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Published: March 26th 2009
Machu Picchu at first sight
Our initial view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate, where we stood for about 20 minutes, while the sun rose behind us. It was so satisfying to have reached this point via the four-day Inca Trail.When my brother Tyler told me about his trip to Machu Picchu with his girlfriend Jolene last year, my mind wondered
Matchoo what? Where? Peru(!) Who goes to Peru? Almost one year later, we went to Peru, hitting Cuzco and the capital Lima, with the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in between. Machu Picchu is probably the most recognizable symbol of the once mighty Inca Empire, which, for all its glory, was only on top for about 100 years. Though not the biggest, baddest or most significant Inca ruins, they’re the most heavily marketed, attracting throngs of tourists to Peru every year.
Constructed around 1462, Machu Picchu is believed to have been the home of the ninth and most powerful Inca ruler, Pachacutec (“He who Remakes the World”), aptly named because he was responsible for the aggressive expansion of the empire throughout most of civilized South America.
The site was abandoned about 100 years after construction began, and historians believe most of its inhabitants were killed by smallpox before the Spanish arrived in Peru. Although the UNESCO World Heritage Sight is only located about 80km from the city of Cuzco, those cunning Spanish
conquistidores didn’t find Machu
A wannabe Chaskie
Chaskies carried 20 plus kilos on their backs, completing the daily stretches of the Inca Trail far faster than the rest of us. Marc and I opted not to hire a Chaskie to carry our packs, which probably weighed about eight to 10 kilos when you count the sleeping bag and mattress we had to carry as well. Picchu (ha!), giving them no opportunity to destroy it as they did many other Inca sights.
It wasn’t until the early 20th century that Machu Picchu was discovered by “the outside world” when American historian Hiram Bingham showed up on the scene…or so the history books say. We’ve learned that there is much to be disputed about the history, discovery, possible use and preservation of Machu Picchu…and we don’t feel like getting into it.
What we do believe is that the location of Machu Picchu was most likely selected because of its relative position to landscapes considered to be sacred. It’s not so much the ancient citadel itself, but where its situated that really knocked our socks off.
Like the Quechua (Inca people) who walked before us, our trek to the sanctuary of Machu Picchu was a pilgrimage of sorts. First off, just getting to Peru was almost a pilgrimage in itself. Since arriving in South America, we’ve both had much higher incidences of homesickness. We figure that if we hadn’t booked and made a deposit on the Inca Trail, we may have pulled the chutes a month ago. But the extra travel time gave us some
necessary, forced reflection on all things related to returning home and we’re better for it.
We also opted to carry our own backpacks on the trail, rather than hire a Chaskie (a nicer name for a porter, literally meaning “fleet-footed runner”) to carry it for us. It’s not an uncommon choice, just one that made Day 2 A LOT more difficult for us. Weighing in around eight to 10 kilos per backpack (including our sleeping bags and mattresses), we reminded ourselves that the extra baggage didn’t even fully represent the weight that each of us had lost over the last year. If it wasn’t the backpacks, it would have been my ass and Marc’s belly being lugged up the mountain.
Further to that, the Inca Trail requires a heightened awareness of mind and body to be fully appreciated, bag or no bag. A long distance, high altitude trek like this requires concentration on your breathing, your footing and the overall consumption of your energy throughout the day, all while trying to take in the scenery. It's an almost meditative process that I find extremely satisfying.
And finally, we adopted some minor acts of Quechua spirituality over the
Patallacta
Inca ruins we saw on Day 1 of the Inca Trail. four-day trek. At the insistence of our guide, every evening after dinner, we tipped our glasses to Pachamama ("Mother Earth" or "Mother of the Universe"), letting a little liquid hit the ground in recognition of her powers and in hopes of good weather. Additionally, Marc took on the task of asking permission from the three nearest sacred points (like Salkantay mountain or Dead Woman’s Pass) to enjoy a mouthful of coca leaves (good for altitude sickness and extra energy). Perhaps due to our small acknowledgement of the power of nature, we enjoyed great weather, considering it was the rainy season, good company and good health, as we made our way on the Camino Inca. It was unforgettable…
Day 1: We got picked up at our hostel at 5:20 a.m. and quickly learned that the Inca Trail is going to be a tourist extravaganza, and Machu Picchu itself would be even worse. Fourteen trekkers, 19 Chaskies, two guides and two cooks. That’s just
our group, and there are 27 other groups of mostly smaller sizes joining us on the marathon 43km, 5100 vertical meter trek. The Peruvian government restricts Inca Trail access to 400 people a day, so if you
Just in case...this is our guide, David.
Our very knowledgeable and caring guide, David. He's completed the Inca Trail over 500 times and is very passionate about the "truth and lies" behind Inca culture. figure the odds, more than half of those are Chaskies/cooks/guides. And if you consider the word “trail” you know we’ll be bumping into far more people than we’d like to.
The Day 1 hike was a pretty easy 12km, with a few steep sections that helped prepare us for the second day. We stopped at our first Inca sight and we started to learn that David, our very interesting and knowledgeable guide, has his own theories about the Incas. He has covered the Inca Trail over 500 times, initially as a Chaskie before studying tourism and becoming a guide. He is very passionate about Inca history, technical in his descriptions, and often angered by the generalizations and errors made in the guidebooks. He also continues to conduct original research on the tradition of the Quechua people. I imagine he’s got a few terse words for Mr. Bingham. He made it very clear that Machu Picchu is not “The Lost City of the Incas” - clarifying that the lost city is still LOST. Go figure.
(Although his English was excellent, David has a funny way of frequently saying “Just in case…” as a means to say, “If you’re wondering”
Inca Juniors
Fueling up before the final two hours to Dead Woman's Pass on Day 2. or “Just so you know” or when he shouldn’t say anything at all. It became an endearing characteristic of one of the best tour guides we've ever had).
We started to get to know our trek mates a little, cautiously at first, but like longtime friends by the end of the trek - something we never would have expected being the Antisocial Smiths. There were the Dutch girls, Sanne and Renate, both future veterinarians and avid trekkers; Ronnie and Michelle, a Scottish/English couple at the tail end of a round-the-world trip that puts ours to shame; The Icelandic guys: a foursome of 20-year-old pre-university students named Arno, Ari, Ingo and Gunner, who introduced Marc to some Icelandic band he downloaded from iTunes and won’t stop listening to; Ashley and Scott, two “friends” from Washington, D.C. on a nine-day vacation to Cuzco and back; and Jonathon and Aine, a real friendly Irish couple who spent the last five or six months traveling through the States. David required us to name our group and we agreed on Inca Juniors, a play on the legendary Argentine
futbol club, Boca Juniors. David loved it.
We arrived at our first overnight spot in
Top of Dead Woman's Pass
From 3,000m to 4,200m up an uneven stone staircase, it felt great to reach the top, even though we couldn't enjoy the view.
And no, I'm not hiding a small Quechua family under my rain poncho. Wayllabamba (Way-YA-bomb-ba) and Renate asked if we want to play cards. Do we?! We learned the Dutch way to play Shithead before dinner and an early bedtime.
Day 2: The assistant guide Julio Caesar (J.C.) woke us at 5:30 a.m. offering us tea to enjoy inside the tent while we slowly woke and watched the clouds swirling over the mountaintops. It was beautifully picturesque and I couldn’t imagine a better way to start the day.
Our ascent from Wayllabamba (3000m) would take us directly to our first (and highest) pass: Dead Woman’s Pass (4200m), so named because of its resemblance to a woman lying down. After the first hour and a half, it was uphill all the way, and mostly stone stairs of random height, requiring that extra oomph in our step. It was difficult, the air was thinner and we had our packs on. It’s six hours from camp to the pass (we stopped for lunch before the last two hours) and when we were finally within reach of the summit, it was raining and windy and the stairs became increasingly taller (
what’s the deal? I thought Quechuas were short people!). We all reached the top in
Chaskies
At our first campsite, Wayllabamba. good order and were ecstatic to know the toughest part was now behind us.
The descent to our next camp was straight down for about two hours, another set of stone steps upon which I slipped and fell at least four times (no injuries except for my pride). Everyone’s legs were rubbery and tired from the climb, but the skies had cleared and we could see our camp in the distance all the while.
We arrived at Pacamayu (3600m) by 3p.m. and took a nap and played more cards before dinner. That night was freezing cold and we had the worst sleep of the trek. I was like the
Princess and the Pea with the uneven ground and had myself fully mummified in my sleeping bag. By the time I finally fell asleep, J.C. was at my door. At least he had tea.
Day 3: It took us under two hours to reach our next pass. In the course of the day (which we covered 15km) we went through 22 micro-climates that showcased orchids, hanging mosses and bamboo-like branches. Much of the stonework was original Inca paving and there were times when we were separated enough from
The next day's work
View of the next pass (look for the bits of blue) that we were to tackle the morning of Day 3. the group that we felt like the only people on the trail. The mountains were such a deep green and so massive we could hardly believe our eyes. That Pachamama is one helluva woman.
The third pass took us back up to 3700m and soon we reached the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (“Town in the Clouds”). I respect that the Quechua were master builders and architects, finding ways to lock the stones together rather than using some kind of mortar, but they were seriously lacking in aesthetics. I thought fondly about the beautiful and painstaking detail of Angkor Wat and wondered why the Quechua, unlike the Khmer, were satisfied with the appearance of pocked, gray stone. It’s my opinion that Inca ruins should be appreciated from afar, as their geometry- and stone-against-nature contrast are its signature.
From Phuyupatamarca, we made our way down almost 3000 stone steps to our final campsite at Winay Wayna, opting to detour the long way to the terraces at Intipata, which offered a spectacular view of the Urubamba River in the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu mountain (the city out of sight). Then we headed to our campsite, took showers, ate dinner and ceremoniously
Morning moon
At Pacamaya campsite, Day 3. thanked and tipped the Chaskies and cooks (which involved singing, tremendous handshaking and an impressive speech in Spanish from our “mayor” Ashley) before heading off to bed in anticipation of our final day.
Day 4: By 4:40 a.m. we were up, fed and in line for the gate to the next portion of the trail, which didn’t open until 5:30 a.m. The rush to be the first through the gate is mostly about reaching the Sun Gate (5 km) before sunrise, but for those who are eager and interested enough, it’s about getting all the way to Machu Picchu and securing a ticket to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain that looms over the ruins. Only 400 passes are given out for both the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. climbs, and tourists staying in the town of Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu have the best chance of getting to the ticket booth first. Four people from our group opted to go for it, and luckily they all made it, running the whole way and scoring tickets in the 300s.
We decided not to do the run and climb, but found ourselves taking on an excitedly fast
Abra de Warmiwanusca
The Dead Woman's Pass, which we conquered on Day 2, as seen after ascending from our camp on Day 3. You can slightly make out the shape of a women's profile...can't you? pace to the Sun Gate anyway. Everyone was jacked up and we forget all about the sore joints and muscles, and as we scurried up the final two staircases on all fours, we were blown away by the sight of Machu Picchu in the distance. It was oh-so-satisfying to have reached this point by foot, and despite the heavy breathing and excessive sweating (see Marc’s shirt), everyone was high-fiving and all smiles at our accomplishment.
After watching the sunrise and taking copious amounts of photographs, we descended the final stretch to reach the ruins proper. David gave us a guided tour, after which we were free to wander and admire at our leisure. By 11 a.m. the site was swarming with a thousand tourists and we couldn’t wait to get out of there. We took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and limped around for a while before enjoying a final meal with the Inca Juniors before we took the train and bus back to Cuzco.
In the end, our pilgrimage to Machu Picchu was one of the most memorable experiences of our entire travels. For anyone interested in conquering the Inca Trail, we highly recommend our tour
Third Pass
View from Phuyupatamarka Pass on Day 3. (3670m) group, Peru Treks, who gave us everything they said they would and more.
On our final day in Cuzco, we woke early from a deep and peaceful slumber and set out to run errands since we were flying to Lima the following day. We went for a big breakfast, went souvenir shopping, took photos around town and stopped at the bank machine before joining the Inca Juniors for a St. Patrick’s Day beer at Paddy’s, “the highest Irish-owned Irish pub in the world.” I did the unthinkable and left my purse unattended for five minutes and it was stolen. The purse, with souvenirs, cash, debit card, cellphone and my camera that held over 200 photos of Machu Picchu (the bulk of which captured the atmosphere of the Inca Trail rather than the famous ruins), was gone. We were lucky that the purse didn’t hold our passports or credit cards and that we still had a good chunk of photos on Marc’s camera. After actually running around Cuzco for a while looking for the guy carrying my purse (sounds absurd, but I was raging), I got logical and filed a police report. Our insurance will cover most of it. We’ll
recover.
Maybe I should have tipped my beer to Pachamama.
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Until we return home
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James Connolly
non-member comment
Sweet deal
You guys are troopers! Loved the blog and your latest set of adventures. Sorry to read about the purse, but more sorry to read about the pictures vanishing from said purse. :( Look forward to seeing you guys in April. Is the countdown on your blog an ETA to Alberta, or Canada more generally? When will you be in the Kelowna area? Stay safe, Smiths! Cheering you home from afar. ~The Connolly/Escaravage duo (James and Rachelle)