The Inca Trail

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I was so excited to see my Dad, a welcome familiar face, after so long travelling. It was just such bad timing to feel so ill the day he arrived.
We caught the plane to Cusco and rested, for Dad to get used to the altitude and for me to recover from malaria. By the time it came to the Inca trail, my Dad also got a bout of food poisoning! And being fully booked till September, it wasn´t as though we could postpone till the next day...Dad took a couple of Lomotil and Codeine, and off we went.
The Vistadome train to km104 (where we would start our 2 day Inca trail) was a spectacular ride, passing through steep rocky moutains, cruising alongside the Rio Urumbamba. Only weakness is punctuality - we arrived 45 minutes later than scheduled.

This was the reason we opted to take the more expensive Vistadome, rather than Backpacker train - because we would arrive earlier at km 104, and my Dad could take his time to walk to Macchu Picchu. We arrived at the checkpoint, later than planned, because the train, and then they tell me that I might not be able to walk the trail! - wait for it, because I had a different passport number (had changed my passport between booking the trail in Feb, and travelling to South America) to the one registered with them at the time I booked! It was ridiculous, the bureacracy, I even gave them my driving licence - so we had to wait for another 40 minutes or so, for them to make some calls.

It started off okay, but obviously, there is a lot of climbing and my Dad, at 60+ needed to take regular breaks. As the day went on, Dad started appreciating the scenery less and less as he struggled up steep step after steep step. At one point he got severe cramp - this is the first time he has done any kind of trek - and at the time of booking, I, myself had never done any trek (apart from Duke of Edinburgh which was a distant memory) - so had NO idea as to how tough trekking could be,especially for an elder person.

And why oh why do I have to get the wanker guides? We had our own private guide, which sounds good in theory - but he was useless. He provided no encouragement nor support, especially when Dad was struggling, and his information on the Incas was dull and lifeless at the best of times - the short little scrote!!! BREATHE!

Anyway, we were way behing schedule, and aware that we had to be at Macchu Picchu by 5pm to catch the last bus to Agua Calientes, which wasn´t looking realistic. Dad was ready to collapse towards the end - I had to hold him up. It was a nightmare - i felt rotten inside, as I was the reason he was walking this damn trail in the the first place - why or why didn´t we just catch the train toMacchu Picchu instead of trekking? But he soldiered on,one foot in front of the other, scrunching his tired face in agony. We made it - at 6pm - I made the guide make the bus wait - but we made it!

I am SO proud of my Dad, at over the 60, doing a trek like this - he was the oldest person I saw doing the trek - and to never have done anything like this before, it is such an achievement.... but I don´t think ever again!

The next day was a doddle compared to the first - we visited the ruins ofMacchu Picchu.The pictures just don´t do justice. Although the previous day was stressful, we were the last ones to arrive to Macchu Picchu, and even then i felt the serentity. The next day after the rather tedious tour by Carlos, the guide, we could explore on our own. Despite there being hoards of tourists, you can still find your own special spot and feel the majesty of the moutains, timeless in their beauty, and take in the vibe of the place - this sounds cheesy, but it really did feed my soul with a kind of peacefulness. Incredible beauty and spirituality, it is definitely not overrated.

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Comments

[Joley]

Proud of you chica
Well done - you did it! What an achievement for both you and your dad…It’ll be a memorable one which I’m sure will provide you with infinite conversations in the many years to come. Loving your blog, and looking forward to the next update you little nomad! Lots of Love Joley

[Sanj]

Guides!!
Amazing pics once again kidd, your dad done really by the sounds of it,you too but your a veteran trekker by now so all good , but whats with these guides, i wont swear but i feel to, are they doing it for free!!, i doubt it, you both done it thats the main thing.Got to see the Incredible beauty of the place and felt inner peace... try to feel as much of that as you can...its hard to find around here, Take care spk soon :O) Sanj...