4- Day Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

After hearing from so many people who did the Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu, with rafting and ziplining, etc. - we wanted to do it too. So after 1.5 days in Cusco (which we spent in bed because I somehow caught a cold and possibly altitude sickness), we went on an adventure.

So we went mountain biking with a runny nose, which I watched from the passenger seat after my Death Road experience in La Paz 🚴

Tom was of course with us and surprisingly took more time than last time. He made us wait for him at the end.

The route from 4,300m to 1,600m was not as steep as the Death Road (in general, everything was paved), so it was much more relaxing than my experience in La Paz. Still, I was able to enjoy the view much better from the car than from the bike.

After a 3-hour bike tour, we arrived at the destination and were driven to lunch - surprisingly good three-course meal - and then to the hostel to drop off our bags.
We only had a few minutes to settle in before some of us went rafting.

Who is the minion here?? 😆

In our boat, apart from the guide, no one had any significant experience, but it went surprisingly well. After a short briefing and dry practice, we entered the water. At first, we were concerned that there might not be enough water since it has been the dry season, but the Urubamba River had enough water anyway.

Our guide always made us drive into the water holes or over big rocks, so that at one point, two of us even went swimming 💦💦 Tom was lucky that he had the front seat, where you can hold your foot, so he managed to stay in the boat ⛵

The other two girls behind him didn't have it so good.
But since we were already getting wet from all the water holes, it didn't make much difference.

Just before the end, we could jump from the bridge into the cool water - which Tom definitely didn't miss 🏊 One of the girls who had already been swimming also jumped from the bridge and had to be rescued from the water by the 'security paddle boat' because the currents were too strong for her 🙆
Afterwards, we were all exhausted and went to eat and sleep.

The second day was the big hiking day. 8 hours were scheduled 💪 Theoretically, we were supposed to carry all our baggage, but for a small fee, we could send some of it by taxi, which was very convenient! Packing light is not our thing when it comes to minimalism 😅
So only Tom had to carry a backpack and I had my 'gym bag' with the camera.

Let's go hiking 😝😨

Everyone was allowed to taste - a slightly alcoholic drink that should ensure a good journey.. 💪

Painted with fruit juice right at the beginning 😂

With all the luggage, I would have died! I was already close to it. After all, it was over 20 km, and the first 8 km were uphill and sometimes extremely steep!

1st Monkey House  🐒

The first one wasn't great, the monkey was only attached to a chain and could climb up a rope or tree trunk 🐒🐒 

But the second one had two little monkeys that supposedly only stayed there for 4 hours a day and were otherwise free to roam - but they voluntarily hung out there to get food.

🐒🐒🦄

But they also had a harness on during the 4 hours. One of the monkeys relaxed so well on top of me while sleeping that it peed on me 🙈😂 💦

😂🙈🙊💦
The second monkey had a very funny beard and sometimes made itself comfortable on Tom.

One highlight towards the end of the day was crossing the river on the ferry 😆

After a total of 10 hours, we arrived in the next town and were just looking forward to food and bed. We slept very well!

Always upstream, then you reach Hidroelectrica 🐾

The third day was better again - we started at 8 am with ziplining, which I had never done before. So I was a bit nervous, after all, it also has to do with heights 🐝🐝

After putting on the harness, we started climbing up the mountain again - an elevator would have been great!
After 10 minutes of climbing, we reached the first zipline. After most people survived, I dared to go next.

In the end, I made way too much stress - it's not that bad at all 😅💪 It's not even close to riding a roller coaster, as it is much flatter 🎢

Tom did a Superman move on the last of the four rides, and then the worst part came 😲

The Bridge! 😨😨

➡ An approximately 100m long suspension bridge that sways a lot and whose steps tend to tilt to the side when too many people are on the same side - which happens very often! So I took my time and probably caused a little traffic jam behind me 😂, which unfortunately doesn't contribute to making the bridge more stable.

But survived 😆

After the morning adrenaline rush, we were driven to Hidroelectrica, from where we could walk along the rails to Aguas Calientes and work off the released sugar 😝 

Short test of carrying - but you don't have to do it 😜

Follow your nose

The train occasionally passed by as well - much wider than you would expect from the rails!!

🚂 🚂

Next stop: Machu Picchu, Peru 💃

🗻🗻🌎