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Published: November 30th 2006
Friday 24th November onwards .....
Friday was a free day in Cuzco, unfortunately both Andrea & Nessie picked up a really nasty stomach bug & we're both wiped out & bed bound for the time we were in Cuzco. Vicky ¡ I went out for a bit of an explore but the other two managed to come out only once to by some bits for the Inca Trail but most of our time was spent hanging out in our room eating pizza & watching TV . Luckily we have another full day in Cuzco (today in fact) to see the sights before we leave.
The Chaps who were taking us up the trail came to meet us that evening. William and Smith (I kid you not his name was Smith) and gave us all duffel bags to put our things in which would be strapped to pack horses during our trek. Unfortunately And is extremely allergic to horses and started sneezing almost instantly which was worrying. What was more worrying was that even though we had been assured that the trek agency would be able to get a donkey to put And¨s stuff on there was not one available.
So we began the long process of wrapping everything in about 20 plastic bags before putting them in the duffel bags.
The next morning after breakfast we all piled into our bus, excited and a little nervous at what lay ahead. Our first stop was Sacsayhuamán the Inca complex on the hills over looking Cuzco. This the sight of the last great battle of Cuzco where the Inca generals threw themselves from the high stone towers instead of surrendering to the Conquistadors. The Spanish responded (as they always did) by levelling the towers almost to the ground but even so the remaining stand as testament to how magnificent a structure this must have once been. The size of the stones is mind boggling.
One of the highlights of this tour for us was getting to slide down a huge natural stone slide (we had to force our way through the school kids to get there but it was worth it)
Onwards to the sacred valley. The Photos do not do it justice. The mountains rising from the flat valley floor are huge and it is stunningly beautiful. We visited some another Inca ruin here "Pisac" which
Andrea on the Rock Slide
Going ever so slowly due to a bruised coccyx from an earlier Hammock incident!is set high on the side of the valley. As we walked around there were people playing pan pipes in the distance, a cheesy attempt to get you to buy some tourist tat I know but all the same it gave the place a nice atmosphere. We walked out from Pisac for an hour along an Inca trail of steps cut into the sheer rock face of the mountain and at one point a tunnel cut through the mountain ... these Incas were crazy.
From Pisac we drove deeper and higher into the Andes to our first campsite on the school playing field of a tiny village. The tents were put up for us (what luxury) and dinner was served in the school room after we had been given a Quechua lesson by the local teacher who must have despaired at us as we stumbled our way through the complicated phrases ad ended up in fits of giggles (I blame the lack of oxygen). All can remember from the whole session is Sulpikey which means thank you. Then it was early to bed to prepare for our big day tomorrow.
We were woken at 6.30 with hot drinks
and bowels of hot water in our tents (more luxury). We had breakfast once more in the school room the teacher even tried once more to teach us some Quechua. Then we went out side to peruse the make shift market that had quickly been set up by our camp. One of the girls bought a hand made Llama wool hat which I was jealous of until I found out that it smelt like a yaks toilet and it made everyone who went near it sneeze.
It seemed all to soon before William had us all stand in a circle shout out our names then perform some evil stretches and warm up exercises. I haven't found high altitudes a very pleasant experience since we arrived here and this particular morning I found it incredibly hard to catch my breath and as we set off I was really quite struggling. I kept waiting for things to improve thinking maybe I just needed to get my second wind or push through the pain barrier or any number of other cliches I could think of but I could manage no more than a few meters at a time be fore having to
stop to catch my breath. It was a strange sensation for at no point did my legs feel tired and I didn´t even break into a sweat it just felt as though I couldn't get enough oxygen into my lungs & my heart was beating like billy'o. I wasn´t alone though there was another girl in the same boat & And stayed with us encouraging us & setting a pace we could both achieve & slowly but surely we made it to the top.
The view from the top was stunning and I felt an incredible sense of achievement at having reached the summit. All I had to do now was stroll down the other side & after another nights sleep at high altitude (around 3,900 meters) I was sure to acclimatise so the next day would be even easier. Ha Ha .... How wrong can one person be?
About half way down the mountain my head began to hurt. This was no surprise to me as although I hardly ever get headaches at home I have been having altitude headaches quite regularly here but this was no ordinary headache. It got steadily worse and worse until I
could hardly walk in a straight line & I though I was going to be sick. The problem was that I had chosen to get sick on the only part of the mountain where the path was too steep for me to ride on the emergency horse so I had no choice but to carry on walking. By this time I was in quite a straight & couldn't stop myself from bursting into tears and then couldn't stop crying ... oh how embarrassing... but you know what, the crying must have released some pressure as after that my headache started to improve & we eventually made it down to the bottom. God I was absolutely exhausted.
After lunch some of the group went of to do some tree planting conservation work but I opted out & instead took to my bed for a sleep with And to keep me company. After a couple of hours William woke us and asked to come in for a chat. Kayleigh the other girl who was struggling had decided not to continue with the rest of the trek & he thought it would be a good idea if I didn´t continue too after
what had happened to me up on the mountain. Poor old And got lumped in with the pair of us as of course William didn't know that she was only staying back with us to look after me not that it mattered as she wouldn´t even hear of going on without me. I was gutted & I wasn't even sure that I would have been able to make it so what poor And must have been feeling I can't even begin to imagine.
It was while we were talking to William that I started to feel sick (oh yes, it gets better) before long I was running to the toilet & was quite violently ill. Shortly after that the others returned from what was supposed to have been a half hour walk but had turned into an epic hike & we found out that poor old Vicky had been sick too. Before dinner was on the table half of our group was running to the toilet and the sounds of heaving stomachs & bowels filled the night air until morning. The same bug that had wiped Nessie & Andrea out in Cuzco had hit us & so we all
knew we were in for a long & unpleasant ride.
So the next morning our group was split in two half of us staggering down the mountain & the other half heading off to finish the trek. I was so weak I could hardly walk to the camp toilet so a 15k trek at some speed was not an easy task. As usual And was amazing she carried all the water, her bag & draped me over her shoulder half carrying me until I felt strong enough to walk by myself. William was rushing us as we had to get to a village in time to catch a bus but the pace was pretty full on. So much so that one of the girls, Beccy passed out cold in the middle of the trail and after all that when we got down his crew had managed to arrange a minibus for us so we actually had time to relax in some hot springs before leaving.
Our minibus drove us to the pretty town Ollantaytambo where we checked into a hostel with the creakiest floorboards any of us had ever heard then slept for a couple of hours then
went out to dinner at a lovely little restaurant where the chef made us all the most delicious tasting chicken soup I have ever had. Then it was back to the hostel to collapse into sleep.
The next morning we felt a bit better ( the sickness had gone even though the other aspect of the bug was all still going strong). And, Maggie & I had breakfast (coffee & bread) at a little cafe just next to out hostel. Then we all carried our bags a couple of blocks to our nice hotel .... mmmmm hot showers, no creaking floorboards & plenty of loo roll ... nice. There were hummingbirds in the garden too! I crashed out while And & Vicky went on a town tour with William. Then later we all went to meet the rest of the group who thankfully had made it safely across the mountains & without toilet troubles too .... amazing! We all went on a tour of the Inca ruins together then I crashed out again while the others all wen´t out to dinner. after all I had HAD to get my strength back for the next day as we were heading
to Machu Picchu the place I have dreamt of visiting since I was a little child......
I would just like to add a little note to all this. I honestly don´t know how I would have made it if Andrea hadn't been there she was absolutely bloody wonderful & made what could have been a bitterly disappointing time actually seem like an adventure. If anyone can make me laugh while I´m puking my guts up it you And!
K x
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Education, education, education
Darling Kate, Your spelling leaves a lot to be desires my darling but the whole story had me crying, laughing, and all emotions in-between. I think we will give the Machu Picchu bit a miss when we are in S .America in 4 short months time. We all send loadsa love to you both. XXXXXXX