Our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and we got on a bus in Cusco. The bus picked up several other people and we were on our way to Km82 (where the trail starts.) Before last years' mudslides there was a train that took you from Ollantaytambo to Km82 and onward to Machu Picchu, however, the track is no longer complete so a bus now takes you from Ollantaytambo to Km82. 
We stopped in Ollantytambo to buy water and waking sticks for the trek.
We stopped in Ollantytambo to buy water and waking sticks for the trek.Along the way we picked up our porters, 9 total. These men would be the amazing pack mules that would carry our tents, sleeping bags, cooking supplies and personal effects all the way through the trail at lightning speeds. Each morning they overload their backs and take off along the trail. If at any point in time when you are walking and you hear someone call "Porter!!" you move yourself to the side of the trail closest to the mountain as fast as you can, because they are coming and coming fast!
So our whole crew off loaded the bus at Km82. 9 Porters, 2 guides, 1 cook, 2 Asians, 5 Argentinians and 3 Americans all set off at Km82 for the next 4 days of our journey. 
Within the first 5 minutes, I thought my lung was going to fall out! coughing and sneezing and hacking... not a good sign of what was to come!!! After taking a minute to reassess, we realized that it was not my fault... and it was not my pure "out of shape-ness" that was kicking my ass, it was the hay and grass! I took a Claritin and was on my merry way!
Within the first 5 minutes, I thought my lung was going to fall out! coughing and sneezing and hacking... not a good sign of what was to come!!! After taking a minute to reassess, we realized that it was not my fault... and it was not my pure "out of shape-ness" that was kicking my ass, it was the hay and grass! I took a Claritin and was on my merry way!We stopped at what I'm told was about 2350m elevation (much different from my ZERO m elevation i live at) and introduced ourselves to our new Inca Family. We learned everyone's names and luckily all but one of our new friends spoke very clear English, so our high school Spanish class abilities of ordering drinks and asking for the bathroom, would not need to be tested too far.
As we went, we stopped to look at some ruins and throughout the way we cou
ld always see the Andes. The tallest one being Veronica Mountain, seen in the background here: A few hours into it, we stopped to have lunch. 
After lunch there was a lot of up hill walking and then some more ruins. 
And some amazing views along the way!
And walked along the Cusichaka River. 
And as we got closer to camp and night started to fall, we put on our bug spray and layered up. It got really cold in the shade and at night. As we got further into the woods we started seeing signs warning us to beware of Paddington! (Spectacle Bears) 
Before I left for this trip, my niece, Mattie, had read a book about Paddington Bear and his journeys in "Deepest, Darkest Peru". Mattie warned me to be on the look-out for Paddington and if I see him to look for the marmalade sandwich under his hat! We did eat marmalade sandwiches for breakfast each day on some very yummy bread but, I must be honest, I was very glad to never actually see Paddington. It was fun to be reminded of Mattie every time I saw the signs warning about him though. Around 6 pm we finally got to our camp for the night at 3700m elevation. The magical Porters had gotten then who knows how much sooner than we did and set up all of the tents and supplies already. They already started cooking dinner and had our "Happy Hour" set up for us. Happy Hour consisted of tea and popcorn and most nights, cookies! It was a fun treat to greet us at each camp. 
ld always see the Andes. The tallest one being Veronica Mountain, seen in the background here: A few hours into it, we stopped to have lunch. 
After lunch there was a lot of up hill walking and then some more ruins. 
And some amazing views along the way!
And walked along the Cusichaka River. 
And as we got closer to camp and night started to fall, we put on our bug spray and layered up. It got really cold in the shade and at night. As we got further into the woods we started seeing signs warning us to beware of Paddington! (Spectacle Bears) 
Before I left for this trip, my niece, Mattie, had read a book about Paddington Bear and his journeys in "Deepest, Darkest Peru". Mattie warned me to be on the look-out for Paddington and if I see him to look for the marmalade sandwich under his hat! We did eat marmalade sandwiches for breakfast each day on some very yummy bread but, I must be honest, I was very glad to never actually see Paddington. It was fun to be reminded of Mattie every time I saw the signs warning about him though. Around 6 pm we finally got to our camp for the night at 3700m elevation. The magical Porters had gotten then who knows how much sooner than we did and set up all of the tents and supplies already. They already started cooking dinner and had our "Happy Hour" set up for us. Happy Hour consisted of tea and popcorn and most nights, cookies! It was a fun treat to greet us at each camp. 
We camped that night in the area called Llulluchapampa. We had a nice little table set up for our meals and all of our sleeping tens around. As we were getting ready to meet up for dinner, Melissa discovered a rather large spider, that she described to our guides as being "VERY VERY GRANDE." They looked at the spider and instantly told us all to put our shoes INSIDE OUT TENTS and to stay away from the Taranchula!!!! Sorry I do not have any pictures of it... we were a little too freaked out by it to get the cameras out. The Porters and guides then followed the spider a bit away from camp and then proceeded to beat it with a shoe. It was quite an event. The camp itself had great views of the mountains that we would be climbing the next day. All throughout the first day the guides and books continued to psych us up for DAY TWO... day two was the steepest and hardest we would have. Many people told me we would be hiking the elevation equivalent of sea level to Denver in a day.... and so as we went to sleep on night one... I'm sure we all had worries and dread about what was coming in the day ahead. 
2 comments:
Awesome day one blog entry! Can't wait to see Day 2!!
I'm ready for day too as well! I want to hear about the steep parts. :-)
Post a Comment