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Published: February 5th 2009
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Trekking through the snow
This was a bit before I reached the peak of 4600m The last 5 days were the most physically challenging of my life to date!
I was picked up from my hostel on day 1 at 4.30am and we drove out to the start of our trail. This was about 2 hours in the van. We had breakfast and our group of 11 started to become aquainted.
We had 3 young brazillian guys age 18/19, 1 Colombian lady who celebrated her 50th birthday while we were there, an engaged couple in their late 20´s - girl was aussie and guy english - both living in Melbourne, a 19 yr old guy from Byron Bay who is very mature and switched on, a danish guy and a guy from Chicago (both in late 20´s and physically fit - they had met on previous treks), me(!!) and a german couple who live in a community near east berlin where open relationships and free love are enouraged. So all in all quite a mix!
We only had 1 guide which really was not enough for a group of this size but we soon realised that the company was cutting many corners in terms of cost.
We started our walk from Mollepata
Cooking Facilities on the Trek
We actually ate pretty well the whole way through. Food was much needed with the amount of exercise we were doing. and hiked for about 8 hours in total through the Andean countryside. We had horses to carry most of our things so we only really had to carry day packs with water and additional clothes. It was mainly uphill and we hiked upwards from 2900 to 3800. The weather was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold and it was dry (something we would later learn to appreciate!).
The scenery was spectacular and we had fantastic views of 2 huge mountains which were covered in snow. We camped for the night at the foot of the mountain Nevado Salkantay. This was covered in snow and it was very very cold at our campsite.
Some people were already feeling the effects of altitude but as I have been at altitude since Nth Argentina I was expecting to be ok. 10 mins before we reached camp however, I started to feel really queasy. I was feeling so sick that I went to bed without dinner and anyone who knows me well knows that I do not skip meals willy nilly!!
My tent partner for the whole journey was Jeremy - the 19 year old from Byron and he
was very sweet the whole way through in terms of making sure I was ok.
The rain started that night.....and this seemed to be the theme for the rest of the trip. We woke up to soaking wet tents and sleeping bags. I happened to be the dryest of the whole camp and had had the best nights sleep of the whole camp. Other peoples tents were literally swimming in water!!
We all knew day 2 would be very difficult. Up at 5am (with everything wet and cold) and then following breakfast we started our climb to the mountain pass Salkantay which is 4600m. It was really full on. The aussie couple and the colombian lady all went up on horses. The higher we got the colder it got and we were hiking through snow. It is the first time I have seen snow in ages! It was an amazing feeling to get to the top and there was definititely a spiritual feeling to the whole thing. It is hard to describe exactly what that was but it was there.
We then descended as rapidly as we had ascended and spent the night in what was the
Camping on the first night
We were cold and very very wet!! beginning of the jungle. The diversity of the surrounding landscapes was truely unique.
Day 3 was hiking up and down and up and down through beautiful bushland. It felt a bit similar to NSW bush but a little more tropical. The insects - sand flys and mosquitos seemed to love to feast on all of us.
We were rewarded that night however with a trip to some thermal waters. Huge pools of naturally hot baths under the stars. It was heaven as it was the first wash we had had for 3 days!!
Next day on again walking alongside a river and then following train tracks to the town nearest Machu Pichu called Aguas Callientes. By this point my legs were really starting to give in. 4 full days of walking, thorugh all sorts of different climates, blisters on my toes the size of Machu Pichu and seemed to have done something to my achillies tendon.
Aguas Callientes is a town created especially for tourists going to Machu Pichu. It doesn´t have much to offer except priced restaurants and over priced shops but the chance to actually go to a restaurant and order a beer and
Trekking in the Jungle
Hard to believe this was only one day later! Getting eaten alive in the Jungle! have a hot hot shower was bliss.
The options for the next day were to either walk to Machu Pichu or have a little bit of a lie in and catch the bus up. Even though I was in lots of pain with my feet I made the decision that I would rise at 4.30am and walk. I had to pop a few ibuprofen first but thought I had come so so far I was not going to take the easy option at the last minute.
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So I got up and (hot) showered and then walked through the rain and the dark to Machu Pichu. You literally have to walk up at least 2000 stairs to get there! It is full on. When we arrived I then decided I would punish myself further and climb Wainu Pichu. It is a really steep mountain and was another few thousand stairs. The Incas must have had small feet and long legs though as they are steep and very difficult to navigate.
By about 8.30am I was ontop of Wainupichu but unfortunately with it being rainy season and all Machu Pichu was covered in a sheet of white cloud.
One of the many bridges I had to cross
I have a problem with balance! This really tested me and there were many like it! I had to do this on hands and knees. It did clear momentarily but for me it was more the acomplishmement of the sheer physical exercise!
We then went and had a tour of Machu Pichu itself which is a really amazing place but by this point I was so so so tired it was difficult to take much in.
To top it off for some reason I decided I would walk back to Aguas Calientes down thousands of stairs still in the rain - all or nothing again and again!!
When I finally got back to Cusco I got a well deserved hot shower and great nights sleep before I picked up my hand made suede knee high purple boots I had ordered before I left - they actually are pretty cool - honest!!
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