Hike away!! #pleasingperu #Inkatrail

First Morning of the hike:

It's 4:45am and we are heading out for the hike. To be honest...right now we are thinking, what were we thinking? We will return late Thursday night. We were hoping to be back in Cusco earlier to have a longer shower and nicer dinner, but at least we will have some time to relax in the Amazon!

Our guides from Peru Treks picked us up from the Hotel Marqueses about 5:15am and then we stopped to pick up the other trekkers.  Luckily, the van was half full when we got in, so there weren't that many more stops. It was a weird feeling that early in the morning picking others up, but not really chatting because everyone was still half asleep and you could tell a bit anxious about the trek.  After about a 2 hour van ride, where I quickly started feeling very car sick enough that I had to change seats to the front, we arrived in Ollyantambo for a quick breakfast.  Although I felt pretty terrible the views along the way excited me for the trek.  The most amazing was the view of one of the highest Andes mountain peaks called Veronica (19.334 ft).  It definitely almost moved me to tears thinking about what lay ahead! 

We arrived at the small village for lunch and Summer ordered what we thought may be more American pancakes...have to admit we were a bit disappointed and still hungry of course.  One thing you definitely learn traveling is that although the name of something on a menu may appear the same, it quite often comes out of the kitchen looking like something you did not expect.  That's why my "go to" is to always have whatever the local specials are..."when in rome, do as the romans." We all boarded the van to head to the trail head where we would have our "permits" and passports checked.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get past the teachers protesting on the road, so we ended up making a U turn to head up the other side of the river and bypass the protest.  We were surprised to have to get out of the van while it went on a passenger(less) journey across the bridge where vehicles were prohibited from passing.

Day One:

On day one, after breakfast we started the trek in the Vilcanota Valley.  After bypassing the protestors we started walking, crossing the "happy bridge" before winding along the RIO CUSICHACA.  It started out with a small uphill after crossing the bridge from the check point.  At the point I was thinking, wow this is no joke.  Then we leveled out and the trail meandered along the river and even widened out at certain parts.  Our guides Edy and Nilton stopped our group once we reached a grass clearing and gave us some logistics about the trek.  At this point, we also introduced ourselves in a circle, which seemed like a good time to do so.  It felt a little weird to have already been with the group of 16 in a van, for breakfast and part of the trek without even knowing names.  We were really starting to bond as a group!  After the short stop, we continued on and began to reach more challenging parts of the trail, including quite a hill that of course reached a great viewpoint.  We noticed that many of the porters stopped at different points to fill up on some special drink that was obviously made in large quantities. For lunch we stopped at a camp/village called Tarachayoc.  It was our first meal and I think our entire group was surprised with the level of decadence for trekking food.  As a first course we had single plates of chips and guacamole!  We felt right at home.

Once we arrived at our first night's camp, Wayllanbamba at 3,000m which in Quechua means grassy plain the porters all introduced themselves before we got settled and had our first dinner.  Each "chaski, meaning strong men" we learned to call them gave us their name, hometown and age and sometimes how many kids of their own they had at home. Our guide often translated from their native language Quechua, which was also used by the Incas. Many of the porters looked older because of the years of sun and mountain winds take their toll.  Our dinner started with a soup which became a common staple at each meal that was appreciated when it got pretty chilly.

Day Two of hike:

Day Two started pretty early, I think 5:30am and we were extra anxious hearing that Day two was the challenge day.  It began by climbing up from Wayllabamba for about 3 hours through steepening woods and increasingly spectacular terrain until you reach the tree line and a meadow known as Llulluchapampa (3,680m). 

Day Three of hike:

Day Four of hike:

A great blog I came across that has some great ideas!

Today we had the chance to wake up at 3:20am! Yes, we were still served breakfast in the tent with the "familia" as Edy, our Perutreks guide called us. This morning it was a pancake and of course coffee and coca tea!  We laughed when Edy would say anybody want some "teas," because it sounded more like teets. After a quick bite we got prepared for the last day, meaning refilling water bottles and our leaky camel backs from water boiled by the chaskis.  Today we had to pack our bags, but they helped with the sleeping bags and sleeping pads, which made getting organized a bit easier at 3am.   We started the 10 minute walk to the trail permit control which opened at 5:30am. Edy and Nilton were on it and wanted our group to be one of the first in line to start the road to the Sun Gate!  We waited at the control for a little over an hour and at least had our braiding train to keep us entertained! We were told one hill would be difficult and we would need to use all fours so they would hold our walking polls.  It was exhilarating hiking in the dark, but the precarious trail definitely made you feel a bit anxious. However it wasn't as nerve racking as when I hiked the Grand Canyon because we had a guide in front of us and our 16 person group kept together for most of the 2 hours.  By about 6am the sun began to rise giving way to the beautiful scenery.  Even though it was still cloudy you could see the sun peeking out revealing the beauty of the valleys below.  It definitely felt like we were all in a rush to reach our final destination...you could feel everyone's excitement!  Once we hit the monkey stairs and each person took it like a champ, we hiked for about 30 more min and reached the entrance to the Sun Gate, the first spot where a view a Machu Picchu Inka city can be seen and Hyuana Picchu mountain.  When we first arrived the clouds covered the beauty we knew was hiding. We all grabbed a quick snack and next thing I knew I looked and was literally almost brought to tears at the beauty that came into view. It was a mix of beauty and accomplishment and perseverance and knowing the history behind this magnificent place. After admiring the beauty, and literally staring in awe of what was built so long ago we started the 25 min hike down to the Inka city.  (an Google update: Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Incaemperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization).With the fog still hovering at the "postcard picture" spot Edy led us to where everyone that doesn't hike the trail enters to check our backpacks to enter the rest of the ruins and have him provide our guided tour. We also got to connect to wifi to let family know we had conquered the trail and then get the Machu Picchu stamp in our passport!  We started back into the site for Edy to give us the guided tour. He was great at explaining every historical detail and while we were all connected and interested at this point you could tell the entire group of 16 was tired and needed a rest. The intricate details of the city is unbelievable and even though we had visited the Sacred Valley prior to the hike, the size of MP is astounding.  Llamas roaming the terraces made Maddie especially happy! After Edy's tour we explored a few areas on our own including the temple of the condor!  On the way down the stairs a man walking in front of us started having a seizure and literally almost toppled over the wall that dropped below, but luckily his father was able to grab him and pull him back up to safety. We called to the docents all around the site "emergency" and they ran to call for help. It was scary and disturbing to see happen, but luckily he was attended to quickly and they took him out on a stretcher carried by strong men. After taking our postcard pictures we exited the Inka City and were instructed to catch the 25 min bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes to meet the group for our final lunch together at Ayllu. They actually made delicious woodfired pizza that we ate very happily with a Cusquena beer!  Much deserved!  After lunch and catching up on our last day's experience we headed out to explore the town and hopefully find some gelato. We tried to get Nilton's recommendation for his favorite spot, but it seemed like he liked it all. Side note we did forgo that the hot springs because Edy had shared they are crowded and dirty and others in previous group had shared he shouldn't recommend them to future hikers. We found some tokens of Peru memories to bring home in the market and then headed back to check in on the status on the protests going on and timing of our train that was supposed to leave at 6:20pm.  By 4pm it didn't seem there was much of an update and by 5 we were beginning to get stressed, worried, frustrated and slightly confused by the different information we were hearing. Edy had mentioned if trains weren't running we may have to hike 2 more hours to the hydroelectric plant where we could be picked up by bus. In Aguas Calientes the only way out was by train and if it wasn't running we were stuck. By 5 without more information he thought it was best to go to the station and be prepared. Long story short we ended up waiting at the train station, for a train that was supposed to leave at 6:20, until 11pm for it to actually pull out of the station. We ended up getting back to Ollyamtambo around 1am and Cusco about 2:30am. It was definitely not our preferred method, but most importantly we made it back and would still be able

To catch our flight the next morning to Puerto Maldonado.  We got about 3 hours of sleep and tried to remember the positive note we ended the hike on rather than being frustrated by being so inconvenienced.  We definitely got to know the group well!     I keep having people ask how long the whole hike was...it was 43km, so 26.7 miles, which yes doesn't seem like that much.  It was more the idea that you are trekking for 4 days and there is a very limited amount of flat trail...like they said INKA flat.  The long lost Inka city was discovered in 1911by Hiram Bingham, an explorer that was told of the old mountain by a local farmer.