An end to sedentary life, Machu Picchu trek day 1
Gina. Cusco, Peru.
We survived! I´m tired and in a good deal of pain, but I made it, and I plan to do very little physical activity for the next few days at least! I think it´ll be easiest to write about the trip if I break it down by each day. Here´s what I wrote in my journal after the first day:
We survived the first day! The fact that it´s the easiest day isn´t phasing me, though. We passed the train to Agua Caliente (the city closest to Machu Picchu–you can take a train to the city and then a bus to Machu Picchu, so you don´t have to walk at all) several times along the way today. I wanted to yell ¨Cheaters!¨at it every time. I´m feeling pretty exhausted. We woke up at 6:00 this morning in order to meet our group by 6:30. I slept okay last night, but this morning my belly hurt and it took a while for it to settle. I wanted to take a shower, but our hostel was out of hot water (and then out of water!). But I won´t be able to shower for the next 3 days, so who cares. We stopped in Ollytaytambo and had a pancake and some coca tea. We also each bought a walking stick and some coca leaves that you´re supposed to chew as you walk to help with the altitude and for energy.
We had to drive about anther half hour to km 82, the starting place for the trek. We waited there for about a half an hour before having lunch and then starting off. Lunch was pretty good–soup, rice, fries, and a circle of mystery meat that tasted salty like ham but was white like turkey. Then tea and a little snack bag for the road. I´ve noticed that in Peru if you order hot tea to drink you aren´t served it until after the meal. I don´t usually drink soda, and I don´t want to order water in restaurants because it´s so expensive, so I usually get tea, but then I have to wait until I´m done eating to get it. It´s strange eating without something to drink.
The hiking started out with a few uphill parts, one with some steps. I got pretty tired since I didn´t have much energy to start with, but we rested at the top of a hill and I chewed some coca leaves which did wonders for my energy level as well as made my mouth sort of numb. The other people in the group seem to be very fast walkers. I walk pretty fast on flat sections, but I like to take hills slowly so I don´t get too out of breath. But everyone else seems to be more of the charge up the hill and catch your breath later types. I´m worried about keeping up this pace tomorrow since it´s the hardest day–climbing over a mountain.
The people in our group seem pretty nice. There are fifteen of us in all. Two guides–Bonett is our main guide and speaks both Spanish and English. And Rossi speaks only Spanish and usually brings up the back. There is a family of 3 Americans–Dad, son and daughter. They´re also Venezualian, so they speak Spanish, too. There´s a French couple who are traveling with a Peruvian couple–they all speak Spanish and a little English, a Dutch couple who speak English but no Spanish, and an older Argentinian couple. We have bonded with the Dutch couple over our lack of Spanish. So far meals are a little lonely since the conversation is almost exclusively in Spanish. The guide tries to translate what is being said for us from time to time, but it´s a little sad watching everyone else talk and laugh and get to know one another and not be able to participate. It´s also almost impossible to have a side conversation in English since the dinner table is very small and crowded.
The plan for tomorrow is to wake up at 5:30, eat breakfast at 6:00, and leave camp by 6:30. We´re going to walk to the checkpoint as a group and then we´re all on our own. It´s straight up a mountain from there on a stone path that´s going to be mostly steps. I´m glad that I can go at my own pace tomorrow, but I´m worried about sleeping tonight and how my stomach is going to feel tomorrow. I´m also worried about food since we don´t get lunch until we make it to camp on the other side of the mountain. They say that it´ll take until 1 or 2 tomorrow afternoon to get there depending on how fast you go. From 6:00 to 2:00 is a long time for me to go without sustenance, especially when I´m hiking. Hopefully we´ll get a bigger snack bag tomorrow. We have cookies and candy bars in my bag, too. At least tomorrow will be over early, so I can have some time to nap and relax.
I´m not sure what dinner will be tonight, but there´s a house full of guinea pigs near the dinner tent…
Map of the Inka Trail we took:
(Click to enlarge)
We took the Red path along the bottom, starting on the right hand side and going left to Machu Picchu.
Tags: Liz´s Explorers, Machu Picchu trek, Peru
montarsig
Leave a Reply