Trip to Peru for hike in Andes and Incan Trail
Thursday
Dad
convinces me not to bring stove fuel in carry on luggage. In the confusion, I forget to bring my
jackets. Oops.
Crowded
at airport. No one is speaking
English. I get sped through since the
flight is leaving fairly soon. Everyone
else has huge bulging suitcases.
Plenty
of room in plane, get a whole row to myself.
Rest a bit. Movies - What
Women Want and Legend of Bagger Vance.
Get
helpful info from people at airport.
There's a lounge where others are crashing. Can't get comfortable, but rest some and it's safe. Lights are on all night and loud flight
announcements overhead.
Friday
Almost
miss the flight, it's supposed to leave at 6:00 despite 6:40 flight time. Also consolidated with two other flights on
different airlines. Confusing, but once
again get by with help.
Pleasant
flight in, great views of sharp jagged peaks of the Andes.
Expensive
cab ride ($3) to town square. I’ll
learn to bargain better in the future. Climb
up to hostel, overlooks town. Get
comfortable with cocoa tea. Drew, a
Spanish-speaking kid, agrees to try hike with me. I set off to buy sweater and get stove fuel, find both. Check e-mail.
Walk
around city, reminds me of Kathmandu, but cleaner and quieter. Lots of tourist facilities: bars and Internet cafés.
Cheap
dinner (s/ 3 or 75¢), out to a bar with some others from the hostel for more
cocoa tea. Sleep well.
Saturday
Up for
filling "Israeli breakfast" and to day hike of ruins in area. Wanted to see more tunnels in ruins but saw
my fill. More llamas, sheep. Country walk did me good. Take bus back to town, into center of town
so I see more sights on the way back.
Check
e-mail, last minute food, then dinner.
Call Steve Weaver, a missionary who lives in Cuzco I met through my
doctor, but he's busy and wants me to call him back after hike.
A
little nervous about the hike, since time is starting to be an issue. I have to finish in time to get back to the
hostel and get my passport and tickets from the safe before my flight. Decide if we screw up bus in the morning I
will take regular guided tour for Incan Trail - it's cheaper than I thought for
that, only 'bout $100. The tour groups
out of the US charge thirty times that amount.
A bit
of sun today, red in face, arms and legs.
Also, bruise on leg from carrying my camera in shorts pocket.
Feel
good about decision for hike -- can't lose.
I had banked everything on this hike when I made my plans but I guess I
spent on extra day in Cuzco or something to make time seem to be short. No time was wasted, c'est la vie.
Most
people I meet are traveling for the long term, at least a month, some a couple
years. Hard to believe I work on the
16th.
Sunday
Up at
4:00 for 5:00 bus ride. Serious doubts
today about Incan Trail, if not for Drew would have definitely bailed out. We were told that there's another checkpoint
to worry about. Not sure I’ll have a
good time hiking if I have to worry about police checking me for a permit.
Trail
is often hard to follow. If not for
Drew would have been lost for sure. Too
many turns that look right but aren't.
Also, his language skills help with locals getting directions. Needless to say the trail we’re taking isn’t
marked at all.
Trail
is also real tough in parts with hot sun.
But a whole lot of fun. For 4
days we don't expect to see any other Caucasians. Great views of the mountains.
Countryside
reminds me of Nepal, except no terracing.
Camp at
hut near river, got too dark and lost track of path. A nice family let’s us stay on their pasture. Great view; Salcantay is a snow-covered
mountain, white amongst the other dark mountains.
Sunburn
getting worse.
MSR
drinking tube leaks immediately, had to go back to drinking out of bag. My fault; I never tested the thing at home.
Monday
Out of
hut and on to trail. Myth is shattered;
see five hikers this day - 2 hikers going our way, a woman who goes to Peru 1-2
months a year to camp and a couple from Wyoming with guide and packhorse.
Up through
valley to pass. We're tired, have to
stop often for breaks, but when we look back we see impressive elevation
gains. Top of pass is only about a
meter wide. See glaciers but not that
much of a photo, just blue ice on a mountainside, in with all the snow.
Downhill
is much easier. Camp by a rushing
stream, sounds as if it is raining.
Sunburn
worse, had to wear jacket to protect arms and might have to wear long johns
tomorrow to protect legs.
Some
snow in afternoon, very light and fleeting.
A cold mist in the evening. We’re
asleep early, maybe before dark.
Tuesday
Frost
and some ice on tent in morning. Drew
takes photo of tent with mountain backdrop to send back to manufacturer. Move through valley next to river. Wear jacket and pants to protect against sun,
but get quite hot. Walk past several
huts with rock walls with sheep inside.
Must have been a lot of work to build a fence that big out of rock.
Drew
gives aspirin to woman traveler on horse.
See four more Americans, out with guide and horses to Machu Picchu.
Stop at
ruins - locals sell soda there. Big
place with lots of rooms. Skip lunch
and go on.
Pass
junction with Incan Trail. Chat with
hikers. See lots of hikers, and lots of
porters, sweating under their loads.
Trail quite crowded at times.
Locals sell soda, beer along trail.
Go up
to see more ruins, overlook a small town of ruins below. Very big for ruins, I think. Take jacket off, very refreshing. Like a sweatbox under all those winter
garments. I must buy some clothes that protect
from the sun but allow ventilation for the next time I do this.
Back
down to train station. Gate is shut on
bridge! But it isn't locked. We were told train would be at six by a
guide before, someone else tells us 5:30.
Sure enough, a train goes by at 5:30, slowly, but does not stop. We wait, with a German who is working with
the agricultural institute headquartered at the train station. Apparently his night life is watching trains
go by.
Another
train whizzes by.
Later a
girl with a bag runs out to the tracks and says she's taking a train for
Cuzco. We assume our positions, but the
train does not stop. There is talk of
trains that only accept Peruvian passengers and not foreigners.
Finally
at 7:15 or so a train stops. Someone
dressed like a soldier asks the conductor if it's okay if we get on as Drew and
I cling to the handles. We get on and
pay $15 each for the ride; costs locals a fraction of that.
But we
are on our way. Long train ride, get in
around 10:30. Eat corn off the cob with
cheese on the train. Miss out on tasty
vendor snacks at train station when we go straight back to hostel and quickly
to sleep.
Wednesday
Decide
to join a guided Incan Trail tour. Pick
one that will let me leave early to Ollantaytambo with a guide/porter to see
the ruins before the trip. A bit of
queasiness since I didn't go with the high-dollar SAS company, but everyone I talk to
has taken a cheaper tour and felt it was fine.
Buy
long sleeve cotton shirt and wide brimmed hat for sun protection. See some museums but nothing special.
Mail
postcards.
See
women posing on street with alpaca for tourist photos, but haven’t got camera
with me.
Eat
alpaca earlier at luxury restaurant (ten times what my dinner will cost). Tasty red meat, marinated with rice and
potato.
See Fight Club with Drew and
Canadian couple at bar. Fix of American
culture to tide me through the trek.
Dinner
and to bed early, guide to arrive at 5:40 for trip.
Not
upset about the train episode anymore.
I think the frustrating part was not knowing when a train would
stop. Also hadn't eaten much that day. At the time, I was ready to write off any
more trips to South America (I blame whole continents for things like that).
Thursday
Up in
plenty of time, but no porter shows up at hostel. Quickly formulate plan:
wait ½ hour, go to agency, if I can't continue with trek try for refund
and book with SAS for tomorrow and get Sacred Valley tour for today. Find porter at agency, waiting for it to
open. Finally manager shows up, gives
him s/10 and we are off in a cab to 2 busses to O.
Plenty
of time to see ruins, but not the museum or to eat lunch. Buy porter a soda but I have yet to tip
him. I figure it's not his fault he
wasn't there at 5:40 as planned (we ended up leaving about 6:30).
Onto a full
bus for the trek. Slow ride down rough
dirt road. Tricky passing, hardly any
room. Come within an inch of the
oncoming traffic. Get trail permit,
pass checkpoint on trail at 12:30.
Some
nice people on trek. Hike with
porters. Some do jog ahead, other hike
at a good pace. I think the ones who
need to set up camp go the fastest.
Lunch
in Miskay: spaghetti with soup and weak
cocoa tea.
Mooch
off a small (3) group's guide a bit, our group is about 18, kind of big. Decent lectures by guide.
Kind of
wish I had gone with SAS, might have had better food, smaller group, better
guide.
A bit
of a nosebleed climbing one ascent. I
think I get them with I strain. It's
happened a few times before when hiking.
Stop in
Huayllabamba for dinner, camp. Snacks
at six, dinner not 'til 7:15 (problem?).
Rice and vegetables, then more tea and Q&A.
Group
interesting, lots of stories of South American travel. It never occurred to me to travel about just
to party but apparently it has to others.
At
dinner: parrot, 2 cats and dog. Lecture on the 400 different potato
varieties, not that interesting.
Friday
Awakened
at 6:30 for breakfast of porridge. More
animals discovered at place, 2 of the dogs limp.
Off on
the trail and a checkpoint where Rene, the guide, talks to a guard. Hike up and then down to river. Wash up a bit, waiting for the others and
then back up to pass. Moderately steep
trail. Nice viewpoint at another
campsite. Vendors for candy and soft
drinks persist.
Continue
up to pass, cold and windy there. Some
have been waiting 1½ hours. I enjoyed
taking my time and talking to some hikers.
Great view from the summit.
Steep
down rock to rock. A few will complain
of their knees when we get to camp.
Camp was nice but well-used. No
good place to sit and read, but flush toilets and view into valley.
On the
other hand, SAS is camping in the ruins (Runca Raccay) tonight, a bit of a
plus.
Dinner
late and it was cold at night but so many stars in the sky it's amazing. Not sure where the moon was, must have been
later rising than before. Skip the
lecture and off to bed.
No
ruins today but some tomorrow.
Saturday
A bit
chilly sleeping but not too bad. Sparse
breakfast of toast and jam.
First
set of ruins in a hour's climb.
Picture: view of valley,
campsite and waterfall.
Up and
over 2nd pass. First tunnel is just
under a rock. Then Sayac Marca, a town
up a steep staircase.
Lunch
at another campsite with flush toilets.
2nd
tunnel is much larger, maybe 25' under rocks.
Guide says rocks and cracks are natural, but steps were carved.
Final
pass. Fog goes in and out for Phuyu
Pata Marca ruins below, a pretty large ruin with six baths in a row.
Path
goes down (small wet) steps carved into rock, slow going for 500m. This is an original path. Descend into jungle climate.
Steep
switchbacks down to Trekkers Hotel, not as bad of a place as the book said. See museum of stuffed animals and leave pack
at campsite. Get e-mail address of
camper with Whisperlite stove cooking calzone to try to get some recipes, but
it turns out to be an invalid address (mailto:rrrrrmatty@aol.com).
Over to
Huinay Huayna ruins (10 minute walk from Hotel), lots of terraces and rooms.
Final
dinner. Collect tips to be distributed
between porters and cook. Some give $20
US other s/20. It all works out.
Consider
leaving at 4:00 am to make sunrise over M.P. but Rene is opposed, doesn't look
like anyone else will go either. I
think I'll check skies at 4:00 and decide then.
Hotel
is like a ski lodge: pop music, beer,
food and noise. But not too dirty. Rain at night.
Sunday
Slow to
sleep, between noisy campers on one side and someone snoring on the other. Starts to rain again at 3:40 so I cancel my
plans to try to watch sun rise over M.P.
Light
breakfast and then off to hike. Dark at
first and through checkpoint. It would
have been a scary place if I hadn’t had a permit; uniformed guards in an
official shack lit by a naked light bulb.
Quickly lightens up. I make it a
fast hike, mostly downhill and lower elevation, pass dozens of other hikers.
No
sunrise was to be had at Intipaku, in fact MP not even visible; too foggy. Check in to ruins and drop off bag. Start my tour but interrupted by group
coming in and volunteer to wait for others.
I'm
concerned that all will be ruined with other tourists come up from town so I
grow impatient and start tour on my own, but become overwhelmed in the middle
of the city and make my way back to the group, who is about to start the tour
(it was too rainy to use my book much to read its tour). This ruins are much larger than
anything else we had seen.
Although
my ticket is supposed to be inspected each time I enter the ruins, the rains
has reduced it to pulp. The guards
would smile and wave me through.
A
pretty good tour from the guide. The
rain slackens about halfway through and then the sun comes out.
After
the tour a quick lunch and then I follow the book's tour, nearly all the same
stuff but worth it. There are a couple
hikes available but no time for those.
Rain
returns as I leave for Aguas Calientes, a real tourist trap where we get
together before the 4-hour train ride home.
Sunburn
much better, legs peeling now, no pain at all.
Share a
cab with two Britons who will also go to Philly, but a day later than me. Quick dinner and then to sleep in same
hostel.
Monday
Sleep
late. Go to eat with Trent from hostel,
end up doing a lot of walking searching for one restaurant before settling on a
coffee shop.
Get my
chores done, return unused white gas to store, buy some souvenirs (sweater, hat
and Coke bottle) with a Brazilian from the hike. Benefit from his Spanish and haggling skills.
More of
a restful day than a productive one.
Check e-mail, eat ceviche (raw fish soaked in lemon juice), wash some
clothes but don't quite get them dry (late afternoon sun).
Walk
around a bit at night taking in the sights one last time and then to bed. Everything packed up for early departure.
Talked
to Steve Weaver, but even though it was his day off, he said he wasn't able to
get together with me for that cappuccino he had offered me before.
Tuesday
Up and
to airport. Actually, now that I think
about it, $3 wasn’t that bad for the first cab ride, I think I paid about that
in soles to get back there. Regret not
moving snacks (Ramen noodles) from checked baggage to carry-on. Meet up with quite a few people I met on the
Incan Trail at terminal.
At
airport in Lima, immediately attract tourist guides. Stow bag at storage facility and leave for town with some
Norwegians I remember from trail. One
yells at a tourist guide for giving us incorrect information, trying to get us
into his cab for an expensive ride into town.
First
stop Plaza de Armas for lunch. See
Palace and Cathedral from outside and try to walk to a museum, but it isn't
where we think it is so we take a cab to the Museo de la Naçion. See exhibits on Peruvian people up to Incas,
but get tired (dark and quiet in museum) and move on to Barrico, a seaside
suburb, and eat dinner in sight of Pacific.
The
others have an earlier flight, so they drop me off at a movie theater where I
watch "the Skulls" subtitled in Spanish. As nice a theater as anywhere, this is Miraflores, the upscale
suburb of Lima. Try some shopping
afterwards to use up currency, but nothing here I can’t buy cheaper in the
States.
Final
cab ride to airport. It’s dangerous to
take cabs in Lima and I realize that I bargained down from an official yellow
tax cab to a cheaper one, as we drive through desolate industrial parts of the
city, but I make it to the airport safely and meet up with some others, a
Mormon family from the Incan Trail hike.
I’ll fly with them as far as Houston.
Movie
on flight to Houston: Almost Famous, one of my
favorites. Something that’s never
happened to me on a flight before, when I get up, twice, I get trapped between
beverage carts. The flight is too full
to find empty seats to get around them, so spend plenty of time standing up.
At
customs, the Mormon family declares some seeds they brought back and spend a
few extra minutes in customs. My flight
is begins boarding soon after I get checked in for the flight. Movie on the way to Phila: Seventh Day, a bad Schwarzenegger action-flick.
Dad’s
there to pick me up and we drive back from Newark to Philadelphia and I rest up
(prompt nap) before work the next day.
links
A big site, lots of information, links and pictures http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/inca/links.html
My guidebook, The
Incan Trail: Cuzco and Machu Picchu