Cusco
Trip Start
Apr 10, 2006
1
41
47
Trip End
Jul 24, 2006
Cusco,
Peru
Monday, June 5, 2006
A trip like the one I was about to embark on could be a complete nightmare if just one person in the party is a jerk, but fortunately the group I belonged to was absolutely brilliant, gelling almost immediately, and forming a strong bond throughout the entire trip. The party was small with just seven of us, made up of a Norwegian couple; Aslak and Monika, a Canadian; Maru, Kerry from England, Michael from Ireland, Frank another Norwegian and myself. With the exception of Frank who was in his mid thirties and myself the rest of the group were in their twenties.
In spite of some arduous times, we had some great laughs, and it was rare for us to have a dull moment, either playing cards, or just spoofing around when resting, and our guides it seemed had great fun looking after us all.
Today we settled into our hotel (in honesty the hotels on our trip were not up to par - whilst I hadn't expected 5 star, I had expected a hotel where hot water was in abundance and the toilet worked!) in Cusco, following a short mid day flight. We had lunch in the main square and then took a short walk around some of the sights.
Cusco is about 3,400m above sea level, and suddenly late afternoon, I felt absolutely awful; breathing had been really difficult all day but now I had a stinking headache and was throwing up - I had a bad case of altitude sickness. I slept for a couple of hours, had to leave part way through our Inca Trail briefing to throw up yet again that evening, and instead of going out with the group went to bed.
I have to say I was really worried about being able to start the Inca Trail in this state let alone finish it.
