In the footsteps of the Incas - Part I
Coming to Cusco and the Sacred Valley, I was determined to do some trekking. Being a solo traveller though meant I had to find some group with which to walk. I had purchased the South American Explorers´Handbook on Alternative Inca Trails and a number of them sounded promising and incredibly challenging to my weary bones/joints, but it was a matter of finding a group departing within both my time frame and price range. I emailed a number of the more reputable trekking companies and also visited the office of Q'Ente. Based on all of the info I gathered, I opted to go with Q'Ente even though they´re one of the more expensive companies as they have a sound history when it comes to treating their porters/guides/cooks fairly and they also believe in sustainable tourism which respects the environment.
I joined a group of 5 hikers (that`s including me!) on the Salkantay Trek which lasts 5 days with the last day being a visit to the stupendous Inca site, Machu Picchu. I attended a briefing a couple of days beforehand where they went over the specifics of each day´s hike plus a rundown on what items we should be sure to pack such as: a flashlight with backup batteries so as to avoid stepping on cow or horse dung during the middle of the night on the way to the hole in the ground meant for human droppings, a roll of toilet paper with which to wipe one´s dainty derriere, and a machete in order to defend ourselves against pumas on the prowl. I kid, I kid (but only about the last one)!
To be honest, I was feeling a bit trepidatious before the trip for a couple of reasons. Firstly, as I described in my previous blog entry, I´d been suffering from symptoms of high-altitude sickness and I knew that this trek would require me to hike higher than I´d ever done before. Secondly, I had only just found out that one of Cusco´s most experienced and respected guides, Miguel Jove, had been killed while trekking to Choquequirao when two huge boulders had come tumbling down the mountainside with one landing on Miguel´s horse and the other falling on Miguel´s legs. The horse died instantly, but Miguel lingered in considerable agony probably before succumbing to his injuries. Yikes!! When I asked Elizabeth, the SAE Club Manager, about what had caused this terribly tragic accident, she surmised that it was due to the recent earthquake south of Lima and some recent heavy rains, both of which may have fatally combined to loosen the rocks so that they came crashing down on poor Miguel. She also told me that during the rainy season, which, btw, it currently IS, tourists have died in the past due to landslides and slippery mud on steep trails. Gulp.
So despite my minor misgivings, I decided there ain´t no stopping me and so I once again laced up my boots, come what may...come what may...
Day 1: December 4 - Soreypampa to Soyrococha
For our first day, me and my hiking (J)Crew were driven to Mollepata to collect our cook, Alex, and a few provisions. Besides myself there was Jamil, our trusty disco-dancing-loving guide, Dwight, a Californian who at 6´4" towered above us all like an Inca chief, Luke & Annyck, a pleasant Dutch couple, and Bob, a friendly romantic Dutch fellow who is so in love with his girlfriend that he carries her picture with him wherever he goes and keeps a countdown in his journal of how many days it is until they are reunited. He´s such a romantic guy really and frankly I didn´t believe men like him existed outside of Hollywood movies. The cynic in my head had to choke back on the rising bile, but the romantic in my heart swooned...just a little. Okay, A LOT!
From Mollepata, we drove to our trailhead, Soreypampa(3900m), where we met up with our horses & the 2 brothers who would be handling them. Unfortunately, I never did fully catch their names. I have no idea how many kilometers we walked the first day because everything seems to be measured in elevation and by how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.
The weather that day was incredibly clear! We had unbelievable views of the Salkantay (6400m) and Umantay (5900m) Mountains. I don´t believe I´ve ever seen snow-capped mountains without their being partially obscured by clouds but I did on this particular day in the Peruvian Andes and I´m so...damn...thankful.
We hiked for about five hours all told; the last bit was the only tough part as we had to ascend to the Soyrococha campsite at 4400 meters. Much to my delighted surprise, I kicked ass and took names being the first to arrive at our destination feeling absolutely no side effects of the altitude. Hurray me! Unfortunately, the same could not be said for other members of my group. Bob, in particular, developed quite a headache and a somewhat alarming loss of appetite which our guide monitored closely as the night wore on.
Camping at such a high altitude is no day at a Brazilian beach. Yet, I was still a bit shocked at how quickly chilled to the bone I became and I silently cursed myself for not having purchased a pair of festive wooley mittens from any one of the vendors hocking them on each and every street corner in Cusco.
We slept in the shadow of a giant - the mighty and unrivalled Salkantay, with the sound of falling rain upon our tents and distant avalanches. I hope to never forget the sound of it...
Day 2: Soyrococha to Collpopampa
Wish I could say I slept like someone who´d popped a valium prior to beddy bie but NO!!!! I just...didn´t. Finding a comfortable resting position proved impossible and the strange sounds outside had me hypnotised into a prolonged state of wakefulness. So...I ventured out of my tent at 5:30 AM and was treated to the masterful sight of the sun rising over the peaks above us. My measly words canNOT convey what my eyes beheld.
After a hearty breakfast and some hot coca tea (Take that Pablo Escobar!), we set off on our second day of walking. Bob was still feeling decidedly unwell but had taken a Diamox pill that morning to try and offset his symptoms. We first ascended some 200 meters until reaching the highest point of our trek, the Salkantay Pass (4600m). Once again, I did myself proud by reaching the pass first without feeling any negative effects. I do believe I could have danced a jig up there if I´d had a willing partner. The view was partially obscured by clouds but still tremendous.
From there we headed down...down...down...D.O.W.N. This was the part of the hike, when described beforehand in our briefing, that I´d dreaded due to my dastardly knees BUT much to my delighted surprise, I once again ROCKED the trail and was the first in my group to reach Collopampa(2900m), our next night´s camping site. Due to the much lower elevation, Bob had bounced back beautifully. However, in the meantime, our other fine Dutch fellow, Luke, had been felled by a mysterious tummy ailment that baffled even the neighborhood Shaman! Okay, so really his stomach trouble can be most likely attributed to his portion of chicken at dinner the night before being inadequately cooked. But he remained a stoic trooper throughout his "run" of sickness (Sorry, couldn´t resist throwing in a little potty humor), and he never, ever complained.
At Collopampa, while waiting for my (J)Crew to catch up with me, I sat down with a grande cervesa at the local shop/restaurant there. I befriended the sweet and inquisitive young daughter of the shop owner and we spent quite a few minutes going through my pictures on my digital camera. I allowed her to play around a little bit with the various buttons on the camera, keeping a close eye all the while that my little amiga didn´t accidentally hit the "format" button. Heaven to Betsy forbid! I also got to chatting with 2 American fellows, Robert and Charlie, who were there hiking a slightly different trek which intersected with ours. I found out they were childhood buddies who had since moved to different states but had come to Peru with the purpose of celebrating Rob´s 50th birthday. What a grand way to celebrate your golden anniversary on this planet, eh? It makes me wonder what I could possibly do in another 5 years when I reach this platitude in my life. It´s getting harder and harder to top myself!
Once the sun went down and we´d satiated our appetites, we climbed into our tents to dream a little dream of...
Antonio Banderas!! But let´s keep this entry clean, shall we? ,)
I joined a group of 5 hikers (that`s including me!) on the Salkantay Trek which lasts 5 days with the last day being a visit to the stupendous Inca site, Machu Picchu. I attended a briefing a couple of days beforehand where they went over the specifics of each day´s hike plus a rundown on what items we should be sure to pack such as: a flashlight with backup batteries so as to avoid stepping on cow or horse dung during the middle of the night on the way to the hole in the ground meant for human droppings, a roll of toilet paper with which to wipe one´s dainty derriere, and a machete in order to defend ourselves against pumas on the prowl. I kid, I kid (but only about the last one)!
To be honest, I was feeling a bit trepidatious before the trip for a couple of reasons. Firstly, as I described in my previous blog entry, I´d been suffering from symptoms of high-altitude sickness and I knew that this trek would require me to hike higher than I´d ever done before. Secondly, I had only just found out that one of Cusco´s most experienced and respected guides, Miguel Jove, had been killed while trekking to Choquequirao when two huge boulders had come tumbling down the mountainside with one landing on Miguel´s horse and the other falling on Miguel´s legs. The horse died instantly, but Miguel lingered in considerable agony probably before succumbing to his injuries. Yikes!! When I asked Elizabeth, the SAE Club Manager, about what had caused this terribly tragic accident, she surmised that it was due to the recent earthquake south of Lima and some recent heavy rains, both of which may have fatally combined to loosen the rocks so that they came crashing down on poor Miguel. She also told me that during the rainy season, which, btw, it currently IS, tourists have died in the past due to landslides and slippery mud on steep trails. Gulp.
So despite my minor misgivings, I decided there ain´t no stopping me and so I once again laced up my boots, come what may...come what may...
Day 1: December 4 - Soreypampa to Soyrococha
For our first day, me and my hiking (J)Crew were driven to Mollepata to collect our cook, Alex, and a few provisions. Besides myself there was Jamil, our trusty disco-dancing-loving guide, Dwight, a Californian who at 6´4" towered above us all like an Inca chief, Luke & Annyck, a pleasant Dutch couple, and Bob, a friendly romantic Dutch fellow who is so in love with his girlfriend that he carries her picture with him wherever he goes and keeps a countdown in his journal of how many days it is until they are reunited. He´s such a romantic guy really and frankly I didn´t believe men like him existed outside of Hollywood movies. The cynic in my head had to choke back on the rising bile, but the romantic in my heart swooned...just a little. Okay, A LOT!
From Mollepata, we drove to our trailhead, Soreypampa(3900m), where we met up with our horses & the 2 brothers who would be handling them. Unfortunately, I never did fully catch their names. I have no idea how many kilometers we walked the first day because everything seems to be measured in elevation and by how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.
The weather that day was incredibly clear! We had unbelievable views of the Salkantay (6400m) and Umantay (5900m) Mountains. I don´t believe I´ve ever seen snow-capped mountains without their being partially obscured by clouds but I did on this particular day in the Peruvian Andes and I´m so...damn...thankful.
We hiked for about five hours all told; the last bit was the only tough part as we had to ascend to the Soyrococha campsite at 4400 meters. Much to my delighted surprise, I kicked ass and took names being the first to arrive at our destination feeling absolutely no side effects of the altitude. Hurray me! Unfortunately, the same could not be said for other members of my group. Bob, in particular, developed quite a headache and a somewhat alarming loss of appetite which our guide monitored closely as the night wore on.
Camping at such a high altitude is no day at a Brazilian beach. Yet, I was still a bit shocked at how quickly chilled to the bone I became and I silently cursed myself for not having purchased a pair of festive wooley mittens from any one of the vendors hocking them on each and every street corner in Cusco.
We slept in the shadow of a giant - the mighty and unrivalled Salkantay, with the sound of falling rain upon our tents and distant avalanches. I hope to never forget the sound of it...
Day 2: Soyrococha to Collpopampa
Wish I could say I slept like someone who´d popped a valium prior to beddy bie but NO!!!! I just...didn´t. Finding a comfortable resting position proved impossible and the strange sounds outside had me hypnotised into a prolonged state of wakefulness. So...I ventured out of my tent at 5:30 AM and was treated to the masterful sight of the sun rising over the peaks above us. My measly words canNOT convey what my eyes beheld.
After a hearty breakfast and some hot coca tea (Take that Pablo Escobar!), we set off on our second day of walking. Bob was still feeling decidedly unwell but had taken a Diamox pill that morning to try and offset his symptoms. We first ascended some 200 meters until reaching the highest point of our trek, the Salkantay Pass (4600m). Once again, I did myself proud by reaching the pass first without feeling any negative effects. I do believe I could have danced a jig up there if I´d had a willing partner. The view was partially obscured by clouds but still tremendous.
From there we headed down...down...down...D.O.W.N. This was the part of the hike, when described beforehand in our briefing, that I´d dreaded due to my dastardly knees BUT much to my delighted surprise, I once again ROCKED the trail and was the first in my group to reach Collopampa(2900m), our next night´s camping site. Due to the much lower elevation, Bob had bounced back beautifully. However, in the meantime, our other fine Dutch fellow, Luke, had been felled by a mysterious tummy ailment that baffled even the neighborhood Shaman! Okay, so really his stomach trouble can be most likely attributed to his portion of chicken at dinner the night before being inadequately cooked. But he remained a stoic trooper throughout his "run" of sickness (Sorry, couldn´t resist throwing in a little potty humor), and he never, ever complained.
At Collopampa, while waiting for my (J)Crew to catch up with me, I sat down with a grande cervesa at the local shop/restaurant there. I befriended the sweet and inquisitive young daughter of the shop owner and we spent quite a few minutes going through my pictures on my digital camera. I allowed her to play around a little bit with the various buttons on the camera, keeping a close eye all the while that my little amiga didn´t accidentally hit the "format" button. Heaven to Betsy forbid! I also got to chatting with 2 American fellows, Robert and Charlie, who were there hiking a slightly different trek which intersected with ours. I found out they were childhood buddies who had since moved to different states but had come to Peru with the purpose of celebrating Rob´s 50th birthday. What a grand way to celebrate your golden anniversary on this planet, eh? It makes me wonder what I could possibly do in another 5 years when I reach this platitude in my life. It´s getting harder and harder to top myself!
Once the sun went down and we´d satiated our appetites, we climbed into our tents to dream a little dream of...
Antonio Banderas!! But let´s keep this entry clean, shall we? ,)
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