INCA TRAIL - DAY 1 OR "CAN YOU DO IT?"

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Sunday, 15 August

We had no trouble waking up in time, as anxious and nervous as we were, but I did sleep fairly well again. After breakfast, we delivered our luggage to the front desk for transfer to another hostal of the same group, Hosteleria de Anita. By the time we also brought down our backpacks, Ursula was there from All Trek Cusco to take us to the bus. At the bus stop, Frank our guide, and our chef were there waiting with all the bags of equipment, food, etc. After a brief wait, a minivan showed up for us, but it looked quite full already. The four of us managed to squeeze in with another group of 7 hikers plus 2 guides and a driver. The top of the van also very loaded down. We made one stop along the way to Ollantaytambo to refill propane tanks. Entering Ollantaytambo was like a lot of tourist spots, crowded and full of vendors selling walking sticks (professional and handmade), mittens, hats, coca candy, etc. We were already completely outfitted, so we went into one of the several cafes/stores and I had a coffe while Manoli had a papaya drink, sitting on a cute little balcony overlooking the main square of Ollantaytambo. The view was great, with the very cool ruins stretching above the town. I'm entering this now after the whole four day trek and I still remember thinking what kind of stupid people would climb up so steeply to see those ruins. Now, it doesn't seem even very challenging of a climb. We reboarded the minivan for a long ride over rough, dirty roads to the Kilometer 82 train station where our porters were waiting. After another restroom call, we hoisted our packs and headed to the entrance to the Inca Trail. Our supprot crew consisted of Frank our guide, Anselmo our chef, and Gregorio, Americo, and Juan, our porters.

At the entrance to the trail, we had to hand over our passports and our guide provided the appropriate documents. After that, we crossed the bridge and almost immediately got a taste of steep hiking. Several times we had to do some heavy-breathing climbing. Just before lunch, we stopped to look down at the ruins of Huayllabamba, while Frank explained its history and some other related Incan information such as the various uses of coca leaves. Shortly afterward, we stopped for lunch at Miskay. I think we'd surprised the cook and porters a bit how quickly we got there, as we had to wait a bit for lunch. The was worth it, as we had a sweet corn drink, a delicious soup, and then rice with beef, veggies, and sauce to go with it. Everything was tasty and hot. By the time we'd finished lunch, it was 2:30pm or so, so we got back on the trail to reach our first campsite, Wayllabamba, before dark. Again we had a bit of steep climbing, but we did well to get there by 4pm. The porters quickly had our tent set up and our gear that our porter carried stowed inside. Even before the tought second day, we were very glad that we'd hired a personal porter. The extra weight could have been a killer. Other stops along the way had toilets, but they were the straddle or squat type and apparently don't get cleaned often. The one at our first night's campsite though was a regular one, flush and all. That evening, the staff served a snack before dinner consisting of tasty cookies, popcorn, and our choice of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. I spent the short period between snack and dinner writing this. Our campsite was on one level of about six. Each site holds a certain number of tents/people. Our site was probably the smallest with two sleeping tents and no cook tent. Our cook and porters got to use one of the buildings to cook and then later to sleep in. Our site had plenty of visitors (chickens) and neighbors (a mule and a horse).

Dinner was just as good or better than lunch, consisting of another great soup, rice with potatoes and chicken. We went to sleep right after dinner (about 8pm) and slept OK, except I woke twice for the restroom. This is when you definitely need a flashlight, regular or headlamp, since its dark and you are in an unknow place. We both brought headlamps. The only thing we didn't have that in retrospect I wish we did, was an actual air mattress. The trekking company supplied mats, but they were quite thin and didn't help much against the hard ground on our hips and shoulders.
I'm uploading this the night we got back from the Inca Trail. Its almost 11pm and we have to get up by 4am for our trip to the Amazon, so you folks will have to wait til afterwards for the rest of our Inca Trail trek.

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Photos

Way Station
Heading towards one of the guard houses or way stations.

Edging Up To It
Joining our guide Frank near the edge for a chat.

Lunch Break
Manoli in front of our lunch break spot.

Lunch Dregs
What was left of lunch by the time I remembered to take a photo.

Porter Hotel
The buildings next to our campsite where the cooks and porters slept, and we ate dinner.

Hummingbird
You probably can't make it out, but there is a hummingbird in the left part of the photo, just above the V of the bush.

1st Dinner
Dinner our first night... and Frank sipping his drink

Our motley crew
Our motley crew of cook and porters.

Waiting to Go
Our guide Frank and the cook checking the equipment while we wait for the minivan.

Ollantaytambo Main Plaza
The main square in Ollantaytambo with the ruins in the background.

Our Minivan
View of our minivan (the one in the back) from the balcony where we sipped our drinks.

Cafe Balcony
The cafe balcony where we had our morning drink. Manoli is on the right looking at the camera.

Kilometer 82
Kilometer 82 where we sorted out our backpacks and picked up our porters.

Crossing That Bridge
Manoli crossing the bridge after the inital checkpoint.

Kilometer 82 bridge
The bridge we crossed after the entrance, from a bit up above.

Back Trail Day 1
Our back trail that morning.

Front Trail Day 1
You probably can't make out the hikers going up the trail around the middle of the photo.

Huayllabamba
A nice view of Huayllabamba

Comments

[Judy]

Be glad you're doing this when you're young!
Hi Guys, If you weren't in great shape before this hike, you sure are now! What a great way to see a country.

[Zpet]

Response from the Amazon
Hey Juju, wait til I post the rest of the Inca Trail diaries! Just to let you know, I am responding on my computer, sitting at a little hostal, in a little town in the Amazon, Manu Reserve.