. Problem solved.
(Now hit the Live TV button on the story remote)
My friendly and energetic taxi driver drops me off at my hostel, which turns out to be in prime location; 100 feet from the main square. I clear my throat and march in to the lobby. “Tengo una reservacion. Watson.” ….wait for it…. “No. No hay una reservacion para Watson.” Well, this isn’t ideal. As it turns out, when I reloaded my booking page on my handy iPhone, the following day(Sunday) defaulted. As I was hastily booking at DFW, I paid no notice: Homeless in Cusco. I retreated with my bags like an exhausted pack mule, stumbling out of the double doors, and wandered on throughout the tourist-packed plazas and busy streets, looking for a decent rate bed. 30 Soles (2.7 Soles = 1USD) for a night in a 6 bedroom suite; done.
I don’t mean to make it sound as if I was in a real tough place. Dozens of hostels fill the town, and many had openings. In fact, I ended up meeting a fantastic Dutch guy, two Canadians and a dude from Idaho. I think it turned out OK.
This photo angle, popular with many Americans in their 20s and 30s should be an easy spot for many. Claimed to be “The highest Irish-owned pub on the planet,” at 11,156ft, Paddy’s Pub in Cusco lingers joyfully on the corner of Plaza de Armas. It ended up being a pretty decent eatery, as well.
Fumble number 2, being without a D.E.N.N.I.S. System note card… #failx2
Day 1: Lima, Peru. As I walk across the plaza to see what a gathering crowd has gathered for, a local deli greats me with “Bubbly” by Colby Caillat, just what I was hoping for at 10AM in Peru. Buenos dias, I guess. Approaching the crowd, I readied my Canon with a wide angle lens, prepping for the day of activities and wanderings. I overheard a courtyard marching band playing, while a couple motorcycle and sedan police vehicles looped the courtyard to pick up some VIP guests. After the music completed, the guests entered the vehicles and in a well established parade, exiting the palace and cruised out of the plaza. Just after the president, or so I overheard, drove off from the palace(el palacio gobierno) off of the Plaza de Armas, a pretty content dog thought it was his time for a moment of attention and glory. In Peru, the dogs stroll around as freely as Americans buy Starbucks, with this guy making no expection. At one point, he even took a pit stop to hang with a guard, who bent down to scratch behind the dog’s ears. After which, the dog continued his brisk stroll down the road, out of sight. “So, good news, I saw a dog today.”
