Blogs from Inca Trail, Cusco, Peru, South America

15 mars 2012 Plus ou moins quatre heures de route, incluant un arrêt déjeûner pour se rendre au point de départ de l´Inca Trail (Piscacucho, 2750 M). On est 10 touristes dans le mini bus dans lequel je prend place... plus 15 autres dans l´autre minibus, ainsi que les 4 guides et les 17 porteurs. On est donc un groupe de 46 personnes (!). Sur tous les touristes, nous sommes trois à parler anglais; les 22 autres parlent espagnol. Ça ne s´annonce pas comme je l´espérais. Préparatifs avant de commencer le trek. Tous les touristes attendaient ce moment depuis longtemps... depuis qu´ils ont réservé sur internet, depuis quelques mois donc. Mmmm. Pas moi. J´observe les gens autour avec leurs bottes et leur sac tout neuf. Certains sont serrés dans leur culotte en spandex, d´autres mesurent leurs ... read more

Day 145 Sunday 4th March Up at 5.45am for our adventure, we had breakfast and finalised our packing. We are doing a Geckos Tour and were given a duffel bag that our sleeping bag and personal stuff could go into but it could not weigh more than 5kg, reception had scales so we could check as this is the bags that the porters carry. We left our main backpacks in the room to go into storage while we were on the trail and only had to carry small day packs with cameras, sunscreen, water etc. We did not end up leaving till 6.30am and travelled by bus to Ollantaytambo where we stopped for a toilet break and any last minute supplies that maybe needed. We had already brought everything but needed the toilet break. ... read more

So we are officially back from the Trail back to civilisation!!:) it took some time to get vack, believe you me, there was a landslide that prevented the trains from passing so instead of the 4 o click train we had to be on the 9 ' o click one!! Back to the real adventure now!! What can I say now,only that we were cursing Kai & Kerry on the 1st dayfore recommending us the hike!! Seriously thank you guys:) it was hard but we made it. What you can see on that trail is unimaginable, the views spectacular, makes you wonder how and why the Incas build the trail at those areas. From what we learned from our wonderful guide Hilbert, Cuzco was the middle of the earth for the Incan civilisation , and when ... read more

Wow! I just just finished the famed Inka Trail to Machu Pichu. But I think it should be renamed the Inka Steps and be sponsored by Step Master. :) Four days of up steps and down steps. Some big, some small, some wide and some narrow. At times I thought the Incas must have been giants and other times I thought they were surely midgets. :) Up and down mountains and valleys, over passes, through tunnels, visiting ancient Inca sites along the way. The Inka Trail is the actual trail that the Inkas used centuries ago. It is amazing how they built it and the over 40,000km of trails that stretch from Ecuador to Chile. Most of the trail is made of stone which is even more impressive, in some cases on the side of a ... read more

Note - This continues on from the last blog.... Day 3 – Today was the day we had been waiting for. It was the start of the Inca trail, and day 1 of the trek. After a decent breakfast from the hotel, we departed in a minibus towards the entrance of the famous trail. After sorting out our gear (our porters were to carry the bulk of our belongings, and we were left to carry only a light day bag) we were ready and rearing to go. So after the obligatory group snaps outside the ‘start line’, jeering at the ‘lazy’ train passengers as they went by and getting our passports checked, the walking began and we were finally actually trekking the Inca trail. Both for us, and many of our group, this was something we ... read more

It was an early wake up call today just as Smithy had promised. As I took the two cups of Coca tea I had been handed by our porter, I couldn't help but feel a little deflated after the news last night. Keith and I felt equally gutted about the circumstances under which we had to finish the trail as we got dressed, but sadly that was the hand we had been dealt and there was little we could do about it. Breakfast was a far more somber affair than it had been the last two mornings and I could only assume that it was because the group shared my disappointment. Once I had eaten, I was handed a set of shoelaces by Smithy with which to fix my boots. I wasn't sure how they would ... read more

I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the tent today and hoped beyond hope that it would pass quickly. The repair job that Javier's friend had done on my boots hadn't lasted very long, and the thought my feet getting wet whilst walking didn't fill me with joy. Keith and I were greeted with a steaming hot mug of Coca tea as we opened the tent, which one of the poncho clad porters brought us. It wasn't particularly cold this morning, but a warm cup of tea defiantly helped the wake up process! I got dressed and donned my waterproof trousers and the whole boot gaiters that I had bought in Cusco, much to the delight of the porters. Joining everyone else in the mess tent, we were served piping hot quinoa porridge followed ... read more

Waking up early yet again this morning, I crept about the room getting myself packed and ready as quietly as I could so as not to wake Simon. We would be beginning our trek along the Inca trail within hours and I was excited to say the least. Lil, Keith, Matt and I were the first down to breakfast this morning, and as much as we made small talk, I could sense a certain amount of anxiety at the table as we were joined by Tori and Talia. The palpable apprehension lingered in the air for the duration of the short minibus ride to 'Kilometre Eighty-two', where we met our team of porters for the first time. As each of our duffel bags were weighed, we were hassled by local women attempting to sell us all ... read more

So we arrived in Cusco a few days ahead of the start of the Inca trail to acclimatize to the altitude. This meant we had some free time to explore this beautiful city. With a current population of 349,000 Cusco use to be the Inca empire’s capital city. Today the Inca history is visible everywhere from the cobblestone streets to the walls and buildings built without mortar. Discovering the streets and visiting the Inca museum to learn more about this civilization was fascinating and Cusco will defiantly be a city that I will always remember. The night before our trek started we stayed in a village outside Cusco called Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley where there are yet more Inca ruins. Again another quaint cobbled street village which was very picturesque. The Inca Trail to Machu ... read more