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Published: June 24th 2009
So where was I.....oh yeah leaving Brazil after a month of sun, sea, and (luckily) not getting robbed at gunpoint....Anyway with fond memories I bid farewell knowing that it wouldn't be long before I'd be back in Brazil (cheers Qantas). But in the interim came a brand spanking new country in the shape of Peru and something known only by locals in the know (and, er billions of Western tourists every year)....as The Inca Trail....
But before Peru, I managed another brief visit to BA (again...Qantas) and you've guessed it, I notched up my 12th South American footy game with another trip to El Monumental to watch yet another local derby, this time River vs Independiente. For those interested, River starte.....eh? you what? not interested?....oh
Lima After an early flight during which I slept thro the inflight breakfast I landed in Lima (hungry and) facing the gauntlet of taxi/bus shuttle services to the centre.. I decided to get the bus, but at the last minute gave in and went with a cabbie whose price was half the original price quoted....and to boot he was named after the airport (a coincidence, not a pre requisite for my
River Fans
River Vs Independientedecision)... so Jorge Chavez and I sped off to the city.
Staying on the subject of his name, if his father had stitched him up naming him after the airport (ok ok more likely the famous Peruvian aviator) I soon discovered that he had done the same to his son...another Jorge Chavez no less. Big fans of the 'Chav' then. I held this thought as the conversation dried up and I was consumed by the fact that my surroundings consisted of a city cloaked in cloud along with a cold looking beach. Just as well I wasn't there on a city break.
Meeting up with Reevesie and Lucy was great (not for them) and the first thing (apart from the obvious insults) was to find a place to watch the Barca vs Man U CL Final.. During our search we met Lauren (USA) who after some gentle persuasion ended up supporting Barca too... We all know the result, although what many of you maybe didn't know was that Man U would have done better if Fergie had gone with Reevesie's starting XI.
The Tour starts here My first proper tour (apart from Antarctica which
you can't really do on foot) started with a group meeting where we met the others: Alan (Eng), Harald (Ger), my 'roomy' Craig (Sco), and Team N.Ire: Frankie, Gary, Jerry and Clara.......and of course Sandra (Per) our guide.
Puno A short flight out of the capital and we were in Puno......at a staggering height of 3830m... those that thought the height wouldn't affect them (ie me) were soon seeing things differently after a spritely run up two flights of stairs needed an emergency lie down to recover with a nice cup of tea (there was no kettle in the room so I could only have the lie down, boo).
The town itself was pretty small but did have lots of cool and cheap market stalls selling knitwear and handicrafts. It was a bit like Ikea insofar as you couldn't come away empty handed. Altho unlike Ikea I didnt buy one of those green plants that is guaranteed to die within 7 days. Nor was there a canteen selling Swedish meatballs....which was a shame.
Lake Titicaca - Homestay Next day was a boat trip on Lake Titicaca followed by a homestay with
a local family. Prior to getting on the boat we were told to get some gifts for our family. We opted for colouring pencils, colouring felt tips, a colouring book, a notepad and a jigsaw teaching you how to count and say a few words in Spanish. You've guessed it....we were kind of banking on them having kids then... altho Reevesie had 'bagsied' the jigsaw if they didn't.
Now the guidebook says of Lake Titicaca 'the air looks magically clear here, as dazzling high altitude sunlight suffuses the highland altiplano and sparkles on the deep waters'.....well I suspect money my well have changed hands between the Peruvian tourist board and the guide book or maybe we just had a bad day as the water looked like, well...just like water really. Yeah not much 'suffusing' to report home for us that day. All you Geographers or indeed trivia buffs will be interested tho to know that it is largest lake in world over 2000m, beating off competition from other famous lakes over 2000m namely....er anyone?
Reevesie, Lucy and I all stayed with the same family despite Lucy's best efforts to pair me off with the family who had a
daughter that looked like Carlos Tevez.
After dropping our bags off we went for a stroll and as luck would have it Reevesie and I spotted some local kids having a kickaround. As they were all under the age of 10 we thought we could show them a thing or two (not like that, seriously you guys) and joined in, one on each side. The altitude caused a lack of breath, but at least I had a valid excuse for not tracking back that afternoon....anyway they outwitted us tactically as Reevesie had taken the altitude into consideration and decided to sit at the back and fill the goal (not literally, er actual...) plus they played no offside.....In fact our keeper turned out to be their striker goalhanging. I had to hand it to the kid it was an art form. Anyway we lost. Gutted
Back at the house we offered to lend a hand with preparing the meal, altho I'm sure the lady would have preferred we didn't. We were more however productive than their youngest son tho who just kept stealing the newly peeled broad beans putting them up his nose and coughing everywhere. The peeling potatoes
Curious..
Homestay, Lake Titicaca part took ages....for us anyway, using blunt knives. The lady was pretty quick although we couldn't help feeling that a plastic peeler would have been more useful gift for them than the jigsaw. But not Reevesie tho, who, amid showing the youngest kid how to do it had learnt to count to 3 in Spanish as well as the handy word 'trombone'..
For the night out we dressed up in silly hats and local dress (boys - simple poncho; girls - some complex dress thing that seemed to be put on too tight for Lucy's liking.) Off to the local dance with our local clobber then but the question on everyone's lips was 'would they play the Stone Roses?'.
After some time with the family it kind of hit you about the island was that not only was it cold but that the people there lived extremely modest lives without the stress as we know it. And all the kids seemed to have chapped skin due to the hot sun and cold nights. Altho it did cross my mind as the boat pulled away the following morning that it was all a show and out would come the
Lookout and Boat
Floating Village microwaves, laptops and er...proper potato peelers.
Floating village - Taquila island On the way back to Puno we stopped at a floating village.. you what? Yeah literally....on reeds. But how does it work?....well it kind of floats on compacted reeds about 20m above the bottom of the lake. The good thing is that if you have a neighbourly dispute you can cut away at the reed and hey presto no need to involve the council.. They also were selling handicrafts, inc these cool carpets which take a month to weave and cost 65 (15GBP) so I bought one. But before you complain about exploitation they can buy a sheep for 80, so its all relative. And I didn't want the sheep, so everyone was happy.
Cuzco Now this was cool town, and Taylor guess what.... yep it had a Macds. (not the reason it was a cool town tho). In keeping with the traditional buildings it wasn't allowed a golden arch, but a black one.... and burgers were bit more salty but am sure if you lived here you'd get used to it mate.
Later on we were introduced to our
Local Baskets
Gap Initiative, Ollantaytambo Inca trail guide Victor who was decent chap and for some reason he kept saying 'no' at end of most sentences. No? ...yeah he did.
Our trip to Ollontaytambo and the Sacred Valley still saw most of us out of breath so we weren't sure how we would cope with the real deal. We drew comfort from the fact the despite doing the Inca Trail 5 times per month Victor was out of breath too....no? Yeah he was.
Any concerns for lack of fitness were soon overtaken by concerns for lack of sleep as not only was there an all night street party but also one in the courtyard next to our hotel, with speakers oh yes.
The Trail Begins.... Day 1 Fully prepare and stocked up with most of our gear we set off, so did our guides all taking a staggering 25kg each....with no walking poles, walking shoes of those clever little water bags with a straw that dangles by your mouth. It was a bit embarrassing when we got to our tea break and they had put up tents and had laid on a decent snack. Amid the
The Start
IncaTrail, Day 1 embarrassment I realised it was going to be the most pampered of any hike, gone were the days of living off pot noodles, crisps and coke.....welcome tea and scones (well the local equivalent...)
A bit further and we were at our base for the night, a perfectly picturesque spot . Team Ireland had amongst their ranks...not 'Lord of the Dance' but 'King of the Snores'.. Despite going to bed 8pm I was still awake at midnight. I think he would have given the Korean 'Bear' who was on my jungle trek in Thailand 9 months ago a run for his money.....no mean feat as the Korean Bear kept the cockerels up that night..
Day 2 This was supposed to be the toughest day so there was an air of anticipation as we set off towards . 'Dead Woman's Pass (Warmiwanusca) which was the highest part of the trail at 4200m. We were once again blessed with good weather and had great views along the way and at the peak. As we reached the campsite we felt was not as bad as we had imagined, maybe it was the fact that we didn't rush or maybe
the altitude tablets (which I later found out were just placebos).
Day 3 The day began with more great weather and some fantastic views of some 6000m mountains along with more Inca ruins whose names escape me....The day was the longest so far but again not strenuous. Over the evening meal we held a vote on the time that we were going to get up and then head to the entrance which opened at 5.30am. I wasn't sure if I had heard correctly when everyone seemed to be nodding in agreement when 3.45am was mentioned. But it was alas true.
Day 4 After being woken up by the team snorer (5 tents away) I was quite awake at 03.45 so it wasn't all bad and when we got to the entrance, our group we were second behind a hard core American couple who had slept there (not really).
After a walk for about an hour there is was the......Sun Gate. Altho more of just a 'gate' as the sun hadn't risen over the mountains yet..The view down to Macchu Picchu was pretty amazing tho... it was like it had dropped from
At the Summit
IncaTrail, Day 2 the sky and landed on the mountain ridge.....kind of dripping down the sides very Dali-esque in fact.... altho no scary clocks, just a sundial.
As we ambled down towards it, it became clearer and the detail more intricate....then sun broke on it....and there is was in it's true majestic glory in front of us, the perfect workmanship, one of the man made wonders of the world, preserved over time and worth the hordes of visitors on a daily basis.....Macchu Picchu, not Reevesie... It was great savouring the moment before the bus loads of tourists (ie non hiking cheats) rocked up at around 10am.
We then had a detailed tour with Victor who really knew his stuff, no? Yeah he did. Then a few hours to take photos, panoramic photos (Lucy) and get in the way of other people's photos. It really was a remarkable place, the buildings, the steps, the setting with the mountains surrounding it and worth the 4 day hike to get there.
The Inca's Revenge Despite not feeling great (I hadn't for a while) and after being told that I would be a 'loseeeer' if I didn't go out and have
a drink I bowed to peer group pressure (not blaming you Luce or anything) ....then it hit me that night and morning... the illness, not Lucy.
The following morning I needed the doc but despite me saying that I had a bad stomach and felt like being throwing up the he just squeezed my bollox and asked me to cough (he didn't really). He did however say that due to my weight loss I needed to get checked out for VIH. This meant one of 2 things: either VIH was HIV in Spanish, or that my Dr was in fact dyslexic.....either way not the best thing to hear, mind you on reflection he probably thought I was some kind of ginger stud, and who could er....blame him.
He then prescribed me 3 courses of tablets and told me not to bother taking food with them cos I hadn't been sick. If only he'd hung around 15 mins he would have seen that change. To prove this party piece wasn't a one off I repeated the trick an hour later by this time stuff was coming out both ends. Someone call a docto.........hmmmmm. Not the best....especially for the cleaner
Machu Picchu
IncaTrail, Day 4 who I couldn't look in the eye when she came the next day....
A day during which I basically stayed in bed taking the anti biotics and salty drinks. Yum. And that's where I stayed when the rest of the tour left for the amazon so if you want to see what they got up to check out Reevesie's blog. Be careful of the (lack of) gags....but on the plus side there are no pics of me.
Still feeling pretty rubbish I decided change my onward route, this would mean sacking off Ecuador and heading back to Rio via Bolivia.
Four days later and being able to recite the CNN news by heart I knew I needed to muster the strength to head to Lima, esp as I heard that the hotel there BBC News 24 and a nearby clinic where I could have some blood tests.
During the visit to the clinic I was told that they wanted to take a sample too (yeah 'poo' to you and me) so the next day I trotted back with my 'poo in a tub'. It reminded me of the franchise in Oz - 'Noodle in a Box',
Building remains
IncaTrail, Day 4 altho I felt that mine wouldn't really take off (idea, not my poo)
Off to Bolivia The following morning I headed to the airport to catch my plane to La Paz...altho an hour at the LAN check in desk seemed a pretty long time. A bit longer and I was told the news that I didn't really want to hear (it's ok nothing to do with my blood tests)....that I couldn't board the plane as there was no record of the change I had rung thro with Qantas 2 days prior.
So with 35 mins before take off I rushed to Skype call Qantas. After being put on hold (and to stop swearing) I waited a further 10 mins when I was told that my ticket was 'nearly processed'. This chap was pretty quick but sadly the chap who should have done this 48 hrs previously wasn't. By the time it had gone thro I had 6 mins to check my bags in, pay airport tax, go thro immigration, go thro a baggage check and of course go for a cheeky waz before boarding the plane. Whilst I was up for it (not that u
Machu Picchu
IncaTrail, Day 4 pervs) the LAN rep said I would have to wait for the next plane.....24 hrs later. As I got a cab back to the city I reflected on the fact that 'Qantas' and 'f*ck ups' were becoming a bit of a common theme.
Tests next day came back pretty positive (not the AIDS one tho, luckily) and so too was my check in as I boarded my flight to.........Bolivia......but what would greet me there?
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Bec
non-member comment
Pics are fab garthy and you can still crack the gags after your traumatic couple of days. Its blumin strange seeing reevsie in your pics i'm still deciding if thats in a good way or a bad way ha ha.