Stacey’s 30th Birthday Extravaganza

Name: Peru Treks

Location: Cusco, Peru

Address: Calle Garcilaso 265, Office 11, 2nd Floor, Cusco, Peru (2 minute walk from Plaza de Armas)Telephone: 00 51 84 505863 (from overseas), 084 505863 (from in Peru), 505863 (from in Cusco)

E-mail:  info@perutreks.com

Website: http://www.perutreks.com/

Review:  When looking for a company with which to do the guided Inca Trail it becomes overwhelming very quickly.  Certainly the Machu Picchu Inca Trail has become much more expensive over the past few years but do you really want to scrimp on price?  After doing a bit of research I decided that while cost was, of course, important what was most important to me is the treatment of the many porters that do all of the hard work on the trail…and to that end, the company doing the best work for porters’ rights is Peru Treks.

True, Peru Treks isn’t the cheapest company in Cusco (nor is it the most expensive) but it’s reasonably priced (under US$400 in 2007 though the price appears to have gone up for 2008 largely due to the weakening dollar).  I slept better knowing that the Peru Treks porters were being paid the union contract wage of 164 soles per 4 day trip (about $50).  Yeah, I know.  That is practically nothing by Western Standards but as the information on the website states, including tips a porter going on just 4 trips a month is making nearly the same as a college educated teacher in Peru…and is working fewer days.  The worst thing is that it is estimated that only 20% of the companies operating on the Inca Trail pay the required wage.  Why don’t the porters complain?  Well, this is Peru and things don’t run the way we’re all used to.   Most of these uneducated porters are happy to have any job at all so tolerate the unfortunate conditions under which they work.

OK, speech over.  Aside from the importance of porter welfare in their operations, the trek itself was very good and well organized.  We had a full group of 16 persons (plus 22 porters/chef and 2 guides).  The tents and sleeping bags were of high quality and the food was excellent.  Anectdotally we heard that the food in other companies was terrible but we felt like were eating gourmet…it was truly amazing what the chef could prepare with just a single gas burner.

Our main guide was good and spoke excellent English.  Our second guide was less good and spoke almost no English.  Which is fine…except they advertise both guides as English speakers and the second definitely wasn’t.  In fact, we couldn’t quite figure out what his function was as he didn’t do much at all near as we could tell.  Aside from the second guide, the trip was great.  I can’t recommend Peru Treks enough for their Inca Trail service.  Pay a little extra for the good of humanity and have a great trip.  Oh, and hire an extra porter to carry your stuff…it will make the trip so much easier and more enjoyable.  Also, bring small change and coins in soles for the tips at the end…makes everyone’s life slightly easier in a process that could use some improvement. 

Would I book with them again: Yes, definitely

Ruins of Patallacta

Hola chicos and welcome back to the Extravaganza blog.  Sorry for the delay but since special-guest-star-Lindsay arrived it has been action-packed around here.  We’re back from both Machu Picchu and the jungle so watch for lots of new posts in the coming weeks.  Entonces…

Me at the start of the trek…clearly beauty is not a priority on this trip

Machu Picchu…perhaps the most famous of tourist attractions in South America…certainly the most famous in Peru.  As we learned in the last post, the area surrounding Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas was formerly part of the vast Incan empire way back in the 15th and 16th centuries before the arrival of the Spanish.  It was built around 1450 and abandoned about 100 years later after word came of the arrival of the Spanish throughout the rest of the empire.  Multiple theories abound as to the useage of this fortress though none have been proven thus far.  Lots more on this and the rest of the history at everyone’s favorite information site:  Wikipedia. 

Now the interesting, and most significant, thing about MP is that despite the fact that it is a mere 50 miles from Cusco it was never found nor destroyed by the Spanish as the rest of the Inca sites were.  In fact, MP remained unknown (read: unknown to white people) until 1911 when Hiram Bingham, a Yale University lecturer “discovered” it overgrown and high upon a hill in the Sacred Valley.  You might expect that the Peruvians would be none-to-thrilled that ‘ol Hiram exposed their treasure to the world.  On the contrary…capitalism is alive and well here in Peru and Hiram is just short of revered for bringing an enormous source of capital into an otherwise poor country.  Much more on the history and other goings-on in the Sacred Valley in the next post after our arrival at MP.

 

 

Ok, so there are several ways to get to Machu Picchu:

1. Take a train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo (see Peru 2 for details on this charming town) to Aguas Calientes which is the nearest town to MP.  Then take a bus up to the ruins with the rest of the masses.  Best for non-fit people, those with little time and those who enjoy crowds.
2. Spend the night in Aguas Calientes and take the first bus up to the ruins at 6 am before the crowds arrive.  Best for the non-fit, those with little time and those who do NOT enjoy crowds.
3. Take one of the several treks along the Inka Trail (the stone-paved road used by the Incas to travel between Inca sites).  These can vary in length from 2 days up to a week though the Classic Trail is 4 days/3 nights and is the most popular option.  We opted to do the Classic Trail which includes 3 days of hiking, 3 nights camping along the trail and on the 4th day…arrival in MP before the crowds.  Warning:  this trek is not for the unfit or faint of heart.

So Lindsay and I signed up for the Classic Trail along with 14 other tourists, 22 porters to carry all of our supplies (including the chef) and two guides.  The first day is billed as the “Easy Day” and one that is to train the trekkers for the following…much tougher…two days.  Day 1 wasn’t too bad and despite the fact that we were trekking in the beginning of the rainy season we only got a few sprinkles on that first day (though we heard 6 people in another group turned back after the first day).  In total, the entire length of the Inka trail is 44 kilometers (just over 27 miles) which includes a total elevation gain of 1,600 meters (5,250 feet) and 3 mountain passes.

First Pass…Dead Woman’s Pass

As I mentioned, we had 22 porters along who carried all of the our gear, tents, food, gas for the camp stove, dining tent, table and chairs.  Let me say from the outset…these guys are truly amazing.  The Inka Trek was hard enough for us who were just carrying a daypack with water, camera, jacket, etc….but these guys each carried up to a maximum legal amount of 20 kilos (45 pounds) though I suspect some of them were carrying more weight than that.  Not only were they carrying a lot more weight than we were…they were doing it in flimsy leather sandals and in many places were literally running along the trail.  Our guide insisted we call them chaskies (which means fleet-feeted runners in Quechua) rather than porters…either way they were truly amazing people.  I’ve included a picture here of the whole crew…our youngest porter was 20 and the oldest 63 and all are of Quechua (Incan) ancestry and live in the surrounding communities.

The Trekking Crew in Total

There are beautiful views and lots of ruins along the Inka Trail though unfortunately a lot of the pictures were not great as things were shrouded in fog.  The second day of the trail is considered the most difficult as it is straight up the mountain to the first pass known as Dead Woman’s Pass.  They were not kidding…it was a challenge though Lindsay and I were suprised to be among the most fit in the bunch despite the fact we were the 3rd and 4th oldest out of the 16 trekkers.  Day 2 was rough and as you can see from the pictures, rainy and cold.  On the other side of Dead Woman’s pass we descended about 600 meters to the second campsite at Runkurakay and some much needed sleep.

Second Mountain Pass at Qochapata

The morning of the third day was my favorite as we weren’t going up anymore and we were descending into the cloud forest terrain so things were becoming much more tropical.  By lunchtime the sun was shining…but we should have known better.  Soon after it started pouring.  And by pouring…I mean pouring.  By this time we were going down the mountain along stone stairs and there was a virtual river accompanying us on this journey.  It was only at the point that my socks became wet that I became miserable.  We eventually made it to the final campsite and were rewarded with a much needed cerveza.  The 4th and final day is yet to come…until then… 

Third Mountain Pass at Phuyupatamarka

Here are a few things learned on the Machu Picchu trek:

1. Sometimes going down is much more difficult than going up…1000 meters worth of steps is very, very hard on the knees.
2. A person can handle a little bit of rain and dampness…even enjoy it some as it keeps you cool…until your feet get wet.  Then all bets are off.
3. Rice is actually one of the 5 major food groups (though really, our food was amazing considering the conditions upon which it was prepared).

Ruins of Phuyupatamarca

Ruins of Runkurakay

Don’t we look warm?

Name: Hostal Rumi Punku Location: Cusco, Peru Address: Choquechaca Number 339; Cusco, Peru Phone: 00 5184 221102 E-mail: info@rumipunku.com Website: www.rumipunku.com Review: Rumi Punku is a very nice mid-priced hotel located very near both the Plaza de Armas and Plaza ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Sacred Valley of the Incas

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View of city of Cusco (with special guest star Lindsay) from Saqsaywaman

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