Advertisement
Published: August 9th 2011
Cusco, Peru
Inti Raymi celebrationsSunday 19th June - Thursday 30th June
We booked our places on the Inca Trail trek over five months ago, so it has been a symbolic mark on the calendar for a long time now for two reasons; the first, it being such a famous trek culminating in the beauty of Machu Picchu (one of the new seven wonders of the world), and secondly, it marks the end of our South American adventure.
Arriving in Cusco, the centre of the Incan Empire, a couple of days before the trek started, gave us time to soak up the atmosphere of the Inti Raymi festival and prepare ourselves for the days ahead.
By chance, the city was alive with processions of dancers in traditional dress, the locals singing and partying, and the old colonial buildings were covered in rainbow flags (we thought it was gay pride when we first arrived!). Even the fountain in the main Plaza de Armas was covered over with a golden statue of the Inca king Pachacuti - a great time to be in Cusco!
We joined in the festivities by way of a reunion with some old dorm-mates, Nish and Rachael, who we'd not
Cusco, Peru
Huge stone walls of Saqsaywaman seen since Buenos Aires close to the start of our trip. Quite a few of the local establishments were visited as we craftily managed to arrive and leave each venue at the end of each 'happy hour', continuing this technique until the early hours. Clearly this was not without the suffering of the dreaded 'altitude hangover' which kicked in the following day.
However, needing to stretch our legs with a little pre Inca Trail 'warm up', we walked 2 km up a hill out of Cusco to the amazing ruins of Saqsaywaman or 'sexy woman' as Chris likes to call them.
Built by the Andeans and known as the House of the Sun to the Incas, the large polished stone walls represent one of the most important religious complexes of its time. Check out the pictures, it's hard to imagine how they managed to haul and shape the huge, heavy pieces of rock into position and with such precision that they all interlock perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. The walls are around six meters tall and the largest limestone block is estimated to weigh almost 200 tonnes. The ruins also provided impressive views of Cusco....
INCA TRAIL...
Inca Trail, Peru
The entry gates to the trail, with our trekking buddies. Setting out on Day One of the Inca Trail felt like sitting down for an important exam at school. There had been so much preparation in advance of this day that I actually felt nervous for the first time – and this was ridiculous considering we were now self proclaimed ‘experienced trekkers’, bordering on ‘mountaineers’.
Every trek we had done up until this point on our trip somehow felt like it was in ‘preparation for the Inca Trail’.... the volcano climb and the snowy trek in Pucon, the five day Torres Del Paine 'W' trek in Patagonia and the high altitude treks in Huaraz, not to mention all the other walks we did in Patagonia. We were definitely ready!
The start of the trail, while a nice easy walk, was not quite how I imagined it to be - a dirt track, wide enough so that we could walk side by side, following along a river through trees and small villages. We were a group of 15, ranging in physical ability, size and age from mid 20’s to late 30’s. A friendly, entertaining bunch, particularly on the first day when making first impressions, we’d wrongly convinced ourselves
Inca Trail, Peru
Chris with Cesaaar during the coca leaf ritual ceremony at the top of the second pass that two of the couples were married gay men, until we were set straight on Day Two. Fortunately, no embarrassing comments had been made by us ahead of this!
Our guide, a fit and spritely guy called Cesar… which Chris will read as ‘Ceesaaaar’ in a deep, low, long accent, recalling the mystery that surrounded him. Cesar was a man of enthused passion and dramatic storytelling that was captivating but also regularly hard to understand. There was no doubt that he had extensive knowledge of the Inca peoples (his ancestors) however perhaps this meant he struggled to contain the topic at hand.
This made him loveable but kept us guessing a lot of the time – hence the mystery of Ceesaaaar..
The meals were exceptional, three courses for lunch and dinner starting with soup and followed by a hearty main course of meat, rice, vegetables and a decorative garnish such as a sprig of thyme or parsley etc.. and a pudding of some kind for dessert. Porters were always running ahead of us arriving at each lunch / camp spot to set up the large mess tent and fill it with tables and chairs where meals were served.
Inca Trail, Peru
Lunch camp spot, Day 3 Likewise, on arrival at each evening camp spot, all the tents were already set up and ready for us. The porters were really exceptional, carrying on average 25kg containing everything from the tents, food and tables to chairs and even gas bottles! All we had to lug was our 2nd set of clothes, our sleeping mats and our water bottles!
Camping at night got really cold as we were staying at altitude (3,000m 1st night, 3,600m 2nd night) but we were prepared, impressing everyone else in our group with our genious method of filling metal water bottles with hot water and shoving them in the sleeping bag with us, along with our clothes for the following day. Works a treat!
We walked on average for about 12km each day, over varying terrain as the trail weaved in and out of hills and up and over mountain peaks - the second day included a mammoth climb to 4,200 meters and back down the other side. However, the third day was the most beautiful, with a rocky path weaving along the side of the mountain before the 'gringo killer' staircase kicked in and we descended for a good three hours
- a real test for the knees! We were within touching distance of Machu Picchu and only an early morning jaunt through the rainforest in the dark with head torches on remained.
After the bleary eyed walk was complete, our moment was here… arriving through the Sun Gate at the top of Machu Picchu to see it rise up from the surrounding misty clouds.
I was surprised at how much this place affected me, however on a law of averages.. I think everyone in our group was equally impressed, which convinced me that this was certainly something special to behold. Part of the feeling was in knowing that we’d just walked the whole Inca Trail, built by the Incas over 500 years ago with their bare hands - a stone path that wound up and over mountains, clinging in parts to the sheer rock face to bring us all the way to the hidden sacred ‘lost city’ of the Inca peoples, where only the Inca king, family and his school of top architects, religious people and astronomers lived and studied.
As the sun rose up, the misty fog burned away leaving us to wander through the city
Machu Picchu
Top of the world! ruins with llamas quietly trimming the green grass around us. The feeling of just being there was unique, beautiful, peaceful, spiritual and special.
To finish things up, we all met as a group for a farewell lunch in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes. We had bonded together as a group over the previous four days and it was nice to share a beer and reminisce over the time we’d shared. We said our goodbyes and headed straight for the thermal pools set on the side of the river for a well deserved soak, before taking an evening train / bus back to Cusco.
After the adventures of the Inca Trail, we spent the following four days lazing in the sun on beanbags in the central courtyard of our hostel, taking advantage of the evening events such as salsa dancing classes, cinema screenings, BBQ’s, catching up with friends etc.
It felt nice to have no agenda, and also to know that our four months were coming to an end and we had completed all we’d set out to do and were ready to head home.
All was not quite over yet though.. on arrival back in Lima
Lima, Peru
Keri with Rosa we were able to meet up with our good ole Dutchie mates, Freek and Bente, for a ceremonial dinner, drinks, coca chew and a few rounds of Sapito (Peruvian coin throwing game).
The following day we met up with my old Peruvian housemate Rosa (from 11 years ago). It was great to spend some time with her reminiscing over the old days when we shared a house in Old Toongabbie, Sydney, linked arm in arm as we strolled through the centre of Lima, not to mention the memorable lunch we shared in a local place along with Rosa’s mum, two brothers and sister in law… Chris opted for the cuy – deep fried guinea pig, purely for the photographs, and to say that he’s tried it…but never could he have predicted that while he prodded at the small, expensive carcas with his knife and fork, Rosa’s mum sat across the table sucking on the bones with her fingers and suggesting that he take the same approach!
Before we knew it, it was time to go… one final roller coaster ride on the South American roads to the airport and without delay, we zoomed off into the sky.. London
bound! What an amazing journey.....
Muchas gracias por los recuerdos de la America del Sur - lo que es un lugar increible!
K and C xx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.091s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0505s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Steve and Kel
non-member comment
So much done, so little time
Can't believe you've done so much that we did! The W remains a standout for me, whereas Kel preferred Macchu Picchu. See you soon; it's getting full round our place!!