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Dinner first night in Lima
Em and Dave had to strain to break their habit of only speaking Spanish. The Inca Trail & Machu Picchu
Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a highlight of our entire trip. The 52 kilometer, 4-day hike is beautiful and the ruins are awe inspiring. Climbing from jungles to barren peaks and back down again, the trail passes by grazing llamas, rivers, waterfalls and Incan ruins. Machu Picchu itself, a city built of huge stones and perched on the side of a mountain, surpassed all my expectations. I think the pictures describe it best (and we took 564 of them), but here are a few reasons this trek was so great:
Good friends: Our friend Heidi and Dave’s sister Maggie joined us on the trek. Heidi, Dave and I had a few days to explore Lima before Maggie arrived. We took advantage of the great restaurants, waded in the Pacific and did a little sightseeing. When Maggie arrived, we all traveled to the mountain city of Cusco. Once the capital of an Incan empire that stretched from modern day Columbia to Argentina, Cusco is now a colonial town with huge cathedrals and plazas. After two days spent relaxing and adjusting to the altitude, we hit the trail.
Our group: We lucked out and joined up with a great hiking group. Phil and Marc, recent university graduates from London, kept us laughing throughout the trek. Neither hired personal porters and Marc hiked the entire trail in his converse sneakers and jeans. Nick, an Australian doctor, tended our blisters and answered endless questions about altitude sickness (so, five beers at 14,000 feet shouldn’t be a problem, right?). Elaine, a gallery owner from England and flower enthusiast, opened our eyes to the wild orchids along the trail and celebrated her birthday on the trek!
Our guide: Our fearless leader Carlos is an affable twenty-something from Cusco. A lovable slacker, Carlos set the tone for his leadership by missing the early morning bus on the first day and stayed consistent by missing the farewell party that he organized at his uncle’s bar in Cusco. Between guiding treks to Machu Picchu on a monthly basis, Carlos stays in shape logging hours on his Playstation and drinking at the aforementioned bar. As a result of this training, we may have been the only group in Inca trail history that had to wait for its guide along the trek.
Our porters: It took 14
That pisco is sour!
Em and Heidi enjoying complimentary beverages as our food was a little delayed. porters to get the 8 of us to Machu Picchu - and they did it well. These men carried our tents, sleeping bags and backpacks, set up camp each night and prepared our meals (my kind of camping). On the last night, we had a ceremony to thank the porters for their efforts with a tip and a toast. Dave gave the toast in Spanish and sprinkled in a few phrases of Quechua that he’d picked up on the trail. That garnered goodwill with the porters as many do not speak Spanish. Dave used this fact to soothe his ego when only the crickets seemed to appreciate the joke he made in Spanish.
The power of coca leaves: As soon as we entered our hotel in Cusco, we were offered coca leaf tea to help us adjust to the altitude. Initially tasting like liquid hay, coca tea is now one of my favorite drinks (generous spoonfuls of sugar and the addictive properties help). Every morning, our team of porters brought coca tea to our tents to help us wake up. On the trail, many porters chew dry coco leaves for energy. Dave, Heidi, Maggie and I followed their example
one afternoon, quickly numbing our mouths in the process. Since feeling like I had just visited the dentist was not my objective, I decided to stick to the tea.
The final day: We woke early and hiked for two hours to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu from the Incan “Sun Gate.” After sunrise, we entered the City on the same trail the Incans took hundreds of years before. The precise carving of the massive stone buildings and the cascading terraces are incredible, but the setting makes Machu Picchu truly amazing. Precariously hung between lush green peaks, the City feels mystical. Its original purpose is still mysterious - either a sacred religious site or a resort for wealthy Incans, it was abandoned during an Incan civil war shortly before the Spanish arrival and was not “discovered” until 1911.
Bonus peak: After touring the ruins, we made our way up Waynapicchu or the “bonus peak” as Carlos described it. It was 45-minutes of the steepest terrain we had climbed, but the endorphins and the birds-eye view of Machu Picchu made it worth it.
I hope you guys enjoy the photos (thanks Heidi for sharing yours!). We had an
Day One of the Trek
In the background you can see one of the porters. They are supposed to be limited to carrying 20 kilos but this seems to be broken often. Most hiked the trail in rubber sandals. amazing time. Now on to Bolivia!
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SteveO
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The Great Condor
Here is what I learned from Carlos: while being an American is all about Breakdancing and Jazzercize, being an Incan is all about Cocoa Leaves and Rat Beer (once necessarily has to follow the other). How is that for a great telling of inconvenient truths.