Andean trekking...

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Hello all

At last I feel Im on holiday! First up - Just posted some more pics from Bolivia online l - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=169673&id=691995235&l=e591f072a8 Hope you are enjoying them.

Its been a blissful hot day and we have arrived in Arrequipa to a gorgeous hotel with swimming pool, hammocks and lush grounds filled with the sounds of loraqueets. As the sun is setting, I have ducked into the free internet room to update you all on the incredible Andean Trek which i have just about recovered from!

The Inca Trail is one of those “must do” things I think, if you have any appetite for travel and adventure. Ranked in the top wonders of the wrold it has been transformed from a secret and hidden lost city into Peru{s premier tourist attraction. That said, numbers are strictly controlled and it wasnt the Disneyland fiasco i thought it could be! Call me pragmatic....

Trekking into Macchu Pichu is not for the fainthearted and I salute the Wilson sisters , my bro &Anny and most recently Tanya for doing the Classic Trail. However, as the trail has become popular so has the increaded number of dodgy operators looking to make a few sol. Apparently, frostbite, altitude sickness and even death can be the cost for the poorly paid trekking staff. Although i had the option to do the famous Classic trail, at the time of booking the trip, Dragoman offer an alternative option known as the Andean Community Trek. This is a route that takes you far away from the promenading gringos - that is not to undermine the Classic Trail which is extremely taxing as well. However, the Community Trail which is only walked by Dragoman Groups took us higher - up to 4800m at Pumahuanca Pass deep into the Urubamba Range with the glacial topped peaks of nearly 6000m.

Day 1 of the trek - Leaving Cusco with our hiking bags containing enough stuff for 4 days in the wild we drove up to the Inca ruins of Sacsayhuman (pronounced sexywoman!) on the northern outskirts of the city. Apart from the impressive views, the sheer size of the rocks used to make the temple and sanctuary are staggering. The 130 tonne rocks fit together like jigsaw pieces and there is something quite remarkable about their absolute precision especially when you consider that this was all completed before the invention of iron and the wheel and that the Incas had no form of written language.

Much of the site was destroyed by the Spanish and many of the structures were dismantled and the stone used to found Cusco. Sexywoman became an unofficial quarry of precut rock for the settlers.

From the site we drove to buy coca leaves, ponchos and walking sticks from a local market before visiting the most impressive Inca ruins of the trip so far (and trust me, it feels like ive seen a lorra lorra ruins!) - Pisac. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisac These are considered the finest inca remains in the whole of the Sacred Valley and their vantage point over the flat plains of the Urabamba is spectaculer. Terraces spill down the mountain on which they are built creating microclimates for the Incas to grow a variety of crops. All around the mountains rise towering above the Inca estate. Walking around the ruins was the extent of our hiking today which was sufficient at the altitude we were at. Vertigo sufferers struggled as the sheer drops were not sheilded in any way and it took a degree of multitasking to keep ones eyes on the path and on the views!

Smithy (our incredible guide) then took us far into the Lares Valley (http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&source=hp&q=lares%20valley&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi) climbing in the bus to 3800m to the tiny Quechuan villaje of Quishuarani where we camped for the night. Arriving in this cold desolate place at nightfall was quite daunting. There is something very foreboding about mountains in the dusk and the sense of their magnitude made me feel extremely daunted about the next 3 days of climbing….

Day 2 of the Trek - A chilly night in the tent but nowhere near as icy as other places we have camped where temps have plummeted way below freezing. Woken by the chief of the villaje , Raymundo and his team bearing freshly boiled wáter and coca tea, i unzipped the tent to see the landscape. Tips of the mountains disapperaed in the low cloud cover and with the sun just risen (it was 6am), the light had just hit their peaks. After a hearty breakfast, as part of the Community side to the trek we helped plant 60 trees on the side of the mountain.

This trek takes us through remote andean farming communities - quechuan speaking direct descendents of the Incas themselves - you can see this in their facial bone structures. The Peruvian government considers these communities to be living at a subsistence level - in extreme poverty. The community trek focuses on us - the visiting gringos - doing something to assist the community. Past groups have helped in an educational context whilst our tree planting is part of a reforestation project. The farmers rarely have access to electricity and so depend on firewood for cooking - hence the indiginous forests are beinbg consumed too quickly. With the money raised from Dragoman treks, effective farming tools have been bought, additional teachers recruited and health care facilities improved. The interesting thing is that although it is “tourism” that is funding these improvements, the Community Trek has not destroyed the indiginous culture. The Dragoman treks are on a small scale and the villages are not (yet) accostomed to us gringos wholly, so there retains an authenticity , utterly absent from say Los Uros.

After the tree planting, the mules (not porters as on the classic trail) were ladened down with all our gear and armed with our day packs we set off. To say the climbing up was challenging is an understatement - with 6 hours ahead of us we took it steadily, carefully allowing our bodies to start processing less oxygen under the strenuous conditions. Apparently the locals living at these altitudes have 10% MORE red blood cells to assist with the O2 uptake needed to survive!

Although it was indescribably tough, as we ascended the path high up to the Huillquicasa Pass at 4450m the scenery was the best yet. Ive been lucky enough to see some pretty gorgeous mountain ranges - the Rockies and the Himalayas spring to mind - but here, the backbone of south america - the Andes gave us enough visual delight to keep pushing ourselves up. Getting to that first pass on the first proper hiking day was an incredible feeling - looking behind at where we had come from and ahead to where we were destined - a beautiful desolate valley - was just awe inspiring.

On the way down, i met some little kids who were bringing back to a farm a 1 day old llama for tagging - not a word of English but in my improving spanish and few learnt words of quechan , we had a bizzare interchange by the side of a glacial lake. After a good 2hr hike down to 3780m we arrived in the village of Cuncani - when i say village, no more than 200 people living in mud built shacks with Straw roofs and no proper ablutionary facilities. We camped by the river - the source of wáter for the village under an almost full moon. That evening we were invited to Raymundos home where Smithy translated our many questions to this incredible man - chickens and guines pigs ran amok on the hardened mud floor and the 1 room building smelt of woodsmoke, its starw ceiling charred black from open fires. It was an honour to be there - to hear about his life, his community, his culture and his traditions.

Day 3 of Trek - Although i found yesterday very taxing, the whole experience was too wonderful to give up on so i decided to proceed with the hardest day - 8 hrs of hiking up to an almost astral 4800m. Many people have been suffering with vomiting, the trots and so a couple (Sarah & Adrienne) decided bravely to call it a day… I have been relatively lucky so far. Instead, i had to cope today with somethign else - girly probs! Unbelievable really. The most physically demanding day i have probably ever encountered and im in agony not to mention a lack of flush loos en route!! Go figure… but heck…one copes and trust me, its a charácter building experience!

The first couple of hours todays trek were utterly cruel - 45 degree relentless tracks which made you feel every muscle in your legs and arse. The tracks dissolved into seas of scree and past glacial lakes, every incline taking us to the top of the world. Although I took many photos (coming soon - still uploading Bolivia!), they simply cannot do justice to the sheer magnitude of the place. Arriving on the cusp of one track we looked down into Paccha - our tents already erected by the ever efficient porters as tiny coloured spots in the distance. Descending today, Ryan and I both suffered really bad headaches and reaching camp I crashed out and slept solidly for 14 hours missing tea, dinner and the daily game of dice! Considering I was on crutches 4 months ago, Im pretty damn proud of myself. Yay!

Day 4 of Trek - Downhill all the way today for 4 hours through the glacial valley. Knees felt like jelly. Looking back at the distance and height we have travelled was mind boggling to be honest. Im in shock i have managed it! Beautiful relaxed walk today through forests of indiginous trees with bark like filo pastry and the smell of eucalyptus in the air. The bus met us in the village of Urubamba and Smithy took us for chicha - a vile tasting alcoholic drink made from maize used to knock out young inca girls for sacrifice and lessen the hardship of everyday life for your average 21st century Peruvian! Twas an acquired taste as was the stable of guinea pigs squeaking next door - all awaiting the pot!

Day 5 of trek - The Rio Urubamba winds its course through corn plantations and rocky gorges watched over by the lofty peaks of the Cordillera. Machu Picchu was built high above the river and this was our final destination. On the Classic Trail you walk to this ancient citadel - at sunrise trekkers descend through the sungate and capture their first glimpse of what is considered the most magical site in the whole of the Americas. On the Community Trail, we finished yesterday and thus approached MP in a more sédate way…. By train from Ollantaytambo and then bus which snakes its way on multiple hairpin bends up the mountain to the mighty heights of the city.

Buried for centuries beneath cloud forest and jungle, MP was discovered in 1911 intact - the looting Spaniards never chanced upon it and it was proclaimed as the Lost City of the Incas. As S America{s number 1 tourist attraction, its now bringing in the money - entrance is $44 US and the train & bus tickets cost a combined $115 US. Nestled below the triangular peaks of Huayna Picchu and the taller mtn of Machu Picchu, it is everything and more you would expect it to be. Breathstoppingly dramatic, the terraces, temples, living quarters and fountains sit in splendour amidst a backdrop of dazzling mtn ranges and forest. Smithy gave us an extensive tour but seeing as we had been up since 5am combined with 4 days of trekking, by noon in the hot sun we were flagging!

My enduring memory of MP though will be moments after arriving there was a thundering noise and 2 llamas came galloping along. 1 horny llama chasing another all the way down to the Inca plaza for some extensive bobs your uncle… it was hilarious and yes - look out for the picture on FB!! It wasnt until early afternoon theat the storm clouds descended shrouding the tops of the mountains in their diaphenous veils. The rain started and after one final glimpse of this amazing place, i descended to Aguas Calientes town…

So there you have it folks - my Andean trek .... we are heading to the coast tomorrow at 6am for some beach camping and sandboarding then onto Nasca and Lima. Hope to do another update when i get to the capital....

By the way, Dragoman are offering a 50% discount on the Lima to Quito leg of the trip so if anyone feels like joining me, please throw caution to the wind and COME!!!!

http://www.dragoman.com/destinations/tripdetails.php?cat=ZQL

Hannah x



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two comments:

Amazing your description of your travel!!! Very intresting trip!!!! Very demaning the trip to Machu Picchu
Un abrazo,

Horacio
horacio (email) - 10 11 09 - 22:35

Gracias Horacio….Im glad you enjoyed. Hope the photos put a smile on your face - there are some lovely ones from our time in BA.
Besos
Hannah x
Han - 12 11 09 - 17:47

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