An conoch mor
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2007
1
26
104
Trip End
Dec 06, 2008
Cusco, Peru
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Day 1 = 16 km or relatively easy terrain, not too much up hill
Day 2 = 16 km of torturous climbing to the highest point of dead woman's pass, down into a valley back up again, and down and up once more, this day was to be the most testing
Day 3 = 10 km this went into the jungle, not too challenging
Day 4 = 7 km with the early start of 4am and a three hour or so trek to Machu Picchu
Unfortunately the night before we started there was little sleep had and the night before that we were travelling all night on a bus so there wasn't much quality sleep there either
A local chick
. 5:30 rise and shine to go to the meeting point and 6:00 take off. It was a three hour bus trip to the beginning of the trek so a snooze was had along with a stop off for some scrambled eggs and a chance to buy a walking stick which was to prove itself later to be one of the most valuable and useful purchases ever.At the start we loaded up on snacks and put whatever we needed for the day into our small back packs, the rest was to be carried by the porters. There was some amount of stuff for them to carry but I didn't take much notice of it till later when they all ran past us on the trail with there huge parcels on their backs, running ahead to set up the tents and to prepare the food for our midday munch. Day one was ok there were no slackers and the trek was a good warm up. We got acquainted with our two guides Ruben and Jose (pronounced hose A) as well as our fellow trekkers one of whom was following his own footsteps from 20 or so years ago when he did the trek alone with his wife following a hand drawn map and hauling all the necessary food and camping equipment between themselves. His name's Joachim from Deutschland. Hello Joachim and Allie! Anyway the sun was splitting the rocks so the cream was being lashed on but within five minutes the sweat had it washed off again. Litre after litre of water was drunk too but the thirst couldn't be quenched. We got to see some impressive Inca ruins half way during the first day. The scenery was nice too, mountains valleys and a tributary of the Amazon River, humming birds, lots of cactus's, believe it or not loads of donkeys (burros), the odd cow and a few locals and fellow trekkers
A porter looking fresh
! The end of day one was a push, up hill, but it helped build up a hunger like no other and made sure there would be no scutting later and everybody would be going to bed tired at half eight or nine. When we arrived at our campsite we were welcomed by the porters by a round of applause. How embarrassing they had arrived with their huge packages ages before us and set up all the tents. They had even boiled water and had two basins of warm water waiting outside each two person tent so we could wash. We chilled out for a while, appreciated the views and contemplated our day's adventure. I think this is as good a time as any to talk about the porters.The Porters, these guys deserve a book written on them. The lads, I'd give them ages of between 25 and 55 with faces carved from wood (as Ray says) and body's chiselled from rock are the most incredible team or army you could have on your side. They are all natives mostly uneducated and speak quechua one of the three most popular native languages and very little Spanish. For the 13 of us on the trip and our two guides we had 20 porters. I can't begin to give them enough praise and I really don't know where to start. They were brilliantly organised by their leader and the head chef Alex. These lads made us feel like royalty on the trek. They carried for us and from themselves, although I'm sure they minimised their own luxuries, everything including food for four days, (the food which will have to get a special section devoted to it)
Along the treck . . . .
. They carried a tent to cook in and one for us to dine in, the chairs we sat on, the table we sat at, the cups, mugs, plates, bowls and cutlery we used, the pots and pans, trays and basins they used to cook and prepare the food along with the stoves and cylinders of gas needed. They carried first aid kits and Oxygen cylinders for emergencies. They carried the tents we slept in the mats we slept on and up to 9kg´s of personal belongings of each and every one of us. They hauled this on their backs for four days for 40 odd kilometres up and down thousands of meters of mountains, packed and unpacked three or four times a day and still had the energy to play soccer at the end of the day which myself and Ray joined in on with a small flat ball on a gravely pitch up the mountain. These guys are the heart and soul of the Inca trail, they are the lads that make it work and without them you can't (not allowed) do the Inca trek. There power houses and make you feel incredibly guilty and ashamed even though there so humble and diligent themselves. Each group is obliged to tip these warriors on the third night and boy do they deserve it and a lot more. It's sickening to think that some fat cat somewhere (Lima) is reaping most of the profits of the Inca trail and Machu Picchu Empire and these guys get next to nothing and probably live on the bread line.I might as well continue on with the food. Holy boloney the food. Along with the pure and fresh mountain air and the relentless physical exertion the three square meals we ate daily leant the experience to be one of the most healthy as well as being one of the most unique and exciting episodes of my life
An Inca lookout
.Breakfast = Omelettes or pancakes with caramel and the most scrumptious diddily umptious local recopied porridge. A mix of herbal teas, coffee, chocolate or coca tea. Toast and Jams!
Tea/lunch and Dinner - Either of these could be up to a four course meal starting with a different soup every day of which nobody ever left a morsel behind. Chicken, beef, ham carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, rice, sweet potatoes, pasta, gravy, beans, pizza, stuffed hot peppers, spaghetti, guacamole, tomatoes, cucumber, hell man I can't remember half the food and as for the presentation, it was of michigan standards! The thing is that all this was brought on the backs of the porters along with the chairs, tables, pots and pans and prepared in a jiffy. Impressive to say the least. Followed by peach syrup, jelly, tea coffee, biscuits . . . the list goes on. We also had a happy hour at some stage throughout the day where we waded our way through mountains of freshly popped popcorn, drinks and biscuits. The second night of the trek was going to be the coldest so in order to help us sleep like patcha babies a special blend of 7 teas, herbs, fruit and warm water was brewed up by the porters with the option of a tipple of rum. It worked a treat, we were all out like a light at the usual time of eight thirty or nine and the cold didn't bother us one bit!
After breakfast the second morning we had a three and a half hour hike up up up to the infamous "dead woman's pass". It was horrendous going but I'm proud to say I got in done in just over two, gota congratulate myself on that! Took a few puffs of Oxygen from the cylinder at the top and was ready to hit the track again. Our entire group did this hardest part in pretty good time, usually people fail at this point. It's the part that the porters dread the most too
And there is a huge drop
! Following this there is a long distance down into the valley but which can be done in an hour. My legs were shaking uncontrollably at this stage and felt like jelly. I just couldn't stop them quivering with every step. I knew there was gona be some pain in store the following morning when I had to move again. We feasted in the valley again but the journey for the second day didn't stop there. We had to climb up another hill descend again and make one more gradual climb. Pffeeeuuu, what a physically exerting day but the sense of self satisfaction and achievement was great! You couldn't possibly imagine how minging dirty we were at this stage too and still no showers in sight. We were lucky to have a hole in the ground to drop one "two". Along the trip we passed an Inca luck out building, an Inca university and other buildings along with a stretch of trail over which some of Indiana Jones was shot. We were getting into the rain forest at this stage and the vegetation was cool! This was the night of the soccer game with the porters and the rum!Day three was cushy in comparison; unfortunately some of the view points were not good because of cloud cover. We saw two really magnificent Inca buildings before the day was out. The buildings were unbelievable feats of architecture, really impressive. After a half day of trekking we ended at our abode for the night which had showers and a bar. The bar I made use of, the showers not. Again we stuffed ourselves and also said our good byes to the porters whom were leaving us to fend for ourselves the next day; a day which was to have the unearthly start of 4am hence another early night was needed
And when they were up they were up
.Day four. I never thought I'd be trekking my way through the Amazon jungle on the Inca trail at 5am in the morning, it pitch black and lashing llamas and alpacas (equivalent of cats and dogs). But that's how it was on the last day. We were up at 4am, no coca tea or warm basins of water to wash brought to our tents this morning. We had the breakie and lashed on the rain gear, readied our torches and headed off. It was bright enough to see after an hour and thankfully the clouds lifted somewhat but it was still misty and hazy. We trudged onwards and upwards and when we got to the sun gates we got our first overview of Machu Picchu from afar. It was amazing but unfortunately very cloudy and misty. It was an unusual feeling. It's strange the way you've seen pictures of it thousands of times but still when you see it it's not really what you expected. As Patrick Kavanagh said through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder. The fact that you've seen so many pictures and documentaries of the place takes away from the wonder and awe of something. Don't get me wrong though, it was remarkable. . . We made our way down towards the city to where the famous spot where the "postcard picture" snap which everybody knows, was taken, and waited until the clouds lifted, which we did revealing the incredible city. Ruben our chief smiley guide then took us on a tour of the city and in his unique crazy way with broken English and phrases like "you got it" explained all about the sun tower, main altar, sundial etc. The scenery was magnificent, the terracing, the stone work, the use and knowledge of the sun equinox's and shadows. How they built it is beyond me, it really deserves to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. At ten in the morning we were finished the trail and the guided tour and had the leeway to ramble around and do our own thing for the next two hours. One option was to climb Waynapicchu which myself and Connors did, you'd think we would have had enough climbing after four days
At dinner-.,
. You gota start it before 12 noon and the numbers are limited. The climb is 2 kilometres by trail and 400m vertically. It's so so so steep, slippery, gritty, dirty and dangerous that it's an adrenaline buzz and when you eventually reach the top (in 20 minutes may I add with no exaggeration) the view is extraordinary, one of the best things I've done since coming to South America. In case you don't know what mountain I'm talking about well it's the big one at the back of Machu Picchu city as seen on all the pictures. At the top the mountain is so steep that if you're brave enough to stand on the rocks without getting dizzy you cannot see the mountain your standing on except for a few huge rocks at the top, and all around are mountains valleys and clouds below you and Machu Picchu in the distance, almost. By the time myself and Ray got to the top the weather was very clear and the views second to none. It's a must. And believe it or not the crazy crazy Incas had terracing and buildings on top of this mountain. Honestly how they built it is just beyond me. There could be sheer drops of hundreds of meters from some of the terracing. Bottom line is that the Inca trail and Machu Picchu is a must for anybody coming in this direction.For information on the trail by another company (which is new and competitive) e-mail Antonio Aguilar at antonaguila@hotmail.com (262603) A local tells me they are good to the porters and there cheap and good!
Kerry for Sam!!
At the sun gates
!Other random bits and bobs.
Some guy in a club was hung up by four hooks in his skin on his back and danced in the air for our pleasure for about 10 minutes. It would make you sober the sight. Along with the electronic music on the main floor there was a brass band playing reggae in another small room at the back, yes a strange mix. There was another guy doing crazy balancing tricks with a crystal ball on top of his head in the middle of the floor. Don't think anybody noticed him except me, damn mushrooms!
They still use cow's to plough the fields in these parts.
The market look at the pictures, there's every flap, chunk, lump, knob, cut, slice, ligament, tendon, organ and member of cow, pig, goat you name it, lobbed up on a plank or barrel in the searing heat amongst dogs and people displaying every colour of the rainbow except that which you think is normal, and the smell is fetid putrid and rank. I think I need say no more because I'm sure the skinned cow's head says it all.
There were also big cauldrons of frogs; Hubble bubbling toil and trouble; being stirred up which were to have the power to cure all woe's!
Stayed in The Point Hostel, good spot!
