4 Wheeling in the Countryside

Our ATV tour was supposed to leave from the main square around 7am so we got there early to try to find where we needed to go. We kept following people around to find the group that we were partnered with. We talked with a couple guys from France while waiting which was cool. All the groups left for tours except us and we kept walking up and down the main tour group alley. Eventually, they found a group for us. 

As we found out once we were in the van, we were the only English speakers. All the other people looked like Peruvian tourists around the same age as us. There were a bunch of couples and then a group of women. The tour guide would give a whole speech in Spanish and then give us the Cliff Notes version in English. It was funny. The van was very squished though. There were 13 people plus the guide and driver. Lacey got a little motion sick.

The van ride out to the ATVs was uneventful except for our pit spot. We stopped in a small town for some breakfast/coffee. The stand was selling a quinoa drink that we really wanted to try on the trip! It's a breakfast drink of quinoa mixed with like apple juice sort of? It's served warm and has delicious spices. We were so happy to find it.

The van brought us out to a small little town where they store all the ATVs. We learned our lesson from previous excursions and decided to share an ATV. The other couples did the same (male driving, female riding). Some of the women who were driving themselves really struggled on the little training session they put us on. They were kind of all over the road and didn't know how to turn. 

The driving guide put us first since we were the only English speakers and I had experience on an ATV before. He drove a dirt bike so he could quickly go from the front to the back and stuff. The views in the valley and the mountains were beautiful. This is exactly the type of thing we love to do. Get out of the city and explore the countryside a little bit. 

Our main stop was an archaeological site called Moray. It was a farming experiment site. The slowly descending circles would simulate different elevations for crops to grow at. Then they could test and modify crops to grow at different spots. We were literally here for 15 minutes haha. We paid for a tourist ticket (probably shouldn't have done that but whatevs). We took some pictures, used the bathroom, and then left. I think with our late start and some of the ATV drivers being kind of slow, we were rushed for time. 

On the way back, some of the drivers were really struggling so for about 90% of the drive back, it was just us and the 3 couples together. We were in front most of the time so we didn't get a lot of dirt on us and we had incredible views. The weather was perfect and the views were great, we were very happy. 

We took the ATVs back to our starting point without getting lost (we would turn around as we got close to an intersection and check with the other couples which way to go, haha). The van drove us to the other spot of the tour, Maras Salt Mines. The water coming from the springs in the mountain are very salty so they formed these drying areas where they could divert water and have it dry up to leave the salt. 

The mines were beautiful and windy. It was a little warm hiking down and then back up but worth it. At one point on the drive, a woman came into the van and tried to sell everyone alcohol which was funny. We all took shots of the mystery drink. The bus driver on the way back to Cusco drove like a maniac and would pass 4 or more cars at a time. 

We got back to Cusco and had some Sopa de Pollo (chicken soup) from one of the market stands. It was delicious (but not as good as the soup the day before). Our hostel was still blasting music and had construction going and the internet didn't work. It was all a big mess. We walked over to the Ramada to check it out. The guy at the desk told us $190 a night which we knew was way too much. Starbucks internet saved the day and we reserved it there for much, much cheaper (like $70). Interesting how they could have really ripped us off if we didn't know better. 

Getting a better hotel was the right decision because we had to leave our big bags while we went on the Inca Trail hike and neither of us felt safe leaving them at the hostel. Plus the hostel sucked for sleeping and wasn't relaxing.

Before we could move our sleeping arrangements, we had to go to the Salkantay Trekking office and attend our pre-trail briefing. We met our guide Sergio who was great right off the bat with funny comments and perfect English and putting our minds at ease. He said "buy a poncho, if you don't you'll wish you did and if you do buy it, you won't use it" Haha. So we went and bought one. 

We moved our stuff to the Ramada instead and enjoyed the nice bed and quietness. We couldn't decide what to eat so we went to the food stand again. It was.... much more interesting this time. I ordered Asada, but it turns out she served me beef hearts instead! The hearts were.... not as good haha. But I still tried them!

Lastly, we packed up for our 4 day inca trail experience. I was pretty nervous about the whole situation. We wanted to look good in pictures but also be comfortable hiking a lot and we would have no access to extra stuff for 4 days. Tough to pack for!

Needless to say, neither of us slept that great because we were so excited and nervous.