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China&Peru 2006
Ummmm, sorry its been a while since i last wrote- computer access on the Trek was not exactly readily available...
My memory of where each day ends and the next day begins is swiftly fading, so please bear with me....
7th July- The trek begins!
We arrive at a small quechua village just in time for an early lunch, having driven through the mountains all morning. After the local children sang us a local song and we gave them some bread (the giving of sweets is prohibited due to the poor availabilty of dental care) we headed off- but not on the original Lares Trek! Irrigation works in Ollantaytambo, our destination town) the bus will not be able to pick us up, we therefore decide to take a supposedly more scenic route through much higher areas. The guides warn us against a 5 hr ascent on the 2nd morning which the previous group barely completed but being hardy souls keen to put ourselves to the test (we had no choice really) we insist that we are up to the challenge. We trek up the mountainside for 2 hours and soon feel a little hesitant about the upcoming 5hr climb. We ambled downhill for another 2 hrs until we arrived at the campsite and settled in for what turned out to be a very chilly night!
8th- The Big One
This was the day that we tackled the 5 hr climb that even the guides admitted we would seriously struggle with, Followed by 4 hrs downhill (took some of us just over 2 hrs) Funnily enough, it was a walk in the park! We reached a fairly impressive 4,800m above sea level and I was still hopping from rock to boulder "without a care in the world"... Needless to say, it might have been a slightly different story had we not had 3 horses and 5 llamas to carry all of the cooking equipment, the tents and some of our luggage! The food on the trek is incredible considering the limited resources available to the chef and creme of asparagus soup (made from scratch) was certainly a highlight!) slept much better- wore hiking socks, alpaca gloves, fleece in sleeping bag and down vest for pillow- stayed very warm!
9th-Finished the "Lares Trail". Got up later than the other 2 mornings and took a relaxed stroll down to the checkpoint where the bus awaited us and ate an early lunch. Rina was wearing a v short short of traditionasl design which I thought was totally unfair on those that needed to concentrate on the perilous rocks that thickly covered our path down the mountain side. Took a train to Aguas Calientes, had dinner (and a cold shower which was heavenly despite the temperature) and slept as well as possible considering the 20 bites that concealed my calves.
10th- MACHU PICCHU!
what can I say, woke up at 0440 at caught the early bus up so that the sun crept up over the surrounding moutains once we were sitting on the higher terraces of (one of) the most impressive historical site i have ever visited. After a 2hr guide and some time spent wandering in awe through the multitude of walls and buildings, George (an Aussie) and I decided to climb Waynu Picchu which is the mountain that overlooks the lost city of the Incas. Took a while but the view made every last step worthwhile (some of the steps were so narrow that I couldnt even get the full length of my toes onto it and had to go up almost on all fours!
Matt went to the hot springs with our guide instead (i think he was scared of the height.... or just too knackered from Lares). We met up in the afternoon for lunch and then the train & bus back to Cusco via Ollantaytambo (very pitturesque village which is still irrigated by Inca handiwork.
11th July- today ios a free day in Cusco. Woke up, did the usual bits and pieces that "getting up" usually entails and then headed down to Jack.s bar for a brunch which was quite possibly the most hedonistic experience of my life! lightly toasted fesh bloomer with melted edam, chorizo, garlic mushrooms and caramelised onions accompanied by the finest mocha ever created kept hunger at bay and a divine chocolate milkshake put me in a grand mood for a day in the sun doing whatever I felt like....
Bought a gew gifts in the Cusco markets, supposedly the best place to buy alpaca wool products.
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