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We arrived in Cusco on the morning of January 11th after flying from Cartagena, Colombia. Within minutes of arriving (we flew in from sea level) we were struggling with the altitude as Cusco is 3400 metres above sea level. Lucky for us we had free coca tea at the hostel and guzzled it down by the bucket load to help. We did some touristy stuff for the first couple of days but we were mainly trying to acclimatise in preparation for our Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu (this is a 45km hike, 4215 metres above seal level). Cusco is beautiful, set in a valley, completely surrounded by mountains.
Unfortunately my tummy problem took a turn for the worse and I started to feel really, really ill. We decided (should have gone sooner) to go to the hospital and get it checked out. Our travel insurance made sure that I was seen by a Doctor, had tests done, diagnosed and given medication within 3 hours. It turns out that I had two types of SALMONELLA!! No wonder I felt so ill. I am sure one of them was from Africa...I had 3 types of medication and within a day I was feeling much better.
On January 13th we checked into our hotel and had a briefing from our Inca Trail guide. The trip was to begin the next day!
Day 1 was a trip to the Sacred Valley and to the Inca sites of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Both were amazing. We went to a local Inca Bar where we drank home made corn beer and the room next to the bar had over 100 guinea pigs running around. For those of you who are wondering why, its a local favourite for dinner in Peru. We stayed in a cute hostel and went out for dinner with the rest of our group (10 English, 3 Irish. 2 Australian and 1 Swedish)
We set off the following morning, two bundles of nerves, convinced we wouldnt be able to handle the challenge ahead. We arrived the km 82, the starting point of the trail. We had to carry a day pack containing essentials such as water, engery snacks etc and the porters carried the rest. These guys had 25 kilos each in huge sacks the size of small cars on their backs. The first day covered 12km and was fairly difficult largely due to exercise in the altitude. One of our group members got ill this day and during our lunch stop, she was sent to sleep in a tent full of guinea pigs (yes you JP!) We managed to get through the rest of the day purely by dreaming of a beer at the campsite which was overlooking a beautiful mountain range. The porters were waiting for us with our tents up and dinner cooking. We settled down for bed that evening in our tent reminiscing about our time camping in Africa (WE MISS YOU GUYS!!!!!)
We had been warned previously by our guide Victor that Day 2 was the toughest. He wasnt wrong. We woke up at 4.00 am to find two more people in our group had been ill all night. I was already on medication for salmonella and Michelle never gets ill (I am convinced this is due to her lack of hygiene!) The first part of the trek was difficult but we trudged on and got to the bottom of Dead Womans Pass (the highest point of the trek at 4215 metres above sea level) Every 5 steps up we had to stop battling for air. I have never experienced something so hard in my entrire life. The steps were really steep, for some reason the Incas made them all this way. It took 2 hours to get to the top, Michelle was red and purple in the face, the reddest I have ever seen her and sweating profusely but only from the face!!! For those that know just how red she goes, please try to imagine it! We were so pleased we had made it that we completely forgot that we had to then head down the other side. Good lord. There was another 2 hours of walking down steep steps which did nothing for my irrational fear of heights. On top of this it had started to rain which made it slipperly and really difficult to just go one step. Our legs were constantly shaking which made it even harder. We did however make it to the campsite just after 2pm that day. Our nights sleep wasnt exactly peaceful listening to wild dogs howling, water trickling into the tent and feeling every bump underneath our roll mats.
Another early wake up saw us on Day 3 of the hike. The first hour was agony as it was uphill again. The next 5 hours was downhill and was pouring with rain the entire way. I was close to tears as some parts of the path were only wide enough for one person and had 500 metre drops with nothing preventing you from slipping and falling in the rain. If it wasnt for our walking poles I have no idea what we would have done! We finally made it to the final campsite after trekking 15 km!! With legs shaking, heads pounding we headed to bar and drank 6 beers each. I dragged Michelle to the tent in the end as I didnt want to ruin the next day when we would be actually arriving at Machu Picchu. We thanked our guide, cooks and porters for taking such good care of us on the trip. I cannot say enough about the porters who literally RUN with 25 kilos on their backs in the pouring rain.
On our final morning we got up really early in order to arrive at Machu Picchu for sunrise. We had half an hour to get ready so the first thing I did was try to find the toilet in the dark. I got lost on the way back and by the time I found our tent everything was packed away. 3 porters were waiting by the tent with head torches on and I couldnt even get my bra on as they had no intention of moving! In the end I had to put it on in the middle of the pathway. We had forgotten to get water so had nothing to drink for the entire walk.
We had a gruelling 2-3 hours trek which again was really hard, the rain was relentless and we were SOAKED by the time we arrived at the Sun Gate. Our first view of Machu Picchu was not great as it was really cloudy so we headed straight for the main viewing point. We got there and could hardly see it due to more cloud and pouring rain so we continued with the guided tour. I was GUTTED. Michelle convinced me to hang around though and our second visit up was worth it. The views were amazing and its possibly the best thing I have ever seen. By the time we left we were soaked to the skin, I could actually ring our my trousers. We had a beer in the town of Agua Caliente before getting our train back to Ollantaytambo and then passed our on the bus back to Cusco. After not showering for 3 days I cannot describe how amazing the hot shower was back at the hotel that night.
We went out with the group for dinner and then following night with the girls for drinks. Great night but I lost my phone so all of you please send me your mobile numbers on email or facebook!
Next stop: Cusco 3 days and then Nazca!
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