Machu Picchu y the Amazon

This post will be short, as I am very exhausted from a long 6 days of traveling. I spent Saturday and Sunday in Machu Picchu and the nearby city, Aguas Calientes (named for its natural 'hot' springs that were more like lukewarm room temperature).

It goes without saying that Machu Picchu was breathtaking and amazing. We started our day at 4am with the long hike to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. When I say hike, I actually mean rocks in the form of stairs...1.5 hours straight of these stairs that were often too high for my short legs. It was a beautiful hike but very tiring! Once we reached Machu Picchu, we went straight to our next activity, which was hiking Huaynapicchu (the big green mountain in every picture you've seen of Machu Picchu). This included another hour of stone steps, often so steep that we were rock climbing. The Summit is a bunch of huge boulders that you have to very strategically maneuver in order to not slip 2 inches and fall to your death. Looking back, I'm realizing that this hike was very dangerous. But, wow, the view from the top made it all worth it! After Huaynapicchu, we met our tour guide to start our tour of Machu Picchu, the 'lost city' of the Incas.

Monday morning, I took a 7.5 hour bus ride to Manu, a national park of sorts on the outskirts of the Amazon. I stayed in a volunteer house there and did some volunteer work, such as monitoring and recording butterfly activity and cleaning the site. There was no electricity and the only water is what came straight from the river (no hot showers), so most people opt to bathe in the nearby waterfall. There are 2 monkeys living at the house, Chico and Paula. It turned out that the bed I chose to sleep in was also the monkeys' favorite bed to sleep in. So, the first night I was surprised to find Chico asleep in my bed, head on the pillow and everything. So I just got in with him and he was very sweet and loved to cuddle. He also really likes to sleep in and got a little cranky when I wanted to get out of bed at 7:30am. I never thought I would be sharing a bed with a monkey!

Now I am down to only 2 more days in Cusco! It will be very bittersweet to leave. Tomorrow is my last day with the kids, and I already know there will be tears involved!