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Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
We almost cried tears of joy when we reached the hotel. It was definitely the most luxurious place we had stayed in and after 3 days on a bus was amazing. We just wanted to have a shower with the free soap, watch TV and crawl into bed but we had a briefing for the trip at 7pm so we made our way down to the lobby for that. The rest of the group we were to spend the next four days with were there and I have to admit that first impressions didn't look great. This was coupled with the fact that when the GAP Adventures rep appeared one woman from the group went over to her and started to get really angry saying that the hotel was substandard and that this wasn't what they had expected and were disgusted. Next thing her and her partner had left saying they were not going to do the trip. I cannot believe someone would forfeit their chance to do the Inca Trail because the hotel wasn't good enough for them. It was probably a blessing in disguise for the rest of the group-if they were complaining about the hotel, what would they have been like about the tents we were staying in?! Anyway, we went to the conference room and had our first try of the Pisco Sour, a drink made from the local spirit pisco, lemon juice, egg white and sugar syrup. It was delicious and tasted just like lemon meringue pie but a lot stronger than you first realise…(isn't that right Auntie Judith?!)
We listened to the briefing, which was exactly that -very brief. The rep just told us that we were being picked up at 9am to be taken to the airport and that they'd tell us more when we got to Cusco. We got chatting to Eveline in our group, Dutch girl travelling on her own and she was lovely but we didn't really meet any of the others properly untilthe next day at the airport when we had to gang up against the rep….Basically the next day we got picked up and taken to Lima airport as planned and our rep left us there to catch the flight. We checked in ok and took off with no problems and flew all the way to Cusco, which takes about an hour. The cabin crew told us to prepare for landing but then 10 minutes later we were breezily told that the weather was too bad in Cusco to land so they'd shut the airport and we were on our way back to Lima. After landing back in Lima, we collected our bags and headed back to the check in desk to see what to do next. When we got to the front of the queue, the woman told us there were no more flights that day and that we'd have to be put on the next days flight at 6am. This wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't seen that the two flights leaving immediately after ours had gone to Cusco and landed without a problem. We were very frustrated as we were supposed to have the afternoon in Cusco to acclimatise to the altitude (it lies at around 3200 metres altitude) and Gap Adventures had already prepaid the hotel in Cusco for that evening. We had to call the rep in Lima who eventually showed up but said that we'd have to find our own accommodation that night and pay for it ourselves. After an argument with her and then her boss, we realised that we weren't going to get the hotel paid for however we did make sure they arranged a free transfer for the next morning. They told us about a cheap hotel that we had to pay for and after dumping our stuff there we ended up in this horrific 'restaurant' slash antiques shop where we ended up leaving most of the food for fear of poisoning.
Next morning, we checked in fine and the flight managed to land this time in Cusco. Another woman met us and took us to the hotel, we had some breakfast and met our guide Ozzie who briefed us about the trip. After sorting out our stuff (we were allowed 6kg in the duffle bag the porters were to carry and we also had a day bag containing water, first aid kit, camera etc. The rest of our things were left in storage at the hotel. At 10am we left for the first day of the tour, which was to the Sacred Valley. We travelled by minibus with the group (3 Canadians, 2 Aussies, 2 Swedes, 1 Dutch and us 2 Brits) up high over Cusco. The view of the city was incredible and you could see the many colonial buildings as well as the Inca walls and the big graffiti on the side of the hill reading Viva Peru. The city itself is the America's oldest continuously inhabited city founded in the 12th century.We passed the archaeological Inca ruins of Saqsaywaman (meaning 'satisfied falcon' don't you know) then onto the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River. First stop was the Inca citadel in Pisac, which was incredible and our first real exploration of Inca ruins. The city was 60% farming plateaus but we also saw some of the neatly preserved temples, the military area and a burial mountain behind the site honeycombed with hundreds of Inca tombs that have long since been looted of the silver and offerings that Incas were traditionally mummified with. After our guided tour here, we took the bus to Pisac market where we had a short amount of time to look around. There were some beautiful things here and I really wish we'd had more time to stop and browse but we had to carry on to the lunch stop. It took quite a while to get to the restaurant and by the time we got there we were all starving and definitely ready for food. It certainly didn't disappoint. There was an all you can eat buffet with the most amazing desserts that we couldn't get enough of. This is where I bought my little alpaca from one of the locals and we named him Alex after a guy we met in Rio with the same hair.
That afternoon we visited more Inca ruins and Ozzie explained some of the theories behind them, which were all really interesting. Ozzie is from Cusco and has been guiding for 10 yars, he has also spent a lot of time in the UK especially Manchester and so he has this really funny accent. Some of the words he says are really broad or he'll just come out with a colloquialism that kept us entertained (well us northerners anyway). In the evening, we went for dinner and then stayed in a lovely hotel with hot showers. We were pleasantly surprised as we thought we would be camping that evening.
Next morning was an early start and about a two hour drive to KM82 at an altitude of 2380 metres and the starting point of the Inca Trail. We had the opportunity to buy coca leaves here, the chewing of which is part of the Andean culture. It is a bitter leaf that increases alertness and reduces hunger, cold and pain and is helpful against altitude sickness. It is also where cocaine is derived from but only after a long chemical process. I tried chewing it just once and it did seem to have an effect, (you know when it's working when your lip goes numb) but it tasted horrible so I just stuck to the coca tea and sweets. We had to be really careful that we didn't have any in our bags when we left Peru as it is illegal elsewhere.
We got to the checkpoint, had a group photo and then queued to get our tickets and passports checked. They're really strict about this as only 500 people a day (including the porters) are allowed to go on the trek each day. Whilst we were queuing at one place, the porters were queuing at another and having there packs checked. They are only allowed to carry 25kg each, which is still a huge amount but it used to be a lot more than this. If they are found to be carrying more, the tour company they are working for is fined. It is good that they are strict on this these days as some porters used to carry up to 100kg, a ridiculous amount. Even now, porters only do the job for approximately five years as it is such a strain on their bodies. Their calf muscles were amazing and I saw one porter carrying a full calor gas container on his back! I'll never complain about the weight of my rucksack again.
The first day was mainly on the flat but even so it's still hard work due to the altitude. We stopped at some Inca ruins along the way, which were all generally thought to be rest stops on the way to the city of Machu Picchu. The porters had raced ahead of us (they were practically running) and when we arrived at the lunch stop we couldn't believe our eyes. There was a dining tent set up, 10 bowls of water and soap for is to wash before lunch, a table and tablecloth and chairs and one of the porters was our waiter! We had an amazing 3-course lunch with soup and fresh trout. There were 16 porters for our group, which included 2 chefs, a waiter, a head porter to arrange the campsites etc and the rest of the porters who carried our belongings and tents etc, and who also put up the tents. After lunch we walked some more and arrived at the first campsite at around 4pm. In total we walked about 14km the first day. Once again when we got there our tent was set up and we had an afternoon tea of popcorn, biscuits and hot drinks. The porters had also set up our tents, put our mats in and gave us some hot water to wash before tea. We had another amazing meal, played cards for a bit and then went to bed early!
I woke up at about 6am the next morning, just in time to hear Kate announce that she wasn't feeling very well and then see her dash outof the tent. Next thing I heard was one of the Aussies waking Ozzie up to tell him that Kate really wasn't well. I came out to find her sitting on the grass looking completely white. Ozzie was giving her some pure alcohol and local herb liquid thing to sniff. He made her take a really deep breath and breathe it in and then he rubbed it on her hair. He told us that she had altitude sickness and wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do the rest of the trek. Poor Kate, not only was she about to faint but she had the worst diarrhoea and only had a squat toilet, I wasn't enviable at all! We delayed leaving for a bit that morning and she started to feel better and desperately wanted to carry on so she did and just took it slowly. It wasn't an easy day though, we had to walk 12km uphill all day up to an altitude of 4200 metres from 2980 metres. It was really hard going and we had to have regular stops, the altitude really effects your breathing and it doesn't matter how fit you are. The scenery was amazing though and it was so satisfying when we reached the highest altitude at Dead Woman's Pass just after lunch. I got a tiny bit of energy from somewhere and sprinted the last nit up but had to sit down and recover for ages afterwards. We were laughing because even though it was possible to buy snacks from the locals on the way, the higher you went, the higher the prices! We stopped at one point for a really nice drink made from corn and beetroot, which was very refreshing. We stopped that evening at another campsite at around 3600 metres and went straight to bed after dinner as we were all shattered. It was freezing that night and I was glad of the sleeping bag I'd hired even though it was feather, which I'm allergic to and every morning I woke up covered in them.
Next day was more walking up hill until lunchtime (we even tied a snickers to the end of a stick to see if it would encourage us to walk faster). We then had one of the best meals of the whole trek and properly met the whole team of porters who had been looking after us. After lunch was more ruins and all downhill walking but to be honest I preferred the uphill as it wasn't so tough on the knees. We also went through some high jungle with lots of lichen, moss and beautiful flowers as well as a lake. We walked a total of 16km that day. The camp on the 3rd night was another big one but this one was a bit closer to civilisation and there was a bar as well as the opportunity to pay for a hot shower. We decided against the shower though as the queue was huge and we'd gone so far without one that we thought one more night wouldn't hurt. That evening we had a collection for the porters and presented them with it and through Ozzie translating said a huge thank you to them for all their hard work. They were leaving us the next morning and heading back whilst we went on to Machu Picchu.
The porters woke us up next morning with our usual cup of tea or coffee but this time at 3.30am… We got ready really quickly, had a quick snack and set off for the entrance to the last part of the trail, leading to Machu Picchu. We got to this part just after 4am and were pleased to be the first there but then Ozzie told us that the gate didn't open til 5.30am!!! We had to wait there outside and it was freezing and after thinking about it, we weren't that bothered about being first. Other groups started to arrive after that and seemed disappointed they weren't first. As soon as the gate opened and our tickets were checked again we were off. Ozzie pretty much ran off and we had to follow him as he wanted to make sure nobody caught us up. By the time we reached the Sun Gate just before 7am we were knackered as we had done 7k uphill. We waited for everyone in the group to catch up and then waited for our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Even though the weather was a bit miserable and cloudy we still got a good view and it all seemed worth it. We then trekked down to the city, had our passports stamped and spent the next 3 or 4 hours being guided around. It really was incredible and the whole thing was one of the best experiences of my life. We were really tired by the time we left at lunchtime and were so grateful for the comfy bus seats on the way down to Aguas Callientes (Hot Springs). We had a well deserved lunch and then went to the hot springs. We were all really looking forward to it but it was another uphill journey and we all joked that it better be worth it as we were all so shattered. It really wasn't though. It turned out to be some cold showers, 4 man made pools with really dirty cloudy water and some ominous looking couples in there. We all got in, stayed there for about 2 minutes and decided we'd had enough when Eveline announced that she could smell pee. I wiped myself cwith baby wipes and was horrified to see I was dirtier than when I went in!
We got the train back, which is run by the same company who does the Orient Express and it was bliss! The seats were sooo comfy, the panoramic views from all the windows and sunroof were spectacular, we got a free butty and then the train trolley dollies did a fashion show! I can see the job description now, 'must be able to serve refreshments and strut stuff down a moving train.' We completed the last part of the journey by bus and got back to Cusco at around 8.30pm. Ozzie was keen fr us to complete the 24 hour challenge (ie we'd been up since 3.30am and we should stay up til 3.30am) but we were all so tired and very reluctant to do so. Even so we all met for dinner and presented Ozzie with a collection we'd done for looking after us so well. After a few cocktails and nearly falling asleep in the restaurant we all left and went back to the hotel for a well deserved shower and bed.
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