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Published: August 21st 2006
us and our porters
before we started the trail we met our portersWe´ve now finished the Inca Trail and we´ve both survived it!! Our legs were a bit sore after the 4 days hiking, but we kinda expected they would be!!!!
sorry this blog is so long but its easier not to split it up into days!
We we´re picked up from our hotel in Ollantaytambo at 6.30am by our guides Smith and Yamil. Our porters were also there, we had 11 porters in total. the porters are amazing, they carry all the stuff for the whole trail leaving us to just carry a day bag. they carried tents for us to sleep in, our dining tent, the kitchen tent, all the cooking pots including a gas cylinder (!!!!) and a bag for each of us. we were each allowed to pack a duffle bag with 7kg of stuff in, me and heath were good at packing and only had 5.5 but others had nearly 8kg!!! we were told you could pack light or heavy depending on how smelly you wanted to get, so i guess that means we were smelly!!! we had plenty of stuff though!
we all got onto a minibus to the start point which was about
start point of the trail
this is the first checkpoint where we got our first stamp!! an hour away, we started feeling sorry for the porters already as we all had a seat each on the bus and they were crammed in around us, some not even sitting on seats and there were about 5 in the front seats along with the driver! we all got out and had a bit of time while everything was organised before we set off. we were introduced to our porters and our chef who was called Hilton. we had a big group photo of us all with the porters before setting off.
we had to walk along the train track to get to the first check point where they cheack your ticket and passport to regulate how many people are on the trail. there is only a maximum of 200 people allowed onto the trail each day. we were given our tickets and im well annoyed as it has my name down as gallian which everyone thought was most amusing. at least the guide thought heaths name was heffer so that amused everyone as well!!! we also got a stamp in our passports here to show we started the trail. there were various checkpoints throughout the trail where
lunch day one
we were amazed to get there and have a tent, table and chairs set up all of which had been carried by our wonderful porters! our tickets were stamped but the guides sorted them all out. think they are to show you did the whole trail without cheating and also to make sure you haven´t died or fallen off!!! the porters also get checked at a different checkpoints. the porters bags are weighed to make sure they are not carrying too much stuff due to the new regulations that have come in. they used to carry upto 40kg of stuff each but now their only allowed to carry 25kg each. they also want to make sure how much rubbish they are carrying as you cant leave anything behind, and they will get fined it they dont think they´ve got enough rubbish!!!
the first part of the first day is quite flat or thats what we were told when we started, there was actually quite a few steep parts (the guide then explained it was peruvian flat ie ///) we stopped for quite a few breaks and it was quite hard but not too bad till we got almost at lunch which was at the top of a big hill. when we arrived we were each given a cup of juice by the porters who
were already there, setting up the tent and making the dinner. we sacrificed the first bit of the drink to pacha mama (mother earth) which is an andean tradition (poured a bit on the ground think it is to keep us safe, they do sacrifices to get good crops etc).
we then moved up to where the tent was pitched to wait for lunch to be ready. we had a lie down cos i was feeling rough cos of my cold which had got much worse!!! it was hard to breathe satnding still let alone when trying to hike!!! lunch arrived and we couldn´t believe it we started off with asparagus soup, followed by chicken and veg with rice. they end all meals with coco tea or another hot drink which is good for digestion and altitude. they made me and another girl have tea with lemon as they had heard us coughing on the way up. we had another bit of a rest before we set off again. they warned us that the next part would be hard and steep with the hardest part being just before we got to the campsite. we walked as a group till
Jo, Vic, Kim and Gabby in the dinner tent
was freezing cold at the camp, thats why they look so cold!!! the start of the really hard part where we were told we could walk at our own pace. from here, because im stubborn me, heath, caz and katie set off at quite a fast pace. we had been told by our guides that we as a whole group were walking fast, much faster than average. we knew some of the porters were still behind us and i wanted to see if we could beat them to the campsite which you are not supposed to be able to do. the porters are insane as were walking along struggling, they run past you literally running even though their carrying so much more than you!!!! normally when you get to camp they´ve been there for ages and all the tents are set up ready for you. the walk was really hard as it was lots of steps which kills your knees. it was also really hard as we didn´t know how much further we had to go so when we couldn´t see anything past some stairs we kept thinking, that must be the end but it wasn´t!!! katie and caz were a bit ahead of us and we could hear them cheer as
sunrise at camp the next morning
the sky looked amazing, was better but it faded before we got the camera out!! they got there so we knew we were finally close!!! it would be that our camp was the highest point of the campsite though so we had to walk past everyone elses tents to get to ours!!! we did manage to achieve our goal though and managed to beat about half of the porters which was quite an achievement, we got astonished looks from some when they saw us arrive, others seemed a bit annoyed though and gave us quite dirty looks, not sure they liked being beaten by girls. we were a group of 9 girls as the only lad on our tour had to do the lares trail as he booked too late for the inca trail and the other girl also booked too late but opted out of any trecking!!! this was a new thing for the guides and i think for most people as there was a lot of comments made about it! our guides called us chicas which is girls in spanish whenever he wanted to talk to us or for us to move on.
not sure we advise trying to beat the porters as it meant when we got to camp they were still
getting up in the morning
this is us all getting ready to leave, heath´s and my tent was the one in the bottom left hand corner setting up some of the tents so we couldn´t just crawl in!!! it was also far too much work!!! our first campsite was very high and so was also very windy and cold!!! think it was at 3800m but not sure exactly. cos of the wind we didn´t stay out of the tents long, we got given juice when everyone arrived and were told that we would have tea at 5 and then dinner at 6.30. we expected just a hot drink but we were shocked to see a huge tub of biscuits, and two tubs of popcorn on the table, which got refilled when they went down!!! after drinking hot chocolate and eating far too much biscuits and popcprn we lay in our tents for a while waiting for dinner. this was vegatable pasta soup followed by what we think was alpaca (might have been beef) with rice and veg and choc custard type stuff for pudding. all this followed off again by a hot drink. the guides then made a jug of tea macho which is tea with sugar and rum, warms you up quite nicely!!! we weren´t up long after dinner as it was so cold. the
altitude sign
this was one of the higest points we reached on the trail, at the begining of day two toilet block was really nasty and involved squat toilets but there was no electricity so trying to go while holding your torch is quite a challenge!!! we all snuggled into our sleeping bags wearing pretty much what we had worn all day as it was goin to be cold!!! the guides said they would wake us in the morning with a surprise at 6am!!!
they did wake us with a surprise but it was of a nice variety. they came round with a choice of hot drinks to our tents so we drank them while packing up all our stuff. we had to be fully packed before breakfast so the porters could take down the tents. breakfast was toast and jam followed by pancakes and a toffee sauce with hot chocolate!! when we came out of the dining tent all the other tents were down and some of the porters had already set off. the day started with more steep uphill to get over the first pass. it was quite hard going and the guide set off at a bit too fast a pace and kim found it hard to breathe, made worse by panicing which made us all
group of us with one of our guides yamel
this was taken after kim did her best to kill herself (couldn´t breathe then panicked!) worry as she was gasping for breath!!! we then walked slower which was much better. the reat of the day was then downhill which is great to start with as you dont struggle for breath but its hard on the knees. the pass we had to go over before lunch is called dead womans pass as the mountains are in the shape of a woman lying down, our guide showed this to us before we again split up to walk down to lunch. lunch was again soup and a main meal, we rested a while again before it was time to get off. we had another pass to get over but this one wasn´t quite so bad. half way down we could see our campsite on the oposite hill which spured us on and we got there quite early. this site was a bit more sheltered and was in sunshine when we arrived which was nice but after the sun went below the surrounding mountains it went quite cold. the campsite looked really nice as you could see nothing but mountains surround it on everyside.
the snack they gave us here was corn and wontons with guacomole dip - avacados
porters stopping for a rest
their rest we well deserved after carrying the packs up that hill!! over here are huge and really tasty!! we again ate far to much but dinner was a little later which was better. we played cards waiting for dinner with the guides. we played a kind of drinking game for a while using the remained of the tea macho from the day before. we ate a huge meal and played another round of cards before bed. we also played the game where you put hands on the table over those next to you and have to tap the table in order. this confused a lot of people, we drank sort of sangria they had made when we got it wrong, but it had so many little pieces of apple in it we almost choked!! the night was a bit warmer but still cold and the toilets were just as nasty!!! we were again woken at 6 with drinks.
breakfast was again toast with porridge which warmed us up. we also had cereal, fruit salad and yoghurt. today we only had a small amount of walking to do and we would get to the campsite in time to have lunch there. the walk was really gentle and we went past some
Us two
the view behind shows what we had climbed up inca sites which we stopped to explore. the inca´s were bit mad and decided to build cities and farm areas on the hillside instead of in the valley. this was for easy defence but also as they thought it was closer to the gods! to grow crops they construct farming terraces so have a flat area to grow crops on, (pictures will follow but this internet place wont let us use cds!!!) the campsite we were on was quite a narrow ledge so there wasn´t much space infront of the door of the tents which was a bit scary!!! at this campsite there was a restaurant on a higher level with flushing toilets which were much nicer!!! there was also a hot shower for 5 soles (bout 80p)which we all went for after lunch, was really really good!!! on the way down from the showers caz hit her toe on a rock (she was wearing flip flops) and cut a slice into it which then got full of dirt. me and vic (med student) helped her to sort it out but was really sore - we put iodine on it!!! we bandaged it up for her but the guide said
top of the pass
altitude sign showing we reached 4215m she had to go and see the doctor to dress it so she could walk the next day so he made an appointment later on in the evening for her and vic who had nasty big blisters. we went to explore an inca site which was about 500m away from the campsite, it was a really impressive village called "forever young" cant remember the inca name! when we got back from this our snack was waiting for us. it was wontons sandwiched together with cheese and a tuna dip with more popcorn!!! we ate tea which again was lovely and we called in all the porters and the chef to get them their tip as they would be going a different way to us in the morning. they all introduced themselves again and told us what they had been carrying. they were very happy and shook all our hands to say thanks, one had a really hard handshake which took us a bit by surprise but the others were all really gentle!! that night there was a "inca disco" (the bar was playing music and served booze) so we all headed up there. we had a few drinks which felt
top of the pass
the group of us all on the top of the pass. from left yamel, Rhian, Kim, Caz, Gill, Jo, Vic, Heath, Katie, Gabby and Smith wrong in the middle of the trail, some had a few more than others!!! it closed at 10.30 which sounds really lame but we had all been up early and had a very early start ahead of us.
we had to get up at 3.50 to be able to get ready and get to the checkpoint hopefully before everyone else in the morning, so when it opens we can walk and get to see the sunrise over machu picchu from a place called the sungate.
will write about the day later but now have to go and get a night bus!
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anonymous
non-member comment
Sounds awesome!! You did great on the walk! Well done! ...now u can understand how difficult the Everest Trail was for me - hehehe 15 days with a 15kg+ bag, no porters. :p :p Keep having fun! xx