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Steve - So the time had come - the Inca Trail! I know Kate had been worrying about this for about 6 months and now the talking was over! I knew very little about it before hand prefering to ignore everything written about it so that it would all be a surprise. All i knew was that it was 45km walk through the mountains ending at Machu Picchu (the lost city of the Incas and one of the 7 wonders of the world). We had heard it was pretty tough but were not quite sure how tough.
The night before we met up with our group and our guide. Our guide was Raul who turned out to be absolutely brilliant, full of knowledge and a really nice guy who was very encouraging when the going got tough without being patronising. The other 2 members of our group were a couple from Norh America, Tania from Calgary, Canada and Dan from Cleveland, Ohio. They were really nice couple and we were pretty lucky that they were with us as we got on so well. The trip was to be 4 days of walking and Raul explained that the first day was
easy, the second day would be tough, the third day would be the beautiful day and the fourth day would be the unforgettable day.
The next day we were picked up early from our hotel and taken an hour and a half away to the start of the trail. We had a short stop before hand to get supplies and walking sticks which i honestly didn't think would be necessary but was so glad i got one in the end. You could also buy coca leaves which you chewed and were supposed to give you the energy and buzz to get up those mountains. They were also supposed to help with altitude sickness. We both tried them but you have to chew them for half an hour and they tasted disgusting so we spat them out pretty quickly. I prefered to take mine in a cup of tea!
At the start of the trail we were joined by a slightly strange french canadian couple, who looked like death for the whole trail and their guide Milton (who was a nice chap). They had booked elsewhere but for some reason joined up with us. After posing for photos at
Our Group
At the Start of the Trail the start we were off and it was pretty easy going, nice and flat with the odd slope, plenty of breaks for Raul to tell us stuff then a nice lucnh break in an amazing setting.
After lunch we had our first steep climb which was followed by our first ruins - Llaqtapata which was stunning and a lot bigger than I though any of the remains would be. After photos we carried on to our first camp which was about 7km further on. It was fairly easy walk and at camp we arrived to tea and popcorn followed a little later by a three course dinner. Happy Days - What an easy day, whats the fuss about??
The second day was to be the tough day - after a substantial breakfast Raul showed us where we would be walking to. It was called Dead Womans Pass and it was miles away in the distance, I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not! It was basically a climb from our camp at 3000 metres to the pass which was at 4200 metres above sea level. In all it took around 5 hours. There was 2 designated
stops where you could buy water and snacks and have a rest which was good as constantly walking up hill with no end in sight was a bit soul destroying at times. The final was pretty tough it was really steep and the air was very thin so breathing was pretty difficult - you could also see the end and it didn{t appear to be getting any closer no matter how hard we walked. Eventually we made it though and it was great to know the hardest part was over.
After more photos we headed down to our next camp in the valley below, it took a couple of hours and Kate found this part really tough (worse than going up) as it was really steep and the steps were very big, especially for her. It was pretty bad on the joints and gave Kate the feared blisters! To make matters worse there was no where to go to the toilet (for girls anyway) and the jarring down the steps was making her full bladder pretty painful. Tears were shed! Therefore it was a relief to finally make it down. As we rested in out tents the porters brought
us popcorn and the 3 course dinner that evening felt fully earned!
The third day was to be the beautiful day and it was but unfortunatly it started with a really steep climb up from the valley which was a test of the sore legs from the previous day. Kate's blisters were really bad so at the top she changed her boots for more comfortable flip-flops! Whcih she wore for the rest of the day. This was pretty impressive as there were some serious slopes and steps to walk down especially the last part to our final camp. This was called the 2000 steps but this title was absolute rubbish becaue i reckon there were more like 5000 steps! The seond day was beautiful though and you got to see a number of different ruins which were just incredible. You also moved into the rainforest area and it was so green and beautiful. The final camp had a cafe where you could buy beer so this was a nice end to the day.
The final day we were woken at 4am to start our walk to the Sun Gate so we could see sun rise over Machu Picchu.
Everyone headed off at top speed to get there - i thought it was a ten minute walk and was surprised to find out it was about 6km! It was an amzing sight when we got there and well woth the 4 day slog. We were also surprised at how few walkers we saw on the trail. The trail is limited to 200 a day plus 300 porters but we didn't see that many people really even at camp. The walkers are well staggered and the walk is very quiet except for having to avoid the porters as they fly past you racing down the steps with huge bags on their backs.
Mchu Picchu itself is unbelievable and totally blew me away. It is much bigger than you expect and so beautiful. It was believed, when discovered, to be the lost city of the Incas where they hid all their gold from the invading Spanish. It turns out that it is not, this is now believed to be somewhere in the Amazon but no-one has raised the money to look for it yet. The city was home to about 800 people and it is believed they were the most
important and well educated. It was most likely an administrative centre but it also has a number of temples and statues to the Gods. The platforms around it were used as a kind of foundation to keep the city stable but could also be used for agriculture. The Incas also built the walls of their houses in trapezium shapes so they could withstand earthquakes- hence they are still standing.
The city is just unbeliveable and just about the best thing i have seen. The buildings are incredible and the scenery of the surrounding mountains makes it unforgetable. It was most definately worth the 4 day trek. But next time we'll catch the train!
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mum
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Breathtaking!
Didn't you do well but I think you should have hired the donkey Kate. What an achievement memories to last a lifetime. Mumxxxx