We’re back!! I can’t believe we completed the Inca Trail, it was so rewarding! It was also WAY harder than we could have ever imagined, but we still managed to have so much fun doing it. I know its not as fun reading the blog, now that we are back, but just in case you are curious about our everyday happenings while trekking, here they are!!
Day 1
We left Cusco last night and headed for the small town of Ollantaytambo. It was the most bizarre bus ride! Eighteen of us piled into a mini-van and drove into the night, with random stops on the side of the road. It was pitch dark as we drove through the mountains, causing the stars to light up brighter than I’ve seen them in awhile. I had my head pressed up against the window the entire drive, admiring the milky way, and thanking my higher being for letting me experience something so amazing. Every now and then, I gave myself a little pinch.
We stopped for a short, yet yummy dinner of lomo pollo in the cozy mountain town before heading towards the trail head. The 45-minute drive was pretty crazy, as the single lane we were on, eventually led to a dirt road alongside some railroad tracks. There were no lights, no people, nothing. We could barely make out our surroundings, but could see the outline of the mountains, and heard the rushing water from the nearby river. We finally reached our first campsite after a near head-on collision with the Perurail. Don’t worry, we are still alive. The porters set up our tents and after a short astrology lesson from our trek guide, Robert, we retired for the evening.
Before I go on, I want to give a quick introduction of our group. There are 9 of us.
-John and Ingve from Norway. They are volunteering in Bolivia at an orphanage for a year.
-Jaren from Hershey, Pennsylvania. A mountaineer, and chocolate conousseur.
-Lynn and Maxx from San Francisco. He sells cheese, she hates cheese.
-Calvin and Mike from Montana. Recent grad from the Univ of Montana.
This morning, Robert woke us up at 6:30am. Like I said, when we arrived last night, it was pitch dark, so we really had no idea where we were, or what it looked like. We were in for a nice surprise when we unzipped our tents. We happened to be camping right next to a rapid river, with the Andes mountains hovering over us. In the near distance, were snowcapped mountains. A serene sight, that I don’t think I could ever forget nor accurately describe. After breakfast of cheese sandwiches and some coca mate, we packed up camp and headed for the Inca Trail entrance. There was a bit of a line at the entrance, as the government now regulates how many people can actually do the trek. Only 500 people can hike it a day, 200 being trekkers, the other 300 being guides and porters. As we waited, the train passed by carrying tourists to Machu Picchu. I caught a few of them taking pictures of us, and had a good chuckle! Once over the suspension bridge, our trek had finally begun. Robert told us to go at our own pace. We hiked for about three hours before stopping for lunch. The hike was pretty awesome. Everywhere I looked, there was a piece of beauty, all new and beholding. At about 9,000 feet, we stopped at an archeological site called Llaqtapata. This site served as the local center for agricultural administration. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Lunch was delicious, but a little heavy! After eating soup, spaghetti and salad, I wanted to take a nap, but we still had three hours to our campsite. The remainder of the hike wasn’t too bad, the end being the hardest part, as there was a gradual incline, but we were able to make it to Wayllabama before sunset. Our tents were already set up on a cliff, overlooking the Cusichaca stream.
We are now at about 10,000 feet, and I feel great! I’m drinking a beer right now! Actually, my pack is only about 6-8lbs, so I’m lucky. I see these porters carrying probably 50+lbs, and they are pratically running the trail! I can’t even imagine.
Currently we are just hanging out, relaxing, watching some roosters mate, and getting a kick out of it! The sun is about to go down, which means, its about to get chilly. We were freezing in our tents last night, and at one point, thought our faces were going to fall off! But on the other hand, the weather during the day has been gorgeous, probably in the mid-70s, the best conditions for hiking.
Today at lunch, I asked Robert about the supposed deterioration of Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. Various books I have read, say they are both in danger due to tourism. Robert said the City of Lost Incas has been sinking about 1cm per year, and proposes that it might be gone in another 200 years. He said that yes, tourism plays a big part, but that natural erosion is the main reason for its slow depletion.
Day 2
We have both decided that todays hike was the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives. That should pretty much sum up the intensity of it!
We woke up at 5:30 am to the constant crowing of the roosters. My stomach began to hurt in the middle of the night, and sure enough, I started vomiting. It must have been something I had eaten, but it was seriously horrible timing, as we were about to take on the toughest of the hikes, according to Robert. After trying to stomach a pancake, I gave my pack to a porter, to lighten my load. For the rest of the day, all I could keep down was a power bar and some Gatorade.
The hike was truly much harder than we had imagined. The 3,200 steps up the side of the mountain just kept going, and going. With each step upwards we could feel our gluts and hamstrings burn, and our breath got heavier and shorter. Despite wanting to give up at times, we encouraged each other to move on, and managed to have a fun while doing it. I’m not sure if it was the altitude, but we had many bursts of uncontrollable laughter! It took us about 6 hours, with numerous breaks, to finally reach the summit. The last hour was definitely the hardest, because not only was it the steepest, but the end was in sight, and yet, still so far away. Half a mile takes you about an hour in this thin air! When we finally did reach the top, we were overwhelmed with feelings of relief, satisfaction, accomplishment and excitement. Everyone was, you could feel and see it. People were cheering their friends on, and high fives were slapped in the air. The vibe was pretty awesome. I’m smiling now, just thinking about it.
At the top we relaxed for a bit, and enjoyed the view. The earth looks quite amazing from 13,875 feet! The boys from our group had left us some beef jerky, so we gnawed on that, while preparing for the descent. The descent is just as hard, if not harder than the ascent. You have to watch your step while going down, and your joints really take a beating. The campsite wasn’t too far away, as you could see the tents in the distance, but it still took us awhile to get there. After about two hours of downhill, we finally made it, and by this point, our legs were shaking.
We are camping in a little valley this evening. It is freezing here. Vanny is sure its in the teens, but I think its probably in the 20’s. We had a fantastic lunch of mash potatoes, beef, rice and veggies when we first arrived, and then some chicken stir-fry for dinner. I still haven’t been able to eat much though. After dinner we played a card game that the Norwegians taught us, and then ended our night with Robert telling us a few scary stories. He is the best story teller ever, we love him!
Day 3
Wow, I can’t believe it’s the second to last day, its all been going by so quickly! Tomorrow we will finally get to see Machu Picchu!! Yippee!!
Well, I’m not sure how it happened, but I woke up feeling amazing today. Vanny on the other hand…I think she got whatever I had. After the first incline, she gave her bag to the porter to carry, but I don’t think it helped much, as she was looking pretty rough for most of the day. Miraculously, she managed to pull it together for the nine hour hike. Its funny, she thinks todays hike was the hardest, and I think yesterdays hike was, I wonder why!
Once again, we woke up at the crack of dawn! Its so hard to get out of your tent and get ready, when its freezing outside! But, we managed to get packed up and on the trail by 7am. Today’s hike was a six mile variation of ups, downs and plateaus. The scenery was simply amazing. It seems that the views just keep getting better and better each day. At one point we were at about 12,000 feet, the highest point of the mountain we were on. We were literally submerged in clouds! It was awesome! Half way through, it started raining and hailing on us, and the terrain reminded me much of the rainforest on the Big Island. I wish I could do a better job of describing what we saw today, but its truly that hard. I couldn’t even really capture it with my camera! I’ve come to the conclusion that if you are curious to know what it looks like, then, you really must go see it for yourself. Perhaps its not suppose to be described in words.
When I saw Ingve sitting and looking out at one of the many amazing views, he said to me, “I could sit here all day, and take it all in. I don’t ever want to forget this.” I told him he wouldn’t.
We stopped at three archeological sites today. Runkuraqay, at 12, 470 feet, was the first, then Sayacmarca and Phuyupatamarca. The latter two being the most magnificent of all the ones I’ve seen on the trek so far. I love sitting at these sites and listening to Roberts historical explanation of each one. I can’t believe they use to house Inca civilization, and were each built with such perpetual respect for the environment. The Incas could definitely teach us a thing or two about sustainable living!
Well, its once again bedtime. Our campsite tonight is definitely the most bustling. There is a bar, shower and even a restaurant! We had a feast for dinner, consisting of chile rellenos, stuffed chicken and some pasta. We even took a hot shower for 5 sols, but it wasn’t really that hot. Although, it for sure served its purpose. Unfortunately, our tent is parked right next to the outhouses, and I can’t even begin to describe the smell and noises that are eluding from them. Lets just say, I feel like hurling again, and this time, it isn’t from the food! The plus side is that for the first time in four nights, we are not freezing our butts off, as we are now back down to 8,692 feet.
Day 4
We woke up at 3:15 this morning to get a head start on the trail so that we could get to Machu Picchu before anyone else. The hike in the dark was so cool! Everyone had headlamps on, illuminating the path in front of them. It reminded me of scuba diving at night, where you can only see as far as your flashlight shines. It was chilly, but not freezing, and it rained quite a bit at the very beginning. The hike was only two hours and wasn’t that difficult. It was only remotely hard because by this time, we were exhausted! Every muscle in our bodies began to ache. But, for me, it really was the most fun of all the hikes. All nine of us stayed together for the first hour or so, and sang stupid songs along the way. Everyone had a good laugh, as spirits were high. It’s funny, cause I think I laughed more in the four days on the trek, then I have in a long while. Our group was so dynamic, and we had so much fun goofing around with each other. No one complained, and we all got along famously. I already miss them, especially our guide. Like I said before, he was simply the best, funny and knowledgeable. His laugh is one of a kind, and so darn contagious! Anyways, back to Machu Picchu…
After a short while, we finally arrived to the Sun Temple, overlooking the backside of Machu Picchu. It was a bittersweet moment, as this marked the end of the Inca Trail. I was so happy that we had made it, yet so sad that it was over. It went by entirely too fast! I wanted more!!
Machu Picchu was just as powerful as all the pictures have suggested. Its hard to believe that a human had the strength to build something so magnificent (I thought the same thing when I first laid eyes on Angkor Wat in Cambodia). When we first approached, there were llamas everywhere, gazing. Talk about adding to the overall experience! I’m not sure if the llamas lived there, or were staged, but honestly, I didn’t care, because they made every thing better! I couldn’t get enough photos of the cute little creatures! After the llama photo shoot, we met up with the rest of the group at the front gates. There we discovered that it was to the day that Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu back in 1911. Here we were, 98 years later, celebrating its anniversary. Amazing.
After a quick and hearty empanada, Robert gave us a tour of the Lost City. The astronomical observatories, temples zones, ceremonial rocks, fountains, towers, everything was so big and impressive. It started raining a bit while we walked around, but it just added to the ambiance. It actually rained quite a bit on us, for being the dry season! After taking a zillion photos, we noticed how crowded the temple had gotten. It was pretty ridiculous actually. There were people everywhere, and if we laughed too loud, we were told to “shhhhhh!” This became a problem for us, since as I mentioned before, our group was constantly in hysterics! At one point, I asked Robert to point in the direction from which way we came, and he pointed to a mountain far, far off in the distance. What an accomplishment!
I’m really proud of us for doing and completing the trek. It was much more difficult than we had anticipated, but definitely not impossible. I do wish we were a tad bit more prepared for it though, as we were constantly borrowing supplies from our fellow trekkers, but for the most part, I think we did fine. I truly can’t believe we pulled it off, sickness and all. Additionally, we somehow managed to have the best time, despite all the obstacles. I think we impressed ourselves as well as the others, with how well we handled it. I am proud;)
Cheers,
V&V
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