Inca Trail

• Kstuart's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Cusco

Trip Start Feb 25, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Jun 03, 2008 Next
Entry

  Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

We spent 4 days on the Inca Trail and lucked out by booking with a great company.  There are thousands of operators in Cusco that will take you to Machu Picchu.  Llama Path surpassed all others in service, food, and treatment of their porters.  Can you imagine cake, avocado tuna rolls, and vegetable art in the backcountry?  Kyle had his own battle with altitude/food sickness, and was given special teas and greeted halfway up the last hill one day by a porter that took his pack for the final bit.  Thanks to Diamox and coca leaves, Patience rocked the 13,000 ft passes with a slow and steady pace that took her to the top in bliss.

The government only lets 500 people on the trail each day, porters included, which means about 200 backpackers and 300 porters and guides, hence why we made reservations for this trek back in January.  The trail itself isn´t too crowded until the end, since people start from different points and have different options for campgrounds each night.  The campground for the final night, however, houses EVERYONE with just 6 restrooms for 500 people... and a bar.  We woke up at 4am the next morning to be at the front of the line for the final checkpoint and two-hour RACE to the Sun Gate with a serpent-like line of backpackers behind us. 

Machu Picchu was incredible.  Since the site itself is pretty touristy these days, the night before our sunrise hike to the Sun Gate, we went to a less popular Inca site.  We were able to walk around in complete silence, see the sun set, and imagine what it would be like to see this agricultural hub bustling away 500 years ago.  At Machu Picchu itself, we had a great tour in the morning before the trains started rolling in, and then hiked 45 minutes to the top of Waynapicchu, a mountain next to the ruins for a breathtaking 360 degree view of the area. 

As we travel through Peru and then onward to Bolivia, the people clearly have less and less.  Business opportunities are completely dilluted as everyone jumps on the same street-selling bandwagon.  You can´t even begin to imagine how many thousands of offers we´ve had for cell phone calls (from people´s private phones), massages, food, souviners, or drugs.  We´re worried that so many people have bought into a pyramid scheme of purchasing massive inventories of random things to sell to tourists.  There are so many vendors with too much of the same stuff and the people can´t seem to sell through it, even when they offer it in exchange for mere pennies. 

We haven´t, however, noticed any shortages of rice.  We´re lucky enough to be in a region rich in agricultural diversity because of the varying climates in the valleys.  We have fresh fruit juices with every meal (papaya, banana with milk, passion fruit, and kiwi are some of our regulars) and have access to delicious grains like quinoa and over 300 varieties of potatoes! We feasted for lunch today with multiple courses and giant desserts, and our bill was less than $10.  The cuisine here reminds us to enjoy the freshness and accessiblility of local foods.

We´ll try to post photos again soon!

P + K

Print this entry Share Cusco hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry