Friday 21st September: The Chicken Gets a year Older and Wiser
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Tuesday 25th September: 5 days of Trekking the Andes
Well, I am not sure where to begin and how to pack the 5 days worth of experiences into one blog entry. Unfortunately, it really is one of those cases that unless you experience this trip for yourself, you cannot quite comprehend what an utterly humbling experience it is...
Let me start by saying that I have always been in awe of mountains. I think they are majestic creatures that are beautiful but immensely powerful and cannot be underestimated... I like to ski on them, snowboard (well i try!) down them, hike up and down them and generally appreciate them a lot. So, when i was about 12 years old and I first came across the story of the Incas who built an undiscovered city high up in the mountains to escape the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century, a place so far from civilisation that it lay undiscovered until 1917 (!!!!!), i just knew that I had to visit this place, this city they called Machu Picchu.
There are several ways one can ´discover´Macchu Picchu for oneself. One way is via the route the Incas themselves walked all those years ago, called not surprisingly, The Inca Trek. But, like most popular activities, one has to book up to 8 months in advance to get a reservation on this trek. So 2 other routes to the ancient city (both of which spend some time on the inca trail itself) have been construsted to keep the tourists happy; the generally casual 4-day hike called the Lares Trek which traverses the hills and winds its way through beautiful valleys and past traditional villages, and the Salkantay Trek, a 5-day marathon trek up through the Salkantay pass of 4900m and then 4 more days of hiking to get to the little town of Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Ofcourse, being a thoroughly adventurous chicken, I knew that Salkantay was the one for me! The final option (one I like to call the Ámerican Tourist´version, is to take a train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, and then a 30 min bus trip up to the base of the Macchu Pichu city.
So early on Friday the 21st September, I both turned the rather mature age of 27 years and started the trip that I had been dreaming about for over 15 years...
So the 9 of us met at the chilly hour of 5.30am in the main square to take a 2 hour bus trip to the town of Mollepata for breakfast before driving on to our departure point of Cruzpata at 3200 mts. I had opted to go with a company called SAS travel, and was more and more so glad of this decision. A very professional company that goes to every extreme to ensure that we were comfortable and well looked after, and very well fed! We had a fleet of 8 mules and horses and about 4 porters and 2 cooks that met us at Cruzpata. A little more expensive then some of the other local adventure companies, but trusyt me, after 10 hours of trekking, they are worth every cent spent when they meet you with a hot cup of coca, all your tents set up and mattresses and sleeping bags ready to be crawled into!
The first day was spent acclimitising to the altitude and remembering to breathe whilst walking vertically up a mountain!
The day was beautiful and clear and we had magniicent views of Salkantay mountain.
After about 4 hours of walking (a warm up only!), and after the same number of hours chattin and getting to know eachother, we arrived at our first campsite in Sorapampa at 3850 mts. High enough to really feel the cold wind that comes rushing down the valley from the snow-capped Salkantay mountain.
Getting to know the group, I immediately clicked with a couple from Manchester- Fiona and Phil- both around my age and travelling for a year. We continued to have a good number of laughs throughout the 5 days. In fact, the entire group really got along well, which was evident as we all met up after the trek for dinners, lunches and coffees in Cuzco for a few days after the trek!
Lunch and dinner were 3-course affairs at every meal time (and boy you are so hungry you eat them every time!), which included a soup, hot dinner of THREE different types of carbs (rice, sweet potatoes, pasta etc), meat dish, vegetables and then different types of teas, coffee, milo and ofcourse coca leaves! They really push the hot drinks on you as apparently drinking cold water in the high altitude is really not good for your stomach (digestive system slows doiwn in the cold and altitude and the cold water can cause further problems). By the first evening, the Dutch lady got hit by the altitude and she was the first one down with stomach problems and headaches. But the rest of us finished off the food in no time. I was constantly amazed at the qaulity and quantity of food that the chef produced on 2 tiny gas rings and a couple of pots... One porter was assigned to carry about 50-0dd eggs that were strapped to his back and every time he came jogging past us in the morning (after the porters had taken down our tents and tidied up after our breakfast) we´d all shout out to Be Careful with the Huevos!!
That night in my little tent, I listened to the rumble of avalanches as I lay curled up in ALL of my fleeces, my wolly hat, gloves, sleeping bag and thick horse blanket! Trust me, when you´re that wrapped up and that cold, the toilet can wait!!
Talking about toilets, for the 4 days we were in the mountains, the bathroom consisted of behind a bush (if there was one!) whilst we were trekking and then at night the porters would dig a small hole and put a tent around it! At 8pm on your way to bed, in the pitch blackness, one could never be certain if you were aiming at the hole or splashing your boots and bottom of your trousers (man, I really wanted to burn all my clothes after those 5-days they were that dirty!!).
Saturday 22nd September (Chicken is 27 and one day):
After a very restless sleep, we were all awoken ar 4.30am by general camp noises by the porters and by the many roosters that seemed to be everywhere we went! At 5.30am, we got a knock on our respective tents by the porters with a steaming cup of coffee or tea. Next we had a civilised breakfast of porridge, pancakes and omelettes, got given our packed snacks by our porters and we left camp for the 2nd and biggest day of the trek- the climb to the top of Salkantay pass! The Duth girl had been sick all night however she put on a brave face and followed us slowly up to the top. Luckily our group had 2 guides, so one went ahead with the rest of us and the other carried the oxygen pack and stayed close to the Dutch couple.
After 4 hours of vertical hiking, the group made it to the top. About 30 mins later the Dutch arrived. We waited till we were all together and then snapped some group pics, built a Waypaca (mound of stones) for the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and got off that mountain as quick as possible! It was absolutely freezing on the top and unfortunately the weather had changed over night so we climbed mostly in the clouds and even got a bit of snow at the top!
After another 2 hours of descent, we finally sat down to lunch, followed by 3 more hours of decent to our next campsite in the beauiful valley of Rayan Niyoc, a pleasnt 2900 mts.
Sunday 23rd September (27 plus 2):
Another 4.30am start thanks to some chickens and a really restless horse. Tea served in our tents, breakfast and then we set off to trek through the jungle/rain forest. OInce again, we only had sun for half a day and then the clouds set in and we donned our enormous ponchos and walked in the rain, through rivers (thank goodness for waterproof boots!) and into a little jungle village which we camped outside of. Unfortunately, I was unable to hide the fact that my otherwise comfy boots had , during all this descending, started to talk back to me, and they were not playing nice! My right baby toe had swollen and was one enormous blister whilst the right side of my foot was blistered and bruised as well. My great team took a group decision that the best thing they could do for me, was hold me down, sanitise a safety pin (ie use a flame) and burst the enormour blisters. Not exactly fun and meant that I hobbled around for the rest of the evening in my flip flops, my toes turning a shade of freezing blue! Dutch girl still sick, Aussie guy unable to eat and British girl twisted her knee. Oh, and for those of you who know my unfortunate injury terack record this year, my left torn calf muscle had basically given up the goat and I was limping on my right foot whilst leaning opn my trusty Inca stick (oh, I have yet to mention my closest companion on this tek- my wooden carved Inca walking stick. I had resisted in investing in these ancy walking poles that the others had brought, but before we even ot halfway into day one, I had brought myself a walkng stick- man they are the bomb!!).
That evening we had a huge storm and we huddled in our tents, desperately hoping our rain soaked clothes might dry before the mornign (ofcourse not silly!). So next day all one could do was put on the same muddy and wet clothes for an 8 hour trek to the Hydro Plant, where we would join up with civilisation again.
Monday 24th September (27 plus 3):
Yep, 4.22am wake up call. Thanks roosters. Unfortunately Yoga girl with the twisted knee was man down and SAS organised a vehicle to take her direct to the Hydro plant. The rest of us had a 5 hour climb up to 3000m, over Llactaplata and then down to the Hydro plant at 1870 mts.
Squeeing my right foot into my boot and attempting not to scream in agony, I wasn´t exactly looking forward to the day...however, it turned out to be the one of the higlights of the tour. The climb up the valley and over Llactaplata afforded us some absolutely breathtaking views of the valley and then once we got over the top, we got our first view of Macchu Picchu in the distance, surrounded by towering cliff faces and rolling green hills that seem to pierce the sky.
It was breath taking and made the pain of a 3 hour descent bearable.
That night we spent at the bottom of the Macchu Picchu mountain in a tiny charismatic town called Aguas Calientes. After 4 cold, muddy, hot, sweaty, rainy days of trekkng, we each got to have a hot shower and sleep in a real bed! Although, this did not mean we could sleep in, nope, we got a 4.30am wake up call to ensure we were on the 5,30am bus up the mountain to see Macchu Picchu at sunrise!
Tuesday 25th September: Mom Chicken turns an undisclosed age and Macchu Picchu is discovered by the Caribbean Chicken!
A day that will be etched into my memory forever. After waiting for so long to explore the Inca city, I thought I might be a little disappointed.
Not in the slightest! We spent from 6am until 3pm exploring the city, climbing Waynu Picchu (the sharp cliff/mountain behind the city), trekking to the Inca Bridge (the gateweay carved out of the sheer cliff face that was the entrance to the city- no wonder the Spanish could never find it!) and wandering around the preserved temples and living quarters of the Incas.
We then all decided to skip the bus home and walked the 2 hour walk back to Aguas Calentes (just because we hadnt walked enough!), joined up with our SAS guides and about 100 other tourists and took the night train back to Cuzco, arriving back, tired, muddy but supremely happy!
After a quick shower, the group met up in the lively Irish bat- Paddys to basically relive the 5 days, shun the rest of the bar who had not lived through this experience, reminisce about blisters, broken knees, upset stomachs and overcoming the odds! Wow, we were so totally a Hunters Gold advert right then and there!!
Caribbean Chicken´s Backpacker Tip: Just Do It.
(ps- sorry for typos, rushing!)
to
Tuesday 25th September: 5 days of Trekking the Andes
Well, I am not sure where to begin and how to pack the 5 days worth of experiences into one blog entry. Unfortunately, it really is one of those cases that unless you experience this trip for yourself, you cannot quite comprehend what an utterly humbling experience it is...
Let me start by saying that I have always been in awe of mountains. I think they are majestic creatures that are beautiful but immensely powerful and cannot be underestimated... I like to ski on them, snowboard (well i try!) down them, hike up and down them and generally appreciate them a lot. So, when i was about 12 years old and I first came across the story of the Incas who built an undiscovered city high up in the mountains to escape the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century, a place so far from civilisation that it lay undiscovered until 1917 (!!!!!), i just knew that I had to visit this place, this city they called Machu Picchu.
There are several ways one can ´discover´Macchu Picchu for oneself. One way is via the route the Incas themselves walked all those years ago, called not surprisingly, The Inca Trek. But, like most popular activities, one has to book up to 8 months in advance to get a reservation on this trek. So 2 other routes to the ancient city (both of which spend some time on the inca trail itself) have been construsted to keep the tourists happy; the generally casual 4-day hike called the Lares Trek which traverses the hills and winds its way through beautiful valleys and past traditional villages, and the Salkantay Trek, a 5-day marathon trek up through the Salkantay pass of 4900m and then 4 more days of hiking to get to the little town of Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Ofcourse, being a thoroughly adventurous chicken, I knew that Salkantay was the one for me! The final option (one I like to call the Ámerican Tourist´version, is to take a train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, and then a 30 min bus trip up to the base of the Macchu Pichu city.
So early on Friday the 21st September, I both turned the rather mature age of 27 years and started the trip that I had been dreaming about for over 15 years...
So the 9 of us met at the chilly hour of 5.30am in the main square to take a 2 hour bus trip to the town of Mollepata for breakfast before driving on to our departure point of Cruzpata at 3200 mts. I had opted to go with a company called SAS travel, and was more and more so glad of this decision. A very professional company that goes to every extreme to ensure that we were comfortable and well looked after, and very well fed! We had a fleet of 8 mules and horses and about 4 porters and 2 cooks that met us at Cruzpata. A little more expensive then some of the other local adventure companies, but trusyt me, after 10 hours of trekking, they are worth every cent spent when they meet you with a hot cup of coca, all your tents set up and mattresses and sleeping bags ready to be crawled into!
The first day was spent acclimitising to the altitude and remembering to breathe whilst walking vertically up a mountain!
The day was beautiful and clear and we had magniicent views of Salkantay mountain.
After about 4 hours of walking (a warm up only!), and after the same number of hours chattin and getting to know eachother, we arrived at our first campsite in Sorapampa at 3850 mts. High enough to really feel the cold wind that comes rushing down the valley from the snow-capped Salkantay mountain.
Getting to know the group, I immediately clicked with a couple from Manchester- Fiona and Phil- both around my age and travelling for a year. We continued to have a good number of laughs throughout the 5 days. In fact, the entire group really got along well, which was evident as we all met up after the trek for dinners, lunches and coffees in Cuzco for a few days after the trek!
Lunch and dinner were 3-course affairs at every meal time (and boy you are so hungry you eat them every time!), which included a soup, hot dinner of THREE different types of carbs (rice, sweet potatoes, pasta etc), meat dish, vegetables and then different types of teas, coffee, milo and ofcourse coca leaves! They really push the hot drinks on you as apparently drinking cold water in the high altitude is really not good for your stomach (digestive system slows doiwn in the cold and altitude and the cold water can cause further problems). By the first evening, the Dutch lady got hit by the altitude and she was the first one down with stomach problems and headaches. But the rest of us finished off the food in no time. I was constantly amazed at the qaulity and quantity of food that the chef produced on 2 tiny gas rings and a couple of pots... One porter was assigned to carry about 50-0dd eggs that were strapped to his back and every time he came jogging past us in the morning (after the porters had taken down our tents and tidied up after our breakfast) we´d all shout out to Be Careful with the Huevos!!
That night in my little tent, I listened to the rumble of avalanches as I lay curled up in ALL of my fleeces, my wolly hat, gloves, sleeping bag and thick horse blanket! Trust me, when you´re that wrapped up and that cold, the toilet can wait!!
Talking about toilets, for the 4 days we were in the mountains, the bathroom consisted of behind a bush (if there was one!) whilst we were trekking and then at night the porters would dig a small hole and put a tent around it! At 8pm on your way to bed, in the pitch blackness, one could never be certain if you were aiming at the hole or splashing your boots and bottom of your trousers (man, I really wanted to burn all my clothes after those 5-days they were that dirty!!).
Saturday 22nd September (Chicken is 27 and one day):
After a very restless sleep, we were all awoken ar 4.30am by general camp noises by the porters and by the many roosters that seemed to be everywhere we went! At 5.30am, we got a knock on our respective tents by the porters with a steaming cup of coffee or tea. Next we had a civilised breakfast of porridge, pancakes and omelettes, got given our packed snacks by our porters and we left camp for the 2nd and biggest day of the trek- the climb to the top of Salkantay pass! The Duth girl had been sick all night however she put on a brave face and followed us slowly up to the top. Luckily our group had 2 guides, so one went ahead with the rest of us and the other carried the oxygen pack and stayed close to the Dutch couple.
After 4 hours of vertical hiking, the group made it to the top. About 30 mins later the Dutch arrived. We waited till we were all together and then snapped some group pics, built a Waypaca (mound of stones) for the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and got off that mountain as quick as possible! It was absolutely freezing on the top and unfortunately the weather had changed over night so we climbed mostly in the clouds and even got a bit of snow at the top!
After another 2 hours of descent, we finally sat down to lunch, followed by 3 more hours of decent to our next campsite in the beauiful valley of Rayan Niyoc, a pleasnt 2900 mts.
Sunday 23rd September (27 plus 2):
Another 4.30am start thanks to some chickens and a really restless horse. Tea served in our tents, breakfast and then we set off to trek through the jungle/rain forest. OInce again, we only had sun for half a day and then the clouds set in and we donned our enormous ponchos and walked in the rain, through rivers (thank goodness for waterproof boots!) and into a little jungle village which we camped outside of. Unfortunately, I was unable to hide the fact that my otherwise comfy boots had , during all this descending, started to talk back to me, and they were not playing nice! My right baby toe had swollen and was one enormous blister whilst the right side of my foot was blistered and bruised as well. My great team took a group decision that the best thing they could do for me, was hold me down, sanitise a safety pin (ie use a flame) and burst the enormour blisters. Not exactly fun and meant that I hobbled around for the rest of the evening in my flip flops, my toes turning a shade of freezing blue! Dutch girl still sick, Aussie guy unable to eat and British girl twisted her knee. Oh, and for those of you who know my unfortunate injury terack record this year, my left torn calf muscle had basically given up the goat and I was limping on my right foot whilst leaning opn my trusty Inca stick (oh, I have yet to mention my closest companion on this tek- my wooden carved Inca walking stick. I had resisted in investing in these ancy walking poles that the others had brought, but before we even ot halfway into day one, I had brought myself a walkng stick- man they are the bomb!!).
That evening we had a huge storm and we huddled in our tents, desperately hoping our rain soaked clothes might dry before the mornign (ofcourse not silly!). So next day all one could do was put on the same muddy and wet clothes for an 8 hour trek to the Hydro Plant, where we would join up with civilisation again.
Monday 24th September (27 plus 3):
Yep, 4.22am wake up call. Thanks roosters. Unfortunately Yoga girl with the twisted knee was man down and SAS organised a vehicle to take her direct to the Hydro plant. The rest of us had a 5 hour climb up to 3000m, over Llactaplata and then down to the Hydro plant at 1870 mts.
Squeeing my right foot into my boot and attempting not to scream in agony, I wasn´t exactly looking forward to the day...however, it turned out to be the one of the higlights of the tour. The climb up the valley and over Llactaplata afforded us some absolutely breathtaking views of the valley and then once we got over the top, we got our first view of Macchu Picchu in the distance, surrounded by towering cliff faces and rolling green hills that seem to pierce the sky.
It was breath taking and made the pain of a 3 hour descent bearable.
That night we spent at the bottom of the Macchu Picchu mountain in a tiny charismatic town called Aguas Calientes. After 4 cold, muddy, hot, sweaty, rainy days of trekkng, we each got to have a hot shower and sleep in a real bed! Although, this did not mean we could sleep in, nope, we got a 4.30am wake up call to ensure we were on the 5,30am bus up the mountain to see Macchu Picchu at sunrise!
Tuesday 25th September: Mom Chicken turns an undisclosed age and Macchu Picchu is discovered by the Caribbean Chicken!
A day that will be etched into my memory forever. After waiting for so long to explore the Inca city, I thought I might be a little disappointed.
Not in the slightest! We spent from 6am until 3pm exploring the city, climbing Waynu Picchu (the sharp cliff/mountain behind the city), trekking to the Inca Bridge (the gateweay carved out of the sheer cliff face that was the entrance to the city- no wonder the Spanish could never find it!) and wandering around the preserved temples and living quarters of the Incas.
We then all decided to skip the bus home and walked the 2 hour walk back to Aguas Calentes (just because we hadnt walked enough!), joined up with our SAS guides and about 100 other tourists and took the night train back to Cuzco, arriving back, tired, muddy but supremely happy!
After a quick shower, the group met up in the lively Irish bat- Paddys to basically relive the 5 days, shun the rest of the bar who had not lived through this experience, reminisce about blisters, broken knees, upset stomachs and overcoming the odds! Wow, we were so totally a Hunters Gold advert right then and there!!
Caribbean Chicken´s Backpacker Tip: Just Do It.
(ps- sorry for typos, rushing!)
