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Hey there, Hi There, Ho there,
Hope you are all doing good. My apolgies for not updating this as often as I should have done. Just been crazy busy having a good time (Also sorry for rubbing that in if you are working hard...... I'm not)
This entry will take you through the final leg of the Inca trail and complete the final leg of the Peru tour. (Still Bolivia to write about though) I hope you enjoy.
Last time I left off was with the morning flight and then getting equipment for the trail (All very excititng stuff)
Could I also add that I am writing this at 2:30 in the morning and am slightly drunk.
So the day after the bargain hunt and search for the equipment we had a bus drive to see the Sacred Valley, Pisac ruins and also a local market (Similar to the one in Albert Square, just with more wooly hats and Peruvian people)
We arrived at the Sacred valley. This seems to be supported by local tour companies to upkeep the traditions of the past generations. These include the production of local souvenirs and also hand made garments, such as Alpaca products (Jumpers, hats scarfs etc. (can't give you too much detail as I don't pay too much attention - What can I say, I'm on holiday.)
We then went on to Pisac. This was a chance to get a kind of warm up to the Inca trail (Allbeit a very minor one - In comparison) The guide talked us through us through local culture and the history to the surrounding areas (Again the photos will do it more justice than I can) As mentioned this was a very minor walk in comparison to the Inca trail, which I will move on to shortly.
We then went to our hotel after the walk, to chill out and prepare for dinner. We all went to a local restaurant to enjoy a wholesome meal before the start of the Inca trail on the following day. After dinner and on a full stomach I decided that this would be the best place to purchase some Peruvian pan Pipes (To the utter dismay of the group)
I am still practicing but hope to be very good by the time I get home (I bet my family can't wait)
My apologies if the above is slightly vague but it wasn't part of the trip I paid most attention to.
Now this part was incredible and I can remember every part, although for the sake of the story and my beauty sleep I will just give you the essential details.
We were driven by bus to the start of the Inca trail, where we were greeted buy a whole load of porters, who were going to carry our stuff, set up camp, cook our breakfast, lunch dinner tand be absolute heroes for the next four days. (There were 21 porters to our 15-16 trekkers - The oldest being 56)
We started the tour and day one is said to be the easiest part. We all started at a very gentle speed and were talked through local culture, customs and also wildlife. In terms of physical exertion this day was very forgettable as it seemed very easy in comparison to the other three days. There were lovely sites and also the weather was good. This didn't continue as it started to rain roughly 30 mins to an hour before the end. Fear not though as the market trip was not in vein. I had luckily purchased a water proof jacket and trousers along with a bright yellow poncho. These all served me well with the exception of the poncho, which I didn't need. Actually the trousers were pretty crap as well as they were very tight.
Anyway afetr a few hours walking, and a few facts from the guide we arrived at camp. We were all fairly tired as it was a fairly longwalk and the altitude completely knocks you for six. It takes a good while to get use to.
We arrived at camp and it was a lovely site (Kind of anyway) We were staying in tents for the duration of the trail, with no showers, a very questionnable toilet and next to a field full of wild life. But hey, we were ok as we had a group of helpful porters to help us feel comfortable. It is amazing just how much they do, for very little money. To give you an idea, I carried a bag that weighed around 5-6 kilos, which was plenty heavy considering the conditions. The porters on the other hand had to carry 20 kilos of equipment wearing very basic cothing and some funky sandals.
So we relaxed in camp, had some dinner, prepared by a master chef and just chilled out. Asd the day was so taxing, we were in bed very early (Around 8). before bed however, was te absolute highlight of my trip. We walked out of the tent after dinner and was greeted by a sky full of massive bright stars, a clear sky (In terms of clouds) and no lights to dim the views. It was quality and one of the best views of the whole trip. (Ahh memories)
We woke the next day at a stupidly early time in the morning (By woke I mean woken up by the porters). It wasn't the best waking to be greeted by a bucket of hot water and nothing else (Oh except a bit of breakfast).
So this is day two (The hardest of the trail apparently) We wet off from camp in high spirits, which afetr a while were extremely hard to keep up. The people who said that day two was the hardest weren't lieing. It was so tiring, you would be out of breath walking 5 metres and even after a break, you would walk for another few steps and be smashed again. I could tell that this was going to be a tough day.
We stopped a few times and the group seemed to split up afetr a while with people taking there own pace. This was a fantastic experience, but must confess that it is much easier to say that after doing the trail than it is during the hike.
We all carried on. It was very tiring and this started to show in the group, however we all pushed each other and gave the confidence boosting shout outs to keep people going.
The hardest part of this hike is not necessarily the physical part, but the mental side of it. It is very hard to walk for ages up to a point that you think is the top, to see another 1k hike up to another point that you hope maybe the top. We all walked with the hope of reaching what is called Dead Woman's pass. Luckily after this happening two or three times, we could finally see the top and let me tell you this was a total struggle and very hard work.
I finally reached the top and a few of the boys had been up there for a while. It was a strange feeling to feel that you have passed the hardest part. The views were fantastic and all the better to know that you have earned them, On the previous blog post I mentioned a place called Colca Canyon, which had equally amazing views, but being driven up compared to hiking up doesn't compare.
Once you have been at the top for a while and had a chance to chill out, you forget the pain and just how hard it actually was and just feel relief and pure achievement.
The rest of the group made it up in dribs and drabs and we were all together for a group photo after about 30 mins. Then came the time for the walk down, which we all thought would be very easy.
It wasn't.
It was a walk down, which was some kind of hope, however, these were not normal steps. They were high, and far apart and really take their toll on your knees. Myself, Alicia and Lanie (Who will be mentioned in the blog about the group) decided to take it slow and walk at our own pace. We were then joined by Pete, who waited in a bush for a good ten minutes to shout help as we passed, in hope that we would think someone was hurt.
We made it to camp in about two hours.
Once there, we did the same kind of thing as we did most nights there. We chilled out, chatted had some dinner and got ready for bed at a very early time indeed. The good part of this night was meeting all of the porters and introducing ourselves to them and them doing the same.
Afetr a relatively good nights sleep (Only disturbed by one night terror from me, thinking that someone was trying to get into our tent) we awoke to a glorious day and a view of the mountains over breakfast.
We could see the start of the hike and to our dismay the first part was up hill and was very steep. This day turned out to be the hardest day mentally (For me anyway). The day was extended as there was an issue with the camp we were supposed to be in, so we ended up walking further than we were supposed to. It was a crazy long day, but was made bearable by the group that I was walking with. I was with Pete, Lanie and Alicia, which made it easier as were were just chatting and having a laugh.
We reached camp after a long days walking and were very tired. We had dinner, (Oh and a cold shower) one beer and then off to bed in our tent and in the pouring rain. Luckily those porters know how to put up a sterdy tent.
The final day
The following morning/middle of the night (4am) we were woken up by the porters (It is very hard to keep liking someone who wakes you up so early - Just ask my alarm clock - I hate the little f***er). It was still dark but luckily I had a head torch that was leant to me by a great fellow from work. Let me tell you it worked absolute wonders. We walked for about an hour in the dark and then the sun decided to make an appearance. Oh and I forgot to say, it was still pouring with rain.
The first part of the walk was to Sun gate to watch the sun rise. This wasn't great as the weather conditions did not permit us to see anything half decent, so we just walked through and on to Machu Piccu. This again was a tough day as the weather was so bad, that it kind of ruined most of the views.
After walking for a long long time, we finally got a glimpse of the holy grail. It was not as spectacular as I thought it was going to be, but I blame the weather. It was however still a fabulous sight and well worth the walk when you realise what you have achieved.
We got to Machu Piccu and admired the views. There were a lot of clouds and the rain was horrible but the pictures are still great.
The rain persisted, but we all stayed for the tour from our guide, who talked us through the history of the entire ruin and surrounding ruins. We had an option to do another hike that would take an hour but most of the group declined. It would have been fine, but the weather was getting worse.
So we left Macchu Piccu and headed on bus to the town at the bottom, where the tour guide had arranged a treat for us. We all brought our swim suits as we had the chance to go to the local hot baths. We had been to some a week or so ear;lier, but as we had walked for so long, thought that this maybe slightly more welcomed as it was uttrely eraned.
We went ther for a couple of hours and it was quality. Very relaxing. We then went to a local restaurant to just chill out, have some food and wait for the train to take us back to Cuzco for something they call the 24 hour challenge.
This is very self explainitory. You are woken up at 4am and you have to last till 4am the next day. That means no sleep what so ever. So we got some beers, got on the train and got the party started in a small way. We then got off the trian, got a mini bus and was on our way back to get drunk.
We were drinking on the bus and generally being quite loud. We all felt quite tired before the the bus, but soon perked up.
We got back to the hotel, got changed and headed to a resturant. this was about 8. So we had some way to go. We all went for an Indian meal. (Had a sneaky red bull & Vodka) and then we wney tin to town. This turned out to be a great night, with the tour leaders coming, nearly everyone was there and we were all getting slightly drunk. I stuck to beer as this was the safest bet to get me through, however some of the group turned to spirits. Needless to say, some of these people did not make it for the full 24 hours.
In the end, there was about eight of us standing and in celebration, the DJ put on "We are the champions". What a great night.
A night I will nver foget. Some of the group headed back, but Peter, Jacob and myself were still good to go, however the clubs were closed. No good. We did have an argument with the Taxi driver saying that the club shouldn't be closed as it was only 3 o'clock, even though, half an hour before, we had celebrated reaching 4am. Crazy.
Anyway we headed back to bed and took the next few days we took it very easy. The next night we stayed in for a pizza night and watched a film.
The following day we all went white water rafting in Cuzco river. This was good fun although very cold, in the water at the point the guid decided to tip us in. This happened a few times until, the guide realised that some of the group didn't want to go in anymore. We also got to jump in the water from a suspended bridge, although I did a funky jum, that nearly ruined me. Slightly winded, confused and feeling like someone had kicked me in the nether regions, I jumped back on the boat and carried on. Although not as tiring as the Inca trail, it still wrote us off for the night, so it was another quiet one.
The following day Pete, Piers, Dan and I decided to do some quad biking. After trying for ages to get a good deal that included insurance and also getting a deal where we didn't have to pay 2.4 million pounds if we punctured a tyre, we travelled to the mid-mountain range to meet or guide. We had 20 minutes to get used to the bikes. Dan & Piers were going to do two wheels and Pete and I were doing quads, however Dan quickly changed his mind after the warm up and I don't blame him. We all went off behind the tour guide and it was absolute qaulaity. I didn't realise the turain that we would be driving on. Rock mountain paths, narrow paths, puddles, ramps. It had all the making of a biker film, until I hit a lump and the bike toppled. It wasn't my fault of course, the bike always veered to the left do to counteract it I leant the other way, and I possibly leant too much. It was cool though as I was only going about 10mph.
I must say though that the best prt of that day was driving on the roads in Peru. We wouldn't have booked it had we known, but it was great. What a bunch of crazy driver. Utter adrenalin rush. Unforgettable.
That evening we went to a football match. The game was between Cuzco & Lima (2nd and 4th in the Puruvian premier league respectively).
It wasn't the most convincing game of football I have ever seen, although it was good for the atmosphere although they really need to work on their cheers. They all blow horns at different times. It was like listening to a four year olds orchestra.
I did feel for the players due to the altitude, although they should be fully climatiesd. And there top player earns the equivilent of 70,000 pound a month. I was better than him. But he can keep his job for now.
It was then back to the hotel for yet another early night.
Tomorrow we will be leaving fro Puno. So there will be another blog entry for that.
Take care
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