The final stretch of Season Two: Pisac to Abancay

Fidgit and I were able to rest in Cusco. A big part of going into Cusco from Pisac for us was to get a backlog of work done so we could have fewer stressors in the last section. Pisac had been our original end goal, but arriving there a month ahead of schedule, we decided to push on after our 'work break' in Cusco.
The Sacred Valley spread before us as we walked out of Pisac and across corn fields of varying heights. The Peruvian farmers help each other plant crops and share their equipment, so each field was planted at a slightly different time. We passed field after field and through the small towns that dotted the valley floor. I was on a mission: to get to Aguas Calientes and see what Incan ruins I could along the way. I wasn't terribly excited that our track swooped south after that, so I tried to stay positive, keeping my sights on the most northerly point we would reach.
Along the valley floor, we were able to see some amazing ruins, including salt mines that have been in use since Incan times, the Ollantaytambo ruins, and ruins spread along the valley along Rio Vilcamayo/Urubamba. These were some amazing highlights during an otherwise tension-filled section. Fidgit and I, even with a week's "rest" in Cusco, were struggling. I no longer had the energy to work with another person in most capacities, and from how she reacted to many things I could only assume she didn't either.
Fidgit and I are both stubborn women, and sometimes (read: nearly all times) we go well beyond the limits of what a normal human being would attempt in many capacities. We had been in new territory for me for a while, and I was dangerously close to toeing the line between my growth zone and my panic zone. As I edged along that line, I had to work with being physically and mentally exhausted, as well as working with another person and their struggles. Some days felt like pure drudgery, usually with an outburst thrown in for extra wear and tear.
On the other hand, I was SO grateful during our last section to have so many beautiful and wondrous things to see. We walked along the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, got to pretend to be statues for the passing tourist trains, remember what it was like to be in a forest again, and re-learn that bugs exist after being in high/dry places for so long. As we descended into the forests after Aguas Calientes, I was so relieved to have an easy to follow track for a while. It was nice to be walking along and letting my mind go blank for a while. We visited some hot springs that had a pet parrot, then walked along the Salkantay Trail for a while, seeing the areas and prices set up purely for tourists.

As we neared the town of Yanama, Fidgit and I had some amazing vistas of nearby mountains. We stopped for lunch in Yanama, which has a small store with a little bit of everything a local would need. The town is situated at the end of a road, so we made our way back onto trail. The trail took us up along cliffs and passed some mine entrances (we never did find out what they were mining) to a pass and then we began an immediate descent into a jungly valley, dropping 1,000 meters before setting up camp for the night and another 1,000 meters to the river at the base of the valley the next morning.

We were nearing the ruins of Choquequirao, and I was inadvertently nearing my breaking point. As I awaited Fidgit at the bottom of the 2,000-meter descent, I was looking forward to telling her what I had seen and about the guides I had spoken to. When she did arrive, she breezed right past my seat. When I caught up to her along the valley floor, all she said was "GO!" so I went. I was frustrated and confused and hurt and beyond my capacity to continue these negative interactions, so when we met up once again for lunch, I told her as much. Fidgit took what I said to mean I was done with our journey entirely, so we ended up not walking together for a couple of days. I stopped by the Choquequirao ruins and was able to make my way into the next town. In the town of Cachora, Fidgit and I met back up and discussed how we could move forward.

We ended up walking to Abancay, where I stopped and she kept walking for a few more days. I was so mentally and physically exhausted by this point that I laid in bed for two days straight. It felt like all the effort I could muster to get up for food and to make sure I drank water over those days- I've never felt that depleted before.

I was relieved for my season to be over and to be able to get the rest I had so badly needed for too many months at this point. I was also quite useless and didn't care, which surprised me- I can usually muster up some sort of motivation. After a few days, I ventured out again and was feeling better though still definitely ready to have some time off. I went out and got some ice cream and sunshine the next day as well, and then we headed back to Cusco to rest some more and wait for our friends and family to arrive for a planned Machu Picchu tour.

Macusani to Pisac

Fidgit and I weren't feeling great leaving Macusani, though that had become the norm. Our bodies were breaking down, our nutritional needs were not being met in this area, and the attempted breaks were no longer restful. At this point, we had been walking through South America for nearly a year, walking our way step by step toward our season's end goal: Cusco, Peru. We had made it to Peru, and parts of our trips were becoming more arduous as we closed in on our goal. We were making it, though, and continued to try and focus on the positive while acknowledging the rest of what we were experiencing.

So walking out of Macusani was difficult, though I was bolstered by the knowledge that we were closing in on a goal, which can sometimes be a great motivator. Especially if you're closing in on the goal ahead of schedule, which we were! I had taken to the ritual of crossing off each town and doing the math every day to count down our kilometer-age. That means I had some idea of what we had left, not anything definite because Fidgit had made an educated guess on our distances, and sometimes/most times we didn't follow our route to a T.

We walked for a couple days- honestly, they ran together at this point- and went through towns regularly. We thought the towns along this section would be small, and we were correct. We had planned accordingly and stocked up on items you usually cannot find in small towns: oats, drink mixes, salami. etc. I tried to find something enjoyable in each day, and the changing terrain helped with that.

We made our way across some beautiful landscapes and skirted some amazing mountains, though there was one mountain in particular that I was waiting for- Nevado Ausangate. I had read that the Inca believed this mountain to be the birthplace of llamas, and it was also the highest peak in the Cusco region. As we neared Ausangate, I began checking to see if each snow-covered peak we passed was the mountain. A few days after this continual checking began, I finally saw the majestic, glacier drenched Cerro Ausangate. It was a view I savored as we walked around the western side of the peak. For three days we navigated around the massif and found our way to the small town of Ocongate. To me, reaching and then passing Nevado Ausangate was our last marker before we reached Pisac and the potential end of our season. The mountain was not only beautiful in its lore and aesthetic, it was also a sight for sore eyes in this worn-through adventurer's mind.

From Ocongate, I just felt like I was on auto-pilot, with "Just get to Pisac" being my mantra. There wasn't energy left for much other than one foot in front of the other through the next few towns. Fidgit and I weren't on good terms as we crested our last pass and descended towards the Sacred Valley though as we neared Pisac, I found a small reserve I didn't know I had to make it up and then down through some amazing Incan ruins. At the end of a very long day of mostly descent, Fidgit and I stumbled into Pisac, Peru.

We had made it at last to somewhere that had at one point just been a spot on Google Earth Pro, and was now a real, tangible place! The couple of days we spent in Pisac were the first in a long time that we were both more relaxed and able to take care of ourselves. I headed into Cusco with renewed energy.

Are you Ausangate?

Old tracks and new shrines

Everything is wearing out

Are you Ausangate?

Are you Ausangate?

Are you Ausangate?

Full Moon Rising

Are you Ausangate?

These gentlemen let us stay in their storage room during a Lightning snow storm.

Some post storm snuggles

Are you Ausangate?

Post storm views

The local 'wild life'

Are you Ausangate?

We also made it to the 7 Color Mountain

There it is, Ausangate!

So Glaciated

Farewell for now, mountains

Finding our way through another town

Fidgit crossing the last pass

Andenes in the Andes

We are going the right way!

Hello, Town! (Coming into Pisac)

First full section in Peru: Ananea to Macusani

When we got back to Ananea after a few days of rest, we were grateful that the weather had also shifted. It wasn't as windy or rainy as we walked out of town. We took our time walking out of Ananea and through the town-sized mine along the outskirts. We camped that night in a ditch at the edge of the dirt piles that signified the mine. After the mine, the land opened to nothingness, and we made our way along the dirt road. The barren landscape spread before us, and we walked through the boring day, trying to find the mountains we had left behind in Bolivia. Late in the afternoon, we found them. Well, technically we found a really cool trail at the end of the dirt road that led down into a valley filled with brush and farming plots, but it wasn't boring. The way to get into the valley was a mix of trail and washed out areas, and it was overgrown at the bottom. In the valley, surrounded by farmland with a river running through it, was a small town. We ended up in the small town for the night in a modest hotel along the main street.

As we made our way out of town along the peotonal, or walking path, we ran into many people. They were on their way to work or school, and were very curious as to how we had found their valley haven. Many of them also wanted to get photos with us. They were also kind in answering the questions Fidgit and I had for them. These people explained the tiered sides of the valley as 'andenes' and also explained why not all of them were in use for farming- the land needed to rest for a certain period to produce properly. It’s amazing the things you learn when you ask.

We wound our way around and through a couple of valleys and towns in the next days. Fidgit and I were in a cloud for most of it, but the views were exceptional when we did have them. We also ended up following an older local man up and over a pass, taking the walking path instead of following the winding switch backs of the dirt road. 

After a couple of days walking through a cloud, we crossed a pass and burst free from the dampness, as the valley sprawled out before us. We made our way down the valley, and found ourselves back in the desert atmosphere that Fidgit and I had become so familiar with. We went from high rain forest into the desert simply by crossing from one side of the mountain range to the other. Rain shadows became a more real thing to me that day.

Since we had made it back to the desert, we walked along that day until we found water near the small regional capital of Crucero. We walked into town the next day, with some of the local well wishers (aka dogs) following along behind. From Crucero, we followed the valley’s river out and across to be able to go up another valley. The next wide valley we made our way up had a mine part way up it. So we were being passed by many mine vehicles until we reached its entrance, and then the valley fell silent as we made our way towards the town of Macusani. Two more days of walking and we were there, walking into the edges of Macusani along its stream. Fidgit and I were both ailing by that point, so we took some time off in the small town. We were very grateful to have a private bathroom during that time. We did take the opportunity of a town without internet to relax more and take care of ourselves, which was nice.

Walking out of Ananea

Which trail should we take?

Follow the electrical lines to town

Walking along a trail "Los Antiguos" built

Fidgit goes around a boulder in the middle of the trail

We made it into the valley!

A kind family, they answered many of our questions

Walking along a 1.5 lane road

On our way to another pass

The man who showed us a shortcut to the pass
walks ahead of Fidgit

These kids were on their way to school, and stopped to
get a photo with us

It's like a cloud forest

Clearing up over the pass

What are you looking at?

They get closer when you have food

Startling a sheep

Make your own bricks: A visual

We made it to Macusani