For short people, they certainly built big steps. 4 days, 45kms, 5 hours straight climbing and 10lbs combined weight loss later, we have returned absolutely shattered but totally in love with Peru. That was definitely the hardest 4 days of our lives, both mentally and physically, but we got there and have bought the t-shirt (seriously, they sell 'I survived the Inca trail' t-shirts in Cusco!).
We knew it would be tough but perhaps Beth's 2 stone weight gain and total lack of exercise after the wedding was not conducive to making the trek an easy one! Steve's weekly squash sessions certainly paid off though as he came in first most days of the trek.
Day one at the time seemed tough but we now realise it was the easiest day! Collected at 5.30am, we travelled to km82 where we started the Inca Trail accompanied by another 11 people.
Porters carried our 5kgs of luggage and the camping equipment (23 for a group of 16 people). Carrying a maximum total of 25kgs each, the luggage was bigger than them. We thought they were just showing off when they started to run along the trek including up the hills but soon realised that they actually run all the way each day to set up camp before we got there. They have a porters championship each year when they run the 42km of the Inca trail. 3hrs 40mins is the record and that includes the 5 hours of straight climbing on day 2. It takes the 500 visitors a day, 4 days to get through it!
The scenery was so beautiful and the first Inca ruins we came across, built in the shape of the humming bird, made the 10km walked that day worth it.
In the evening, as we enjoyed amazingly good food, we got to know the other 11 people in the group : 5 Irish people, so funny they had us in fits for most of the trek (Marion, Liz, Ann, Pauline and Diurmurd), 4 Americans (Katie, Sarah, Kris and Doug, who at 60, managed to out walk all of us!) and 2 Brazilians (Luis and Fernando) who in typical Brazilian style, did not stop laughing for the whole trek. We all slept well in our tents that night, unused to such an early start and walking 10kms in 7 hours!
Day 2 was incredibly hard. 7km of which 5km is 5 hours of solid climbing. If we thought the altitude sickness was bad in Cusco at only 3500m, it was nothing compared to climbing at 4200m above sea level in the blazing heat and up really steep mountains to somewhere called 'Dead Woman's Pass'. Apparently this is named after the rock formations which resemble a dead woman.
At some stages, Beth suspected she may actually give the name real meaning. Although she didn't need oxygen like some of the casualties lining the trail, she did have to inhale 70% alcohol frequently to stop from loosing consciousness. The first time she has inhaled alcohol and not necked it anyway. Marion kept Beth motivated on the last stretch and if it hadn't been for her would probably not have got through it. If you're reading this Marion, thanks a million! The views kept us going and surrounded by the beauty of the snow capped Andes, we were reminded of the poem Beth's Mum gave us on leaving for our travels "What is life if full of care, you have no time to stop and stare". The last 2 hours were downhill which isn't necessarily challenging from a stamina point of view, but my god, it hurt the front of your legs. We all went a bit mad that night and after tea, each nationality proceeded to sing their national anthem - even the porters joined in and sang the Peruvian national anthem! I remind you that this is without alcohol. At -8 degrees C, we watched the freezing fog curl it's way into the valley until nightfall when the stars lit the valley and reflected off the waterfall next to camp.
Day 3 was tough to begin with after another 2 hours of climbing and then
as it flattened out, we totally fell in love with Peru. The trek circled the mountain and the sheer drop of 500 metres to the left of the path ensured we had a beautiful view of luscious jungle and rainbows in the valley. We saw the most amazing Inca ruins on route and the terraces on which they had farmed - incredible to think that where we were standing had been the home of Incas over 5 centuries ago. The last 2 hours downhill to the campsite was tough and Beth's big toenails finally succumbed and turned black as we trekked. The sense of achievement when we reached the campsite was intoxicating and despite the 4am start to Machu Picchu the following morning, we drank beer until 11pm at the campsite!
The morning of day 4 carried a sense of urgency as we got ready in record time at 4am to see the Sun Gate and the
lost city of Machu Picchu. 500 trekkers left the campsite and trekked the hour to the sun gate - where we were rewarded with our first glimpse of Machu Picchu and the valley which hid it for so long. We were moved to tears (OK, well it moved Beth to tears) - nothing had prepared us for the sheer enormity and beauty of the lost city. Walking down to Machu Picchu we waited for the sun to rise and shine through the Sun Gate to bathe Macchu Picchu with light but unfortunately it was a cloudy day. It didn't stop us spending the day marveling at Macchu Picchu city. The Inca's were deeply spiritual people and the architecture of the city is awe-inspiring. It was afternoon before we could tear ourselves away to catch the 4.5 hour train ride back to Cusco.
We were really sad to say goodbye to our new friends we made on the Inca Trail as we all had such a good time. If you are reading this, thanks for making the experience so wonderful!
For our friends and family at home, you have GOT to do the Inca trail as it is a totally unique experience. Our advice? Get fit before you go, stay in Cusco to acclimatise for at least 3 days before starting the trek, try and ignore the statistic that 2 people die a year doing the trail, book from Peru not the UK as we reckon we paid well over the odds and try weeing in a hole in the ground and not showering for 4 days to prepare yourself for the facilities (or lack of them) on route. We went with
Q'ente who were very good. The biggest advice we can give you is to just go!
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