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Heath and I are back in Cuzco after completing the Lares Trek on Thursday afternoon. We had the best time possible - perfect weather and only 7 people in the group. We arrived in Cuzco a week ago and did a full day tour of the Sacred Valley on the Sunday. I got a bit worried because I was puffing just walking around the ruins! Luckily I wasn´t the only one though - the altitude here is a killer, you get puffed even walking up a slight incline. After our Sacred Valley tour we said goodbye to the rest of our group who were doing the Inca Trail and came back to Cuzco for the night, then set off early the next morning for our trek.
The first day was ´easy´, we were told, but the altitude combined with the uphill bits meant that it was pretty slow going. We were continually stopping along the way to hand out bread to the local children (Heath got some great photos, the kids were really beautiful) and we stopped in the local village of Huacawasi to speak to some of the locals and have a rest. Kids would see us coming and start running across the valley to make sure they got their share of bread! From the village it was all uphill to our first campsite at 4200m. Along the way a local man with a woman in a sling across his back passed us. The woman was very unwell, and he was carrying her to the village to see if the local shaman could help her. If not he was going to continue to the next town of Lares (About a 10 -15km walk) the following day. We were astounded at how easily he seemed to carry her. All of the Andes people almost run over the hills we were shuffling across! The people on the Inca Trail have porters to carry all of their belongings and equipment (each porter is allowed to carry 25kgs), but we were able to have horses and Llamas.
Getting into camp that night was one of the most satisfying things I´ve ever experienced. We were completely spoilt while camping - hot water in bowls waiting for us to wash in, about 5 huge meals a day, hot water bottles for our sleeping bags and a cup of coca tea in bed of a morning if we liked! It was freezing (about -5 degrees) where we camped - going to the loo in the night was not an option I´d even have considered!
The next day was the hardest of the three. Eight hours of walking in total. The first part was the highest pass of the trek at 4600m, then back down again to 4500m and up to 4600m again for the second high pass. It took us about 3 hours to do, and although I found the first high pass no real problem, on the second high pass I´d slowed down to a snail´s pace. Heath didn´t have any problems and was there happily snapping away at me gasping for breath! After that it was all downhill into the second camp at 3600m next to some old Inca ruins. By that stage it was not advisable to sit down for very long because all of our leg muscles were cramping up! There were some local kids at the camp playing with some dogs - they were so funny, and the dogs were so patient with them.
The last day was fairly easy with only a 35 minute walk uphill to some more Inca ruins. After a tour of them we walked downhill for 3 hours into the town of Ollantaytambo where we finished the Lares Trek. Along the way we stopped at a local school where we handed out pencils. To get a pencil, the kids had to answer an addition problem. The teacher was standing behind them tearing her hair out everytime they got a wrong answer. We didn´t understand what she was saying, but i´d bet money it was along the lines of ´What are you doing!? You should KNOW that!!!´ That afternoon we caught the train to Agues Callientes (Heath and I managed to get the very front seats for this very scenic train ride) where we checked into our hotel and then headed to the hot springs for a couple of hours. On Friday we caught an early bus to Machu Picchu and had a guided tour, then split up to explore. I walked out to an old Inca bridge which was cut into the mountain side, and then up to the Sun Gate where the Inca Trail ends, while Heath hiked up a mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. It was pretty misty so we didn´t get to see the sun rise. We had the afternoon in Agues Callientes where we went a bit crazy in the markets.
Last night one of the guys in our group had his 21st so we all went out on a tin foil night - basically everyone makes a costume out of tinfoil! We had a great night dancing at one of the local nightclubs. Everyone went a lil nuts celebrating completing the Inca Trail! Tomorrow we´re going to go horseriding, and then have a massage before we head off to Lake Titticaca on Monday. Only another week on the tour and then we´re on our own again in Rio!
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