Hi gang, still on a high, literally, as just was in Machu Picchu this morning for sunrise... the past few days have been great.
Cusco is a lovely place with lots of history and culture and markets... the altitude was my greatest worry as in Quito i did not do too well, but drinking lots of coca tea must have done the trick. After 2 days exploring Cusco and eating alpaca steak and yes, I know, guinea pig... we left to start our trek at km82. The weather has been great and we walked for the afternoon at an easy pace, and i got to our campsite first. We had 4 italian middle aged people join our group and they were really good walkers... but i soon earned their respect and at first they called me Speedy Gonzales and later Queen of the Mountain. Porters carrying our 6kg luggage, tents, equipment, food etc all overtook us as they virtually ran up and down the paths as sure footed as a mountain goat... it was awesome to watch them speed past with huge packs on their backs sweating and panting to beat us to our campsite to set up when we arrived. We had a round of applause and a drink handed to us on arrival and our tents were set up, a dining tent for arvo tea and boiled water to drink. The loos everywhere were pretty rank to say the least and they were the only low points to the campsites which were used by many groups.
The second day was our hardest. We trekked to the height of 4200m and it was gruelling going up step after step. That day i overtook 2 other groups and even tho i stopped and got my breath every 10 steps or so as the air was so thin, I still got there first in our group with the italians 20 mins behind and the others following within the next hour or so. It was foggy and freezing up top and then we began our descent and that was also hard and steep. I had a headache by then so stopped trying to race the others which was not my intent, just wanted to prove to myself I could do it.
We finally arrived at our campsite and after arvo tea of popcorn and crackers and jam, we made our beds and played cards and then heard the heavens open... we were warm and dry and sat til dinner ended and the rain stopped. We always had soup, main and some small dessert. that night it was so cold in the tent i had to put on socks and a jacket and still could not sleep... was tired the next day.
We had a 5am wake up to start the next leg, long but not so challenging. That day was the prettiest as we hike up to another pass at nearly 4000m and watched the landscape change from rocky mountains to beautiful rainforest... i sped along taking pics of all the wildflowers and then lost everyone completely as i overtook 2 other groups again and ended up tagging along with an Intrepid group not sure where I was headed. I kept going and then finally came to our lunchspot at least 25 mins before the next people arrived. The guides said all they could see was a trail of dust as I disappeard into the distance and they had trouble keeping up, so i got briefed and let go to walk at my own pace. That night we were lower down and it was warmer in the tents.
The following day we had some more hills to climb with some Inka ruins along the way. We finally arrived at the last campsite with a lot of other trekkers at the base of the famed site we were to set eyes upon the following day. There was a shop and showers so drinks and cleaniness were top of the agenda. The cooks baked us a special cake on our last nite and that was lovely.
We hit the sack early as we had a 3.45am start to get packed and out of our tents and to line up to start the final leg of our journey. I could not sleep at all. We were off at precisely 5.30am when they opened the gates and i and 3 other Norwegian and one aussie girls overtook the Italians and virtually ran to get there first... a few people overtook us but we kept up the pace and the one hour journey took us 40 mins up the final flight of steep stairs to the Sungate where we were to get our first glimpse of the famed lost city in the clouds. it was thick with fog and we wondered when it would lift, but it was beautiful all the same with low cloud hanging over the mountains. Gradually it lifted and we held our breath and went a bit snap happy as the city came into view.
We made our way down and our guide gave us a history lesson and let us loose to explore. By now my legs were starting to ache so every step up was agony after the past 4 days, also it became quite sunny and hot so i got a headache again. It was so large and built to withstand earthquakes, had such good aquaducts still working and good defence systems and was just as amazing as I imagined... it was worth all the pain to get there. Now we are in Ollytantambo and seeing more inca ruins today and tomorrow before heading back to Cusco to wash all our smelly clothes and have a well earned rest.
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