Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After months of anticipation (nervous trepidation) we finally set off bright and early on the SAS Inca trail on Friday, October 7.
We had met all the members of our group the previous evening at a welcome meeting and thankfully were blessed with "the family" we ended up with.
Having chatted to our Aussie friends Leigh and Katherine that evening we decided it would be a wise move to follow their lead and pay to have a porter carry a second bag for us. Turned out to be the best thing we ever did so thanks guys!
My first mishap of the trip came about 20mins in while we were still in Cusco, when I realised I had forgotten to give our hostel owner, Coco back the key of our room.
Not a huge deal in the Western world but in SA you couldn't depend that they actually have a spare. Thankfully he did and was fine about my little blunder.
After stopping for breakfast and stocking up on various Coco products- everything from leaves to special sweets- we were on our way and ready to begin the trek at 2,680m before eventually making it up to 4,200m.
Our guides, Anchel and Eric eased us in gently, stopping for regular breaks and generally going at a leisurely pace until we reached the first camp for lunch.
Along the way the porters whizzed past so they could get ahead and set up camp. Much to our amazement they managed to keep up that impressive pace throughout the four days, running past us in all weather conditions, despite being laiden down with bags and wearing sandals on their feet.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised with the standard of lunch; pumpkin soup to begin, followed by various salads, pastas and a chicken dish.
We were all a bit slower to get started post lunch thanks to our stuffed bellies but in hindsight I understand now why they gave us so much food.
The afternoon leg of the trek was a lot tougher, in particular the last two or so hours as it was all up hill and at an ever increasing altitude.
Everyone gradually paired off into smaller groups, all of different levels and paces and I thankfully had a lovely couple from New York; Garret and Liz, fellow American Kim and Leigh from Oz to rally me on to camp after walking 12km in total.
Alan of course was busy leading the pack near the front! We arrived to the camp to find that our tents had already been put up by our lifesaving porters so we quickly changed into some warm clothes to ward off the cold.
Dinner was again an impressive concoction and was preceded by some much welcomed hot chocolate, coca tea, popcorn and biscuits.
With everyone wrecked after the first day we were all in bed by 9pm and up again early the following day at 5.30am for breakfast before hitting the road.
After a relatively easy first day's trek we got a rude awakening on Day 2 as the high altitude began to take affect during our ascent up to Dead Woman's Pass.
With the help of my Ipod and some coca sweets I made it up the 900m ascent to the top, known as Warmiwanuscato, without too much difficulty. It was the way down that caused the problems!
Unfortunately we happened to reach the summit just as the heavy rain began. That combined with strong wind made for a particularly tricky climb down as the steps were extremely steep, covered with stones of all shapes and sizes and really slippery thanks to the rain. Luckily I had a trekking pole to help or I would probably still be up there now!
We were feeling pretty low and miserable when we eventually reached the camp but soon warmed up after getting into some dry clothes and having some warm tea and soup.
The second half of the day thankfully went a lot smoother and the sun even came out for a while. After lunch we again climbed uphill to reach the ruins at Runcuracay at 3,950m before going back down to the ruins of Sayacmarca.
We arrived to the second camp pretty tired but delighted to have completed the most difficult part of the trail.
We again enjoyed tea followed by a delicious dinner and dessert of some local tea laced with rum, before breaking out the cards and playing some 's***head' with the Guides that night. Unfortunately we didn't realise that the porters in fact slept in our dining tent and we were keeping them up.
It was a lot colder in the tents that night and even all the thermals couldn't keep the cold out. We eventually conked it from exhaustion after walking a total of 16km.
Day 3 again began bright and early as we set off on our long morning trek of over 10km.
My feet were killing by the time we made it to our third camping place around lunchtime but there were some great views to be seen that morning having passed through the ruins of Phuyupatamarca, Winaywayna and Intipata, as well as dramatic views of the Aobamba valley and the cloud forest.
We finally had some chilling time that afternoon so must people collapsed in their tents and had some sleep.
We went to see the Intipata ruins with our Guide before dinner and Alan managed to give some poor Llama a heart attack with his dog impression.
After dinner we were all pleasantly surprised to be presented with an impressive iced, sponge cake, which our chef had spent four hours baking earlier that day.
There was some more 's***head' played that evening and then we presented the Porters with their tips before hitting our beds.
The wake-up call on the final day was 3.45 so that we could avoid the throngs of daytrippers who ascend on Machu Picchu after 9am.
After our previous trekking the climb up to the Inti Punku, Sun-gate was pretty easy, with the exception of one bit known by locals as the 'Gringo killer.'
Basically an extremely steep set up steps upwards which I had to climb using my hands in order to avoid falling backwards.
It was all worth it however when we finally reached the top and were able to take in the spectacular views of Machu Picchu and its surroundings.
By the time we reached the entrance point to Machu Picchu itself tourists and day-trippers were starting to arrive in their droves freshly showered and clean unlike the rest of us, who had not had access to such luxuries for days.
Toilets were also non-existent for most of the trek so we all had plenty of moments where we were at one with nature, before arriving back to civilisation.
After exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu we had a pretty hairy bus ride downhill to Aguas Calientes, where we had one last lunch with the group before saying our goodbyes.
Although most of us were reunited again the following evening in Cusco for what can only be described as an epic piss-up.
- comments