Week 2

Cuzco and The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

We are now on Sunday sitting in tinterweb café doing our weekly call home and blog. Weather is warm, shorts and flop flips are on. Muscles are still aching from one of the most amazing weeks trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu. So this week we have been up to…..

Saturday, we had to start the day with a fry up so we visited the local Irish Paddys bar. Very nice, full irish / english, yummm. Lucky for Tom the football was on to so we watched that before the trip for the weekly blog update. The rest of the day we spent negotiating the price for our trip into the Amazon, the people here are mental, one guy even got his machete out to demonstrate how he will cut through the jungle. ARGH! Needless to say we avoided any further contact with this mad man! We had to walk today to change hostel, it was bloody boiling and I thought it was going to be cold so kitted up in 5 layers and a fleece, we had to peel me off in the street to avoid any ´im a turtle´ moments (Me passing out on my back and not being able to get back up because of my big bag!)We found a nice cheap hostel near the hotel that we were booked into for the next night for our trip. Tom got electrocuted in the shower though, shouldn’t laugh though as his arm went numb, and he went very quiet, but it was a bit funny! Tonight we had a bargain 3 course dinner with a Pisco Sour, one of the local brandy mixed drink. It was also the night of Peru Vs Argentina and the restaurant was full of both sides, no fighting, just loads of cheering, shouting, stamping and dancing! It was good. The cockroach that I saw in the bathroom though wasn’t, quick exit was taken! On the walk back, we passed an art gallery, which had a huge white caped thing with a silver mask……it moved and looked at me, I freaked out, ran and cried. I hate masks!

Sunday was quiet. As the religion is mainly Catholic here, not much is open. We had to trek for 20 minutes to find a deli to have breakfast in, however after sitting for 10 minutes, they told us they weren’t serving food, the bellies kept rumbling so we found somewhere to have lunch. We ordered what we thought was a coffee, an espresso and a glass of hot water arrived, I think you add the coffee into to your own taste, we didn’t know this and threw the whole lot in, it tasted like cough medicine, yuk! We stocked up for the Inca trail today with the necessary bisquits and sweets and later met our group for the week at the hotel. They all seemed a good bunch, a mix of Norwegians, Ozzies, Americans and Canadians, there were only 3 English. After the briefing and then waiting an age for our dinner, we went to bed to stock up on kip for the week and for Carol to paint her nails (yep still painted!), and then had to get up at 5am!

So Monday was an early one, we had breaky in the hotel. I had Granola, which dissolves when you add milk, seriously, weird! I sported my shorts and hiking boot ensemble, not a good one really, I soon got changed to hide the embarrassment. We left the hotel about 7am and went on our way to a local village where GAP Adventures, the group we went with, have a charity which supports the local Ketchowin people. Here we brought sexy llama hats, which look extremely fetching! The women here are all small, smaller than me small, and they wear traditional dress and hats all of the time. While we were being given the official talk about the way that the llama fur is spun to make thread and then dyed using leaves etc, there was a llama going crazy behind us and dragging a little lady who was trying to calm it down with it, It was pretty distracting from the talk! We then got into our bus and went further to some ruins which we walked around for a couple of hours, some found this hard work but this was nothing in comparison to what we were about to experience. The scenery round here is stunning, there are mountains as far as you can see and the size of them is so much bigger than we could have imagined. As we were walking around these ruins, there were pan pipes playing and echoing around the valley, beautiful. We learnt a lot today about the Inkan history. They were so clever and worshipped the Sun, Mountain´s and Water. This was until the Spanish invasion in the 1500´s where the Spanish evangelized the people. Anyone who refused was killed, including the Inkan King. We had lunch at a typical tourist trap in the middle of nowhere, it was pretty pricy but blumin heck it was good, we feed ourselves silly with the buffet and rolled out. Tom took a liking to a llama which looked like a deer ( we later found out that this is an animal but cant remember the name!), he kept shouting, ´Bambi…I kill you´ nutcase! On the way out we saw a macaw in the tree, he was semi wild and semi captive, we fed him papaya on a stick which was funny to watch as they dig their beak in and lick their food. We then travelled to the town that we were staying in for the night and climbed another ancient ruin, this was knackering as there were tons of steps. Once at our hotel, the search for beer & ponchos was on. We had a wonder through town and stocked up, we watched the sun go down from the roof of our hotel having a beer, lovely. The group all decided to have dinner together tonight at the blue puppy and then we headed to bed to watch Benjamin´s Button, this only lasted 20 minuites before the zzz´s took over.

Tuesday we were up early again and out. Today was the first day of our trek and the last morning with a hot water shower and a toilet that wasn’t a squat box for a few days. We had pancakes and fresh papaya juice for breaky, Papaya juice was more like slime, e a w! On the way to the bus, my Camel pak decided it didn’t like holding water in instead decided to drip it all down my leg, to say I was miffed was an understatement, we now had to make a mad dash to a shop to get a bottle of water. Tom also decided to steal the room key and so the hotel lady was running after us, this didn’t seem to be a great morning! However, Percy, our Andean partner guide, asked us to come to the Inca Trail with only 3 things. An open heart, A strong mind and Good Karma. This certainly came in useful over the next few days.

When we got to where we start the trek, it was hectic. There is a limit of only 500 people per day who can start the trail, this includes porters and guides which means that it doesn’t get too busy. We had a group of 16 of us, only 14 did the trail as 2 of the girls were poorly and dropped out to meet us at the end at Machu Pichu. For our group of 14, we had 23 porters and 2 guides, we were spoilt. The porters are amazing, they are mainly local farmers who work as porters out of season. They are small men, even smaller than me in some cases who carry 25kg on their backs, not in proper backpack type bags, but in makeshift sacks with straps. They run the Inca trail and set up camp for each time we stop. They cook for us, put our tents up, even blow up our mattresses. It makes you feel humbled by them and sometime embarrassed but we had to remember that this was their job, this earn´t them the money they needed and they enjoyed it. At the start of the trek, it seemed appropriate to ask the mountains to help us and get us there safely, which we can now say that they thankfully did. We walked across the wibbly wobbly bridge to start the trek and stopped at some beautiful places along the way. We also learnt about Paddington Bear today. He is in fact a Spectacle Bear which is found in deepest darkest Peru, the Andean mountains where we were. He was left in a basket in a train station in London, Paddington Station and so was named Paddington. He eats marmalade sandwiches because that was all the person that found him had. Therefore we learnt the true story of Paddington, we looked out for real Paddingtons, but we didn’t find any of them! Today was not too hard, a lot of flat ground with some steep up. We stopped for lunch where we had a 2 course meal finished with Coca tea. Coca tea is something we have got quite into. It is Coca leaves in hot water and has a tiny amount of Cocaine in it. The guide explained it to us and everyone thought he was joking, he has told us that black tea has caffeine, Coca tea has Cocaine. When we felt tired, we had a homemade mix of Black and Coca tea, not one to have before bed! We also stopped for some local Chicha, beer which is made from corn, bit odd, tastes of smelly socks really and stale beer! When we got to our campsite for the night we were blown away. The tents were pitched in lines on the terraces on the side of a mountain, the view was spectacular. Feet were pretty battered today, but nothing a compead blister patch doesn’t cure. Socks were smelly, but all worth it for this. Our porters had set up afternoon tea for us for our arrival and then we were introduced to each and every porter and had a chance to say Buenos Tardes to them. The oldest porter we had was 52 and the youngest was 19, some were family and they all came from the same town. They each had their own responsibilities along the trail, such as carrying our duffle bags, the head chef or being responsible for disinfecting cutlery. They are all very proud men with families to feed, very amazing. I can honestly say that the sleep was the comfiest sleep in a tent I have ever had, our sleeping bags are a dream!!! Tom woke up at 2.30am as he wasn’t feeling well. Then the darn cockerals woke up at 2.45am, to bug the hell out of everyone, grrr.

At 6am, we were woken up by the porters with a coffee in bed and a bowl of hot water to wash with. The view and a brew was magical. Today was going to be the hardest day of the trek as we had to climb up and over ´Dead Womens Pass´ which is 4200m above sea level. We wondered whether it was named this due to the lack of Women who make it alive, however it is down to the fact that the profile of the pass looks like a women lying down, we actually climbed over her nipple. When we consider that Ben Nevis is 1900m above sea level, this was a real challenge, not only was it steep and difficult, but the altitude made the air so much thinner and so each breath was difficult. Today we stayed near the back of the group, it meant we weren’t presurised and could take it at our own pace, it also meant that we had loads of photo, water and consequently wee stops. Today the scenery started to get greener as we walked. The trail started quite arid and dry and as we continue, it gets wetter and greener. We thought we saw the top at one point, only to get there and realize that it was just a corner, we couldn’t even see the top as we were now so high that we were in the clouds. Tom cursed the plaace as ´this f-ing hill´i had to remind him that it was a mountain and a sacred one at that, not to be cursed at! The valley up to the pass was breath taking in more than one way and nearer the top, something special was needed to get that extra push through the pain. Once we reached the top, the last few steps were hard, our group cheered us on and took photos. It was colder up here and the sweat soon turns freezing. We kitted up in our fleeces and waited for the rest of our group. Once everyone was together again and a few photos had been taken, there was only one way…down! We have 1.5 hours worth of steep downhill steps. This batters your knees and heads, however when we got to the camp we discovered that there were real toilets, the ones you can sit, on, well it was all worth the pain then!!! The scenery from camp 2 was even better than the first night. We could see the glaciers in front of us and the valley opened up to the view in front of us. We sat in our tent and listened to Newton Faulkner´s song ‘if this is it’ where the main line is ´If I had one chance, to freeze time and stand still and soak in everything, i´d choose right now…´. The song was pretty fitting for this trip, as there were plenty of moments we want to soak in and remember forever. It was then Siesta time, which wasn’t a good idea as waking up for dinner was difficult, tonight was an early night after spending hours finding out that Percy was a huge film buff and knew more about them than us, again in preparation for an even earlier morning.

Day 3 was to be the most beautiful day. We woke early to try to get further up the mountain for the sunrise. On the way up we stopped at a lagoon where deer were drinking. Further on up we reached the top, this was 3600m. Percy had asked us to collect a stone at the bottom of the mountain in the morning and once we reached the top, we made a stone stack which is traditional to continue to grow the mountain. We each put our stone on the stack and wished for something close to our heart. Once this was completed we had to hug and say something nice to each and everyone one of our group. This was quite an emotional moment as we had got this far as a group and everyone had experienced some tough times. Once again, the only way was now down. We hadn’t had breakfast yet so that we could try to get the sunrise, so the porters were running past us to set up breakfast further along the trail. When Percy said breaky was going to be 8.30am, that didn’t seem bad, but when 8.30am arrived and we could see the breakfast tent the other side of the valley at the same height as us on another mountain, the belly was not happy. We decided to get there as quick as possible and it wasn’t actually as far as it looked, we were the first there which says something! Piggys! Breaky was pancakes with writing on top in butterscotch sauce, I had a love heart and Tom had Peru. I felt quite honoured until I found out that there were 2 of us with love hearts! After breaky we carried on to climb up the next and final mountain. This walk was stunning, we were now in the cloud forest which is where the Andean highlands start to change into the Amazon Rainforest. Unfortunately there was a forest fire 14 years ago which partially destroyed a lot of the higher forest. When we reached the top, we had a 360 degree view of the valley, it really felt like we were on top of the world. We now had a couple of hours downhill to our third and final camp along the trail, again this was steep and hard on the knees, every step created an ouch or a yelp. We knew that at this camp, there was a shower, a hot shower! This was pure luxury after the last few days and was well needed. After lunch we ran to the shower where we had to sit outside for an hour in the queue with our deli style ticket…and a beer. Once in, there was a further queue, but at least we were inside and warm. The shower was more a dribble but just about meant that hair could get washed. What a treat! Tonight was our last meal on the trail and also the tipping ceremony for the porters. This had caused a bit of a sore spot as most of the group were on holiday from their jobs and so expected us to all put the same amount in to the tipping pot, which was 30 pounds each. At the moment we are staying in hostels which cost a maximum of 10 pounds a night for us both, so 60 pounds is our equivalent to a weeks accommodation. Some took offence when we explained that we could not tip the same as everyone else, and one even passed comment that this was the poor travelers group. This was a real shame as didn’t seem the right end to what was till now a fantastic trip. We tipped what we could and shook hands and thanked each and every porter. We hoped they weren’t unhappy with their tips and spit in our food in the morning…

The morning / night, we were woken at 3.45am to leave camp at 4.20am. The final stretch to Machu Pichu is about 1 hour up to the Sun Gate which is the first view. The trail Now close the check point until 5.30am as too many people were walking the last stretch in the dark and as it is narrow and slippery, were getting injured. We were a bit disappointed that we wouldn’t see the sunrise, but we had to respect the trails rules. So at 4.20am, we started to queue for the check point. We were the second group, which meant that if we walked quick, we would be some of the first to see Machu Pichu. After the sunrise, and a bit of a jig to ´American Pie´, the check point was open and we were off. It was like a race as we knew we had 200 other trekkers behind to compete with, all wanting to be the first to the stunning view. We had challenged ourselves to keep up with Percy and now let anyone past so we almost ran the whole 50 minute but had to stop for breath after 40 minutes when we came to a steep flight of stairs, which sent Tom into an panting mess. We climbed the last steps using our hands to pull us up and finally reached the Sun Gate. What an ending to the trail. From here you have a full view of Machu Pichu and lucky for us we had a clear view with no cloud. Within 5 minutes the cloud came over and covered it, some groups arrived and could see nothing in the white out. We realized how lucky we were to have got there to see the first sights of such a stunning view. You cant really explain the feeling of finally getting there…Magical! The walk down is about 1 hour, with plenty of photo opportunities. The place is amazing. Surrounded by mountains, Machu Pichu is known as The Scared Valley of the Incas, and we got there by walking in the footsteps of pilgrims who visited this city. We were very proud and almost felt that we deserved to see this sight. Here the emotion of the last few days hit us and the realization of what we have been so privileged to experience.

By 9am, the many tourists had arrived and swarmed the site. I have a confused feeling about this and speaking to Percy it seems that the locals also do as there are still some local people who worship what the Incas did, and here people were clambering all over their Sacred City. After a few hours soaking all of this in, we caught the bus into town where we were to meet the group for lunch and then catch our train back to Cuzco. The bus journey was another of those scary ones, with edges!!! The train though was great. At one point the train stopped and we wondered whether we had de railed, the driver was out, looking at the ground, frowning, but it seems that it was ok and we carried on. On the way back we saw a forest fire which had started up one of the mountains, hopefully this burnt out. We got back to our hotel around 6.30pm and after a mad dash to the shop to try to buy some clean clothes, we showered (hot shower, hmmm!) and went out for dinner with the group, Percy and Rosita (the chica chita). We had the biggest burgers we have ever seen and rolled home later. After a load of goodbyes and e mail exchanges, we headed off to bed in the posh hotel.

Morning was a lie in and breaky with a few of the group. Then a trek to find another hostel. We went to one that we had visited last week, I thought it was 45 soles (9 pounds) but it was in fact 135 soles, I had been looking at the dollar sign last week, oops! We managed to find somewhere though, they even had a regularly topped up Thermos of hot water so we can have 24 hour a day brews, although the shower is cold and the toilet doesn’t flush but its swings and roundabouts!!! Saturday we did our laundry, all of our clothes. We had a pint in an English pub and ate the local econimica menu, 2 pounds for salad, soup, main, pudding and drink. Cant go wrong with that. We booked our trip into the Amazon and had a bed picnic of pate on bread for dinner whilst watching SWAT on the tv.

Today, we had a lie in till 9.30am, watched Friends. Visited the Artisan Market and brought bracelets, t shirts and a scarf. We still haven’t had breakfast so are snaking on mentos and cookies while we call home and do our blog. As today is Sunday, we are going to treat ourelves to a roast for dinner, especially as Mum has just described her roast lamb and glass of wine to me, hmmm. Missing home food, comforts and people, but after a week like this, realize how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing and experiencing what we are experiencing. Life changing…amazing.