hmmm this could be tricky...

It seems i haven`t written a blog for over a week which could make this the longest blog in history going by my usual standards but i don`t think i have the energy for that.

Rather than go in chronological order i`ll write about the inca trail while it is still fresh in my mind then i`ll explain the rest, perhaps in a different blog...



So the morning of the trail we were up at 5.30am to get our stuff together and try and stomach some breakfast. Anthea came down to see us off because sadly she was too sick to do the walk. We bussed to a small town in the sacred valley where we got overpriced snacks and supplies and then headed to Km 82, the start of the Inca Trail. We took group photos in front of the Inca Trail sign, snack packs were passed out and then we started to walk. It felt a bit daunting at first starting something so big but we were eased into it with a fairly flat walking track. After about 2 hours of walking through a beautiful valley, surrounded by mountains the track started to head uphill. I took it very slowly because i didn`t want to waste any energy, save myself for tomorrows climb. But even going slow i found i would get out of breath very quickly due to the altitude. in the last 30mins before we reached our lunch stop o found my biggest issue was starvation, we hadn`t eaten breakfast since 6am and it was about 2.30 so i was struggling to muster the energy to keep walking, Nat was having the same issue so we were relieved to get to camp. THe two things that surprised me after our first part of the walk was seeing power pylons going through the vally and passing through the local people`s houses, i guess i had assumed it would be more isolated. Arriving at camp we realised how amazing our porters were. We already admired them as they carry up to 26kgs on their back including our bags and they literally run past you as you walk along the track. All you hear is PORTER!! and you stand mountain side to let them pass. But when we arrived we were each passed a drink and were given a bowl of hot water and soap to wash our hands. We had a dining tent with a long table, complete with cloth, folded napkins, cutlery, seating etc, it looked incredible. Then we were served a first course of soup, followed by a main, and a dessert. then we get a 20min siesta, as all that food makes you drowsy while the porters efficiently pack up everything and then run off to the next campsite. Our group of 11people had 19porters and they make the Inca Trail so much easier. So after lunch we carried on and we reached our first Inca ruin. Salso, our guide told us al about this ruin called Llaqtapata but we didn`t go down to explore it because it was quite far down the valley, we just looked down on it from a cliff. The next ruin we did explore, its Quechuan name is Runkuraqay but it means egg shaped hut in english. Then we carried on to camp each walking at our own pace, i was usually around the middle of the group, Katrina was always at the front, even the guides were behind her. When I reached camp that evening i found out that Katrina hadn`t arrived yet and they had sent a guide and porter to run after her. About 10min later the 3 of them came in, and it seems that katrina had gone straight past the camp and carried on walking for over 30 mins before the guide managed to catch up to her.



The Camping ground was beatiful, we had an amazing view of the valley, out in front we snow capped mountains that would come in and out of the clouds. we had great weather that day with only 10mins of light rain and otherwise the views were always clear. we had talked to some people who had done the track 2 days before and they had been heavily rained upon the whole time and our weather report had predicted 3 days of rain so we were very lucky. The porters had already set up all of our tents and the dining tents and were working on dinner. We could just collect our bag, claim a tent, clean up and relax. then we were informed ¨high tea¨would be served in 20mins. We assumed this was a joke but sure enough when we arrived in the dinning table there was large plates of popcorn, biscuits, crackers, butter, jam, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. We couldn`t believe how sweet we had it, because we assumed we would be roughing it more. we had about 30mins between high tea and dinner where we sat outside and looked at the stars, the sky was incredibly clear so you could see soo many more stars than usual. Dinner was yet another 3 course meal, soup main and dessert and it was a struggle to fit it all in after snacking so much at high tea. but we managed and our cook was amazing so all the food was deliciouc. We then were told about day 2, famous for being the hardest day of the inca trail, Salso told us what to expect, though i`m not sure `it will be a walk in the park´ was really preparing us for what we were about to encounter. We were told to be up at 5.30 so after dinner we headed to bed. I had a terrible nights sleep that night needing to get up 4 times to go to the toilet, which is a horrible experience when camping. you put it off for as long as possible then throw on clothes, clamber out of the tent into the freezing cold, ignore the beautiful starry night as you trudge down to the toilet with your torch and toilet paper and then at this camping site the toilets are cubicles with a hole in the ground. It`s great fun i can assure you.



At 5.30 we get woken by the porters with a cup of tea. then we have 30mins to pack up our stuff and get to breakfast. We had a massive breakfast, starting with fruit salad and yogurt, then porride, then toast then a crepe filled with papaya and then a whole stewed apple. Once again i have to say our cook was incredible. We also had any hot drink we wanted and so we were feeling soo full not ready to climb the infamous Dead Woman`s Pass. Fortunately we had some time to digest because this morning we were introduced to our porters. They had been too busy the day before for us to be formally introduced. they all lined up in front of us and it was quite funny cos they are all quite shy, so Salso would ask them their name, age, marital status and how many children they had and then relay it back to us in english. It was quite an amusing process as after each person we would all clap and cheer. Then we had to introduce ourselves and Salso would translate into spanish. Once we had all been introduced we lined up to shake each persons hand and give then a kiss on the cheek, but many of the porters were too shy and they would back away if we tried to kiss them.



It was then time too begin the hike up to the first pass. We were told it would take 4hours. I was moving at an incredibly slow pace up the steps the preserve energy. If at all possble i would walk around steps choosing to walk up a slope rather than raise my legs, i would often walk in zig zag patterns to avoid the steep hills but i kept a consistant pace so i didn`t need to stop often. It may sound lazy or strange but i can assure you that if i just walked up at a regular pace i would have had to stop every 10steps to catch my breath. Keeping in mind we were between 3000 and 4200m above sea level. the altitude is a real issue. In the morning i had a headache from it but it went away in the afternoon and was replaced by nausea and loss of appitite. In saying this when i reach Dead Womans pass I was so surprised at how much easier it was than i had expected. It was definately hard but not as hard as people had made it out to be. I had competed it in 3.5hours rather than 4 so I was feeling pretty good. At the top we waited for the whole group o arrive, again i was around the middle of the group, Claire Katrina and patricia we already at the top when i got there. It was cold at the top so salso gave us each a shot of celebratory rum which was nasty but kept us feeling warm and then we took group photos. The next part was hard on the knees as it was about 2 hours of downhill steps. I felt kinda ill by the time we reached our lunch campsite so didn`t eat much and then tried to have a quick seista before heading off again. We thought the hardest part was over as would never go as high as 4200m again but the second pass was a real struggle because we were already exhaused, nat patty and I felt sick, Will was really struggling with his breathing from the altitude, so we were all going incredibly slow, taking each step as it came, and stopping often. We we reached the second pass alot of us were looking pretty broken. Although i mainly mention the struggle, i did still enjoy the second day, the weather was perfect again, not too sunny but not rainy, clear, stunning views, everytime we went over a pass the views would change and as we changed altitudes the vegetation would change. We followed alongside a beautiful clear river, walked up trees, through fields, past llamas, waterfalls, inca ruins, we saw orchids and other brightly coloured flowers, as well as hummingbirds, and we were always surrounded by incredible mountains.



After the second pass we just had a 2 hour decent to our camp site but it was already 4.30. I was feeling better so i kept a good pace downhill and Katrina and I were the first to reach the Inca ruin just before the camp site. It was around quater to 6 so we didn`t have much light left so Salso told the 2 of us about the ruins and then let us go explore them while he waited for the others to come down. Sayaqmarka translates in english as the Inaccessible town because there is only one steep uphill staircase to get up there and otherwise its surrounded by steep cliffs and mountains. We wandered around the ruins, looking through each of the rooms, but as we could see we only had about 10 more minutes of light we cut out exploring short so we could get down the steep staircase with some light.

But camp was still 20mins away so we walked the last part in the dark with our torches, we had left camp that morning at 7 and had arrive at camp that night at 6.30. Our lovely porters all came out to find us on the track and escort us to our campsite. then we quickly cleaned and had dinner. During dinner i was just desperate to go to bed and as soon as it was over i went straight to my tent and was out within a few seconds.

Next morning we were up at 6.30 which was the latest we`ve been up for about a week. Although i was a bit sore i managed this day quite well. As we had already completed 2 passes there was only one pass to go which we had done after an hour of walking and then the track flattened out and it was a very simple walk. Day 3 was the first day where our views were obscurred by clouds so we couldn`t see the valley which was a shame. But we only had to do 4 hours walking for the day. the last 1.5 hours was all downhill and quite steep which was very hard on the joints, some of our group got very sore knees and we all arrived at camp at different times. Claire and I arrived around lunch time and this campsite had a bar restaurant and hot showers and we were very excited about the showers.
The weather had cleared up during the last part of the walk so it was now a beautiful day so we went down had a shower and then just lazed and napped in the sunshine for the afternoon.
around 4pm Salso took us to see another ruin just 5min walk from our campsite called Wiñawayna which means forever young. This was the most beatiful site we had seen so far and we sat in one of the religious rooms learning about the Incas. There were only ever 13 Incas as this word means king and everyone else in the Incan empire were Quechuan or Andean people.

That evening we had another high tea and dinner and this time we were more animated as we had had an afternoon to recover and relax. Yet again we had a massive meal, soup,main and dessert and then after dessert Salso had organised to say thankyou and goodbye to our porters. He had warned us at the start of the tour that we would be expected to sing a song to them and they will sing a song to us. So they started out with their Quechuan song called Sacsawayman, which is the name of an Inca Ruin. Then our group sang Sand by me back to them as we felt that it was appropriate with words such as ¨when the night has come, and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we see, no i wont be afraid, no i wont be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me¨....because they had come and collected us in the dark when we finished the trail the night before. And then we changed the chorus to ¨...so porters porters stand by me¨ It was great fun then we presented them with their tip and we said a few words about how incredible we thought they were.

After dinner I went back to bed as i wasn`t feeling too great and we had to be up by 4am for the final part of our walk.

At 4am i was awake and i didn`t even feel tired, i think i had adrenalin going through me because i got ready quick and then as soon as we had had breakfast i was so keen to leave. I had been waiting to see Machu Picchu since i was about 15 when i found out about it on a program called ¨50 places to see before you die¨I kept looking up to the sky and i could see some stars so I knew the weather would be clear. The first part of our walk e did in darkness with our flashlights which was kinda tricky especially with walking poles. Unfortunately you can`t go past a check point to the main walkway til 5.30 when it opens so all the hikers were lined up there ready to go. when we were let through around 6am it was light so we could see the track. Claire and I headed off at a good pace, i didn`t want to go to fast and end up hurting myself just before i reached Machu Picchu. Salso walked with us for part of the way and there were still plenty of beautiful views of the valley along the way. As we neared the end it started getting very steep but i could see that a heavy fog was coming over and i had a feeling that when we reached the sun gate, the first viewpoint of Machu Picchu that we could be disappointed. The last part was quite hard and i had to stop many times but finally we reached the top, the final peak of the Inca trail and the view point i have always wanted to see....and it was white, you could see nothing. So we sat down, and cried. Not really. But i was so disappointed, i couldn`t believe that we had walked so far and had such good weather for it all to turn to crap when it mattered the most.

But we had to sit up there for over 30mins while we waited for some of the injured and sick of our group to reach the top and in that time we stared into the blankness and we could see something, it was just a patch that was darker than anywhere else, and then we could make out a cliffface, and then a bus road lower down on the mountain, within 5 mins we could just make out parts of machu picchu and we were so excited. After 10mins you could see everything so clearly with just a view small clouds obscurring areas of the ruins. It was incredible. I had no idea how big the ruins were, and Waynapicchu mountain in the background was stunning and the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu were spectacular too. Once our whole group had reached the Sun gate we made our way down to the ruins and found the typical spot where they take the postcards and photos of Machu Picchu. I could have sat on the ledge and stared at it for hours, but we took some photos and then headed down to meet Anthea, who had taken the train to machu picchu.

Right i´m outta time so i´ll leave the exploration of the ruins for another time.