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Published: June 24th 2006
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After a short 30 minute flight from Arequipa, we arrived in Cusco, capital of the Inca empire and starting point for most who wish to trek the original Inca road to Machu Picchu.
With one day in Cusco to aclimatise and buy all our last minute items for the trek, we strolled around the city´s markets and beautiful cobbled Plaza de Armas. On every side of the main Plaza, the streets rise steeply and narrowly and the lower parts of many of the buildings are still made of huge Inca stones. Here like many other examples, the angles cut into the massive pillow shaped bricks are mindboggling and so precise that its hard to imagine modern engineering could acheive anything to equal the feat.
Our trek began with a day trip to the Sacred Valley, sacred for the life giving Uru Bamba river and the quality of the agricultural produce it produces. Our first desitnation and warm up for the Inca Trail was a two hour walk around Pisac, a spectacular series of terraces high up on the mountain sides of the Sacred Valley. Our guide took us on a hairraising inca staircase around a huge mountain outcrop and
into the impressive ruins.
From Pisac we took a coach to Ollantaytambo, another impressive Inca ruin and home to the largest single monoliths discovered. The sheer size of the main wall at the top of the Temple of the sun was simply breathtaking. Literally the size of the side of a house and impossibly carried by the incas some 10km from the site where the stones were quarried.
After spending the night in Ollantaytambo, we had an early start at 5.30 am and a short bus ride to the 82km mark and the start of the inca trail. Having already packed our belongings into duffle bags weighing no more than 7kg including a sleeping bag and matress which weighed 4.5kg, we set off with our small but still heavy daypacks and a trusty walking stick made from local Bamboo.
Having crossed the Uru Bamba over a small bridge, the easy path took us along the top of the river canyon and past cacti, tequila plants and several small abodes overrun by chickens.
Our tour guide Freddy "Kruger" was an immensely likable Peruvian who from the moment we set off showed such passion and energy into the journey ahead of us. At every opportunity he shared with us his impressive knowledge of Inca civilisation and being fluent in Quechua (the native Inca Language) was able to provide us with the perfect tone for what was a spiritual journey for the Inca civilisation.
Of course, prior to the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, the religion of the Andean peoples was very much an appreciation and worship of their stunning surroundings and Freddy was eager to demonstrate that his religion was too, for Mother Earth or PachaMama in Quecha.
Being fairly accomplished at making the trek a fun and interesting experience, Freddy soon got the group paying homage to Pachamama by sharing a small amount of drink with the ground at every occasion as well as referring to us as "family" at the beginning and end of virtually every sentence!
During the briefing before the trek and during this initial stage, Freddy informed us that rather than the normal trek route, we were to push further on our first day so that it would make the 3 subsequent days easier and also to ensure we would be camping at different points to the rest of those making the journey at the same time.
As a group we were very grateful for this but as the day progressed, we realised that completing 18km on Day 1, virtually all of which was uphill (or mountain!) was more tiring than we had anticipated! Having reached Llactapata an inca settlement some 7km in, we turned inland from the river and began our ascent to Wayllabamba our lunch stop at 3000 meters above sea level.
The journey was of course beautiful at every step with Mountains dwarfing us on all sides and unfortunately in front of us and the bright sun giving every leaf and blade of grass a voluminous colour. The scrub and cacti turned to moss covered trees and monstrous yukka and the river tributaries crossed us on all sides of the path.
Aesthetics aside, the walk became tougher with every step and it took all of our energy and stamina to near the first camp (not for us) and a well earned break.
Completely knackered, we all sat down to lunch prepared by the porters who had earlier ran past us carrying 25 kilos of our gear and cooking equipment. This being our first opportunity to appreciate just what an amazing job the porters do, we were surprised but impressed to be sitting at a dining table to a three course lunch of a higher quality than we've had in many restaurants!
After lunch, Freddy insisted we take a short Siesta before donning our packs again to begin what would be the hardest section of the entire 4 days. This next leg would take us 800 meters up and to Llullucha, our campsite for the night which sat exposed just 300 meters below Dead womans pass, the highest peak we were to accomplish.
Sitting at home reading this, you will never be able to appreciate quite how difficult this ascent was but if it helps, we got to the point where we were litterally swearing at passing birds purely for their possesion of wings! Every inca step became a mammoth challenge and much of the journey was a case of rising 10 steps then stopping for 2 minutes to catch our breaths and postpone what we were sure was death!
Earlier on in the day, we decided upon a group name born from the amusing admission from Charlotte that she used to call days where no school uniform was required "Mufti days". "Team mufti" was decided upon but due to various levels of physical fitness, the group was soon split into "front mufti" (Charlotte & Emma who steamed off in front and reassuringly paid for it later!) "Rear Mufti" (Paul, Lisa, Rochin, & Hayley) and "Middle Mufti" (The cream of the crop of course and consisting of Claire and I, Anne Marie and Jonna).
Although I´m certain Middle Mufti held the perfect pace, ours was a world of swearing and commeradery in equal doses. As we rose through what was now dense jungle our hearts, lungs, knees, backs, feet and general want to live were battered like at no time before in our lives.
When we finally reached our destination high up on the mountain side, we collapsed in our pre-made tents and immediately realised that the t-shirts we were wearing would not be enough to counter the freezing temperatures!
At no time since we were about 7 years old have any of us been to bed at 7.30pm but tonight, Pacha Mama and those cursed Inca steps had really done us in. After eating dinner with our thermals and gloves on and a quick glance at the most amazing starry night sky I´ve ever seen, we got in our sleeping bags to shiver the night away.
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