These are excerpts taken off my diary, written during the 4-day hike en route to Machu Picchu. The hike is part of the original trail system the Incas used to get to the city. The trail hiked by tourists today goes up to above the tree line and descends into the rainforest, going around smaller Inca ruins on the way. The experience is none less than spectacular, a once in a lifetime challenge.
I traveled initially with Mike, but on the way met some really incredible people. Later on we hooked up again at Lake Titicaca; and then they went on to Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Australia. Good Travels, Mates!!
Saturday, January 8th, 2000. Day I
We (Mike and I) woke up really early, got ready and then met the rest of the tour group, 16 in all. We had breakfast and then headed off. Our guide was Ruben, a very nice man proud of his Inca heritage. All Peruvians should be like him, proud to be descended from Andean people. He was very knowledgeable and did everything to make our trip as incredible as it actually was!
Hmm, about the group, nobody really struck me up right away as potential bond material; there was a couple of Polish chicks (who later would end up staying an xtra day in Machu Picchu); Flor (from Holland), 3 European couples, 4 British mates, and a Peruvian guy (Giancarlo) who brought only one change of clothes (what he was wearing!!). He lagged behind all day.
The walk for the first day was easy, but I didn't realize my backpack was gonna take a toll on my shoulders. They were really sore at the end of the day. As of the second day, they were still attached, though. After the rain subsided (we started the hike while it was pouring), the weather got really nice and I removed 3 of my 5 layers of clothing. The views were no less than spectacular, but I was too lazy to take my camera off my pack; and to do so would involve stopping, removing my shit, and opening the pack. I would lag behind… ooh no.
We ate a good lunch, took a couple of nice breaks, and then camped @5pm. It was a comfortable, rainy night in the tent (though I had to sleep with Mike). I stayed dry, but my camera got wet overnight. It still works though.
Sunday, January 9th, 2000. Day II
Most people got soaked overnight. I was one of the lucky few to stay dry. Mike's stuff got wet as well, and he mentioned his bag had gotten heavier. The Polish chicks were hiring porters for their bags. I knew today was gonna be a very tough day, as we were going up 1200m to Dead Woman's Pass (4200m). I toyed with the idea of hiring a porter myself to carry my bags up the mountain, but instead took an aspirin for my shoulders and hoped nothing bad would happen. I was so nervous I hardly had breakfast, but took tons of water. Before long the porters were undoing the tents and we were on our way (the views of the campsite were great, by the way, right under glaciers; but unfortunately obscured by clouds and mist).
At first we were going up and down, in a file, with the Peruvian guy straggling way behind. I think he made the decision to come here without really knowing what he was getting into, and he was paying the price for his unpreparedness. Anyway, he only spoke Spanish and was clinging to me all the first day. Now he was far enough behind not to bother me.
The climb got harder as we entered a beautiful cloudforest of Polyepsis trees. Though exhausted, I managed to snap a few shots of the trees, waterfalls, and of the trail. The dreaded pass came into view. It was deceptively close. As we climbed, we took breaks every 20 minutes or so. The Porters carrying 50kg loads and wearing only sandals passed us with ease (and of course we felt like squish, but whoa … they have awesome legs!!).
Finally we reached the half-way point (3600m). I was starving and ate all my peanuts. Mike had stayed behind, apparently he was getting tired faster than I expected. Flor was always ahead, as long as I had her in sight I was doing OK, I thought. When finally everyone caught up, Ruben told us to go at our own pace, and to wait for everyone else at the frigid top. The British chicks were straggling behind as well, so Ruben took all their bags (3 of them!!) and went ahead.
I was the last one to leave the 3600m rest stop, I had to finish my peanuts and stock up on water. Pressing on, first I passed Mike, then The Polish chicks, and then the British girls (Mairead and Rachael). I kept going, reaching and falling behind them. Joking and pushing along. Damn, it was hard, but my feet, legs, back, lungs and brain were not failing me. Finally I reached the "false" summit, only to find the real mountaintop to be further up. Half-hour to go and I already felt so accomplished. I was afraid I was gonna be the last one, but instead I was ahead of a good number of people… I kept going though…
After about 4 exhausting hours of climbing, I reached Warmanhuska Pass @11:30am. Flor, the Swiss Couple, Mick and "Kate Winslet" (the two other British guys) had already reached it. After a while of waiting at the pass and freezing my butt the Polish Girls, Giancarlo and finally Mike reached the pass. As soon as Mike got there we had the obligatory group picture taken (which my camera missed!!) and then we started our descent. Cold wind and sweat don't mix well, so we had to move fast.
Oooh I hate stepping down… Having a huge backpack on my didn't help either, as I was easily thrown off balance, and the rocks were anything but even. My knees did not like the treatment either, especially the right one. It was all descent until campsite. Steps. More Steps. You'd think it'd be easier than climbing up, but it is a different kind of stress on your body. I had to concentrate really hard with each step, or else I'd end up with a broken ankle or in the valley floor (rolling down the hard way!!).
Eventually we descended 700m of pure steps into our 3500m campsite. This place was gorgeous!!! Right on the edge of the cloudforest, with a waterfall above us and views of Veronica Glacier. Unfortunately it was misty again so the mountain retained her veil of clouds.
We were so tired!! Right after lunch everyone took naps or changed into something dry. This campsite had porcelain toilets!! Whoa! What a luxury. I took full advantage of these facilities, since the previous campsite had a hole in the ground instead.
For my divine luck, the porters had built by mistake an extra tent, and Ruben offered it to me. Whoo hooo!! Oh baybee I wasn't gonna sleep with Mike tonight!! I took the offer right away and slept like a king. Before that though, we had a huge dinner and celebrated the day with Rum. Everyone but Mike attended, apparently he wasn't feeling too well. I had very interesting conversations with Fanny as well as the British clan. Mairead cracks me up, what can I say… After the chatter we all just went to bed.
Monday, January 10th, 2000. Day III
I slept very well overnight, and woke up with strange daydreams and an old song by Raffaella Carra ("En el amor todo es empezar") playing over and over inside my head. Weird. A lot of people were feeling weird today, everyone was late, and some were sick. Mike and Flor were sick last night, and Fanny had stomach problems. Mick also had blisters, oooh bloody toes!!!!
We got to a slow start this morning. We went up the valley en route to the second pass, and stopped briefly at a ruin on the way. Apparently the views from there are magnificent (3 glaciers) but the area was completely shrouded in fog. Soon afterwards, it started raining. Cold rain. We kept going up, and the rain kept getting colder.
I had my rain hood on, so I could see nothing in front of me except the next person's feet as I climbed up. Somehow, I found myself with the British girls again. Good thing I like them, cuz if it was that Peruvian kid I kept bumping into, someone'd be falling over a cliff hehehe... Anyway the hike wasn't as long as yesterday, but it was grueling; and the rain made it worse. We reached the top soaked, but couldn't see anybody in front or behind us. We decided to descend anyway cuz the weather was merciless at the pass. Again, Steps down… my favorites eh? Eventually we saw Flor and Mick ahead of us. I decided to go at my own slow pace down the steps until we reached the next ruin: Sayac Marca.
These ruins are impressive, perched on a cliff above the clouds. Ruben gave a talk at the ruins, and the we moved on to our lunch site. The walk to lunch was spectacular, despite all the fog. Every now and then it would clear up for 30secs, revealing waterfalls, cycads, and cloudforests perched on precipices. I can only imagine the view of the glaciers on a clear day. The landscape was so beautiful.
After lunch we kept walking, I was soaked but felt good in spirit. We passed through a long Inca tunnel , the trail skirted precipices and hugged cliffs. It was incredible! We reached a lookout and for a brief moment got a glimpse of the Urubamba Canyon below and Aguas Calientes. The Rainforest!!! We were close!!!!!!
From there it was a relatively easy walk to the third pass @ 3600m. There were no steps. From now on though, it was all downhill until the last campsite @ the infamous Trekkers' Hotel. There was talk of hot showers and civilization. Wow, it was almost over, but the best part was yet to come.
The descent took steps and uneven stones, but I was left speechless over the landscape and the vegetation that came with it. The descent into the rainforest completely overwhelmed me. I stopped to look and photograph bromeliads, orchids, ferns, and tropical oaks!! A whole forest of them!! I felt I had found a goldmine, me the intrepid biologist, though was sure none around me would understand. I lagged behind absorbing it all, but I didn't care. We were almost there.
When I finally reached the Trekkers' Hotel I just left my backpack there and kept walking towards the ruins of Winay Wayna (Forever Young). Something happened on the way though. I never reached the ruins, because I was absorbed by the forest right on the trail. I stopped to look at it, it was so beautiful tears met my cheeks. I sat down, finished my water, and relished that moment of ecstasy. I had done it!! Carrying my own shit! The forest reminded me of Costa Rica, the hike reminded me of my days working in that country. I couldn't stop crying of joy and nostalgia. I didn't care about the others, or where I left my backpack, not even reaching Machu Picchu. The challenge for me was doing the actual hike, going by myself up those steps and then down into the "Ceja de Selva". I was so overwhelmed with the feeling of satisfaction, I couldn't get up for about an hour. Eventually though, I had to go back find my pack, I had left it lying there unattended. But instead I went to take a warm shower. I couldn't have felt better!!!!
Eventually I got my pack and placed it in my tent. I got a tent by myself again tonight. Then we all got together for dinner. The hotel was full of Argentines. After dinner they played really dumb music, but everyone was so happy we all danced. Flor can't move to save her life, but Mairead tried hard, hehe… The polish girls were very good grinders, and even Mike danced (wow!).
We had to wake up @ 4am the next morning, so we all went to bed early.
Tuesday, January 11th, 2000. Day IV
Fuck, where is the flashlight? … and my glasses? The porters were practically starting to undo my tent while I was still inside!! I had probably overslept again, to this day I don't know.
What a hectic morning, I lost my glasses for 15 minutes; my flashlight was dying on me, and it was still dark. I showed up for breakfast looking like shit. And of course it was raining, there is nothing but rain in the rainforest. We left our campsite while still dark, and hiked for 3 hours before reaching IntiPunku (the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu). The sun was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the city! It was all fogged up. Nobody was really excited about the view, but I didn't care, my treat had come the day before. We kept on walking for another hour to registration (to drop off our packs). The cheery mood of last night was gone, probably because of the weather.
Soaking wet and still with a crummy view of the ruins, we had an expensive breakfast, then went inside the city where Ruben gave his lecture. The fog didn't lift, and I hardly took any pictures except of a llama.
Mike didn't feel like staying an extra day on the ruins. I wanted to hike Huayna Picchu, but with that sort of weather it was pointless to do so. So we decided to go back to Cuzco today. Mike seemed tired. Honestly I thought he'd last longer, given all the running and swimming he said he did. But anyway…
Getting my backpack back from registration was a pain in the ass. I couldn't find my receipt soon enough and the guard gave me an attitude. Eventually I found it, all soaked, and got my pack back.
We had a quick lunch at the train station and then took the train to Ollaytantambo, where the tour bus was waiting for us. People really smelled. I probably did too, cuz though I had showered, my clothes hadn't. We eventually got on the tour bus back to Cuzco. It was a smooth ride, save for one occasion where the bus almost ran over a chicken. Mairead screamed hysterically and woke everyone up. I was Laughing hysterically at her. Poor chicken… he's gonna end up in a pot anyway… geeze.
After we arrived in the city, we agreed to get together at a tavern, where 2 shots of tequila got me groovin' and feeling all funny. We were headed for Lake Titicaca the next morning, and for some strange drunken reason I kept dreaming of the Spice Girls that night. Don't ask why…
© 2000 mugaburu_dan@hotmail.com