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The Inca trail was always going to be a challenge, especially for a girl that a year ago was more at home with fake tan, hair extensions, all things vain and allergic to exercise, who thought she would be living for days without showers, sweating her way up and down mountains. Add to that early illness and only being three days after hospital and I know there was a definite scepticism about my ability to complete the trail. I was determined to do it though, a trip of this magnitude around south america without the Inca trail would be blasphemy!
The day before the trail we met all our trip mates, paid the huge amount of money it costs (!) and discovered that while we had hired a porter between the three of us we would only be allowed to take 3 kilograms of personal items not including our sleeping bags per person. Three kilograms is nothing so we spent the following hours running between our dorm and reception weigh our bags in an attempt to get them under weight. It was nearly impossible, we bearly had a change of clothing by the end, but all in aid of porter welfare
so we felt bad complaining. It is always an uneasy moment before you meet your group, as amiable as I like to think we are you never quite know what type of person you will get on your tours. Relief - they were all good fun, young and like ourselves, it was going to be a good few days.
Day 1
After an early rise we headed to Ollantaytambo for breakfast and to aquire our trusty walking sticks. Before heading to Km 86 for the start of the trail and to meet our chaskis (porters) for the first time. The view as we passed through control and had our passports stamped was totally inspiring, a gushing frothy river cutting through steep valley sides with glaciers viewable in the far distance. When our guide told us we would be climbing up to that altitude it seemed incomprehensible.
The first days walk was supposedly an easy one, but were a few short climbs that caught us all out breath, leaving us all gasping and complaining that the notorious second day would be impossible! Our group was made up of 14 - all fairly young, fit and healthy - in fact
more than half the group were carrying their own luggage (crazy people!) We were made up of Australians, Americans and Brits. Thankfully the group of Aussies were all final year med students which proved a huge bonus as I was still feeling pretty weak especially by the evening so it was a great reassurance to have them there. I was beginning to think that I may have made a stupid mistake, I had never let onto the girls quite how ill I still was because I was determined to do the trail, but squat toilets in the dark were no fun...I dont think the details are necessary! No one could believe that only 3 days previously I had been hospitalised.
Lunch on the first day gave us a taster of what was to become standard fare from our chef Luis - a totally delicious 3 course lunch all cooked over a simple stove. My respect for the Chaskis grew, and grew throughout the duration of the trek. They are some of the smallest, yet toughest, strongest people I have ever met. Their role on the Inca trail traces back hundreds of years, back to Inca times where they were
the ´runners´and messengers along the same route we were walking today. Every year a marathon is held over the trail - the record held by a local man is an unbelievable 3 hours and 40 minutes; it normally takes a good three and a half days walking to complete the trail. The ´Inca Trail´ to Machu Pichu that is walked today is the path the Inca´s took through pilgrimage. For the Inca´s Pachamama (mother Earth) could be reached felt and worshipped in the mountains, which explains the seemingly illogical reason to build a path through such trecherous climbs. The high mountain passes therefore presented an opportunity to leave offerings - such as small piles of stones for the gods - a tradition that is still maintained by the Chaski and Quechua peoples to this day. We were also encouraged to participate by our guide, every meal we also had to pour a small portion of our soup on the ground as an offering to Pachamama. What makes the Inca trail so special is not only the prize of Machu Picchu at the end but also the sites along the way, which those who purely take the train or trek an
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lou and harry watching football first nightalternative trail miss out on. Even on the first day we passed two Inca sites - Patallaca, and Huayllabamba complete with the terraces the Inca´s are so famous for. There was another trail which followed the Urumbamba river along the valley, but this was a commercial path used by and animals and humans alike to transport goods. A route that the train to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu mountain takes today, and scene of the massive floods earlier this year.
Our first night we camped with a few other groups on a farm community. The boys from our Peru treks group and other one formed a team to play our porters. The football pitch had the most incredible setting nestled in an amphitheatre between two mountains, the surface made of dust. There was the additional challenge of altitude (3000metres); even so with a massive disadvantage they beat the porters in what to be a very entertaining game. Watched while sipping a well earned cold beer.
Day 2
Known as the toughest day on the trail, purely for the fact you spend most of the day after rising early walking uphill. By uphill we are
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view on the second day talking climbing 1200m (from 3000m to 4200m) over Abra Huarmihuausca which translates as ´Dead Woman´s Pass´. for much of the morning I was walking by myself between the speedy walkers, and the slow coaches! Lou and Harry were with the boys and part of the speedy team, I couldnt keep up, and didnt enjoy walking at that speed as you spend so long looking at your feet so you dont fall that you cant take in any of the beautiful scenery around you. It was tough, there was no denying it, I still wasnt 100% although getting steadily better by the day. After our second breakfast the path got significantly harder - stairs after relentless stairs thankfully I had company in the form of Aussie Jasmine so each endeavoured to keep our spirits up! We found it hilarious how altitude makes you so pathetic, by the time we were just 50 metres from the top we were stopping every 3 strides for air and to giggle at how frustrating but impossible it was any other way! Getting to the top was, to use the cliche, like walking on cloud 9 - a totally incredible feeling, like I could take on
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the group at the top of dead woman´s pass the world. The view at the top was also one of the most incredible (over use of the word I am sorry...but there really is no alternative!) I have ever seen, and seeing just how far we had climbed was a really satisfying thought.
It wasnt all rosy however. We had chosed Peru Treks as they have good porter welfare and by that they pay well, and limit the amount they have to carry - as do most other reputable companies and these porters jogged past us on the steps with relative ease. However, as we were climbing towards the end of the pass we were walking with a group heavily overloaded and struggling porters. One fell nearly taking me out with him, I was saved by another equally overloaded porter. Watching them struggling, in pain up the climb was heartbreaking.
After our mighty climb the trail dropped steeply down the other side, and we had a taster of what was to dominate the third day....a long and difficult descent. It was painful, especially on knees so tired from climbing for hours, but less than an hour later we were safely holed up in a beautiful campsite in
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Beginning of the second day, climb to the second pass Pacamayo valley by the river.
Day 3
The day of the ´Gringo Killer´ - in reality a far harder day than yesterday. Thousands of steps down to end the day, but not before some beautiful sights and amazing cloud forest. The day started with the usual wake up call - coca tea, coffee, or hot chocolate served to us in our tents, we were looked after so well by our guides and Chaskis, and then we started climbing again, another winding, tiring track up towards the next pass, pass the circular and majestic ruins of Runkuracay. Once at the top of the second pass we were treated to a view some absolutely stunning cloud forest framed by mountains and glaciers. It was then downhill again to lunch, and by this point my knee was starting to give up on me, but I was saved from the assistance of one of our guides Big Willy - its a mystery. Up and down and through tunnels we finally made it to the horrendous end to our day...a couple of hours of uneven, slippery stone steps dropping 1000 metres in altitude to our campsite for the night Winay Wayna. It was pretty
hellish, my knee was agony, and Lou was also struggling with her still slightly dodgy ankle so we took our time, and gossiped the way down. I think I literally spoke at her for the entire duration of the descent as a means of distraction. All of our hard work was awarded by hot showers for the first time in days, and a bar, what more could anyone need?! As it was our final night of the tour we had to give our porters a speech in spanish, Harry stepped up to the plate with her fluent spanish and did the honours. We also had to decide on a song over dinner, which ensued some of the funniest moments on my trip - boys singing falsetto versions of the cheesiest songs....I dont quite know how it happened but we ended up singing a horrific rendition of TLC´s´Waterfalls´ the porters seemed to find it highly bemusing. They put us to shame with a beautiful cake and a far superior performance of a quechua folk song.
Day 4
On the final day we were awoken at some god for saken hour - 3.50am, I am never a morning person but that
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third day cloud forest bearly registered as morning at all! And joined the massive rush to beat the other groups so that we could be at the control gate to get onto the trail first, we failed, but put in an admirable performance as third group to reach the control. We then sat on the path in a cloud, getting soaked for well over a hour. We were told it would be a lovely flat walk to the sun gate....we had learnt by this point that Peruvian flat never has the same definition as the rest of the world, it basically means that you start and finish at the same altitude but you will be climbing up and down steps for hours. By the time we reached the sun gate to watch the sunrise the cloud had still not lifted, and I could bearly see my hand in front of my face the visability was so poor, so we continued on down complaining the entire way that pachamama had let us down and that after three days of glorious weather it truly sucked. Even by the time we reached Machu Picchu the cloud was still hugging the site, we could barely see it, the
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third day mood among the group was definitely very flat as we were toured around the site. We were assured that the cloud would lift, and we were not disappointed. As the cloud lifted and we got our first magical glimpses of Machu Picchu I could feel my spirits doing the same. Words and pictures just cant sum up the sight that is Machu Picchu admittedly some of the ruins have been overly renovated rather than subtely restored which is sad, but it was an amazing place to walk around. By midday the site became covered with tourists, there are over two thousand visitors to Machu Picchu a day, even though UNESCO advises no more than 500 a day. Every month Machu Picchu drops a centimetre, such a sad fact especially after it had surived hundreds of years without any subsidance at all, due to the Incan engineering genius of supporting the city by using terraces as retaining walls. We tried to find more secluded spot and just marvelled at its beautiful location, it makes perfect sense for protective reasons, but more so for religious ideas from every angle there are stunning unusually shaped mountains, with worship of the mountains so important
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third day it makes perfect sense for Machu Picchu´s location framed by stunning scenery. From the town Aguas Calientes below it is impossible to even realise of Machu Picchu´s existance, a fact you dont realise while at the site. We had to get the train back to the start of the trail before continuing back to Cusco and we all wore our bright yellow peru treks t-shirts with pride like a bunch of loosers! The train ride back to the start of the trail was the first time we were aware of the effects of the floods in January of this year, there were houses bearly hanging on to the sides of the river, huge landslides were still visible, and the railway itself only stretches half of its previous distance.
Bear in mind my previous main preocupations with life and the Inca trail was a truly life changing experience for me. I never let on to anyone how ill I still was because I was determined to complete it, and I did with very little drama. After completing it I have set myself a new challenge - I want to climb mount killamangaro. You heard it here first!
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