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Published: March 16th 2007
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After reaching Cusco and 3200 mtrs after our 7 day bus pilgrimage we were fecked. The taxis were funny though, little chicachentos and didnt cater for the larger gentleman. We checked into the Loki hostel which celabrates paddys day with an irish brekkie, stew for dinner and guiness at the bar. Its a huge hostel but unfortunaltly the bar closes at half 12 each night. After our long journey we got into an argument with the drunk/stoned staff about the lack of late servings. Us grumpy old men went to bed that night cursing the place.
We went out next morning to check the city out. Its not as poor as i thought(the average wage is 2 euro a day though) and has a european feel to it. Really liked the place apart from the street vendors harassing you all the time. The next few days we chilled in the hostel which has a tab(alcho´s nightmare) which you settle when you leave. I got a shock!!
Machu Picchu.....
On Sunday we had to get up at 5 in the morning for our trek to Machu Picchu city 2 hours from Cusco. Machu Picchu is the centre piece to
the Incan empire which streched through Peru, Equador, Chile and Argentina and is build high in the mountains close to the Sacred Valley. The Spanish never knew Machu Picchu existed even when they destroyed Cusco and killed 11million Incans in a few short years. The Incans destroyed all the paths to the city to protect their most sacred site as it was the main worshipping place for all incans. It was only discovered again in 1911 by a yank joe baigan. Theres the history lesson.
The company brought us to a mountain side(first pic) for brekkie and to show us Glacier Veronica which the Incañs worshipped for its water. After our scrambled eggs, toast and tea(a good sign of things to come) we headed of to Orabuyno to start the trek. Along the way we had 2 guides. Juan was second in command and gar likes to refer to him as the "quiet sensitive type"(4 days on a mountain all lonely must have got to him!!). Hilbert the main guy was really cool and always up for a laugh and even told us his "jokes" all the time. Good guys.
When we got to the town we has
the usual band of street vendors offering everthing you already have. I bought a bamboo walking stick and wondered why the vendor kept following me only to find out bamboo isnt allowed onto Machu Picchu. So i had to sell it back to him and get a wooden one for an extra few quid. That guy was a genious!! Then to top it off Fergus from Canada who reunited with us for the trek kept telling them i had muchas dinero(loads of cash) until i gave them the universal F off.
The first day was a bit of light walking which we seen the first incan site(i cant remember any of the names so they will be called site) and we stopped for lunch after a few hours. The amazing thing is there was 22 porters for the 15 people in our group. They carry 20 kgs(used to be 45) and then run to each campsite. When we eat they wait for us and pack up. Then you hear porter and they run by you in order to set up lunch or dinner and the tents for us by the time we get there. They were amazing and the
food was the best i have had on the trip to South America. Eggs, porridge,fruit for breakie, soup, meat,veg,rice for lunch then soup, meat,pizza etc and dessert for dinner. By the time we reached the first campsite and had dinner we were all wrecked and in bed by 9 to get ready for our 5 am start.
Day Two.......
The next day which was to be the hardest day it was lashing rain and we were woken up to warm water for a wash and Coca leaf tea which did the trick. We walked in the rain for 2-3 hours and it eventually cleared up. We then had to tackle Dead Womans Pass which reached 4200 mtrs above sea level. We loaded up on our smell alchohol and chewed our Coca Leaves. Apart from lack of breath the altitude sickness was ok. It was tough but we got up to WARMIWAÑUSKA knowing it was downhill for the next 2 hours.
Next we stopped for lunch then headed uphill to another site. From there a short distance to a little lake which everyone must take a stone from and make an offering and wish at the top of
the mountain. I wished Gar´s feet didnt smell like vinegar in the tent again. Unfortunately i mustnt have wished hard enough. It was amazing how they built the sites in praise of the moon, sun, sea, mountains etc.Across the river was a store housewhich was used to store food, weapons etc. We then crossed the river and into the jungle(straight away Bamboo and frogs making a racket) and camped for the night. It was a tough day with 10 hours of hiking but the beautiful dinner followed by a local tea full of rum had us happy and sleepy.
Day Three....
Today was an easier day as we were only hiking to a refuggio for 5 hours so we would be ready to hit Machu Piccu in the morning. We walked for a few hours and passed the odd site hear and there. We got to the refuggio with the lads being delighted to take a shower for 5 sols. Me and gar opted instead to spend the 5 sols on something better(a beer) and push on through. We were stinking. After dinner we went to WANKAPICCHU site which was brilliant. We could see how they made aquaducts
with stones and used ropes to keep doors shut, pretty cool.
Onto day four......
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anonymous
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Looks and sounds great man, hope everyone is havin a luagh, your missing nothing here, keep the blogs coming! your mate, Kinger