8 days trek: Choquequirao - Machu Picchu
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2008
1
102
125
Trip End
Dec 20, 2008
Cusco,
Peru
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Day 1
I meet Cristian the guide, Miguel the cook and Aristides the horseman. I still do not feel to well and it is more probably a food poisoning than the altitude. Not ideal and I want to vomit every 5 min on the walk down to the Apurimac river. At lunch and during the first 2 days, Miguel will look after me to ease my stomach while boosting my energy levels. Still, I eat very little which makes the walk even more difficult.
What strikes from the beginning is the size of the mountains. What looks like two or three hours away is in fact a full day walk ahead. We decide to do the first 700m of the ascent to Choquequirao to cut it in half and make less a burden for the next day. We camp at Santa Rosa
First night, what a pleasure to sleep in the middle of the Andes. This is just great and the sky is simply the best.
Day 2
The way up is really tough but I feel better. The total daily ascents are quite important but I did not expect such a difficult walk. The slope is so steep that I find it difficult to find my rhythm. Even at the lowest speed possible, I am out of breath very quickly. My right lung is now more and more painful.
I spend part of the afternoon visiting Choquequirao and allow myself to a 3h siesta during the first rain of the week. Due to the camp exposition, the night is really cold.
NB: I keep seeing Guinea Pigs (Cuy in Spanish) in each house. There are a Peruvian delicacy and are eaten on special occasions like birthdays... One of the main paintings in the Cathedral of Cusco is "La Cena" with the Christ sharing the blood, bread... and a cuy with his 12 disciples. That is how important the cuys are here. I definitely need to eat one!!!
Day 3
Woken up by the sound of the colibris wings (I am not joking), this is D day. It is supposed to be the most difficult day of the week. We are going up 300m above Choquequirao, down 1500m to Rio Blanco and up again 1700m to Maizal (contrary to what the plan says, Maizal is clearly higher than Choquequirao).
Just to start the day nice and easy, Aristides had to run down (and I mean run!) the track (1h30 return) to find a mule that escaped during the night. This guy is amazing, always running around the mountain and rivers with his mules and wearing only open sandals.
I now feel at almost 100% and that is lucky because the slope going up to Maizal is simply out of this world. It is harder than the previous 2 days but my lung is fine and will remain like that until now. At least, the weather is helping us: clouds, wind and even a bit of rain to cool us down.
Another good help is the coca leaf. After breakfast and lunch, I always take a litre of hot water filled with coca leaves. Thirty minutes later, that is a real boost when climbing.
I am the first arriving at the camp today and the joy of finishing the climb is difficult to describe, the last 30 minutes were so hard. We can now relax and share a beer. Speaking Spanish is such a plus, I can really bond with the team and share stories with the local farmers. That is a big part of this trek and I love it. These mountains require so much efforts but they know how to make it up for it. Writing this from Lima, the tears are not too far.
The view is great and I can not think of a better place in the world to spend the night.
Day 4
Like each morning of this week, Miguel brings me a cup of "Mate de Manzanilla" at 6am exactly. It is good for my stomach and my spirit. I really feel privileged, having these 3 guys looking after me like a king. I can enjoy the trek fully and everyone seemed happy with the big tips I gave at the end.
First time above 4,000m. Not surprisingly, the ascent is very difficult but it is the morning and only around 1,000m up. The climb is really nice, first in the "cloud forest" and then in the shrubs, using the Inca trail. I start to be dizzy and out of breath at around 250m before the saddle but the coca tea helps.
The way down is beautiful and you feel sometimes like in an Indiana Jones film, with the path edging a huge cliff and surrounded by enormous mountains.
Day 5
The more difficult is now behind us but there is still a saddle above 4,500m to pass. The climb is easy or I just got used to it I am not sure. In any case, the saddle was passed without much sweating.
The surroundings are this time different with larger valleys, glaciers, potatoes plantation, sheep. The weather is again on our side with clouds keeping us away from the usual heat.
The saddle aside, the main attraction of the day is the cuy!! A woman at Totora, village were we established our camp, accepted to sell me one and help us cook it (for 5 US$). Very cool experience and the house produced sugar cane alcohol was fine too. Feeling warm and happy I go to sleep while Cristian and Miguel are working on the second bottle.
It has now been raining since 4:30pm but I have not had a "shower" since Choquequirao and its freezing water. I am dying for a hot bath.
Day 6
It is still raining and it will continue until 10am. Today s walk is easy so it is good to try my tip top waterproof equipment and walk in the mud for a change. Happy to see that I brought exactly the right things for hot, cold, windy and rainy conditions. Aristides is still happy with his sandals (he absolutely does not want to wear shoes) and he crosses the river with his mules while we are using the wooden bridges.
We were supposed to camp at "Playa" but we continue to Santa Teresa and its HOT POOLS. What a treat!! At last a shower. Miguel, Cristian and I (Aristides left at Playa) enjoyed the hot pools like we just arrived in heaven. The scenery was not bad either, right against the granit rock, surrounded by the mountains.
Beer the evening at the camp, we feel like the trek is done now.
Day 7
Spent 1h playing with a little girl and her monkey before walking walking the last 3h of the trek, reaching hidroelectrica at 11am. The train for Aguas Calientes (the town next to Machu Picchu) leave at 4:30pm so we can relax.
The train looks cool but is the slowest I have ever seen: 1h to do the 10km. Moreover, it goes in zig zag style to climb, going on reverse after many corners. Nice experience.
Aguas Calientes looks nice but is expensive. I have a bed and my own bathroom. YES!!!
Day 8
Bad luck. It rains and I managed to get another stomach upset from last night diner. The clouds give a mystical sense to the sight but I can not take THE photo with the ruins and Wayna Picchu in the background. My dependence to toilets proximity means that I can not stay for too long. Nevermind. I wait for the train to Cusco, shivering in my bed. After 10 months of strange food, my stomach is a lot more sensitive than it used to be.
What a trek that was. Definitely the most difficult and best around Cusco. I can not imagine many treks better than this one in South America and even the world. Other trekkers (the last 9 photos named "Matt" are from a couple met on the trek. Cheers) assured me that the Annapurna trek was not as demanding and rewarding as this one. I guess the next big trek will have to be in the Himalayas, above 5,000m in Nepal or Northern India.
NB: I just saw the official list of the 7 "new" wonders of the world and I understand why Machu Picchu is up there. Nevertheless, the Christ of Rio de Janeiro is in the list but not the temples of Angkor. What a joke!!!! I have not seen Rio but surely if this statue is in it, then the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, half of Rome, all Fiorenze, the Parthenon... should be too. The pyramids are not even mentioned. This is ridiculous.
