The next morning we woke at 7am to begin our four day Inca Trail hike which would, all things going well, bring us to Machu Picchu. In total there were 16 of us in the group, along with our two guides, Aly (a very humorous man who enjoys his banter a lot and informed us that this was his 313th time trekking the Inca Trail) and Jesus (pronounced Hay-zues, but nobody chose that particular pronunciation of his name, thus becoming the subject of an endless amount of good natured jokes). The first day of the trail we travelled 11 kilometres through mainly undulating terrain. Starting at approximately 2700 metres above sea level this section of the journey to Machu Picchu was not particular challenging and by the end of the day we had gained just 400 metres in altitude. At our campsite that evening one of my fellow trailers, a girl from Canada, organised a bit of Yoga for everybody to help ease the muscle pain. It was very difficult to keep a straight face throughout as we must have looked like a right sight with over a dozen people lined up side by side making a very poor attempt to master these outrageous exercises. The porters and cooks who accompanied us on the trip looked on in bemusement, with one in particular remarking that he thought he had seen everything, until now! For me it was my first time engaging in Yoga, and probably my last. I was simply appalling at it.
The second day was a lot tougher with an enormous 1100m ascent up numerous large steps to Warmiwañusca, better known as the Dead Woman's Pass. While I found this hike challenging, especially considering the steepness of the terrain, at no time did I feel uncomfortable, and found myself climbing up the mountain faster than I could ever have imagined. There is no doubt that my two weeks spent at high altitude in Chile, Bolivia and Peru beforehand helped me no end and by the time I started the hike I was fully acclimatised and altitude sickness was never going to be an issue. Unfortunately the vast majority of the group didn't have this luxury, with many of them flying into Cusco just two days before this high altitude adventure, and as a result they found it very tough going at times, and understandably so, as by the time we reached the top of the climb we were at 4200m above sea level. In total 12 kilometres were covered on the second day.
The second day was also the time that my Fujifilm camera chose to end its life. It had been everywhere over the last four years, from California to Canada, from Japan to Australia, Buffalo, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, throughout South America and countless other places, and THIS was the time it had to die on me, as I stood on a remote mountain in the middle of the high Andes with the only "shops" in sight being women standing at various points throughout the trail selling overpriced Skittles, Coca-Cola and Pringles, with one of them strangely accepting credit cards! I am still unsure as to what caused its death, however the post mortem indicates that Mr Fuji was on its last legs and the moisture in the tent overnight was enough to push him over the edge. Words can not describe the anger and sorrow I felt and for a good two hours I probably was not the best person to be around. Thankfully two people very generously offered to take photos of me whenever I wished. This is something which will be forever appreciated as without this kind gesture I would have left Machu Picchu without the blindest bit of evidence that I was ever there. I could not help at times however feeling like a bit of a nuisance as I constantly requested photos of myself with a variety of scenic backgrounds!
The third day we trailed 16 kilometres in total incorporating two shorter hikes, though no less punishing on the legs, followed by a never ending 1100m descent to our campsite. While I relished the uphill sections of the course, my descending skills were nothing to write home about and the entire time I was terrified that one mistake while climbing down almost 1500 slippy steep steps could result in one or more broken bones. Aly referred to this section of the trail as "The Gringo Killer" in honour of all those tourists who have broken a bone or two over the years. Indeed there was one lady who fell victim to this punishing landscape and had to be carried by one of the porters to the camp site as a result.
The final day involved a 3am start in an attempt to reach Machu Picchu before most other tourists. In total we trekked for just 6 kilometres, incorporating one astonishingly steep climb up to the Sun Gate, where we hoped to catch a view of the "Lost City of the Incas". However our guide Aly preferred to refer to it as the "Cloud Gate" as visibility is more often than not very poor, and this occasion was no different with dense cloud spoiling what could have been a postcard perfect view. However thankfully by the time we reached Machu Picchu the weather improved significantly with the clouds lifting somewhat, allowing for a decent visual of this amazing ancient city. While a completely sunny day would have been welcome it was actually a very mystical experience having such low cloud cover, and even though this lost Inca site is just 2400m high in altitude it felt that we were standing high up in the sky.
Machu Picchu really is an amazing site with ruins of old Inca buildings and dozens of farming terraces standing below the towering Huayna Picchu mountain. Possibly the most familiar icon of the Inca world this city was unknown to the outsiders before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. As the site was never known to the Spanish during their conquest, it is highly significant as a relatively intact cultural site. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In addition the walls of these ancient buildings are incredibly strong and have survived numerous earthquakes, one being as recent as 2008. It is impossible to not be hugely impressed by this place, especially considering the effort the Incas had to go to with regards transporting the materials up to such high altitude to enable construction of such fascinating architecture. It really is true that we humans don't make buildings like we used to with the late 20th century providing the ugliest architecture the world has to offer. It's a shame that modern architecture can't be a little more eye pleasing or at the very least that these eyesores can't be kept well away from old picturesque buildings. Whoever it was that decided the Central Bank should be built in the middle of Temple Bar in Dublin deserves a deportation. Sin scéal eile I guess.
One aspect of the tour that can not be ignored are the porters. These men are simply incredible. While we mere mortals feel sorry for ourselves having to carry a tiny day pack, weighing no more than five or six kilos, these guys are lifting 30kg's worth of bags (our bags by the way), food, tents and other materials necessary for us to have the time of our lives. Not only are these men carrying these bags however but they are also walking/ running at astonishing speeds up and down the steepest of terrain with not one of us able to keep up with their relentless pace. Once they reach the campsite they then have to pitch all the tents so that we can sleep in relative comfort. What these people can do is most impressive and our tour guide informed us that the record for the Inca Trail Marathon (45km's in length) is a staggering 3 hours 45 minutes. How somebody can run that course in such a time without breaking a rib or puncturing a lung is beyond me. Despite all the physical effort these heroes (a very deserving word) exert they are paid the most offensive wages possible, just 56 US Dollars for four days of work. With this in mind it is astonishing that one couple from England felt that the porters deserved a combined tip between them of 0.00 Sols for their hard work.
With the exception of these miserable, anti-social people the rest of the group members were fantastic with a wide range of age groups represented ranging from 20 to late 50's from England, Scotland, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Canada and the United States. Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves and there was no shortage of banter. What was particularly pleasing was the attitude of the older people in the group. After my experience with the rude French people during my tour of South-West Bolivia it was refreshing to meet older people who were willing to have fun and provide many humorous and memorable stories and jokes to the rest of the group. They were a pleasure to be around. The tour had a bit of a fairytale ending as an English man in our group proposed to his Spanish girlfriend overlooking Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu mountain resulting in a positive outcome.
The last couple of days have been spent relaxing in Cusco, and with the exception of a short visit to the beautiful old Inca village of Chinchero I have done very little. Tomorrow I fly to Lima for four days in the nation's capital. The last week has been an amazing experience, one which will take a long time to exit the memory.
Later
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