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Published: August 19th 2008
Kelly and I spent the day walking around Cuzco, seeing the museums and planning our future travels, what we didn´t count on is how freaking cold it can get here. I know that someone else would probably have put together the facts that (1) its winter here and (2) we are 9,000 feet above sea level and figured out that the Peruvian Andes may be a bit chilly. We, however, did not quite pack for the trip correctly. Kelly at least has a pair of sneakers. I, on the other-hand, have only a single pair of sandals and a single pair of socks (the sandles are made of Yak, which do live above the tree line, but this has not helped my frigid exposed feet so far). Being unprepared has, however, enabled us to justify SHOPPING! Kelly already bought a muy bonita sweater and a very colorful hat. While I have not broken down and bought another pair of socks yet, I did get a hat, which in my opinion (though not Kelly´s) makes me look like Indiana Jones (bet you can´t wait for the pictures).
Tomorrow we are hiking the Lares route to Machu Pichu, a four day alternative trek to the Inca Trail that will take us camping at above 12,000 feet. This evening we went to an pre-start checkin, where we discovered that of 18 people, we were the only ones that decided it was not worth the extra 150 soles to hire a porter, so we will be the only ones carrying our packs (with equipment) up the Andean mountainside. On the topic of coldness, our guide also let us know that the nights can get below -5*C at our campsite. Even I thought that bringing 20*F sleeping bags for our trek in Africa was a bit overkill, but I have a feeling that tomorrow, my gear snobbiness may actually come in handy. We also purchased walking sticks (collapsable, with a compass and flashlight) for the same price as renting them would have cost, thanks to Kelly´s bargaining skill. Wish us luck!
-- Steve
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anonymous
non-member comment
Steve - more power to you with foregoing the porter. We had the same situation (14 of 16 used porters) and did the same, and didn't regret it a bit.