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The Inca Tinker Tailor Trail is actually more commonly known as the Inca trail.
Its a 45km, four day, three night hike along an ancient Inca path. The trail passes many Inca ruins, climbs three peaks and finishes at the ancient Inca city known as Machu Picchu. It was the grand finale to Dans Peru trip.
DAY 1
On Friday morning at 6:15 we set off on the bus for a two hour drive to the start, a place known as kilometer 82. When we got off the bus and met our guide; Wonder. He asked us for a team name and we decided on... Wonders Wonders, hahaha! We had seven porters who carry all our tents and food and run on ahead to set up the camp.
Our group of eight ramblers association rejects consisted of us three Dan, Dan & Kat, two Aussie girls Kat & Hanessa, Iris from Holland and two Norwegian girls Anna & Gretta (who enjoyed English card games and chanted together "we love playing ´********´"). We all got on really well and walked together for the whole four days.
The trail itself was beautiful, mountains, small villages and Inca ruins. Weather-wise, it was sunny and quite warm and we had some great views from the trail and from our campsite at Wallaybamba (3100 meters).
DAY 2
The next morning we were greeted at half past 5 with a cup of coca tea brought to us in bed! Then it was breakfast of pancakes, fruit salad, porridge and tea and we set off at 6:30 for the hardest day, a 1200 meter climb. Kat and I set off and set the pace for the group. We raced the Aussie girls up and up for the first two hours. The competitive edge between us, proved to be just what we needed to get us moving. Climbing Inca stairs for five hours at a high altitude requires serious stamina!
The two smokers, Dan B and Anna took the tail end of our group laughing, cursing and smoking their way to the summit. Kat and I summited first! Woo! And we all re-grouped for a photo at the top of the mountain (4265m) and then climbed down about a billion steps to the second camp for a late dinner at 2pm. We all crashed out and slept for the afternoon. Our porters re-grouped us for a cup of tea and popcorn at 5 and then we ate dinner was at 7 and by eight thirty we were all exhausted and went back to bed.
DAY 3
After another sleepless night in a cold tent on a hard floor we were woken again with a nice cup of coca tea, in bed. Everyone enjoyed a breakfast of hot chocolate, omelette's, toast and coffee, then it was off on a long 17km hike up two more mountains and down 1000 meters to the next camp. The scenery on this day was spectacular. We had snow capped high peaks in the morning, then cloud forests around midday and finished with lush green jungles in the afternoon. The scenery on this day explained all the hype around the Inca trail.
We all celebrated this evening because the next morning we only have a 2 hour hike to Machu picchu. After the evening meal, we had a whip round for the hard working porters and presented them with a big bundle of Peruvian Soles. They looked really chuffed. Then we got the beers, cards and teaspoons out and I taught everyone an old favourite card game I used to play with Tash and Jakes, PIG. You pass around your cards and when you have a matching set of four you all have a big fight over the teaspoons in the middle of the table. Our guide thought it was hilarious and managed to get into the final game on two occasions.
DAY 4
After three days of glorious warm sunny weather the law of sod was exercised. About midnight a storm took hold and we couldn't sleep for the wind and rain forming a large puddle inside the tent. We had to be up at 4am to walk to Machu Picchu and see the sunrise. In the pitch black pouring rain we all trooped off and when we got to the greatest Inca city we were rewarded with a cloudy Grey mess and wet shoes. After a quick vote we all headed off to the local cafe to sit and wait till the rain stopped. Thankfully about 10am the sun burned away the clouds and we could see one of Peru´s top tourist attractions.
Not much is known about the Inca civilisation. They kept no written records. The Spanish arrived in Peru around the 15th century and went around robbing all their Inca gold and silver and generally slaughtering any Inca´s in their way. A few Incas fled into the mountains and lived in the last great Inca city of Machu Picchu. Here they excelled them selves in the skills of gardening, check out all the terraces in the pictures and stone masonry, you cant fit a credit card between the cracks of Inca walls. They all soon died of western diseases and the city disappeared back into the jungle. 400 hundred years later in 1921 an American explorer found it and it soon turned into Peru´s biggest money spinner.
Cooper Out
Love Dan & Kat
Its a 45km, four day, three night hike along an ancient Inca path. The trail passes many Inca ruins, climbs three peaks and finishes at the ancient Inca city known as Machu Picchu. It was the grand finale to Dans Peru trip.
DAY 1
On Friday morning at 6:15 we set off on the bus for a two hour drive to the start, a place known as kilometer 82. When we got off the bus and met our guide; Wonder. He asked us for a team name and we decided on... Wonders Wonders, hahaha! We had seven porters who carry all our tents and food and run on ahead to set up the camp.
Our group of eight ramblers association rejects consisted of us three Dan, Dan & Kat, two Aussie girls Kat & Hanessa, Iris from Holland and two Norwegian girls Anna & Gretta (who enjoyed English card games and chanted together "we love playing ´********´"). We all got on really well and walked together for the whole four days.
The trail itself was beautiful, mountains, small villages and Inca ruins. Weather-wise, it was sunny and quite warm and we had some great views from the trail and from our campsite at Wallaybamba (3100 meters).
DAY 2
The next morning we were greeted at half past 5 with a cup of coca tea brought to us in bed! Then it was breakfast of pancakes, fruit salad, porridge and tea and we set off at 6:30 for the hardest day, a 1200 meter climb. Kat and I set off and set the pace for the group. We raced the Aussie girls up and up for the first two hours. The competitive edge between us, proved to be just what we needed to get us moving. Climbing Inca stairs for five hours at a high altitude requires serious stamina!
The two smokers, Dan B and Anna took the tail end of our group laughing, cursing and smoking their way to the summit. Kat and I summited first! Woo! And we all re-grouped for a photo at the top of the mountain (4265m) and then climbed down about a billion steps to the second camp for a late dinner at 2pm. We all crashed out and slept for the afternoon. Our porters re-grouped us for a cup of tea and popcorn at 5 and then we ate dinner was at 7 and by eight thirty we were all exhausted and went back to bed.
DAY 3
After another sleepless night in a cold tent on a hard floor we were woken again with a nice cup of coca tea, in bed. Everyone enjoyed a breakfast of hot chocolate, omelette's, toast and coffee, then it was off on a long 17km hike up two more mountains and down 1000 meters to the next camp. The scenery on this day was spectacular. We had snow capped high peaks in the morning, then cloud forests around midday and finished with lush green jungles in the afternoon. The scenery on this day explained all the hype around the Inca trail.
We all celebrated this evening because the next morning we only have a 2 hour hike to Machu picchu. After the evening meal, we had a whip round for the hard working porters and presented them with a big bundle of Peruvian Soles. They looked really chuffed. Then we got the beers, cards and teaspoons out and I taught everyone an old favourite card game I used to play with Tash and Jakes, PIG. You pass around your cards and when you have a matching set of four you all have a big fight over the teaspoons in the middle of the table. Our guide thought it was hilarious and managed to get into the final game on two occasions.
DAY 4
After three days of glorious warm sunny weather the law of sod was exercised. About midnight a storm took hold and we couldn't sleep for the wind and rain forming a large puddle inside the tent. We had to be up at 4am to walk to Machu Picchu and see the sunrise. In the pitch black pouring rain we all trooped off and when we got to the greatest Inca city we were rewarded with a cloudy Grey mess and wet shoes. After a quick vote we all headed off to the local cafe to sit and wait till the rain stopped. Thankfully about 10am the sun burned away the clouds and we could see one of Peru´s top tourist attractions.
Not much is known about the Inca civilisation. They kept no written records. The Spanish arrived in Peru around the 15th century and went around robbing all their Inca gold and silver and generally slaughtering any Inca´s in their way. A few Incas fled into the mountains and lived in the last great Inca city of Machu Picchu. Here they excelled them selves in the skills of gardening, check out all the terraces in the pictures and stone masonry, you cant fit a credit card between the cracks of Inca walls. They all soon died of western diseases and the city disappeared back into the jungle. 400 hundred years later in 1921 an American explorer found it and it soon turned into Peru´s biggest money spinner.
Cooper Out
Love Dan & Kat
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