Camino Inka

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Flying into Cusco was quite breathtaking, as I noticed that on either side of the plane the Andes were rising higher into the atmosphere than we were. It became apparent that landing a jumbo jet in such a landscape is by no means an easy feat, as the plane banked more sharply than I have ever experienced a jumbo do before in order to fly between the mountains and managed to level out just before we hit the runway. And so the adrenalin rush began that would stay with me until I departed for Lima a week or so later.

Cusco has long fascinated me as it was here that the Incas decided to establish the capital of their vast empire. In the native tongue, Q'osqo translates to the navel, thus this was the name given to the city that was located at the geographical centre of the Incan territories. My first compulsion was to wander the streets and laneways in the old central district around the plaza, as I wanted to see the ancient Incan stone foundations of the churches and cathedrals that the Spanish built on the sites of sacred Inca temples. The stone work of the Incas is quite phenomenal, as they expertly fit large stones in place without the use of mortar with such precision that one could not even squeeze a butter knife between them. Added to this, the stones are all of irregular shapes and it is like looking at a game of Tetris being played on a monumental scale with a difficulty level that doesn't exist in the modern world. In fact, the Spanish and more modern stonework looks decidedly shabby when seen alongside the superb masonry of the Incas. Once I had satiated this long held desire, I ventured into one of the churches and was able to ascend a bell tower which afforded me a tremendous sweeping view of this city nestled in between surging Andean peaks. After absorbing this vista, I ventured to a tea shop and swilled a mug of coca leaf tea in an effort to avoid the ill effects of altitude sickness, which was a practice I maintained each morning whilst I was at altitude.

On my second day I visited an Andean community and watched them expertly weave alpaca fleece into garments using age-old techniques and using crushed flowers and beetles in boiling pots of water to dye the wool. After this we (I was with an Intrepid group at this point) were treated to a Peruvian delicacy - guinea pig! The skin was quite tough, but after looking around I realised that I was quite lucky to have a hind leg which provided me with a satisfying portion of meat to chomp away on.

From here we headed to Ollantaytambo, which is another old Incan city and I happily meandered around its streets for hours, peering down the stone lanes to see the temple ruins on the mountain sides. Once I got myself clear of the blocks surrounding the main square (which is tourist central) and the school children shyly asking me if they could have their photo taken with me, I found I was in a peaceful state of mind and spent time sitting on old stone steps or whiling away the minutes by the river. I needed these moments of quiet solitude, for my excitement was all consuming as the following morning I knew I was finally going to embark upon an adventure that I had spent countless hours daydreaming about for over two decades.

The driving force behind my planning of this South American jaunt was undeniably to hike along the Inca Trail ('Camino Inka' in Spanish), culminating in viewing Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate as the sun rose. In all these years of yearning it was always the city of Machu Picchu that I saw in my visions, not for one second contemplating the scenery that would be all around me along the trail. Therefore, the splendour of what my eyes were exposed to was a constant bonus that, as I reflect upon the four days I spent hiking, was possibly the greatest highlight of all. One such moment was at the end of a long and arduous day when we had been hiking through misty clouds and rain for the most part. As the sun was setting, the clouds descended into the valleys below us (that's how high we were), exposing a mountain chain in the distance that was adorned with snow and glaciers. To add to the surreal setting of peering at mountains from above the clouds whilst on foot, the sun had silently slipped behind one of the higher peaks, with its rays stretching out from behind the summit into the darkening sky in hues of pink and orange. Every single person who was present was entirely captivated by the glorious beauty of the scene and all else was forgotten. Machu Picchu had completely disappeared from my mind.

Whilst is was challenging ascending mountain passes such as Dead Woman's Pass (which is at a height of 4,215m above sea level), the physical duress could not dampen my spirits as I drank in the fresh Andean air in greedy gulps and marvelled at the paved trail that the Incas constructed over six hundred years ago. I only hiked along 45km of paved Inca trails and it is staggering to know that, so far, in excess of 42,000km of paved Inca trails have been discovered! These trails aren't just dirt tracks, but expertly paved through undeniably difficult terrain, in many cases requiring the construction of hundreds of stone steps to ascend a mountain.

Another thing I hadn't realised about the trek was that there are numerous Inca sites along the way, ranging from temples, ceremonial altars atop mountain peaks to ruins of townships and their signature stone terraces that adorn mountain slopes as they fold into the valley below. The construction of these terraces is quite remarkable, as they were able to create micro-climates in order to grow food from different altitudes. Each terrace consisted of four inner layers, with the top layer being soil, underneath which was sand (transported from the rivers at the foot of the valley), then gravel and the base was composed of rocks. Depending on what they were trying to grow, the amount of sand or soil was altered in order to create the perfect conditions for growth. Once the water filtered down through the four layers, it would then course its way through the rocks to the terrace below, carrying with it the nutrients acquired from the terrace above. Ingenious.

The four day trek culminated in a 3:30am wake up followed by a mad dash to the Sun Gate to see the sun illuminate the city of Machu Picchu. I made it with a few minutes to spare and was rewarded with a pristine view of this ancient city. Incredibly, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky or any morning mist hanging around, which is quite rare at this time of year. The location of this city really has to be seen to be believed. Two sides are hemmed in by mountains, whilst the other two sides drop down for hundreds of meters into the valleys on either side. To successfully attack this city would have been nigh on impossible in bygone days. However, once the Incas began to fear for their lives due to the Spanish invasion, they simply took what they could carry and fled to the jungle, where some tribes are still living. As a result, many of their cities were left unfinished, with Machu Picchu being one of them.

One story that I still cannot get over regarding this city occured recently, in 1988. There is a large plaza at Machu Picchu which had a stone monument located at its centre. In 1988 the Peruvian President ordered this monument to be cut down so that he could land a helicopter there to show the King and Queen of Spain the city! To make matters worse, after the visit it proved impossible to attach the monument to the original stone base and it has now been buried in the plaza! In 1988!!! The paralysis of logic evident here is simply astonishing.

As with most of the important Inca structures, there are astounding examples of their knowledge of the planet and the stars; however, I won't bore you with the details. In a nutshell, there are windows, rooms, stones and so on all set in place to reveal things such as an equinox, what is occuring at the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as well as at the equator, not to mention also having an awareness of magnetic north and true north.

Returning to Cusco on the train I noticed that I was smiling, such was my content state of mind after finally spending days wandering through the Andes and strolling through the lost cities of an empire which captured my imagination way back in my early childhood. Once we arrived in Cusco there was only one thing we could do, which was to shower and head to the nearest pub to celebrate the culmination of our adventure. This turned into a wild night, with Salsa dancers using the bar as their dancefloor, people wandering around with their bodies painted in swirls of colour and an alcove for face painting that people emerged from with a drastically altered visage. When I eventually stepped outside to be accosted by broad daylight, I knew I was in for a tough couple of days.

As I was flying to Lima today with superb views of the irrepressible Andes Mountains, I was content and happy that I had finally accomplished one of my life goals and it is an experience I shall treasure and never forget.

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