Trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

I am so overwhelmed by what a beautiful experience I had on this trip that I am unsure how much I can actually put into words. However, this has become my journal for me to remember my trip by as well as to share with you all, so I am going to try.

After being sick for nearly 3 weeks, with a chest cold, and struggling to hike the mountain in Lake Titicaca, I almost cancelled the 4 day hike for a shorter two day one in which the hiking was a lot easier. However, thanks to several people, including the guide, I was encouraged to go for it. The night before the group met with our guide and we talked about the hike. The people in my group were such wonderful poeple and the group dynamic was incredible. There was a couple from England and Wales (Clare and Simon), two brothers from San Francisco, Andy who was turning 30 the day we started the trek and his younger brother Greg, two friends from San Francisco, Debbie and Rebecca, and myself, along with our guide Marco. By the end of this trip, we all became very close and I truly believe half of what made the trip so special was how we all got along. Marco, the guide, was so funny and charismatic that you couldn´t help but love him. ¨He kept us laughing the entire time whether it was talking about knocking Chileans off cliffs or singing, he made the experience much different for us than the other groups. Also, it was just the 7 of us and not 16 like the other groups.

I also want to say something about the porters. I purposefully chose the company that I did due to the great treatment of the porters. Porters are the guys who carry all the food, tents, and equipment needed during the trip. We had 13 porters, one of which doubles as a chef. They each carry up to 60 kilos on their backs and these guys all stick together in a group and practically run ahead of us to set up everything. They were all so happy and the camaraderie with each other and us was amazing. I saw many other porters walking solo and from what I hear, they aren´t even given food most of the time. Our porters ate the same things we did each nite. As I tell you about the trek, you will understand how challenging it really was. What is amazing is that there are races between porters sometimes and one porter ran the entire trail (28.5 miles over 3 Andean Mountain passes, including lots of steps) in under 4 hours.

DAY 1: 6.5 hours; 2000ft elevation gain to 10,829ft
We boarded a bus at 5 am and drove 2 hours to Ollantaytabo, a small village in the Andes with Incan ruins which gave the first glimpse of what we were in store for. We ate breakfast here, bought coca leaves, and then boarded the bus and followed the river, Rio Urubamba, to kilometer 82, our starting point. The hike was up and down quite a bit (I wish I knew the total accumulated elevation gain which must have been a lot more. We followed along the river quite a bit, which had really great rapids. It was really hot that day and we all really wanted to swim but it was impossible due to the rapids. We also ran into a bunch of donkeys carrying things for the locals who lived in the remote area. Unfortunately, they were scared of our walking sticks due to the fact that the locals used sticks to hit them to force them to move forward (I won´t go into this but you all know how I feel about animals and I was so glad to see one donkey run away from a girl that had hit him and she could not catch up...sweet revenge). We came across a huge grassy field which overlooked the Llactapata Incan Ruins, where there were llama and alpaca grazing. Of course, I tried to pet them and got pretty close but not enough to pet. The ruins were quite beautiful and were built along the river. We didn´t go down to them but we got a full briefing of the history. As you will read later, Machu Picchu was a secret that very few people knew about. The ruins we were looking at was an administration site for the ruins to follow, including Machu Picchu.

After these ruins, we hiked some more and got to our luch site. The porters laid out bowls of warm water, soap, and towels, and tents for us to eat lunch in. We had soup, and trout with rice and veggies and the food was outstanding for camping! This was all pretty typical for every meal, which really just added to the entire experience. We then had mint tea (local herbs), to help with digestion and rested for a bit before continuing. We hiked a few hours more, saw another ruin site Wayllabamba, and finally ended up at our campsite. It was a beautiful spot nestled in the mountains. Again, water, soap, and towels ready for us. At 5pm, we had tea and snacks. We then all got into a circle, with the 13 porters, and introduced ourselves. It was really cool to listen to where each of the porters were from and how long they had been working. Then at 7pm, we had dinner. Debbie brought out a candy bar she had and we lit a match and celebrated Andy´s birthday. We hung out in the tent for a bit after dinner just talking and finally all were tired from getting up so early that morning and knowing we had to be up at 6am the next day for a 10 hour hike, the hardest day. When we left the tent, we could see thousands of stars out, it was really beautiful. Three in particular, probably planets, were lined horizantally between the mountains. We all slept like baby llamas that night (Marco´s favorite saying to us before we went to bed.

DAY 2: 11 hours; 3000ft elevation gain to 13,779ft
At 6am, the porters woke us up and brought us coca tea. We got ready and had breakfast, where the chef had baked a cake (we have no idea how) for Andy´s birthday! This was a great way to start the day! They gave us snacks and we were on our way. This part is pretty blurry for me...it was really difficult and hiking uphill, mostly up stairs, for about 4-5 hours. The rest of the group was a little ahead of me, and Marco came back and walked behind me for the duration. We met up with the group about every hours or so, where they cheered me on. My lungs were not in good shape and I was coughing a lot of the way. However, I kept thinking about the porters that carried 60lbs and ran up the hill, as well as all the donkeys and horses forced to carry loads uphill (they weren´t really this high up anymore but still ) and I trekked on. Finally, I made it to the top of the tallest peak, named Dead Woman´s Pass. And only about 20 minutes after everyone else did. There was an incredible sense of accomplishment and I knew at this point I could finish the trail!!! We then began a steep descent down 2000ft, mostly down stone stairs (all the stairs were stones laid by the Incans). It was really steep and long but finally at the bottom, we had lunch and rested.

After lunch, we began another steep climb up 1500ft to the second pass. The views throughout this trek are amazing. Plunging mountains and the river down below. There are also Ibncan ruins we visted along the way again as well (two more on this day). Marco is incredibly knowledgeable about then Incan empire and the theories surrounding the ruins and the people. The Incan people did not document much and so not a lot is known. JHe was great at drawing on the ground to demonstrate things we would see and explain and then he would erase it all so his rival guide wouldn´t use it (he was so funny about ragging on this other guide). Finally, we descended about 1300 feet down some more steps and ended up at our second campsite in Chaquicocha, which was in the cloudforest. It was really cloudy and started to rain, so we didn´t get a good view until the next morning. We had tea at 5 and dinner at 7 again and it was all delicious! We all were exhausted and went right to bed after dinner.

DAY 3: 5 hours; 3000ft elevation loss
We woke up early and had tea in bed in the tents and when we finally came out, we were astounded by the view. There were glaciers off in the top of the mountains evwerywhere. And huge gushing waterfalls coming off the mountain. It was the most magnificent site, I can´t wait until I can show off pictures. We hiked up the mountain a bit and then decscended down steps most of the way. (I had heard there were 2,000 steps during this part of the trek) I was surprised, but I wásn´t hurting nearly as bad as I thought I would. Maybe the scenery made it easier to forget. Or maybe, it´s like giving birth, you forget about the pain as your adrenaline kicks in, because if you remembered, you´d never do it again. (not that I have given birth...) Anyway, we wound around the mountain side with view after stunning view and climbed our way down through two caves, and two more ruin sites. We also began to descent into the Amazon forest and found beautiful orchids along the way, along with hundreds of other tropical plants, some of which are nearly extinct. We all agreed that this was the most beautiful hike of the three days. We ended up at our campsite somewhat early this day. We were all excited because there were showers here, but during the nite, there was a landslide and the water luine was broken so no showers. That also meant the toilets were out. By the next morning, you almost gagged going in there (kinda like some shows I have been to at the end). Around 4 we hiked to a nearby ruin that was truly incredible. It was a combination of past ruins we had seen, with many terraces and a fountain that ran down through the entire structure(s). There was a beautiful waterfall below and you could see the river way down below. There were some guys playing hackysack in the ruins and that was pretty cool. We then went back for tea and dinner and also said goodbye to the porters and gave them tips. We tried to go to bed early, but there was a tiny restuarant with about 60 Argentinians there getting drunk that kept everyone up all night.- One guy even fell off the walkway onto Rebecca while she was sleeping in her tent. We had to get up at 3:30am the next day to get to Sun Gate, within our first view of Machu Picchu at sunrise. None of us slept at all.

DAY 4: 2 hours to Machu Picchu
We got up super early and hiked a short distance to the entrance to the trail to Sun gate. Here we waited in line for about an hour in the rain. This one guy from another group had his ipod and played it for awhile...he had good music! Finally we hiked about an hour up to the ¨Killer Gringo¨steps, which was 50 steep steps. They were rough but not much more so than the last three days. We then climbed up to Sun Gate, where you can watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu, however, it was raining and cloudy and we ´caught barely a glimpse in the break in the clouds. So, we hiked about another hour and finally arrived at Machu Picchu. It is absolutely breathtaking!

The entire place was built as a dedication to the sun. In case you didn´t know, it was a very special place, and was kept a secret even among the Incans.- It was never fully finished and we could see evidence where they were still building from the quarry. The Spanish came at some point and destroyed most of the Incan buildings, but they never found Machu Picchu. In fact, it was virtually unknown until about 1906, when a famous archeaologist from Yale discovered it.

We spent about 4 hours here and heard about much of the history and theories surrounding it. At one piont, a condor flew abovbe which was pretty cool because condors are worshipped as the heavens above and there was a condor temple.

OK-Time to go, they are closing the Internet Cafe. I am off to the Amazon tomorrow...Caio!

Lake Titicaca

I arrived in Peru! First off, I am very proud as my big backpack, all said and done, weighed in at only 27.5lbs and those of you that have traveled with me know that is a feat in itself!) Got into Lima airport about midnight and waited around for my flight to Cusco at 5am. I got to sleep all of two hours across some chairs with all my two backpacks strapped to my arm (and a big bump under my back!). I boarded my plan at 5:30 and evidently it was delayed on the runway for several hours but I was so tired and slept through it and didn´t even realize until we got to Cuzco.

CUZCO
Upon arrival in Cusco, there was traditional live music being played at baggage claim and I was given a bunch of Coca leaves. They were bitter and I didn´t like them much but I must say that they are a BIG part of the culture here and they are growing on me. They are used to alleviate altitude sickness, sea sickness, headaches, as well as made into a social tea, given as offerings to the gods and what I learned today is that on one of the islands on Lake Titicaca, they do not kiss like most Latin American countries, but rather, shake hands and exchange coca leaves with one another. :)

Once I got to Cusco, I went to the place I organized the trip to Machu Picchu with and was able to leave my bags with them while I walked around the city. They recommended a restaurant that was really great! I had a twice baked yucca (like a potato), chicken Milenesa with fried rice, and fried banana with mate (coca tea). There was so much food for 25 sols (like 8 dollars) that I took it to go and ate it for dinner later. With a full belly, I then trekked around Cuzco.

Cusco is at 3326m (10, 912 feet) and I definitely was feeling the thinner air. I did take some altitude sickness pills which I think are really helping only they give me pins and needles in my feet every so often which is annoying. However, this is only when I am sitting and you all know I am up and about most of the time anyway. Cusco is beautiful. It has many colonial buildings nestled in the mountains and has a few big plazas where there are magnificent churches. I walked all around downtown and saw so many locals as well as travelers too. I have a really great picture of these 4 little girls in native clothes walking with baby sheep. I walked through the arts district (uphill, gasping for air) through all these cobblestone streets which was really cool. There are sweaters and hats and gloved from Alpaca everywhere. The funniest part of the day was when I was in this plaza and an alpaca was free roaming and eating grass. This puppy kept going up to it and wanting to sniff and play and the alpaca kicked him with his hind legs, not hard, but enough that the puppy was stunned and left him alone. The scene was really funny to watch. Later that night, I took an overnight bus (night number two without a bed) to Puno, which is the city on Lake Titicaca. I did not get much sleep again but more than the previous night.

LAKE TITICACA
Lake Titicaca is half in Peru and half in Bolivia, is the highest lake in the world at 3830m (12,565 feet) and is also S. America´s largest lake. It is absolutely beautiful. On the way to the port, there was a huge market, maybe a mile long, of people selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables and others driving bicycles with huge baskets on wheels in front of them.

UROS: The first stop we made was on one of the Islands of Uros. These are floating Islands made at the bottom from roots of the reed grass that grows all over the lake. The roots are then covered with the reeds themselves, crisscrossed up to a meter thick. These are then tied up to other islands like this to anchor them, so there are many islands far apart, all anchored together. There were maybe 8 houses plus a kitchen on the island and each house was made from the reeds also. We also ate some of the bottoms of the reeds, which were white and can be described like an airy, sugary plantain. The people here are very primitive and some of the poorest in Peru. However, they were all very happy. A couple kids were playing soccer. One house had a solar panel which I was amazed to see. We then boarded a big boat made of reeds and visited a sister island. While we were leaving, they sang to us in their native language, then Spanish, then English. It was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. One of the people in our group took a picture of the young kids and you should have seen their amazed faces when they looked at it on his camera. The things we take for granted.

AMANTANI: This island had tons of terraces all over where they grow vegetables and raise sheep. On the next island, we split up into smaller groups, there were maybe 20 people split into groups of 3, and were given to a family where we had lunch, dinner, dressed in native clothes and went to a dance, and then slept in their homes for the night. On this Island, the women are the bosses of the house, and the women who took my group in was Reina. She had 4 kids and also lived with her sister. The people I was with were a couple from Argentine, who I really liked a lot and spent most of my time with! I was also with 3 people from N. Korea and bunked with two girls from Norway. We all became good friends by the end of the night. The house was really rustic with mud walls and corrugated tin roofs and no electricity. There was an outhouse about 100m away. They say that when a couple marries, the entire village pitches in and helps build the couple a house. First, we had lunch which was soup with Quinoa and potatoes and then rice and an omelet which was amazing. We then went with Reina up the mountain to PachaTata, the spiritual place dedicated to Father Earth. We climbed up to 4550m, nearly 15,000 feet! ! ! This was about 40 minutes up about 2500 feet. I still have my chest cold, much to my dismay, and with the thin air, I REALLY did not think I would make it. I had to stop to catch my breath every 5 minutes, but I finally did it. Mind over matter, which I was told I need for the Inca Trail, and this was just practice. I walked up with the Argentinean couple who were also pretty winded. At the top, the tour guide gave offerings of coca leaves to the gods and told us to cleanse ourselves, as this was a place of healing. I tried really hard to leave behind my cold but I am not so sure I did. :) The view was spectacular. I saw snow capped Andes Mountains in Bolivia and could also see across to Chile. We stayed up for sunset and then began the walk down. Halfway down we stopped at a plaza where they were playing soccer and later, the women were dancing. There was a small shop and I had a Baileys and hot chocolate. It was REALLY cold up there when the sun went down. We thought we were going to have to walk back alone and hopefully find our house in the dark but Raina´s sister waited for us and took us down. Once home, we had dinner and then we were given native clothed. This was a full skirt and an embroidered shirt with a colorful sash. Then men got ponchos and hats. We walked to the fiesta where there was live Peruvian music of drums, guitar which sounded like ukulele, shaker, clarinet, and fluted. They jammed and everyone was dancing. We would dance in twos then threes and then by the end of the song the whole group, about 30, joined hands and were dancing in a circle. It was really great to be a part of it all. On the way home, I stargazed and there were trillions of stars and the island was so quiet. Then, I went to bed and slept well for the first time in days, under 4 alpaca blankets. The next day we ate breakfast and on the last island.

TAQUILLE :This island was very similar to the last, although the handicrafts and native clothes were much different. They are known as the best weavers in Peru. We walked about 30 minutes, a lot uphill, along a stone trail. There were terraces here as well where they grow their food. There was snow along the tail as well. We spent some time in the big plaza here and looked at all the handicrafts and then went along another trail where we had lunch. The restaurant was high up overlooking the Lake and the food was delicious. We had quinoa and potato soup and then fresh lake trout with rice and beets. And of course coca tea. We then walked down 500 stairs back to the boat where we ended up back in Puno. And here I am, waiting to catch my overnight bus back to Cuzco.

Caio .......................................PS...pictures to come soon

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look upon that closed door so long and so regretfully that we often do not see the door which has opened before us"

I have decided not to be that person. As most of you know, I was laid off from my company after 11 years. Instead of dwelling on it, I took the opportunity to take this time off (with a nice severence package) and travel for a bit before going back to work.

My plan is (and we all know plans never quite work out the way we think!) to vsit some places in South America that I have always wanted to see:

PERU - Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world; 4 day hike up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu; the Amazon Rainforest

ECUADOR - The Galapagos Islands - enough said

BONAIRE - the best scuba diving in the Caribbean

TRINIDAD & TABAGO - Carnival!

So, this morning, I am catching my plane to Lima, Peru. Stay tuned....