Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Ok so it's been a while, not as long as it seems though. We survived the Inca Trail and are now in Puno the home of Lake Titicaca. So much that I could write about our 4 days in the mountains but you will get bored of reading and I of writing so I will keep it brief and as interesting as possible!
Day one: Up at 5am (a recurring event) Bus to Ollantaytambo a small village for some food and then on to km82 and the gate to the trail. Painless so far, however, we didn't have porters and my backpack was unbelievably heavy considering i had only packed the 'essentials'! The next few hours is now a bit of a blurr! I remember a wobbly bridge and then steps, and rocks and steep slopes and pain from my bag! Oh and it was really hot too... Lunch was brief! In some tiny little village but a good three course meal which i regretted eating when i had to don my backpack straight after and hike up more mountain. Passed the time and pain talking to an Australian man called Peter, who I guess was in his 50s, about lots of deep and meaningful things: life, death, love, religion etc. I think it was 18k up before we finally reached the camp site and the relief of discarding the two tonne bag and drinking a refreshing, but out of date of course, cusquena! Bed around 8pm, but no sleep due to being on a slope and Hillary snoring!
Day two: (the day of the rain and the steps) Ok so day two is renowned for being the toughest day. We at least had the sense to get porters this time,I was willing to pay or do anything for someone to take my bag! A note on porters: where we walk, slowly, with only a small day pack, they run, fast, with little sandals on and up to 19k on their backs! Amazing! Anyway we basically had to go up a mountain to the highest point of the trail (4200m and called dead woman's pass because the mountains apparently look like t*** and form a naked woman... I couldn't really see it, think the guy who named it may have been a bit delirious!) and then back down around 2000 steps, and this was before lunch! Oh and how could i forget that at the top it started raining a little which at the time i though nothing of, put on my Tinky Winky style poncho and then saw the steps we had to go down... steep and irregular and endless!! So the rain continued until the path was more like a river and the stairs were so slippery. I fell over at least twice, maybe three times, and after about an hour and a half I was not happy! Soaked and in pain and bored of stepping and the end was no where in sight! I really wanted to give up but there was only one way to go, no escape so i had to persevere. I have no idea how long it took to descend but it felt like a week. Lunch, dried off a bit, and then... more hiking, up again!! Visited an astronomical inca site where Incas observed the weather and stars. So relieved to get to the second camp site, we played cards- the game of choice became s*** head. It was also the night of DSL, an abbreviation which caused much hilarity at the time courtesy of Rocky from Washington State- a really cool guy actually. Married to the aforementioned Hillary.
Must also stop here to note the 'toilets' we encountered along the way... I can't actually describe them in words because i don't know any words foul enough. All I can say is that the smell made me vomit, when i used them which i think was twice in the first three days i had to shove olbas oil in my nose and try to hold my breath (which i have discovered is impossible at an altitude over 3000 metres) and cover my nose with clothes and go as quickly as possible and run out with my trousers still undone and then nearly vomit. God it was awful.
Third day was a 'pissy caike' in the words of out guide Rubin! This also became the catchphrase of the trip. We saw a few Inca sites such as Sayacmarca which was a view point with inca baths and walls!?... Some lakes and tunnels... To be honest I know I should have been treasuring the views and all that but all I could really think about was getting to the third camp site because of the promise of proper toilets and a shower! I'll never take these things for granted again, at least not for a while. We went through lots of forrest and it was really humid as we got lower down towards the camp. We arrived ahead of the group at around 12pm and had showers and then spent the afternoon drinking, and while people visited a mini MachuPicchu I sat and had a heart to heart with Hillary, a much more rewarding choice in my opinion. The rest of the evening involved alcohol and food and cards, was a lot of fun and I slept for the first time- thank you wine!
Day four: Up at 4am, not fun! Thought Machu Picchu couldn't be that far but it was a good few hours hiking and my backpack had returned, no more porters... but wasn't so bad. We arrived at the Sun Gate to watch the clouds clear and Machu Picchu appear below us. It was a fantastic sight. But still had to get down to it, it was a boiling hot day already (8am) Have hundreds of photos from the 'famous photo spot'. The site really is magnificent and just about justifies the money and the pain you go through to see it! We had a tour of the place and the main temples and other significant sites and then left for Aguas Calientes for lunch and a relaxing evening at the hot springs. Ahhhh...
- comments