Day 2 Inca Trail

If yesterday was gruelling, today was torture! This is the longest, most demanding day of the trek, with a 10 mile hike that was straight up for the first half, and straight down for the second, with an elevation gain of 800 meters. The physical demands of two days in a row of hard hiking are as taxing as running a marathon two days in a row. When I asked one guy that we met on the hike how he trained, he said, "You couldn't have trained for this. You would have had to set the treadmill at the steepest incline and run with a plastic bag over your head for a few hours, maybe punch a few holes in it."

By the time we stopped for supper, almost 12 hours after starting this morning, my legs were like jelly, and I hardly had the strength to eat my supper.

Marianne has come down with a cold, so the hike was especially tough for her, but she hung in there and finished near the front of the group. We took turns crying today out of sheer exhaustion. Many times along the way today I found myself asking why in the heck we were doing this. I think it has something to do with the need to challenge ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This truly is a once in a lifetime adventure unparalleled by beauty, spirituality and comraderie. Marianne and I have drawn closer together through shared suffering, and we have thoroughly enjoyed all the members of our team.

 

The amazing sights that we have seen today include several Incan ruins, mind blowing scenery of waterfalls raging through the Andes, and the rare black llama.

As with yesterday, every meal was a feast, with far more food than we could eat. We were treated to hot water bottles for bedtime, and were once again fast asleep by 7:30 in anticipation of our 5:30 am wake-up call.

 

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Day One- Off to Machu Pichu!

We were up and ready to go by 4:30 am. There are 9 people in our group, plus two guides, 17 porters, and 1 cook. After a 2 hour drive, in which most of us at least tried to sleep, we stopped at Olantaytambu for a bathroom break and to purchase last minute snacks. This is such a beautiful mountain town, and it is bustling with people heading to Machu Pichu.

We drove for another 45 minutes down a bumpy dirt road through farms and along the Urumbaba River. The Inca people are amazing farmers, being responsible for the development of many crops such as quinua, over 500 different types of potatoes and many varieties of corn.

We finally arrived at the trailhead where bowls of water, soap and facecloth were ready for us to wash up. A fabulous breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, juice and hot chocolate was waiting for us. We met our porters, had our last minute bathroom break, and headed toward the checkpoint.

Our waiter, Jésus, complete with bowtie.

The Peru government strictly controls the Inca trail, allowing only 500 people on it each day. We registered months in advance in order to ensure our spot, and everyone must go with a registered guide company, as the trail goes through many of the Inca ruins, and they want to ensure that they continue to be protected.

This was a gruelling day, with over 1100 meter climb, but it was actually much more, because the trail went up, then down. Both Marianne and I found the long uphills exhausting, and at one point, I found myself thinking about how much I hated the trek. However, our guides Rueben and Wilson are outstanding, allowing us to go at our own pace, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Unforunately, most of the pictures are on my camera, and I will have to wait until we return home before I can download them onto my blog.

We finally arrived at our camp at about 4:30. Our tents were already set up for us, there was a warm bowl of water with soap and washcloth set up for us, and even a porta potty! This is camping in style! Once we were set up, hot chocolate and popcorn was ready for happy hour. It was already getting quite cold, so we bundled up and enjoyed congratulating each other as we enjoyed our nice fresh treats.

Supper was again a 5 star treat of vegetable soup, Inca corn, fresh vegetables, chicken, rice and fried eggplant. After eating, we cllimbed into our sleeping bags and were asleep by 7:30. Wakeup is at 5:00 am, so we want to get a good sleep in order to prepare for tomorrow's hike.

 

 

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Day 3 - Cuzco and Sacred Valley Tour

We were off for our tour to the Sacred Valley at 7:45 in the morning, our tour guide Ariel keeping us entertained with great humour and information about the area, as well as bits of the Quechan language. For example, it doesn't rain cats and dogs here, it rains llamas, alpacas and sheep. Ha! Ha!

In the days of the Incas it was originally a 20 day walk from Cuzco to Machu Pichu. Now, we can take a bus and a train the whole way. Unless you are two middle aged adventurers like Marianne and I who are determined to do the 4 day hike!

Our first stop was in Pisaq, which is known for silver and ceramics. Ariel explained that it is very difficult to know when you are getting good silver in the town markets, and instead took us to a good silver shop, where Marianne and I both bought some lovely pieces. (Good thing they take Visa!). The main dish in Pisaq is llama head soup.

Along the way we saw llamas, alpacas and picuyna.

Alpaca (smaller than the llama, like a big sheep, very soft coat)

Llama

Picuyna. This animal is protected by the government.

Local people make their own adobe bricks to build their own homes. Along the way, we saw people making these bricks by hand and leaving them in the sun to dry. The people living away from the cities live very simple lives, growing their own gardens, keeping a few animals, and living very cheaply but, according to Ariel, happy.

Along the way, we stopped in a small market to do some quick shopping.

The Sacred Valley is so called for a couple of reasons, first because the river that runs through the Sacred Valley was called Wilkumai in Inca times, which means wise river. But, most importantly, the Inca people built on the mountains for astronomy and protection, it was the Spanish who began building in the valleys. The Sacred Valley is perfectly aligned with the milky way, which was thought to be important for the afterlife.

The Incas were incredible architects, who built amazing terraces to prevent erosion and landslides. We saw several ancient cities today including Urabamba, Calca, Olyantambo and Chinchero. These ancient cities still have many terraces and stone structures still standing. Some of the stones they used were up to 7 tons, and they were perfectly cut to fit into the next stone, with notches much like lego bricks so that each stone fit perfectly into the next. These stones were moved from a rock quarry on the next mountain several miles away. Amazing!

Terraces with stone structures on top.

Tomorrow, we are off to hike the Inca Trail, a 4 day, 3 night adventure, where we will be sleeping in tents high up in the Andes with no electricity and no wifi. It drops close to freezing at night, so if we make it back alive, I will have several posts to add in 4 days.

 

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Waking up to a chilly 2 degrees centigrade, we are starting to appreciate that this is winter in the southern hemisphere. Although it is expected to rise to 18 degrees in the daytime, it is always very cold at night. This explains the way that the indigenous people dress, in many layers, and always a hat. We took advantage of the beautiful alpaca knitwear available in the shops, and have attired ourselves in appropriate Andean winter attire.

Cuzco is fascinating for many reasons. First, this is the historic capital of Peru, and is the oldest city in South America, as the Aztec ruler Atahualpa had succeeded in defeating his brother for rule of the Inca empire. He was a mighty warrior who managed to take control of most of South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Columbia. It is thought that the population of the Inca empire numbered about 160,000,000. Yet, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro, with only 160 men, through lies and trickery, direct slaughter of thousands, with the help of smallpox and other European diseases, was able to effectively bring the Inca Empire to an end.

Today, 60% of the population of Peru is Inca, and they are very proud of their heritage. All of the guides that we have had as well as all of our drivers have stressed that the Inca are a proud people, and that their language is Quechan, not Spanish. In Cuzco particularly, it is easy to see that the Andean Incas are holding onto their traditional ways.

The Catholic influence is prominent here, with a cathedral on every corner. They are quite large and extravagent.

There are also many squares, with lovely parks in the middle, and of course, a statue of Atahualpa.

In the afternoon, we went on a tour of the main cathedral, and then up above the city to some of the Inca ruins. These were fascinating, as they were built in the 1400s, and gigantic stones were moved several miles on wooden rollers, where the stones were fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, where not even a piece of paper can fit between them.

We were happy to get back to our hotel, exhausted but happy after our day's adventures. Fortunately, we have had only mild symptoms of altitude sickness, with slight headaches and shortness of breath when going upstairs or uphill. We have been told that these symptoms should abate by day 3, so we should be in good shape for the Inca Trail.

 

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Day 4 Tambopato Lodge and on to Cusco

I awoke well before the alarm at 5:45, I guess all that sleep yesterday had left me well rested. I lay in bed just listening to the jungle sounds, waiting for Marianne to wake up. There is nothing like the forest in the morning, whether back home or here in South America. One bird makes a sound like water dripping, there is an increasing chirping of the smaller birds, a distant hooting of one bird and the cooing of another. It was still very cold, so I snuggled deeper in my quilt hoping to fall back to sleep. Finally I accepted the inevitable, and reluctantly climbed out of bed and into my muddy jeans from yesterday. However, the only pair of socks that I wore inside those stinky gumboots won't be seeing my feet until they go through the wash several times. It was either flip flops or bare feet in my hiking boots. I went for the warm hiking boots!

Wild tomato plant growing beside our lodge

It hadn't occurred to me when were packing a small pack just for the Amazon adventure that the weather might turn freezing cold, so I had brought a change of shorts and tank tops, but no long sleeved shirts or change of long pants and socks. Marianne, being much more methodical was well prepared, with virtually everything needed for all possibilities. Hmm, no sense in whining about my own short sightedness!

After yet another delicious breakfast, it was time to say good-bye to Tambapoto Lodge. Other than the cold weather, we enjoyed our stay very much, and would highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys adventure travel. Don't forget your rain gear and a change of warm weather clothes, though!

The South American raccoon came to say good-bye!

Given that we were going with the current, the canoe trip that took 3 hours coming only took 1 1/2 hours going. Good thing, since it was so much colder!

After a 45 minute bus ride and a quick repacking of everything, we were off to the airport for our trip to Cuzco. This was a quick 1 hour flight, but the view of the Andes was spectacular!

 

We left our new friends Katherine and Katherine on the plane, as they were flying through to Lima and on home to England. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting them, and they were terrific partners for our daily mud trecks every day. We were competing to see who could get the muddiest, but I think we were all pretty equal for the number of times that we fell in the mud!

Cuzco is an absolutely delightful city, with all the modern conveniences, including electricity and wifi.....and we even have heat in our room! Ah, life is so much better when you're warm!

Cuzco from the air.

Our hotel is delightful, in a great location, with many lovely shops and restaurants. The food here is excellent, with food from all parts of the world. The people are lovely and warm, and we had lots of fun interacting with them in the shops.

Rumi Punku Hotel.

Tomorrow, we will do some more shopping and go on a city tour. Now, we are looking forward to a good night's sleep in in our nice warm hotel room!

 

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Day three Tambopato Lodge

This was another early morning, delicious breakfast, and off for our adventure by 6:30. This time, we headed downriver for another hike, 8 kilometers through mucky mucky clay mud. To think that I used to love playing in mud as a child. After stumbling around in it for the last two days, I don't think I ever want to see mud again!

Along our morning hike, we saw up to a hundred pocket monkeys running and jumping through the trees. I have a terrific video of this on my camera, but it will have to wait until I get home so that I can download it onto my computer.

After about 2 1/2 hours of hiking, we arrived at an absolutely beautiful lake. These jungle lakes are formed when an oxbow in the river forms a complete circle, cutting off the river and filling in the center to form a lake. In time, these lakes grow smaller and smaller until they become a swamp. Today's lake was a fairly young one, which explains why it was so big and beautiful. We saw red howler monkeys which are much bigger than the pocket monkeys, a black caiman which is quite rare, many kingfishers, and several pairs of macaws flying in the distance....and too many different butterfly species to name!

There is a basic camp set up beside the lake with a very primitive outhouse with a squat toilet inside. We don't leave any toilet paper in the jungle. Pack your own in, put the used in a plastic bag, and carry it back out with you.

After another 8 hour hike back to the boat, spotting more pocket monkeys, we all cheered when we saw the boat waiting for us at the river. We had been on the go for 7 1/2 hours, and everyone of us were very hot and exhausted.

The first thing that we did when we got back to our lodge was to have a delicious, cool shower. Suddenly, a high wind came up, and all the clothing that we had laid out to dry on our porch started to blow away. The temperature suddenly dropped from very warm to very cold, and we had to get into our beds to warm up. I soon found my eyes getting very heavy, and dropped off into the most wonderful sleep for the 2 1/2 hours. Surprisingly, the storm was still raging, with very high winds, cold temperatures and intermittent heavy rain. Given that two walls of our lodge were just open screens with no wondows or shutters, it was very windy in our lodge, and it was just as cold and windy inside as it was out. Since there wasn't much else to do, we climbed back into bed and had an early night. Fortunately, there were lots of heavy blankets in our lodge, and once we warmed up, it was nice and toasty except for those middle of the night bathroom breaks.

Heavy heavy jungle rain!

 

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Day 2 Tambopato Lodge

We were awoken at 5:30 to get ready for our morning hike. Breakfast was delicious, with a variety of meat, eggs, fresh tropical fruit, toast, juice, coffee and tea. By 6:30 we were back in the dugout canoe heading upriver to the trail for our morning hike. Fortunately we had been given gumboots to wear, as we hiked for 4 hours in the jungle through mud that was often up to our ankles. (Remember the part about the RAIN forest!)

The most impressive part of the hike for me was seeing the "Mother of the Jungle", giant kapoc trees that grow to be 65 meters. This is the tallest tree in South America, and second only to the giant redwoods.

The strangular ficus trees were also interesting, as they grow from the top down when the birds drop their seeds in the upper branches of the host tree. As the roots and branches grow downward, they encircle the host tree, eventually strangling it. When the original tree dies, it leaves the inside hollow, and the strangular ficus tree continues growing to the top of the forest canopy. These trees can live up to 500 years, and continue growing taller until they die. When the trees get quite old, with the host tree long ago completely decayed, their roots form a cavelike structure, which create a great shelter if you are lost in the jungle!

We also saw macaws, an electric eel, a poisonous tree frog, and lots and lots of butterflies, including a neon blue one that was about 10 inches across. We also saw a giant black tarantula that made Marianne jump in fright when she saw it.

After lunch, we went swimming in the old swimming hole, but had to come back early because I was getting covered in bug bites. Go figure, out of everyone there, I was the only one getting bitten, guess those bugs know a good thing when they taste it! Good thing that Marianne had her Benadryl stick back in our cabin!

After supper, we went for an evening canoe ride, searching for caymens. Caymens are nocturnal animals, and we have seen them sleeping on the shore in the daytime. It was very exciting, though, to see them swimming in the dark, with only their beady little eyes visible. Fortunately, we did eventually see one climb up on a sand bar so that we could see its entire body.

The most spectacular part of our evening cruise, though, was the brilliance of the stars. Once we get away from all the light pollution of the city, the night sky is absolutely awe inspiring. This little part of our trip has really made me question the high price that we pay for all of our modern conveniences. There's something about getting away from cars, electricity, gadgets, and constant connectivity that causes the entire psyche to slow right down, to appreciate the simpler things in life, and to feel closer to God. It is something that I want to find a way to hold onto once I return home.

 

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