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From the Inka trail to San Pedro jail.
Entry 17 of 19 | show all | print this entry |
Hola, apologies for another blog entry so soon after the last MEGA blog but I was compelled to write about the 2 experiences I've had since last time!
Machupicchu photos here
Main album here
The Inka trail
One of the many things i´ve been looking forward to on this trip is of course walking the Inka trail. 46KM of serious terrain spread over 4 days from KM82 in Ollantaytambo to Machupicchu. We started off by arriving into Cusco a few days early to get used to the altitude and to meet with the rest of the group, and Mike, my buddy form back home that had also booked to come out. I have to say that seeing a familiar face after being away from home for so long was pretty amazing.
Day 1 - Easy
We started off by realising that we'd packed way too much kit and way too many Gatorade's and snacks. We never realised that there would be so many people selling things along the way. Many of the other people in the group had paid porters to carry their things. We hiked for around 10Ks on day one. Some sections were uphill, others were on the flats and with the added weight of my pack it was relatively hard, even though day one was classed as easy! Anyway, we stopped at several spectacular Inka ruins and also stopped for lunch. The main things that amazed me, apart from the spectacular sights along the way, was the porters. They carry an amazing amount of weight and beat us to both the lunch spots, allowing them to set up a mess tent and kitchen, and then they pack up and head to the evening's camp site so that when we arrive the tents are up as well as the mess and kitchen tents. One great sight at the end of day one was a bucket full of cold beers and some amazing hot food.
Day 2 - Challenging to say the least
We had been warned about day 2. This was to be a killer. Steve and I both decided to pay a porter for the day to carry our packs as even the guide said he was going to find it tough and he's been doing it for 3 years! Anyway, it was very reminiscent of Mt Kinabalu as you are greeted with relentless steps, slopes and barely any flats at all during the 10-12K days trek. We also hit the highest point during this day. 4,200m above sea level. We all stopped here for a while and enjoyed a few minutes of rest before we continued on our way to the campsite. Once at the campsite we we were again greeted by our tents already being erected and food being prepared by our "super-porters". I also aggravated an old injury that first came to light when I was road running in Chile, when honoring a drunken bet with a Norwegian girl. The ligament to the left of my left knee just seems to want to make my leg buckle. I was very grateful when I arrived at the site and the days trekking was over.
We ate, chatted and were then formally introduced to each of our porters. The youngest was 18 and the oldest 57! I was blown away by their fitness and ability to do this every day. Some of these guys have sandals made from recycled tyres and then there's me wearing 100GBP super boots.
During dinner it also became apparent that if we trekked to the intended campsite the following day, we wouldn't arrive at Machupicchu on day 4 until at least 8 or 9am. This was completely ridiculous as the whole idea of doing the trek is to arrive ahead of everyone else (especially the fat American day trippers). Bruno, the guide basically agreed that we could stay at another site, closer to MP but we would need to say that we had injured parties amongst our group. I agreed to strap my knee (I needed to anyway) and Jane also agreed as she's slipped and fallen when in Cusco and her injury was starting to cause her some grief. The only downside was that we would have to trek for longer as the better site was a further 5k´s away from the intended site.
Day 3 - almost there
We woke at 5, the same as every day, had breakfast and then headed off. Because a lot of the day was going to be downhill and my knee was still pretty messed up, I decided to pay another porter for the day to carry my pack. We must have trekked for 9hrs and the steps down were really beginning to take their toll. My god I was in pain but I knew by doing this we would be closer to our aim of being at MP ahead of other groups and visiting day tourists. Most of the trek was through low cloud so I didn´t really get to see too much of the surroundings but when there was just a slight break in the cloud you could immediately see the amazing mountains and fauna all around.
When we arrived at the 3rd and final pass of the trek, Bruno our guide asked us all to be party to a small ritual to Pachamama (Mother Earth), whereby he places coca leaves on the ground. We then selected 3 each, along with
a small stone and then blew in the direction of each mountain before making a wish and placing the leaves and stones in a small pile. As lame as it sounds, my wish did actually come true.....Pachamama figures pretty heavily out in SA.
Once the little ceremony was complete we then pushed on to the next meeting point. I have to add that because some of the group were slower than others, there were long periods of time on the trail when I was on my own or with others that just wanted to get to the campsite asap. Therefore we were always set places to regroup. The penultimate meeting place was to be the originally planned campsite (the one that, had we stayed there, we wouldn't have arrived in MP until around 9 or 10am.). This was also the only point on the whole trail that had mobile reception. I sent a couple of texts and then we pushed on.
The other great thing about the final campsite is that they had showers, beer and the chance to stock up on chocolate and other snacks. Everyone had a great night, we said our final farewell to our porters and tipped them all as well Dale buying them all a beer.
Day 4 - The final push
We awoke at 4am with the usual hot mug of coca de mate and then packed up and set off for the final checkpoint. We had two more variables to add to the already tough situation - it was raining and it was dark! I had my headlight on and jacket but it was pretty hard going considering the pathway was slippery and a lot of it was downhill. We actually passed a girl at one point that we later learned had fallen and broken her ankle. I really felt for her as after trekking all that way she never got to see MP!!
We arrived at the sun gate at around 7am only for it to be completely clouded over. We waited for a while and then headed down to the entrance to hand in our backpacks and explore the site properly. At this point I reminded Bruno (our guide) for around the 10th time that I really wanted to climb Waynapicchu. This is a mountain that affords amazing views over MP and was something I first heard about from Koen in Laos and then some Kiwis I met in Huanchaco. Basically I was told to tell my guide asap that I wanted to climb it as only so many are allowed up each day. Anyway, I kept being reassured that even after the tour I would still have time and their would be tickets. Unfortunately, I suffered the same fate as the kiwis and by the time the tour was over all tickets had been handed out and i missed my chance. A word of warning to anyone reading this that wants to do the climb, IGNORE YOUR GUIDE, FORFEIT THE TOUR (do it later on your own) AND HEAD STRAIGHT FOR THE MOUNTAIN WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT MP OR YOU'LL MISS OUT AND BE AS ANNOYED AS I WAS!!!
MP was amazing and the entire trek was one hell of an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone. The only downside is that if you believe, like I did, that by doing the trek that you arrive at MP ahead of all the day trippers then you are sorely mistaken. When we arrived the place was swarming with people that had turned up at 6am from Aguas Calientes, therefore beating the trekkers. They should either open the last trekkers checkpoint early or they should at least allow the trekkers time to savor the place for themselves first before allowing the day trippers access....
The day I visited the world's most notorious jail
The start of one of the strangest days of my life began when I called a guy named Stuart on his cellphone and arranged to meet with him at San Pedro jail in La Paz. I agreed to be there at 12.30 and took some of the guys I met on the Inka trail and Steve along.
I had heard about San Pedro when I was back in Chile as well as many other places since I've been in SA. The place used to be well known for visits until a book entitled Marching Powder was published exposing these visits and blatant drug taking within. (I bought a signed copy of this and am currently hooked).
Anyway, I entered the world's most notorious jail, had my arm stamped by a very stern uniformed guard and then Jacques and Daniel came down to shake my hand through the bars (a pair of convicted South African drug traffickers). The gates were then unlocked and I entered the courtyard where a group of Bolivians were hanging out and kids were running around. The first thing that struck me was the huge Coca Cola advertisement adorning the walls. The gates were then locked behind me..... Jacques then led me up a staircase and into an attic room where we were greeted by George, a very well dressed convicted Colombian that rents the attic to Stuart so he can conduct his Q and A sessions with tourists like myself.
I never quite imagined how I was going to feel or what to expect but when I met Stuart, a 50 something year old South African I was put at ease. He was quite a character and rather bedraggled. This guy had obviously seen a lot of life, as well as a lot of other prisons. (he'd spent time in prison in Pakistan (on death row) as well as the US.)
As well as Stuart and myself there were also a lot of other tourists in the room. Stuart started off by telling us about the foundation that he has set up to help the foreign wives and children that also live in the prison. He then allowed us to ask him whatever questions we so wished. One thing to note is that every tourist that enters the prison pays Stuart 250 Bolivianos (equivalent to around 20GBP) Some of this cash goes to the foundation but the bulk of it pays off the guards to allow us foreigners into the prison.
We also gave the prisoners gifts, such as cigarettes, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper etc. I questioned quite heavily to the point that one of my questions (I can´t remember exactly which one ) was greeted with a slap across my head. No malice was intended and it was laughed off. I asked how Stuart had ended up in the prison and it was due to carrying a large quantity of cocaine through La Paz airport. He was rumbled by a sniffer dog. So far he has spent 3 years and 10 days behind bars in San Pedro. By the time you read this he may actually be released. He is hoping to get off by insisting he can only speak Afrikaans. So far they have had trouble finding an interpreter so he could be released for this reason only.... crazy.
Once we got bored of questioning him and he got bored of us we were taken on a very short tour of the section, known as Posta and is the 5* section of San Pedro, that the drug traffickers live in. This section is "safe" in comparison to the other sections that house the murderers, rapists and pedophiles. We were shown Daniel´s cell (complete with en-suite), and led down a very dark corridor to the punishment room where certain prisoners are held if they commit crimes within. These crimes can be as basic as having alcohol in your cell or stealing from a fellow inmate. There were 2 Bolivians inside when we poked our heads in. The cell stank and had no windows. It was grim to say the least. Daniel told us that he once spent 1 month in there! He didn't say what for....
After the tour we were asked if we wanted to go with Jacques and see his room. I understood this to mean, "do you want to go and snort cocaine with Jacques in his room". Anyway, a fair few of us stood and made our way out of the attic. (Pop, mum, Nanny, do not fear, I didn´t partake). We were led across the courtyard and up some stairs into his "apartment" where his wife was lying on the bed watching TV. He had all the mod cons in there, DVD player, TV, double bed, Stereo, cooker etc etc. It was not how I imagined a prison cell to be.
This is when I learned that there is actually a market for cells and sections within San Pedro. You have to actually buy your own cell and buy and cook your own food. There are estate agents, there are landlords that buy more than one cell (or apartment as they are referred to) and either rent them or turn them into shops. There are even restaurants inside the jail. The jail is also unlike
any other as all of the guards are on the outside. The prisoners
themselves run the jail from the inside. Everything in there, everything costs money. If you have no money then you are practically a dead man. I have to recommend that you buy and read Marching Powder (the book I mentioned earlier) by Rusty Young. I´m only part way through but it shows what an extraordinary place San Pedro jail really is.
Anyway, I digress.... We all sat down in Jacques' room and introduced ourselves. I have to add at this point that I was the only person from my group to go with Jacques, everyone else that came with me were other tourists I hadn´t met before. As a result of this I formed some pretty good friendships with people I hope to meet again along the route. For example there was Emanuel from Sweden, Curtis from Alaska, Estella from Newcastle, Megan from New York and Riccardo and Danny from London. I think just sharing this slightly scary and unique experience kind of connected us in some way. It's not every day that you go to jail and there are people doing drugs around you whilst the guy dishing them out tells everyone that it's the safest place in Bolivia to be doing it and that he once walked through Heathrow airport with 15 kilograms of cocaine.
It turned out that Jacques was a very good surfer from South Africa and the one thing he misses the most is of course the ocean. He kept asking us to call him Oceans 7 as he insisted there are 7, even though there are only 4 and 7 seas. Still, it's best not to argue with a convicted drug trafficker when he's high and you're in his apartment in jail!! He was caught as he was making cocaine lollipops and candies. He is also yet to be sentenced. We stayed in his room for around 2 hours, listened to music, watched TV and asked questions until 5pm arrived and we had to leave.
Later that night I met up with most of the people I´d been in Jacques room with, as well as the Irish I´d met on the inka trail and we headed to an underground club called club 36. This place was almost as crazy as the jail itself. We drank and chatted about our travels and the days events until 8 in the morning when I headed off back to my hotel for some much needed sleep. That is one day I will never forget!!!!! There are no photos as cameras and cellphones were denied.... gutted!
More can be read here about the jail.
I am now in Santa Cruz where we are to catch what is known as the Death Train (basically people used to fall from the roof in days of old) to the Pantenal and BRAZIL! I will also be celebrating my birthday there so I can't wait for that. Vicks may also be flying in from Colombia before she returns to London....
Anyway. finally, back to the beaches, the surf and the sun! I also have to pick up a new cash card. I think I left it in a cash machine in La Paz. Nothing was taken, it's been canceled and my bank has agreed for me to use my VISA without charging me extortionate fees until I pick up my new one in Rio in around 10 days time. I have only lost 2 things on this trip in all the time I've been away - a padlock and my cash card. Not bad really considering.
Anyway, I hope everyone is well and I hope you're continuing to enjoy the blogs and photos!
Link to main photo album here
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