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Our Tent
Look closely...there is ice on our tent!Goodbye Unaytambo, Hello Salkantay
Why is it that all good treks have to start with such an unsociable wake up call? this time it was 5am. I was extremely sad to say goodbye to the Unaytambo hotel in Cusco where we had just spent a wonderfully luxurious 4 days for my birthday. We drove out of Cusco towards Sayllapata where we would start our 4 day trek. After a couple of hours and a stop for some breakfast we were at the start ofthe trail. The donkeys were loaded up with all of the camping gear, food and our personal baggage (thank you Qénte!) whilst we readied ourselves for the off. We were already at 3200m above sea level and during the day we would climb another 1000m to reach our campsite at Soyrococha. Breathing was difficult at this altitude when we were stood still let alone walking. I threatened Edd that he´d have to give me a piggy back when the going got tough, his response was not satisfactory or polite enough to write here. After walking at a ridiculously slow pace, but breathing extremely heavily for 3 hours we stopped for almuerzo (lunch). This was a seriously huge affair
We Made It!
Now it's just the down hill to go. with vegetable soup, garlic bread, chicken and vegetables. No complaints from me or Edd we were starving! After lunch we continued to trek up to Soyrocacha for a further 2 hours. It was a particularly cloudy day so it was difficult to see the Salkantay mountain during the trek but just as we approached the campsite the cloud lifted and Salkantay was revealed to us in all its glory. It stands at an impressive 6271m with a huge glacier covering the majority of it. Catching glimpses of falling avalanches was a particulary spine chilling experience and one that could keep you occupied for hours! The wonderful porters put our tents up for us and started on dinner; a girl could get used to this kind of service! Even in the dark the ice and snow capped Salkantay and Tucarhuay mountains loomed over our tents, illuminated by the half moon.
Ice Tents and the Salkantay Pass
We woke up to frost on the outside of our tent which explained why my feet felt cold all night despite my sleeping bag with a comfort level of -5 degrees C. After a warming cup of tea and an omlette we set off
for the days trek. The first hour was all uphill to the Salkantay pass and was fairly exhausting, but the view at the pass was worth it. From there onwards it was downhill and the surrounding mountain scenery soon turned into tree tops and jungle. Before we knew it was lunch time and 30 degrees C. We had hot soup with our lunch...where's the icecream!! We had a fairly easy 2 hour walk in the afternoon to our campsite which to everyone's pleasure was at a much more reasonable temperature than the previous night!
Mountains to Jungle
We only had a 4 hour trek on the 3rd day which started with 2 hours along a road which had been part destroyed by a landslide the year before. We were all pleased to hear Alex's (our guide) advice "If you hear falling stones, it might be another lanslide, the best thing to do is run, these things take a little time to get down to the road, so you'll have time to get out of the way" As long as we do! Thankfully landslide free we eventually cross the river to get back on to the original Salkantay Trail. We
were expecting a bridge so imagine our surprise when we discovered we'd be crossing this river in a cage on a pulley system. Once Alex had hauled us all over the river we had another 2 hours trek through lush green jungle, passing the occasional farm. We stopped at one and for a few soles tried granadillo fruit , a member of the passionfruit family. They were delicious and I could have eaten 3 or 4 of them! Once we arrived at our campsite we lounged around for the rest of the day and got an early night as we needed to be up at 4am the next morning. 4AM!!!!
4am Wake Up Calls and the Original Inca Trail
The cockerals hadn't even started crowing and we were all up, drinking tea and eating Machu Picchu cake. It might be wrong to eat cake at 4am, but we were going to need the energy and it was delicious!! Thanks to our headtorches we were able to see the trail ahead of us until the sun rose around 6.30am (Great Christmas present Dad and Grandma..Thanks!!) After walking for 30 minutes or so we arrived at the original Inka Trail which
we would stay on for the first half of the day. There were lots of steps...huge wide steep steps! We walked uphill through coffee plantations, farms and jungle, lots of jungle. The scenery was stunning and we were rewarded with our first glimpse of Machu Picchu from an Incan resthouse at the top of the mountain. We walked for another 3 hours or so downhill catching glimpses of a beautiful waterfall at Hydroelectrica where we would have our lunch.
After lunch it was a 10km walk to Aguas Calientes where we were to spend the night before our trip to Machu Picchu. We finally arrived, EXHAUSTED! Over dinner we needed to decide what the plan of action would be for the next day. Would we get up at 2.30am to queue for the first bus in order to try and secure Waynapicchu tickets, or would we sleep in after our 9 hour trek?
Machu Picchu
2.50am - 7th in the queue!! We weren't even awake enough to celebrate
5.30am - We're finally allowed on the bus
6.00am - The bus arrived at Machu Picchu
6.15am - Mission Accomplished! we got our Waynapicchu tickets. Now we just have to
stay awake long enough to climb Waynapicchu mountain!
We met our guide Alex for our tour around the royal city of Machu Picchu. It was fantastic, I hope our pictures do it justice! Then we exercised our right to climb Waynapicchu mountain. It was a hard slog to the top on our already weary legs but the views were worth every step.
There's so much to say about Machu Picchu but rather than send you all to sleep, just enjoy the photos!
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