Where Is Tal?

White Water rafting has always been an adrenaline filled attraction in America. Rivers like the Snake River and the Colorado River are two of the more well-known rivers where one can enjoy a day in the crazy waters paddling their life away to try and get out of a rapid without falling in the water. Take the one day trip and turn it into three and you got the Apurimac River, one of the more beautiful but dangerous rivers to white water raft in.

The Apurimac River

After a short debate over which company we should use, we went on and booked our three days with Mayuc, a well established rafting company that many people recommended to us. The next morning we were up and ready at 8 in the morning, got on a bus and off we went. After about a four hour ride we arrived at our starting point on the Apurimac. This place is just gorgeous—set in a foresty area with large cliffs, the river sits in a basin alongside slick rocks that have eroded away over the years due to strong currents.

The first day was wonderful, some pretty calm rapids and other 3 and 4 rapids which were more adrenaline filled, especially when Itay fell in the water and we all tried to help him while our guide was yelling at us. At night we camped at a really nice yet mosquito filled beach called the Avocado beach. The food our guides cooked was delicious and definitely a lot more upscale than we ever expected due to the conditions.  The next morning we woke up bright and early, put the equipment back on the rafts and off we went for our longest day of rafting with some of the most intense rapids.  We passed through hard rapids, some that were graded high and others with a smaller grade but very technical. There were also a few rapids that nobody but the guides were allowed to do since too many deaths occurred in those exact rapids so we walked along the rocks while watching the guides maneuver their way through these treacherous rapids. In one of the rapids one of the equipment rafts got stuck flipped over in the middle of the rapid and it took all the guides about an hour to get the raft out so we lost a lot of time, but luckily it wasn’t our raft so we didn’t also have to deal with wet clothes for the night

My raft-my friends-the trouble makers

Our raft

The guides were all really professional. With us we had two guides in kayaks, a photographer, and an equipment raft. It was quite clear that these guys knew what they were doing, every night when we arrived at the campsites, not only did we all set up tents, but the guides started cooking right away and making sure we were all happy. They set up a “bathroom” made from a huge plastic box with a toilet seat on top which they put far into the bamboo forest on both nights. Before walking towards the bathroom there was a paddle with a helmet on it to indicate the status. If the helmet was on the paddle it means it’s vacant, if the helmet is either on the ground or on the person’s head, it means occupied.

One of the more fun rapids-hardly see a raft!

A paddling game we played on the downtime

At night while we were sitting by the fire, my friends and I were all talking about how great this trip is and how no one should miss these three days if they get to Cusco. We also talked how we wished the trip lasted more like 5 or 6 days because really, you just can’t get enough.

The famous and incredible trail that was originally taken to get to Machu Picchu still holds all its fame. About three months ago my parents booked the trail since the demand is so high and a limited amount of people are allowed each day. The company we went through catered to all our needs, especially those of my father since he walks with a prosthetic leg.
Unlike all my past treks we had porters who actually carried all our stuff for us. I felt like a princess on this trek! I had a four person tent to myself with a hot bowl of water sitting outside my tent every evening and morning, our chef cooked us INCREDIBLE food, and I really mean some of the best food I ate in South America, and the walk was not too bad since I am used to carrying a lot more weight and I was well acclimated to the altitude.

Not many people get the opportunity to come to South America to experience this magic and even less people get to do the Inca Trail each day (the trail is limited to 500 people a day including porters and guides) so I must say I am very grateful for this incredible experience!

THroughout the trek there are many Inca Ruins and it’s just a nostalgic feeling better there knowing that over 500 years the Inca were living among these ruins and now I´m here walking on the same path they once built.

Entering Machu Picchu through the sun gate, where the Inca used to enter was one of the most breathtaking and speechless moments in my life. I just sat there in awe and no matter what I say, words will never express how I felt. The only thing that bothered me once in Machu Picchu was the fact that the porters and all the other local people are not allowed to enter which seems a bit odd and ironic to me as I watched all the Europeans taking pictures of the place. This is these people´s ancestors and even after5 long hard days walking with our stuff on their back   I couldn´t help but feel a bit of guilt that I get to enjoy this place while they stay outside mesmerized and mystified by what’s inside.

Most of you might have heard of Cusco, also known as the Inca capital and one of the highest towns in Peru. I know that all of my trip in South America I have been hearing about this place so finally I got to check it out for myself.
As an Israeli I must say that I felt quite at home here since walking down the streets you hear, see, and know familiar faces from the homeland. After a long time in Bolivia, I was looking forward to getting to this place since I heard of all the people, the good parties, the plethora of outdoor activities and of course, all the Inca history.

Chola and children

I have to say that now after being here for quite sometime I have some mixed feelings about this place. In and around Cusco is just absolutely marvelous. So fascinating to see all the history dating back to the Inca about 500 years ago and how a lot of their monuments are still erect in the area. Their work is just mind boggling! You stand there uder a 20,000 ton rock perfectly placed like a puzzle ontop of another well chiseled rock, I mean, I just can’t put these feelings in words.  The city itself is gorgeous, with a lot of beautiful Spanish architecture that has mixed in well with the Inca ruins but the people, oh the people, are just plain annoying!! I usually don’t like judging, but when you walk down the street and all of a sudden a crowd of locals run up to you to try and get you to their restaurant, massage parlor, or tourist agency you just feel like swatting them like flies! Even right after they watch you leave a restaurant they willstill come and ask you if you like to dine in their ´great cuisine restaurant´I mean, haven’t they got any clue?? Are they not paying any attention that they saw me 5 minutes ago come out of a restaurant???

Inca Stones

Ok, enough of that ranting and raving, back to the more interesting stuff…

I ran into a lot of people I knew through my travels here and after asking then when they got to Cusco and hearing their absurd answer of ´3 weeks ago!´I ask myself, why? What can you possibly do here for such a long time?!?! Well, some answered with the simple answer, ´nothing, just really good parties, I can’t get out of here!´while others listed a long list of fun activities they did.

From rafting, trekking, and horse riding, to sightseeing, history and the usual hanging out in the city, this place is full of things to do, and we tried to do it all!

Next blog: the Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu I did with my parents!

Stay tuned!!