Inca Time

Q. What do a journalist a pilot and a molecular biologist have in common?

A. They all performed minor surgery on me. Not sure if I have wrote about this but in Fiji I got some coral stuck in my foot and it got infected and after a day trek to an Inca ruin (Sexy woman) enough was enough so after a night out we went back to the dorm armed with scissors, alcohol wipes, bandages and a defribulator. The journalist held my foot the scientist cut away the bad tissue and the pilot held my hand and made inappropriate comments trying to reassure me. I was told that it would not hurt but then just before the dodgy medical team made the first incision they offered me something to bite down on for the pain! Foot now wrapped up and is 1000 times better. I was quite amazed at how keen everyone was to participate with me being the least enthusiastic which brings me on to quite a fitting quote:

“Travelling is a brutality. It forces you to trust total strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, and the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

Arrived in Cusco and now I am 3500 meters above sea level it feels like this altitude will never end and I still have Bolivia to contend with where everything there is the highest in the world “great”. Drinking at this altitude is takes some getting used too as three beers at lunch time nearly put me on my ass. I have been staying at the world famous Loki hostel which is famous for its wild nights and ‘social activity’ and for the week before my trek I have been participating in having a good time, dressing up and recovering. Great times and I have met so many different characters’ with the staff being the maddest!

Cusco is a very pretty city with cobbled streets lined with traditionally dressed Peruvian women with llamas posing for pictures. Cusco known to the Incas as the naval of the world is an exciting and colourful city built by the Spanish on the solid remains of Inca temples and palaces. This city is relatively untouched with its whitewashed streets and red-tilled roofs home to a wealth of traditional culture, lively nightlife and a seemingly endless variety of museums walks and tours making it a very popular tourist destination.

The world famous Inca trek is set in the Sanctuario Historico de Machu Picchu, an area of over 32000 hectares set apart by the Peruvian state for the protection of its flora, fauna and natural beauty. In recent years the government have set a limit to only 500 people per day on the Inca tour, this is why this had to be booked 6 months in advance.

Day 1:

This was when we met the rest of our group which was full of Argentineans, Chileans, Swedish, English (Tim and I), Brazilians and Dutch. The first day of the trek was very easy they eased us in and if anything it was too slow as we were having breaks every 15 minutes basically when you just get into your stride. I thought day 1 was amazing looking but the best was yet to come. We started off early with a drive to Ollantaytambo where we could buy walking sticks, ponchos and the like until we hit the start of the trek at Chilca where we had to cross the Urubamba River the start of this 45km hike has started.

Day 2:

This was the day everyone was not looking forward to it was the hardest day where we had to climb 1000 meters to the highest point at ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’ 4200 meters high and to be fair it was a long long day that took all the energy from my body and once you reach the peak and have the rest you have to go down 2 hours worth of stairs into the Pacamayo valley. I find going down worse than going up as the chances of popping a knee twisting an ankle or dropping your water bottle are greatly increased. There was not much to see this day it was all about getting to the peak then descending to the campsite.

Day 3:

This morning started with another, much shorter climb up a winding, tiring track towards the second pass – Abra de Runkuracay just above the circular ruins of the same name. Beyond the second pass a flight of stone steps leads up to the Inca ruins of Sayacmarca. From here we made our way gently down into the increasingly dense clouds forest. From here to the third pass I had a second wind and stormed through only to be faced with the ‘Gringo Killer’ – a very rough three hour trek down 3000 steps to the next ruin, a citadel almost as impressive as Machu Picchu, Winay Wayna (Forever Young). I spent a good hour sitting on the edge of this Citadel just gazing at the scene before me, almost feeling as if I was watching the biggest cinema screen in history as I could not believe the beauty of this place. Day three was marked ‘unforgettable’ and it certainly lived up to its name.

Day 4:

A well marked path from Winay Wayna takes a right fork for about two hours (although I did it in 1 hour) through sumptuous vegetated slopes to Intipunku (The Sun Gate) which is where we caught our first glimpse of Machu Picchu – a stupendous sight no matter how exhausted you are. This sight was quite eerie at first as the mist came rolling in it passed through the city like a horror film but as soon as the sun came out it burnt off all the excess cloud and the day was beautiful.

Words cannot describe the feeling of spending four days smelling absolutely awful, aching and hurting to finally get there and see it for the first time, this will always be a treasured beautiful moment in my life that whenever I still think of it tears roll to my eyes, truly one of the top things to do before you die. One gripe I do have is that as many tourists as possible can get the train to Machu Picchu and I felt that I deserved to be there more than they did and feel that the Inca trekkers should have a period of a few hours to explore it on our own.

Back to Cusco just in time for the Halloween party which was one of the best nights that I have had in the 13+ months I have been away. Again good to see Chris and Nick who I have now seen in 4 countries and about to make it 5!

So with Peru done a handful of friends we met at Loki decided to travel together from Cusco to Copacabana in Bolivia – cue extracts from Barry Manilows song along route. The bus ride was about as organised and successful as America’s attack on Vietnam with us arriving late and the retard behind the desk messing up all our tickets then claiming it was our thought, lucky for us 3 of the 10 travelling could speak fluent Spanish which helped no end!

I have spent nearly 4 weeks in Peru and it certainly has been a great experience with ever changing beautiful landscapes to gorgeous cities and amazingly different animals, this has been one of the top places I have visited and still in four weeks have not touched this country completely.

Again still at amazingly high altitude (4200 meters above sea level) with what I believe is the highest lake in the world – Lake Titicaca.

So what does Bolivia have in store for me? Partying in La Paz, taking Spanish lessons, jungle treks, cycling down the worlds most dangerous road, bribing my way into San Pedro Prison, Isla del Sol, Uyuni salt flats and basically living for a month at dirt cheap prices.