The morning came quickly and so did the tour guide. They were to pick me up between 4:20 and 4:30am. I got a call from the front desk that they had arrived; this was at 4:05am. Glad I was ready. I went down and met the tour guide who ushered me into the van. There were two other people sitting there in the single seats. I sat on the front single seat as you enter the van. The guide entered the van and told me that I could not sit there as this seat was taken. I asked about the double seat across as this one had a lot of leg room, but a backpack was on it. He informed me that this double see was “busy” as well. So, I sat in the next seat behind. We picked up more passengers and he informed all of them that the front seats were “busy”. The last five people we picked up, two of the girls sat down on the front seats and he was quite rude to them telling them no, to move back. One of them said she needed to sit near the front and he gave her the seat that I had originally sat in that had a great deal of leg room.
We got going on the road and he explained that we would be driving for two hours and stopping for breakfast. He sat down on the double seat in front of me where the back pack was and then moved up front by the seat of the driver. He moved back and forth to the two seats. What I was shocked about was that he was keeping all three seats in front of me, that had all the leg room AND the seat by the driver for himself. Was I ever pissed!
I made an attempt to sleep for the two hours as everyone was quiet on the bus, but the guide. The guide who decided to sit right in front of me had a loud conversation with the driver for over an hour. I could not understand why he did not move up to the seat next to the driver to talk to him.
We arrived in a village and drove into a gated building. We walked into a restaurant and were ushered to have a seat in a specific area. Breakfast entailed one pancake, cocoa leaves in hot water, bread, butter and jam. Not the usual breakfast I am used to and certainly not the best kind of breakfast before a major hike.
We left and drove for approximately one hour up a gravel road.
We ended up in a parking lot for the Mountain of Many Colors.
From here we had to walk ten minutes to the gate and pay 10 Peruvian Sol entry fee. Once inside, the guide informed us that it would take 2.5 hours to hike up to the peak and about 1 hour return. This would leave us approximately half an hour to spend on top of the mountain. He stated that the van would be leaving by 1pm to get to lunch and get back to Cusco on time so don’t be late. As you enter the gate and walk a few meters, there are horses for rent.
Off I went and it was a very intensive hike because of the altitude.
I reached the peak in 2 hours and enjoyed the incredible view. Taking many photos around the area what breathtaking panoramic view.
It is hard to imagine that this mountain area was only discovered three years ago! The colors that you see in the Mountain of Many Colors were such an incredible site. To the right of this mountain was a path that would take you to the Red Mountains, which you can see the beginning of.
Continuing to the right was breathtaking scenery of various mountains. Completely opposite the Mountain of Many Colors was a glacier covered mountain region. This site again was magnificent.
After spending a half an hour on top, I started to hike back. I ran into the guide and he started to call the group. I headed out ahead so I could stop to take photos. First, was the horse transporters dressed in their traditional clothing.
Many people chose to take a horse up instead of hiking and quite a few chose to take horses back. I took many photos that turned out quite nicely of them sitting, chatting and waiting for customers.
Along the way back, I stopped to take photos of the llamas grazing on the side of the hill. There were quite a few of them.
A little further down the path I saw three men surrounding a lady who was quite pale. I asked the guide if she needed a piece of chocolate. He indicated that this would be very much appreciated. I had a Belgium Chocolate Nutri-Bar that was perfect for this hike. It is recommended that you have chocolate, cocoa or cocoa leaves to eat during this hike. The Nutri-Bar had chocolate and cocoa and after eating half a bar, I had no issues. I gave her a piece and she reluctantly ate it as she was so nauseous.
I continued my hike down and took a little side walk to some ponds to get reflecting shots of the mountains.
I finally reached the end in exactly 4 hours and that included all the stops I made. I checked the van to see that no one was there including the driver. It was 1pm so I can only assume that they would be along shortly. I walked around for about ten minutes and took a few photos and then went back to the main entrance and met three other members of the group. We sat on the bench and chatted. During our time sitting there, the lady that was not feeling well was carried by two men and they laid her down on the bench beside us. The called the doctor over who was inside of an ambulance that they apparently have on site during the day. He came over and after two minutes they carried her to the ambulance. During our wait, two other people were assisted over to the ambulance for oxygen.
The guide showed up and indicated that the remaining crew would be along shortly, that he was at the back of the line and this was his job. It was another twenty minutes before the last members of the group arrived. The last group came back by horseback. We waited an additional hour and twenty minutes passed the scheduled time of departure. Instead of 1pm, it was 2:20pm that we left to go for lunch. While waiting, one of the young ladies informed me that she had to catch a bus at 8:30pm to head to her next destination and she was concerned that being late she would miss her bus.
We drove an hour back to the place where we had breakfast.
On the way, the guide would ask anyone if they had a headache as he had a lotion that you put in your hands and breath in … it is suppose to clear your air passage and help to get rid of your headache. When he asked me if I had a headache, I said no, just leg aches from lack of leg room. He didn’t say a word. The guide sat the entire time beside the driver leaving the two seat section, with lots of leg room, open with nothing but his backpack on it. Again, I was pissed.
When we got to the restaurant, I quickly walked up to the guide and told him that if he was going to sit by the driver I would sit in the seat where his backpack was. He indicated that this was no problem.
We went in to eat and we all sat down. Three of us got up to check the buffet when we were informed to sit down as they were bringing us soup first. It wasn’t what was said, but how it was said by the guide. While the soup was being brought out, one group had to sit at a different table as there were not enough chairs for the group. I was sitting with one group and we had a chair at the end for the lady that was in the washroom. There was a setting there for her, but the guide came and took it. The guide was barking orders at everyone … telling everyone to sit in a very rude tone.
I told the rest not to worry as I had a spare plate setting beside me and handed it to them to put at the end of the table. We were half way through our soup when the lady came in and sat down. The waitress came over and went to the kitchen to bring out the soup. Half way down the aisle, the guide stopped the waitress and said something to her and pointed back at the kitchen. He started to walk away and the waitress started to follow. I had enough of this guy and hollered, “Hey!” Now, for those that know me I am usually a very positive person and rarely say anything negative. I truly did not like how he was treating all of us that had paid for this tour. I must clearly state that not one of the tourists had been rude to him and certainly did not deserve to be treated this way.
He did not turn around but kept walking. The waitress turned around and I kindly smiled and pointed to the lady at the end of the table and said, “Por favor”. She turned and looked to see that the guide was long gone and then she brought the soup back. I asked the group if they knew what that was about. The guide did not come back out to the dining area until we were almost finished eating.
I went outside and the guide joined me and asked if I was ready to change the seats. I indicated yes and he moved all his stuff over to where the one seat where the girl had been sitting. I was shocked, but moved my stuff onto my lap. When the girl came onto the bus, I told her what the guide did and said she was more than welcome to sit with me. It turned out that this worked better as she was able to sit in my old seat with her friend. It turned out the guide sat in the single seat as they had picked up a fellow worker at the restaurant who sat in the seat by the driver.
We got back into town as scheduled and after dropping everyone off but three of us. We stopped in front of the guide office where I purchased the tour ticket. I stayed on the bus and one lady and her boyfriend were getting off and asked if I was getting off. I indicated that I didn’t think so, that they were to take me to my hotel. She asked the guide in Spanish who said it was the last stop. I got off, again pissed as everyone had been dropped off within a block of their place and I had to walk over 5 blocks. He did not even ask and this was part of the package. I stuck my hand out to say goodbye to the young couple and walked by the guide without saying anything. The young lady brushed my hand to the side and gave me a lovely hug. I shook hands with her partner and wished them well and started my walk back to the hotel.
I would recommend anyone to certainly visit the Mountain of Many Colors, it was incredible to hike and see. I would also recommend going with any travel agency with the exception of the one guide with Portal Nuevo 270 Plaza Regocija. Please note, that it was not the travel agency that was the problem, but the guide. It could be that he was just having a bad day, just to end on a positive note. LOL