The Inca Trail
I got back to Cuzco last night after spending four days hiking the Inca Trail.
It was really really really difficult. I can not stress this enough. However, we were incredibly lucky with the weather, the food was ridiculously good, and the company was pleasant. The guides, the cooks and the porters were amazing - a credit to G-adventures and to Peru.
The first day was probably the easiest. It wasn't easy, but compared with the second day anything could be considered 'easy.'
Even though the hike on the first day wasn't too hard, I struggled a bit to keep up with the group. Mainly I was just getting used to the altitude, my hiking boots and the walking sticks. I had to learn how best to use them to help me. In retrospect I should have taken painkillers before I started hiking, it would have helped. (I figured this trick out on the third day, and that is probably why the third day was my best day.)
The weather stayed the same the entire hike. Clear blue skies and warm sun. (I really appreciated the shady parts of the hike. Constantly re-applying sunscreen to sweaty skin gets old fast.) It was usually cold for the first few hours of hiking, though. We tended to wake up before sunrise and hike for a while in the dawn chill. It got cold really fast after sunset too.
The views were beautiful on the first and third day, and we saw many Incan sites.
It was the second day that was the hardest. Hours and hours of climbing, climbing, climbing. Steep, uneven, stone steps that threatened to trip you every time you attempted to set your foot down. Every breath a desperate gasp for air in the oxygen-poor environment. No end in sight, and the majority of the group racing ahead like some band of mutated mountain goat-human hybrids. Just me and the 67 year old Texan bringing up the rear. It didn't help your pride when the porters, carrying 25 kilos, literally ran past. Those porters are super-human. Seriously, I have all the respect in the world for them.
But we made it eventually, and I made it in five hours! (Five hours is the average time it takes for people to make it up to the pass.) But the last 50 steps were probably the hardest physical challenge I have ever faced. Every breath I took came with an involuntary sound of pain. I cried when I finally reached the top.
But I made it. I made it to 4215 meters above sea level. That's about double the height of Hvannadalshnukur, the highest peak in Iceland.
Going down for two hours after reaching the pass was no walk in the park either, especially since there would be no lunch until camp was reached, and my feet were already aching from the long climb. The path down was extremely steep, rocky, and uneven. I thought I would twist my ankle about ten times, but I prevailed.
Camp was always a nice place to reach. There was always plenty of food, people to hang out with, tents to chill out in, and card games to be played. The first two nights were freezing, though. I was too cold to sleep properly the first night, but I was able to use everything at my disposal to keep myself warm on the second night. The third night was at a much lower altitude than the first two, and thus warmer.
The third day was my favourite. It started out with another difficult climb, but it was short compared with the one on the day before, and I was high on painkillers. Then it was down, down, down! I was faster than everyone going down. I don't know why, but I just flew! It was amazing. And the views on the third day were beyond gorgeous!
Just you, the mountain peaks, and the clouds. ♥
The third day was also a day with many spectacular views of Incan sites. It's hard to describe the beauty of the old ruins and the terraces that the people built into the mountain sides in order to grow their crops. They're beautiful when seen from a distance, and slightly overwhelming up close.
The grazing llamas give the terraces a comical twist, though.
Hilarious creatures!
The fourth day was Machu Pichu day. We woke up at four AM in order to be ready at the camp check point as soon as it opened at five thirty. Then it was just a short hike to the sun gate where we got our first glimpse of the magnificent, untouched-by-Spanish invaders ruins.
I had been grumpy from waking up so early, not being able to find my sunglasses, and waiting around for the check point to open in the freezing cold and dark. Every muscle in my body ached, and I'm pretty sure my thighs will never forgive me. But reaching the sun gate was unforgettable.
We waited at the sun gate for the sun to rise and shine its light on the ruins. Watching the light creep ever closer to Machu Picchu was surreal and wonderful. My body was wrecked, but I couldn't stop smiling. I did it! I survived the Inca Trail!
Once the sun was properly up, we walked down to the ruins and enjoyed a tour of the site. We took many, many pictures.
The site is beautiful and a little unbelievable. I had seen many pictures, but they don't really do the place justice. You have to stand there to feel the depth of the place, and appreciate the surrounding mountains and nature. The tour of the site was informative, and I learnt about the main theories about the place and some legends. I don't remember them well enough to do them justice here, but they were very enjoyable to listen to.
Finally we were too exhausted to appreciate Machu Picchu for one more minute. We took the bus to town and had a celebratory lunch. Beers and Pisco Sours (a delicious Peruvian cocktail) all around! Then it was a picturesque train ride to the hotel we had stayed at before the first hiking day to pick up some stuff we had left there, and finally a bus ride back to Cuzco. It was so nice to just sit, listen to music and watch the mountains and the river woosh by. No more walking!
Today I'm just going to relax and run some errands. Tomorrow my Amazon adventure begins. I'm ridiculously excited about that. ♥
It was really really really difficult. I can not stress this enough. However, we were incredibly lucky with the weather, the food was ridiculously good, and the company was pleasant. The guides, the cooks and the porters were amazing - a credit to G-adventures and to Peru.
The first day was probably the easiest. It wasn't easy, but compared with the second day anything could be considered 'easy.'
Even though the hike on the first day wasn't too hard, I struggled a bit to keep up with the group. Mainly I was just getting used to the altitude, my hiking boots and the walking sticks. I had to learn how best to use them to help me. In retrospect I should have taken painkillers before I started hiking, it would have helped. (I figured this trick out on the third day, and that is probably why the third day was my best day.)
The weather stayed the same the entire hike. Clear blue skies and warm sun. (I really appreciated the shady parts of the hike. Constantly re-applying sunscreen to sweaty skin gets old fast.) It was usually cold for the first few hours of hiking, though. We tended to wake up before sunrise and hike for a while in the dawn chill. It got cold really fast after sunset too.
The views were beautiful on the first and third day, and we saw many Incan sites.
It was the second day that was the hardest. Hours and hours of climbing, climbing, climbing. Steep, uneven, stone steps that threatened to trip you every time you attempted to set your foot down. Every breath a desperate gasp for air in the oxygen-poor environment. No end in sight, and the majority of the group racing ahead like some band of mutated mountain goat-human hybrids. Just me and the 67 year old Texan bringing up the rear. It didn't help your pride when the porters, carrying 25 kilos, literally ran past. Those porters are super-human. Seriously, I have all the respect in the world for them.
But we made it eventually, and I made it in five hours! (Five hours is the average time it takes for people to make it up to the pass.) But the last 50 steps were probably the hardest physical challenge I have ever faced. Every breath I took came with an involuntary sound of pain. I cried when I finally reached the top.
But I made it. I made it to 4215 meters above sea level. That's about double the height of Hvannadalshnukur, the highest peak in Iceland.
Going down for two hours after reaching the pass was no walk in the park either, especially since there would be no lunch until camp was reached, and my feet were already aching from the long climb. The path down was extremely steep, rocky, and uneven. I thought I would twist my ankle about ten times, but I prevailed.
Camp was always a nice place to reach. There was always plenty of food, people to hang out with, tents to chill out in, and card games to be played. The first two nights were freezing, though. I was too cold to sleep properly the first night, but I was able to use everything at my disposal to keep myself warm on the second night. The third night was at a much lower altitude than the first two, and thus warmer.
The third day was my favourite. It started out with another difficult climb, but it was short compared with the one on the day before, and I was high on painkillers. Then it was down, down, down! I was faster than everyone going down. I don't know why, but I just flew! It was amazing. And the views on the third day were beyond gorgeous!
Just you, the mountain peaks, and the clouds. ♥
The third day was also a day with many spectacular views of Incan sites. It's hard to describe the beauty of the old ruins and the terraces that the people built into the mountain sides in order to grow their crops. They're beautiful when seen from a distance, and slightly overwhelming up close.
The grazing llamas give the terraces a comical twist, though.
Hilarious creatures!
The fourth day was Machu Pichu day. We woke up at four AM in order to be ready at the camp check point as soon as it opened at five thirty. Then it was just a short hike to the sun gate where we got our first glimpse of the magnificent, untouched-by-Spanish invaders ruins.
I had been grumpy from waking up so early, not being able to find my sunglasses, and waiting around for the check point to open in the freezing cold and dark. Every muscle in my body ached, and I'm pretty sure my thighs will never forgive me. But reaching the sun gate was unforgettable.
We waited at the sun gate for the sun to rise and shine its light on the ruins. Watching the light creep ever closer to Machu Picchu was surreal and wonderful. My body was wrecked, but I couldn't stop smiling. I did it! I survived the Inca Trail!
Once the sun was properly up, we walked down to the ruins and enjoyed a tour of the site. We took many, many pictures.
The site is beautiful and a little unbelievable. I had seen many pictures, but they don't really do the place justice. You have to stand there to feel the depth of the place, and appreciate the surrounding mountains and nature. The tour of the site was informative, and I learnt about the main theories about the place and some legends. I don't remember them well enough to do them justice here, but they were very enjoyable to listen to.
Finally we were too exhausted to appreciate Machu Picchu for one more minute. We took the bus to town and had a celebratory lunch. Beers and Pisco Sours (a delicious Peruvian cocktail) all around! Then it was a picturesque train ride to the hotel we had stayed at before the first hiking day to pick up some stuff we had left there, and finally a bus ride back to Cuzco. It was so nice to just sit, listen to music and watch the mountains and the river woosh by. No more walking!
Today I'm just going to relax and run some errands. Tomorrow my Amazon adventure begins. I'm ridiculously excited about that. ♥