Advertisement
Published: January 16th 2008
Edit Blog Post
What an experience...
Hard to recap so many days of activity and discovery, but I'll try to give you a glimpse:
From Cusco we joined our guide Edison and other Mayuc staff (highly recommended tour operators) and made a 3.5 hour drive through high farm lands and small villages to the starting point of the famous Inca trail at kilometer 82 in the grandiose Sacred Valley of the Incas. The drive itself was a cultural experience as we passed through very impoverished highlands where subsistence farming was the predominant way of life. Pigs, sheep, chickens, burros, oxen and countless dogs were the roadside norm, wandering as they pleased, and we swerved at least once to avoid cows loitering in the middle of the road.
After a hearty lunch prepared by our personal camp chef we passed the trailhead checkpoint and set off on a trek through history. The ancient Inca trail climbed as it paralleled the lush valley with the mighty Urubamba river rushing below. Soon we were passing above and through well preserved 1000 year-old Inca trading posts, garrisons, sentries and once bustling villages, impressive silent remnants of a once great empire. Within several hours
we reached our first night's camp in a small Andean village of only 3 or 4 families. Some cute Quechua girls emerged from the mud-brick farmhouse and displayed a drink stand near our tents to earn a couple soles. I was guilt-tripped into buying a drink, and we spent a bit of time interacting in basic Spanish. Kent was quite vigilant in practicing his Spanish with the youngsters, and they were quite patient as he flipped through his dictionary in search of the right words. A tasty dinner was followed by a bit of stargazing, then the peace was interrupted when I discovered a huge tarantula a few meters from camp. Sleep was a bit restless with every sound inspiring thoughts of creepy critters eating through the walls of my tent to attack my face.
Day two we gained altitude and passed more excavated ruins, each explained in great detail by our guide and allowing us insight into the ingenuity of the ancient Inca culture. We were also introduced to the Coca leaf, a popular staple in Peru often consumed in teas or wadded in the cheek by locals like chewing tobacco. It has a mild narcotic effect, slightly
numbing the tongue and lips while providing energy, nutrients and relief from altitude sickness. It is highly revered and used often as an offering in spiritual and ceremonial purposes. Once past the initially acrid taste, I enjoyed the increasingly green tea-like flavor and energy-boosting effects while trekking. We covered miles of terrain reminiscent of 'Lord of the Rings', stopping briefly in the high village of Wayllabamba for a drink of chicha, a sort of naturally fermented home brewed corn beer enjoyed by local farmers and porters. One sip was enough...
Despite trekking in the middle of the rainy season we were lucky with generally dry and occasionally cloudy weather. Our second night was spent well above 12,000 feet, and with only a 55 degree sleeping bag I had to really bundle up to endure the chilly air in the tent. The best part of waking up in the morning was the porters greeting us at the tent with hot water to rinse up and steaming mate de coca to start the day off right. Day 3 was the real crux as we had to climb the 13,900 foot dead woman´s pass, descend about 1,500 feet of stone inca stairs
and then climb a second pass at 13,000 feet. After lunch and a riverside siesta a long traverse brought us to our final camp at 12,300 feet. This was the most incredible and panoramic campsite I had ever witnessed, overlooking the massive Viktoria range of the high Andes and hovering only a few hundred feet above the ancient ruins of Phuyupatamarca. The fact that we chose campsites far from other trekkers and had only seen about 5 other tourists in the last few days made the experience very surreal, as if making the first ever pilgrimage and historic discovery of these ethereal places all on our own.
On day 4 we bid farewell to our dedicated team of Quechua porters and set off on the final 10 km traverse of Machu Picchu mountain, wandering through sub tropical forests of bamboo shoots, prehistoric ferns and newly blooming orchids of all different colors. In the afternoon we arrived at the Sun Gate, a saddle on the mountain overlooking the ruins, and caught only glimpses of the famous city through the passing clouds. After descending the trail the clouds parted and Machu Picchu was revealed in all it's mysterious beauty. Seeing it
in perspective and with wispy clouds passing between the peaks, it's infinitely more impressive than any postcard can portray.
We spent an hour or two touring the upper terraces and then caught the bus down to the riverside town of Aguas Calientes so we could rest and return the next day. We drank our first cold brew in days, ate some bargain priced dinner and soaked our bones in the natural hot springs above town. The following day we were up early again and headed to the ruins on a 6 a.m. bus. We'd expressed our interest in climbing Wayna Picchu, the steep peak towering behind the ruins in postcards, and reached the entry gate by 7:30 to ensure our place on the daily maximum quota of 400 people. Though we signed in #23-25 on the list, I placed a friendly bet that we'd pass about 8 people on the way to the airy summit. Sure enough, many of the tourists who'd taken the train and bus to the ruins from Cusco were not very fit in climbing the steep 750 meter trail. Despite many having a 30 minute head start, I passed all 22, flying the Colorado flag
and arriving at the summit alone and with about 10 peaceful minutes in the clouds by myself. Kent and Christy were close behind, and we enjoyed the tiny summit and offered coca leaves to Pachamama.
The descent was a bit more vertigo inducing as we downclimbed hundreds of tiny steps on steep exposed stairways and tiptoed airy ledges slimed with rain and mud. Once on firm ground our guide Edison gave us the full length tour of the ruins, pointing out the spectacular engineering feats of the city, including the unexplained transport of multi-ton stones and the precision shaping of granite blocks to fit together puzzle-like without mortar or so much as a millimeter gap. To try to do justice to this place in words would be a futile attempt at poetry, so I'll just shortcut by saying that it is a spectacular example of human potential, a place so inspiring and full of unexplained but palpable energy that it certainly merits it's recent nomination as one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
For those who've made it to the end of this report, I commend your attention span, and thank you for keeping up. Look
out for an upcoming blog on the transition from the high Andes to life on the water and the Bolivian altiplano...
All the best,
Andrew
Advertisement
Tot: 0.107s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 9; qc: 61; dbt: 0.076s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jen
non-member comment
I hate spinders
That's it my dreams of ever venturing to Peru are over. I hate spiders! The hike looks pretty amazing though.. Hope you are smiling and watch out for the yellow snow of course!!