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The Group Shot
Everyone looks bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to go.
From L to R:
Vlasta (Cro), Lao (Newcastle), Marko (Cro), Tommy (Hornsea), Jan (Leeds), Dan (Leeds), Peter (Can), Emma (Manchester), Darryl (USA), Corinne (Can), Todd (USA), Sarah (Manchester), Ben (Manchester), Helen (Manchester) & Ben (Manchester) To get straight to the point.... we did it!!! It was four exhausting days: uphill, downhill and bits of Andean flat (otherwise known as uphill but not as uphill as Andean uphill). The scenery was stunning and Machu Picchu took our breath away - it was worth every penny and every ounce of energy we spent in getting there. Before the trek started we were hit with some bad news: a landslide had occurred towards the end of the trail which meant that the final section of the trek, from the famous Sun Gate to the city of Machu Picchu, was closed. The landslide had occurred a couple of weeks before our arrival and we were obviously disappointed that we wouldn´t get our first view of the Lost City of the Incas from the Sun Gate. Alas, that´s how it goes sometimes and we were determined not to let that spoil the trek in any way.
The trek started very early (5:30am to be precise) with a bouncy bus ride to Ollantaytambo, a small village just before the start of the trail. There we were greeted by hundreds of Peruvian trying to flog anything coca related; coca leaves, coca
Porter with Huge Pack
...running, I might add! tea, coca toffee.... You name it they were selling a coca version of it - perfectly legal I might add and an excellent substance for quelling altitude sickness.
The start of the tral is at a pretty non-descript point known as Km 82 (it being the 82nd Km from Cuzco on the train line). We had the inaugural group photo (pictured) then we set off to the first checkpoint where they stamp your passport (very nice) and away you go beginning the 43Km (27mile) trek.
The first day is regarded as being fairly easy, Andean flat (see above) without any difficult climbs, passes or stairways. It was a good opportunity to get chatting to the fellow hikers in the group (7 Brits, 2 Americans, 2 Canadians & 2 Croats) and our guide Lobo. Actually our guide´s real name was Luis but nobody knew him by that name. He was nicknamed Lobo (the wolf) because he used to live in the forest and apparently he eats anything - including guinea pig! Whenever the porters saw him or passed him they howled like wolves (awwwoooooooo - like that), soon we were doing the same. Speaking of the porters, there were
15 of them (one was also the chef) carrying the camp- that was a 25Kg load for each and not even in a nice modern rucksack but a large plastic bag strapped to them with bailer band; Laura and I felt overloaded and we were only carrying 5-10Kg each!!! It´s fair to say that the Porters are pretty hardcore - they ran most of the way and we noticed that some of them even smoked! Lobo told us he´d completed the 3-4 day trek in 8h45mins; pretty damn impressive we thought and then he told us about the Andean Marathon and the record for the trek being 3h30mins. Unbelievable! Maybe that´s a challenge for Bowdy in the future....
At our first lunch stop, we soon realised how much effort the trek companies put into pleasing their trekkers. Lunch consisted of a four course meal (a damn good one at that) served in a large tent with 15 chairs, a long table and proper crockery and cutlery. We were even given little bowls of water and soap to wash our hands in - no wonder the porters had to carry so much each, it was a mobile dining room!
Patallacta
The first of many Inca sites along the way. An agricultural site in the Urabamba valley. The second day involves a 900m climb to the highest point on the trek at 4,200m; much of the ascent is along winding switch paths that snake their way upwards, the last 500m was more like climbing a giant sweeping rock staircase and was extremely tough. Tom´s two sessions in the gym before leaving the UK didn´t really provide adequate training or preparation and the climb known as Dead Woman´s Pass was nearly Dead Hornsea Man´s pass (crap joke- sorry!). From that point on the trek doesn´t reach any higher levels so psychologically we had overcome the most difficult section of the trek. As it turned out, downhill hiking is just as challenging and much more harsh on the knees. Still, the numerous Inca archaelogical sites along the way kept our minds of any aches and pains and whetted our appetite for the big show at Machu Picchu.
As a result of the aforementioned landslide, our final section of the trip involved following the railway lines to Aguas Calientes (a small village at the foot hills below Machu Picchu and famous for its hot springs). For us, the walk was fairly uneventful but a few members of the group
Tommy - Day 1
still smelling fairly fresh. behind us were nearly hit by a train which failed to sound its horn as it chugged round a blind corner. They were very lucky as they were stood on a small ledge that separated the tracks from a sheer drop into the fast flowing Rio Urabamba below - never play on train tracks kids!
The final day consisted of a short bus ride to the other side of the landslide and into Machu Picchu. Although the arrival wasn´t quite what we had dreamed of, the site itself was everything and more. We were taken aback by the sheer scale of the site and how well preserved the buildings were. The Spanish, during their conquest of the Incas, never found Machu Picchu and as a result its structure is pretty much intact. It´s hard to describe in words and although the pictures are amazing, they don´t really capture the feeling of sitting above the site and looking down upon it. If you haven´t been yet, you should definitely make a visit. We saw a 70+ year old doing the trek (he even overtook me at one point!) it´s not impossible and even if fitness levels aren´t quite at optimum
levels there´s always the option of the train.
Unfortunately for the Peruvians, the site was discovered by an American called Hiram Bingham who took all the artefacts he found back to Yale University where they still reside. Many of the local people believe that the artefacts should be returned to their rightful home in Peru. As Brits, we can hardly talk when you look at the number of artefacts that are sitting on the shelves of the British Museum!! Still, we have to thank Mr Bingham for rediscovering and putting Machu Picchu back on the map.
Enjoy the pictures!
For more info on Machu Picchu go to
MachuPicchu
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Lindsay Ramsey
non-member comment
WOW
How do you follow that! Mount Cook in NZ will seem like a pimple!