Lares Trekking, across the universe

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Hola Gringo´s

Well after the wooo and aaaah of La Paz, followed by the aaaaarrgh, and sheeeeeeeiiiittt of the World´s Most Dangerous Road, and finally the woooooow of Lake Titicaca and Copacabana, we hit Peru.

First night was in Puno, just a journey breaker really, but we quite enjoyed it. Puno is not a fair reflection on what a region like Lake Titicaca can offer. It is a dirty little place, which contrasts totally with Copa on the Bolivian side, which was chilled out, boho and everything you could want from a lakeside town, high in the Andes.

We bused into Puno and checked into our lovely hotel, which was a favourite for people either heading to Cusco, or coming from Cusco, Puno to a T really. We had booked into the posh "Inka Express" bus service which is a guided tour from Puno to Cusco, with lunch and snacks thrown in, and entry to some nice Incan ruins and museums along the way.

We saw a little of Puno that night, which was actually a lot more of a bustling and energetic scene than the drab and dusty buildings and streets that we had seen on the way in! True to form, we were out eating dinner at 7.30pm in the evening, once again getting the accustomed strange looks from people as Shan & I sit in the window of a totally empty restaurant! Party animals we are not! We had both been a little below the weather so Shanny pops off to bed (at 9.00pm), but to be fair, we had another early start to get the bus at 7.30am.

The bus trip down was punctuated by a couple of noticeable things. The most kick ass mountain scenery and jaw dropping sights. And our guide. His name was Herman. He was about 3 feet tall (well, give or take 18 inches or so), he looked like Chandler´s crazy room mate from Friends or a Peruvian Elvis, take your pick, and he was a complete crack up! Every stop, would be like a history lecture at university. A brief explanation of what we were about to see, then a question...."do you know who Macha Pacha Hacha Technics was???"......silence......."no?"........you could hear a pin drop every time....."well he was the first Inca to sail over Lake Titicaca from Bolivia as he had run out of Marlboro lights and accidentally discovered the sun and Cusco, all before the futbol started at 8.00pm that night! Or something to that effect.

He made for an entertaining day. Everything was explained in Spanish and then English. To his credit, he was really knowledgeable and gave us a great laugh.

We arrived in Cusco, suitably tired after a long day, checked into the hostel then struck out to explore. We headed to Peru Treks office to pay the remainder of our trek cost then headed for something to eat. At Jack´s Cafe, about a 3 minute walk from our hostel. This was to become a recurring theme in Cusco. Jack´s is simply the best idea ever conceived in a touristy destination. Have a menu which is 100% American Diner, but done tastefully, healthily and with massive portions. Adding to this the supply of English magazines and you can picture a very happy Shan Kelly. A slightly bored (but very full) Steve Bulman could often be found opposite her, finishing what was on her plate whilst she had her nose in a mag!

Now our hostel in Cusco was nice (El Triunfo), but if anyone stays here, do NOT get a room at the front of the building. You have street hawkers constantly badgering people below your window....."buy my elephant.....you want massage.....massage my elephant".....etc.....then you have people setting off at 11.00pm to go out to nightclubs, already a bit hammered from an afternoon/evening of drinking......then, phew, you have the people returning from the nightclubs at 5.00am, then you have that days trek departures, leaving at around 6.30am. All of them noisy. None of them aware that people are sleeping about 15 feet away from where they yap loudly. Get a room at the back, much nicer!

The morning before our trek dawned fine and we headed to Jack´s for breakfast. Mistake numero uno by Steve. He ordered pancakes. Massive pancakes. Probably made with about 6 eggs.....with cream. Yummy he thinks. Belly rebellion begins about 2 hours later, and he is laid up for most the day with fever sweats, gripes and this is bearing in mind that he is due to walk 33kms up hill and down dale over the next four days. Steve is allergic to eggs.

Touch and go it was, but we made it back to Peru Treks office for our briefing, Steve sweating and cramping all over the shop, but putting on a brave face (can you tell who is writing this?). We met our fellow trekees and they seemed like a nice bunch. It was a 4.45 start the following day and we had to decide what we pack and what we leave, so it was back to the room where Steve promptly fell into bed. Shan went for dinner, at Jacks again, not sure that she ate, probably just to read mags again....but saved the day when she brought back a lovely Jacks soup to build Steve´s strength. What a girl...

26th of September, Day 1 of trek
A chance to get better acquainted with our companions for the next four days...
Frank... indomitable 6 foot 5 Irish boy from Kerry. Nickname "The Tractor"
Nicholas... Hedge Fund Manager, London lad who chose to trek only in sneakers and long shorts, ish, football player, sprinter
Becky... PHD - Dr Hedges! Nicks better half, also from London, marathon runner
Team Llama
Celeste
Izzy
Ali
3 18 year old Ozzie girls who were great value, even whilst vomiting and crapping hither and thither...more to follow.

We kicked this trek off with a 1 1/2 hour bus ride, inertia, again, which does not make for great trekking legs! After a further briefing from Frank (our guide), we ate our chocolate snacks and set off uphill for the first stint. After what seemed like hours, but was actually 9 minutes, we ground to a halt breathlessly....well, me and Shanny did anyway. Legs burning, heart trip hammering in our chests, we looked grimly up the slope to the next 34kms ahead of us....hmmm.

Luckily our guide Frank was so used to escorting unfit foreigners at high altitude, that he gave us frequent rests as we headed uphill. The village dropped away at a satisfying pace as we ventured further up and into the first mountain pass. The weather was comfortable and overcast. Our horsemen who carried all our stuff were running up a valley below us, which further outlined just how slowly we were moving....but, we made it to lunchtime. A grateful bunch who enjoyed the food and an hours sit down/rest. Nick and Becky were surging ahead and Frank (Irish) was beginning to earn his nickname, as his 6 foot 5 frame literally swallowed up the distance in massive strides. A little (he he) further behind were me, Shan and the Llama's who were starting to make heavier going of it. But altitude is a great leveller, as after we reached the first pass (4100m) Nick began to fade, with a screaming headache and nausea. Afternoon was all downhill, bit with loose gravel and drop offs it was not all easy going. The mountain scenery was stunning, and we were able to get some great shots of a lovely Quechuan lady doing traditional weaving at her tiny house, smack in the middle of nowhere!

Upon reaching camp, Nick promptly went to bed and slept for 13 hours, the Llama's proceeded to vomit (not Izy) alot, and get hardly any sleep, but me and my lady were sweet.

The following morning dawned fine and with a little delay and team Llama down to two (Ali was on a horse) we set off again. More climbing, but gentler slopes, and more amazing scenery. Tractor was forging ahead, but this time I was keeping pace. Seemed that the previous day had boosted our fitness, as Shan was making great progress as well. Back to the top of another pass and down the other side, past more indigenous people, all selling water at increasingly large prices...hmmm....profiteering perhaps? We lunched in an abandoned village, the sun was shining and we had the chance to cool our aching feet and legs in the river. All sounds quite idyllic right? Right? Well, the afternoon was to blow that theory right out of the water. We asked Frank (guide) which mountain pass we were to climb that afternoon.....he pointed; smack into the middle of a gathering thunderhead at the top of the pass.

Valiantly, we set off to overcome our final challenge....halfway up at a rest and water break, it started hailing. And did not stop for an hour and a half. With waterfalls where the track was previously, thunder and lightning crashing and flashing regularly, we really started to enjoy ourselves....we were making record time and managed to catch up on Nick and Becky (our resident superathletes) and even pass them! The whole place was white and wild and wet, and pretty spectacular. As we reached the top, the wind that was howling up the valley and it was difficult to stand up! We each placed a rock to bless Pachamama (earth mother) and headed as quickly as we could down the very slippery other side!

That night was cold. Minus 10 cold. Frozen water in bottles and shivery can't get warm cold......so pretty cold. Have we got that through to you? Despite of this, we did not sit in warm sleeping bags, but instead decided to play hand after hand of cards.....in a tent with very little heat, and plenty of ventilation! Sensible aren't we!?

The final day was 3 hours of downhill trekking which was comparatively simple, nice weather etc. Post a final lunch together we headed by bus to Ollintaytambo which is a town with incredible Incan terraces, in fact the only place where the Spanish were defeated in a major battle!

Following this was the most breathtaking train journey I have ever done. Descending from Ollintaytambo to Aguas Calientes, the train follows the path of the Urubamba River. During the course of the journey the river descends 1000m in a vertical drop and you are treated to some of the most killer rapids around. The countryside also changes from stark high country mountains, to jungle covered outcroppings and amazing karst rock formations. Just breathtaking. Unfortunately, Aguas Calientes itself is a bit of a dive, but this did not stop us going out to have a post trek celebratory drink (or 6). The only thing was we had to get up at 5am for the sunrise at Machu Picchu the following day, so not such a clever plan....hmmm....

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