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Becca, Zoe and Katy's Peruvian Adventure
Hello all!
Sorry it's been a while since our last entry, but it's been a bit manic here the last couple of weeks. About 2 weeks ago, we went on our trek to Maccu Piccu (which we will tell you about here!), and then when we got back we had a few days to sort all our washing out, there was a lot (!!), and catch up on some well earned sleep, before heading out to the jungle for 4 days. We got back this afternoon, and on Monday we are off to Bolivia! It's all happening here!!
Anyway, back to the matter in hand...the trekking. It was amazing, but exhausting. Katy has found a new love in walking up mountains (one, I must admit I don't hugely share with her!! It's satisfying when you get to the top, and the views are amazing, but struggling for breath at altitude whilst climbing a shear rock face isn't something that filled me with joy!)
On the first day, the 9 of us that were undertaking this adventure left Cusco at about 6am in the minibus, bound for the mountains. It took quite a long time to get there, as half way there, the cooks realsised they had forgotten to pack the food, so we had to head back, but eventually we arrived at our starting point, along with the millions of mosquitoes that descended on us as soon as we got out of the bus! The waling started off gently, and I think we all got a little cocky that this was going to be easy! We discovered that we got 4 meals a day, two of which were 3 courses! Amazing! However, the cockiness soon faded, as we began to go up what pur guide called a "gentle slope"! If I could swear here I would, as his idea of gentle was what I call a vertical mountain of rock!! Not happy! He also told us about an hour after lunch we only had half an hour to go. The man was a pathological liar, as about 2 hours later we were still climbing the mountain, with me and Katy getting grumpier by the second! He explained afterwards that it was half an hour Peruvian time! However, it was worth it. The scenery was stunning, and it was satisfying seeing the valley where we started gettng smaller and smaller as we got higher and higher.
We arrived at our first campsite at about 4pm, having climbed bout 1000m, and the site was at about 3800m (very high!) The site was beautiful, and we were completely surrounded by mountains and glaciers, and the odd llama. The only thing that may have spoiled the view was the portapotty (portable loo that came with us everywhere) nearby! We were treated to afternoon tea (very British) at 5, and it was so good! Popcorn, crackers with jam, biscuits and hot chocolate greeted our tired hungry little faces when we peered into the kitchen tent...heaven! Then we had about an hour to digest before our 3 course dinner at 7! It's all about the food! Valentin our chef was a genius with a gas cooker, and on that first night we had soup to start (as always), stuffed trout for main (the best ever), and tinned pear for dessert. Food of the gods! After dinner it was bed time (about 8pm!) We admired the stars for quite a while, as I don't think that any of us had ever seen anything lake it before. We saw the Milky Way so clearly, and Zoe and I now know what Scorpio looks like! Our guide pointed out Mars to us and the Southern Cross (an Inkan thing!) We then crawled into our tents, and were briefly serenaded by Zoe doing her best owl impressions! They were amazing! I was convinced and I shared a tent with her!
Day 2 and the hell began for me at 6! My legs hurt, and our guide told us that the walk was going to be "challenging"! Given the "gentle slope" the day before, I knew this was not good! It wasn't! I can't even describe the pain of this day to you! Katy was like a gazelle, leaping up the mountain, whilst I trailed about a mile behind, unable to breathe, at altitudes birds find a struggle, and rock faces mountain goats don't attempt! It was not pretty! It took us all morning to climb 800m to 4600m. The weather was gorgeous for most of it, and we had incredible views of snow topped glaciers, which we were able to "enjoy" at intervals where our guide allowed us to gasp for breaths of very scarce oxygen! However, we did have the joy of seeing wild chinchillas, which was a personal highlight of mine, as we stopped for about 10 minutes to look at them, so it gave me a chance to breathe! The weather changed when we got to the top, although gain David (guide lied). "This is it" he said. "No more climbing". And then 2 seconds later what were we doing...yep climbing in wind, hail and rain! He got the hip flask out at the top, and offered all a shot of whisky, although Zoe (alkie that she is), was the only one to accept!! She declined it when he got it out though. She says she thought he was joking, but we all know, she was just embarassed to show her true colours infront of everyone!! We then had quite a steep descent after that, and we discovered the easiest way to do it was run and pray you didn't slip off the cliff edge! What we climbed in about 6 hours we descended in half an hour! We were met with a very welcome sight of steaming hot tomato soup, followed by a beef stew thing and hot drinks, all in a nice warm tent! We were quite reluctant to leave after lunch for the afternoon part of our walk, especially as it was still raining slightly, but we were dragged away from the warmth, and to our joy it only took us an hour to reach our evening site (downhill and flat all the way)! We were at about 3600m at this point, and the campsite was in school grounds with local women trying to sell us textiles. Afternoon tea was amazing. Cheese wontons with guacamole! And popcorn! We then had a couple of hours to kill before dinner (lamb stew and tinned peach for dessert). We were all exhausted that day, and so another early night followed, with another 6am rise in the morning!
This day promised to be easier than the day before, but then the first thing we had to do was scramble up a cliff on our hands and knees. Not a promising start! He then pointed to what looked like a very high mountain a very long way away, and told us that we had to climb and then go down the other side of that before lunch, but not to worry as we'd be done in 4 hours! Whatever!! To be fair to him, thew walk was easier, and the scenery stunning. We stopped for a short break by a beautiful lake in the middle of the mountains, where we all ate chocolate and took in the views. It was at this point that I also gave the mule my bag for the uphill bit. I was not too proud to ask for help!! We got to the top of the mountain pass, where we had the joy of seeing a condor, and amazing views. The weather was brilliant, and we were surrounded by lakes and mountains, and the joy of knowing that the rest of the journey was downhill! We had fun running down the steep downhill parts, racing our guide, and sliding down the pebbly bits! We saw a few more chinchillas and some geese. We continued on down for what felt like ages, and then had lunch! Always the highlight of the day! After lunch we carried on going, knowing that our destination was the hot springs. Our legs were aching a lot at this point, and the promise of hot water and a shower was the only thing that was keeping us going! And it was worth it! We arrived at the springs 3 hours after lunch at around 5, and were slightly put off by the hundreds of children and fat Peruvian men in the springs. I must admit, I was filled with joy at the prospect of putting on my bikini and joining them. However, by about 6pm, we had the whole place to ourselves, and after another great afternoon tea, we donned our swimwear (it was raining and dark at this point) and dove straight in, trying to avoid the slightly pervy stares of our guide and the male porters!! The springs were amazing. The water was boiling, too hot for Katy, who joined the remaining children in the cool pool, and got splashed by them!! The evening definitely got brighter when the guide brought over lots of beer for all. We didn't think it could get better, but then dinner was served...the best spaghetti carbonara I have ever had, followed by some gross red wine (I couldn't finish mine, but resident alcoholic Zoe managed to do the job!!) All of this was concluded by another early night, and Zoes rather beautiful owl noises!
The next day was walking free, and we were just driven to a town half an hour away from Maccu Piccu, where we stayed the night in a hostel, before our day in Macu Piccu ruins. Almost forgot...lunch this day was cool! We were taken to this litle place where they make chicha (alcohol made from corn), and they had the best game ever. It's called sapato (??), and it involved throwing gold coins into a frogs mouth (don't worry mum, not a real frog!) It all got quite competitive towards the end after a few beers and a big lunch (Zoes fave tuna...she liked the beer though!)
I hope this keeps everyone going for a bit. We'll write about Maccu Piccu tomorrow. We don't feel the journal can really do this week justice. It was just amazing. One of the best I have ever had, despite the moaning and the hard work, it was one of the most rewarding and satisfying things we have ever done.
Hope everyone is well. Keep the messages and emails coming.
Lots of love
xxxxxx
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