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Published: July 21st 2006
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Laurence and an interested pig.
Our third camp. We awoke to the snuffling sound of pigs and small dogs rummaging around our tent. This was an 8 day "excursion" that me and Laurence undertook without mules and without a guide considering that not carrying all our stuff was "cheating". Our route basically cut straight through the heart of the Vilcabamba range of mountains from south to north, crossing en route the great Apurimac river mentioned in the last blog entry.Our main goal was the little visited Choquequirao which is an archeological site just north of the Apurimac and site of the bridge mentioned previously. It is a partially exposed ruin that covers a site larger than Machu Picchu and in a similar location, perched high on a peninsular with dramatic drops flanking its terraces. It does not have the same mass of buildings as Machu Picchu but lower on the slope there are the most impressive terraces we have encountered so far. Conquered and raised by the Spanish it was then deserted and left to be strangled by the cloud forest until relatively recently. Not many people visit for two reasons really, the first being that it is a two day walk there and a two day walk back along the same route there being no road and the second being the fact
Suger Cane Crushing Machine
This machine was on our first campsite in a sugar cane plantation. The sugar cane gats fed in one side and crushed by turning the handle round. They made a sugar cane liqueur. that it is only partially uncovered. This however made it even better. On the day we were exploring the ruins we were the only tourists, and there were just a couple of site workers wandering about.
Our route then took us up some extremely steep hills and down some extremely steep hills. It did seem that after 5 days of hiking that the paths in Peru only consisted of straight up or straight down. We camped in some interesting spots. One perched on the side of a steeply forested mountain. We arrived in the dark and witnessed the full moon rise elegantly above the spiky peaks to the east, lighting up our wonderful find of flat ground. The morning however was not quite the peaceful sunrise expected; as Laurence grumpily cooked the breakfast on the primus stove a family of pigs rummaged around on the hunt for porridge while a black dog incorporated our tent into it's well marked territory. The next night was spent on the volley ball pitch of a small village named Yanama. Here in a small hut we had the most fabulous meal we had eaten in days cooked by the lady who owned
Choquequirao
The site looking north. the shop. She was quite surprised that people in Europe don't eat guinea pig and then made me confirm that we at least ate chicken and pig and all the other animals that were scurrying around the kitchen. It was really nice to sit in their little warm cottage and we got a chance to use one of the only Quechua phases we know "Misky Misky" which means "really tasty" after devouring the food.
Our first campsite was on a small sugar cane plantation in a sheltered notch on the mountain, about 700 meters above the Apurimac. This small camping ground was run by the delightful Julian, a young Peruvian with a friendly air and a limp. His family ran the plantation and he was creating the camping ground with the hope of the future tourist boom that Choquequirao would eventually enjoy. He had made a nicely sized house for him self that was fantastic. He had put so much effort into the finish of the adobe plaster on the out side it put the rest of the adobe houses I have seen to shame. Adobe is basically muddy clay mixed with straw. Nearly everywhere you go in the
Choquequirao: Impressive terraces
Laurence and some impressivly steep terraces. Andes you will see adobe bricks drying by the road side and in designated plots of land. Lined up in neat uniform rows the bricks are left to dry in the sun until they are solid. Houses are either one or two stories depending, with a thatch, corrugated iron or tiled roof. There is the option to put an adobe plaster on the outside to fill in the cracks and give it a completed look. The plaster also preserves the life of the bricks from the rain and damp. However, a lot of the houses remain without the adobe plaster. Everything on Julian's land was neat and extremely well cared for and made with real precision. I spent so long looking and complementing him on his house I completely forgot to take a photo.
The last camp site was just before a 4600 m pass. we were camping at 4000 on the barren bottom of a large U shaped valley. The morning was a cold one, and the tent crinkled with ice as I opened the flap to receive the world. Laurence (rather criminally in my opinion) opted for a extra 15 minutes in bed until he could
Camping on the only bit of flat ground.
Taken in the morning: This is the delightful site with the pigs. at least see the sun on the hills. Half an hour later as I squatted by the stream washing up the porridge pot a small imp of a man came running down the pass and stopped quickly to acknowledge my presence with a wide grin and friendly words, before bounding off down the valley with a horse rope tightly coiled in his right hand. Whether he had camped further up and lost his horses or whether he had come from the mountain pass was up for debate. Either way, the rope was his only possession as he sped off towards the south.
On this last day we hiked up to the 4600 meter pass along a well kept Royal Inca road; neatly laid with large slabs. I think hiking at altitude is like what it must feel to be one of the unfit girls doing the bleep test at school. Except for the bleep never came and before I knew it I was standing staring in two directions. To the North of the pass the wide Inca steps disappeared into a green valley. Behind us, our U shaped valley where we had camped looked more imposing with spectacular jagged
peaks peering down at the valley floor. To our left there hung two glaciers poised as if they would melt immanently in the morning sun. Anyway you get the picture. Our laboured steps were small and slow but got us there in the end. I do think as well that altitude makes people a little more grumpy or that could have just been because Laurence took sooooo long getting ready in the morning.
All in all we had a good time but did both have our trousers held up by shoelaces by the end of the trip. Again we took Garciosa de la Venga along for company who kept us informed on women's rights in Inca society. Now however I have borrowed a copy of Hiram Binghams account of when he discovered Machu Picchu. It makes quite funny reading but more of that later.
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Auntie Cathie
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Wow!
Read your latest blog and it sounds as though you are having a fantastic adventure. I felt dizzy just looking at the drops, the views are spectacular though. ake care and have loads of fun. xxx