Inca Trail and more

So with my last mail (from extrememly long ago now) I left you on the cliff hanger that I was just about to begin my Inca trail...so how did it go?

So the Inca Trail, pretty much up there with the rainforest and The Galapagos as the reason that people come to South America. Had additional significance for me as I got to see the passing of my 30th birthday from Manchu Picchu itself which made it all the more awesome!

So day one didn´t start well, woke up with cronic stomach problems...great, just what you want when you are walking at altitude for 4 days!! Met my co walkers, an aussie couple called Scott and Lisa, a cool German guy called Hendrick and an Irish chap called Declan. Seem like a cool bunch and its nice to have a small group to be getting on with. Drive though beautiful countryside to Ollyantambo and pick up a comedy Llama hat and gloves combo...wont be winning any fashion awards but hey it will keep me warm! Along with that purchase a carved walking stick as apparently it takes 30 percent of the stress off your knees, and god knows my knees need all the help they can get!

From there we headed to the start of the trail. An adventure in itself as the river had washed the road away...luckily our bus was small enough to get over the indiana jones style bridge and drive through the (loosely termed) road on the other side. Nearly got stuck in a river, charged by a bull and got bogged down in mud, but at least it saved another 6km walk to the start.

Day one isn´t so difficult, just a pleasant walk along a valley by the river until we reach the campsite where the other guys in the group decide to play football...at altitude, which really isn´t a good idea! Dinner is amazing given the single gas ring that our cook prepares it over then its off to bed in preparation for the big day ahead!

Day two is to put it frankly a bastard. We start early and walk to a little known Inca Ruin a few KM´s away from the camp, very beautiful in the early mist, the walk there is also beautiful as its by a bamboo lined river. After the return to camp and breakfast our walk begins. The altitude gets you a treat and you struggle every step of the way to Dead Womans Pass which at over 4000m is nothing to be sniffed at. Light rain actually helps, wouldn´t like to do the walk in blinding sun. Reach the top after a herculean effort and find that the pass has been protecting us from the truly abysmal weather on the other side. Its a howling gale blowing ice cold rain horizontally into my aleady weak body. This continues as I walk down the 3 hours of steep steps on the other side of the pass, accompanied all the way by the constant worry that my now soaking wet Merrell shoes are going to kill me as despite all claims they don´t grip for shit once they are slightly wet...again am thankful to my 8 Soles walking stick, my new best friend!

So anyway my pretty feeble (and free) poncho really does nothing and by the time I reach the bottom am soaked from head to foot down to my underwear. The rain has also turned the campsite into a bog of epic proportions so I tramp my way very feebly to my tent crawl in and get in my sleeping bag for warmth...which fails to come. Feel so ill at dinner I can´t eat, managed to force down some chicken and hot chocolate that revives me enough to crawl back into bed...why do they make the tents so small? I can´t even stretch out so have to sleep on my side in the foetal position, not good on the only bit of rocky ground on the entire campsite!

Day three sees me feeling better, the fact the sun is out really helps to lift my spirits and clothes dry out. Quite a gentle walk today any my favorite day so far, the landscape changes from very highland feeling mountains to deep jungle and we get some epic views when the sun comes out, even get to see a rainbow over Aguas Calientes whcih really makes my day. Reach the campsite and a few beers are called for..with he necessary tribute to Pacha Mama of course! So after cheering on all the other groups we finally decide to head down to our campsite...and find no one there!

Turns out a landeslide had knocked out the path to the sun gate so everyone had taken the option to walk down to Aguas Calientes and head up from there in the morning. However given our slight delay we only have 30 minutes of daylight left and a 3 hour walk ahead of us, choices, choices...

Decide to walk down in the dark along a very narrow rocky path, railway tracks and other horrors, the first of which is to be confronted by a guard with the biggest shotgun ever, who happens to think we are trespassing! Make the walk in just under two hours with my 10kg backpack in tow and am absolutely knackered! We camp on the floor of a pizza restaurant and have a few quick celebrations for my birthday. Cake, beer and happy birthday sung in 4 different languages (English, Spanish, Quetua and German), oh and comedy party hats, mine is a disney princesses hat, I feel so special!

Well our walk of horrors turns out to be a good choice in the end as it continued raining all night and a landslide took out some of the campsite we would have been staying at! Up bright and early for the first bus, yes at this point I feel I have earned the bu ride rather than walking the rest of the way up! Come on give me a break, its my birthday remember!

Looking good as we head up to Manchu Picchu, the cloud has cleared and the sky is blue above us, only 20 minutes to go until the sun comes over the mountains and the ruins are bathed in a glorious golden light...well thats what happened in my head! What really happened was clear blue skys then with 10 minutes to go a huge bank of cloud rolled up the valley and obscured everything and it began to rain, happy birthday to me! Make the most of the experience and walk around looking at exciting walls and lots and lots of terracing. Gradually the cloud clears and we get a full breathtaking view of the whole of the Inca Ruins, you can feel the magic coursing through the landscape, then the tourists arrive.

Now I know Im a tourist too but after the 4 day walk you really feel you deserve to be there and have an uncontrolled distain for all the lazy people who just got the train up, they dont deserve to be here all having the same pictures taken...guess I must just be over tired! Find a quiet corner of the ruins, hard to do now and sit and admire the view over the valley and contemplate the first 30 years of my life, its not a bad way to spend your birthday!

Back down to Aguas and a very restful day, have super cheap chicken from a restaurant without a menu, there is far more choice of drinks, its Cola, Cola or Cola...I choose cola, then its off to bed to recover from my 4 day and 30 year ordeal!!

Oh and I would love to have added some pictures of my experiences on the trail, but my camera was broken and I had to take a disposable. The pictures are on CD but blogger doesn´t like them for some reason, taste perhaps? Anyone who really wants to see me in a 3 princesses party hat or looking way more than half dead let me know and I will send you some pics!