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The Inca Trail. A 45km hike through the Andes, at altitudes of up to 4,200 metres above sealevel. The experience of a lifetime…
I'd arrived in Cuzco with a few days to spare to allow myself time to get used to the altitude, and as everything there revolves around tourism for Machu Piccu I started to feel more and more excited. The Inca Trail is booked up so far in advance I felt lucky to have a ticket, and headed out to stock up on llama layers to keep me cosy.
I'd booked the trek with GAP, who I did my Argentina to Brazil tour with back in February - they were great. Meeting the other hikers at a hotel in Cuzco we were given a briefing on what to expect, our gear and a rough outline of the tour of the Sacred Valley we'd be doing the next day.
The group:
Effy - our guide, a huge bear of a man with a kind smile and a pocketful of English slang.
Roddy - chocolate-loving assistant guide, a real sweetheart who pretended to walk slowly to make us feel better if we were struggling at the back.
The porters - a team of 20 heroes, including two chefs who somehow manage to create amazing meals way up high in those remote campsites. These guys are amazing. Tiny, but tough, they each carried 25kgs on their backs, making us all feel very inadequate as they ran past in sandals. They have to carry everything - our food, chairs and tables, the tents, cooking utensils and any rubbish, as there are strict regulations on the Inca Trail. Cesar, Wilbur, Guillermo, each of them a star - all of the porters are local farmers, who speak Quechua and are directly descended from the Incas.
Our intrepid team of hikers -
Diane, Crystal and Kawichi from the States. Kept us all laughing with their Americanisms.
Glen and Laulai, Canadian father and daughter on a Peruvian quality-time adventure.
Zoe - speedy Brit who loves to run and confuse Americans with sarcasm.
LK - Aussie sailing Sheila.
Marie and Siri - Norwegian cousins travelling through South America together, this was their final stop before home.
Nell - my room/ tent-mate, what a sweetheart.
Greta and Toril - Norwegian ladies on adventures around the world.
The boys were totally outnumbered and fair play to them for putting up with all of us. Glenn saved my trotters by bandaging up my feet on the first night, and Kawichi didn't complain at all when I beat his tent with my walking poles in the middle of the night, to stop his snoring.
Happy campers.
I wasn't expecting to be comfortable at night, bundled up in tents way up high in the Andes, but the camping was really good fun. Every night we'd hunker down wrapped in our thermals and dreading having to make a night-time dash to the squat toilets (grim in daylight, the stuff of nightmares in the dark). I was nice and cosy in my sleeping bag; everyone laughed at the amount of alpaca I was wearing but it kept me warm!
Being looked after by our team or porters as well, we were fine. At the end of every day, Guillermo would wait for us all by the campsite, seeing his smiley face was a warm welcome indeed (especially at the end of Day 2 - I gave him a hug, he went quite pink under his llama hat). The porters would bring us warm water to wash and soak our feet in, and we'd have snacks like popcorn and hot chocolates as we chatted about the day. Oh, and the food, mmm… we ate trout, chicken, rice, pancakes, even lemon meringue pie. and the porters would bring us bowls of warm water to bathe our aching feet in, and in the mornings we'd get 'tent service' with coca tea delivered to us in bed. Luxury at 3,900 metres!
The Trek
As well as taking in the scenery along the hike (so, so gorgeous), we were to learn about Inca and Peruvian culture on the trip. On the first day (before we started the main hike) Effy and Roddie took us to a village on the first day where GAP are supporting a co-operative with local women (the wives of the porters), who make traditional Peruvian wares such as wool, blankets and hats. We saw the lives of rural people, and overall I'd have to say that the women work all day and the men seem to get quite a lot of time to enjoy themselves! We took the male route, drinking chicha and playing a throwing frog game, apparently a key source of entertainment high up in the Andes…
The first day of the trek and we were all really excited. After breakfast at the B&B we set off, climbing higher into the Andes in our minivan, until we got to the main gate. It's quite filmic there, as you show your ticket you cross over an imposing bridge as you wave goodbye to the normal world. Off we set, passing dwellings along the way - some people live along the Inca Trail, keeping small animals and growing vegetables. Quite idyllic really. Even from the starting point, relatively low in the mountains, the scenery was stunning. We spent much of the hike just saying "wow, look how gorgeous that is!". Our first night camping proved to be beautiful too, as it is so dark up there you get a really good view of the stars - I saw the Southern constellations, the milky way and even a shooting star!
Dead Womans Pass- my nemesis.
Day two is a hard hike up a steep 4,200 metres, known as Dead Woman's Pass. Gulp. The morning hike was really tough, I was struggling with the altitude and finding it hard to catch my breath. But I was absolutely determined to make it up Dead Woman's Pass; powered by coca tea and an energy-boosting lunch I popped my i-pod on and off I went. Up, up, up I climbed, and I have to say Lady Gaga got me through it! There was a real sense of camaraderie with the other hikers along the way. Getting to the top was an incredible feeling - there was a huge group there waiting to cheer for everyone who made it. The elation I felt when I reached the summit was unbelievable, a pure rush of adrenaline and absolute joy - I did a victory dance at the top of the mountain! I just couldn't stay still, leaping around and laughing with the others, hi-fiving and then cheering on the people on their way up. Standing up there looking at the Andes was just amazing.
The Toughest Day.
Everyone who told me that day 2 was the worst - you are all liars. Day 3 was so hard. After 3 hours of downhill the day before my muscles were starting to ache, and as we left camp and it was uphill straight away… then we reached the first lot of steps… huge, uneven Inca stones that were so steep. But the downhill, ouch! It just went on and on, although a bit of a singalong and lots of chats with the other hikers made it fun. So after a full 10 hours of hiking the promised shower that awaited at the campsite just didn't happen - it was already getting cold by then and no way was I stripping off in the chilly mountain air! We were just so pleased to arrive, we hugged and kissed Guillermo when we finally made it.
Machu Piccu
The reason I came to Peru. This Ancient Inca site way up in the mountains is so spectacular, photos will never do it justice. The Incas were really smart, although the site is on an earthquake fault line they designed it so well that it has stood firm all these years. The Incas believed that the mountains would protect them, and the site is so remote that when the Spanish invadeded and the Incas fled, the Spanish never found it.
Due to arrive at Machu Piccu on my birthday, I knew it was going to be a special day. I was woken up at 3:50a.m, ready for the early trek to the sun-gate. Pitch-black darkness was pierced with head-torches and birthday salutations as we assembled in the dining tent, with everyone singing Happy Birthday to me as we tucked into our breakfast - a huge chocolate and jelly (yum) birthday cake!
After days of nasty squat toilets on the Inca Trail, possibly the best birthday present ever was being able to use the Western loos on the campsite that morning! Off we set on the last day of our trek, in the dark, bundled up in llama. As it got lighter, a thick mist hung over the Andes and we could hear all sorts of funny animal noises. My first spotting of a toucan came on the way, as we wound our way along a narrow mountainside path through the fluffy white clouds. Finally, we got to The Steps… to climb up to the sun-gate, first you have to make your way up 50 steep Inca stone steps on your hands and knees - ouch! But what a view at the top…
I celebrated my birthday with a tour around the site, learning about the history of the Incas and taking a thousand photos. I had birthday cards to open at the top, and we managed to find a nice grassy spot to have a little sunbathe. Not to mention another victory dance! Congratulating ourselves on making it, feeling a little superior over the daytrippers who had taken the train, and feeling quite conscious of 4 days of trekking without any showers, we were just so happy to be there - we danced our socks off! We jumped, whooped, twisted and shimmied!
By mid-afternoon, our band of hikers were exhausted, aching, smelly and hungry as we descended the mountain. On and on the road down stretched, winding its way down the mountainsides I had worked so hard to climb. We spent the rest of the day in the weird little town at the bottom, Aqua calientes (not to be confused with the disgusting liqor of the same name in Colombia), before clambering aborad the train back to Cuzco.
Our little group had quite a bond by now, and to celebrate my birthday we headed out dancing. Dancing South American-style means lots of bum-shaking and knee-bending, not helping my poor muscles at all but very funny. In the club I bumped into some of the other hikers from the Inca Trail, who got me drinking a Macchu Piccu cocktail (revolting), getting very tipsy on a combination of altitude, no dinner and very strong vodkas (all 3 of them). What a birthday.
I thought that travelling around South America by myself would toughen me up, but the experience of the Inca Trail has made me feel as though I can do absolutely anything now. I am really proud of myself for doing it. After lots of 'Becsdoesbeaches' on this trip, I'm not in the best shape to be climbing mountains but I was blown away by how much I loved the hiking - and the Andes are breathtaking.
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