Let me start by saying I feel very blessed to have had this experience. It is something I never thought I would do, but it is now something that I will remember forever and inspire me to make future journeys.
Now enough with the sentimental stuff.
The trip to Machu Picchu - which means the "Old Mountain" started at 5 am. Of course I was too proud - or more like too cheap - to hire a "porter" (or chuskee in Quechua) to carry my bag. And of course I packed waaaay too much for the four day hike. But at least I was prepared for anything on this trip.
A group of 14 of us - later named by our guide as Team Tupac (all because I asked why there are buses out here named Tupac Amaru) - were picked up by bus. We drove about three hours and stopped for an awkward breakfast together where we were playing nice and trying to get to know each other. On the group was a youngish Australian couple, an Australian father-son team, a couple from Seattle, three med students from Australia, a crazy couple from Quebec who now live in Mexico, an Englush couple who just graduated "uni," and me, the sometimes socially awkward American.
Our guides names were Agosto aka Kungfu Panda - who is a cop in Peru and I'm pretty sure he was just there for protection - and David, who was wonderful despite his addiction to Coco leaves (though he claimed it's not addicting).
But back to the journey. It is a four day, 26 mile hike. The Inca trail was created by the Incas (surprise) as a religious pilgramage to Machu Picchu. In total, the Incas created nearly 200 cities in less than 500 years. Cusco was the center of the Incan empire, but the purpose of Machu Picchu is still debated. One theory is it was used as a spiritual location. The Incas believed that the higher the buildings were, the closer to the Sun god they were. The reason it wasn't ruined by the Spanish, however, is because they simply didn't know about it.
We hit the trail about 2 pm on Friday, and it was a nice hike for the first couple of hours until we reached the campsite. At this point, I was in awe of a few things:
- The porters. There were 19 of these 5 foot 2, sandal wearing guys assigned to us. Most of them were from the Andean mountain communities and do this for the money, of corse. They carried at least 100 pounds each on their backs of our tents, food, and equipment. And they sprint up way ahead of us to have time to set up camp by the time we arrive. It was amazing to see but also hard to watch because parts of the trail are friggin hard.
- The random domestic animals. I took waaaay too many photos of llamas, cows, sheep, pigs and chickens. These animals belong to the people who live in the mountains.
- The bathrooms. Good news - there were bathrooms and you didn't have to pack out your crap. Bad news is the toilets were holes and you had to just aim. Much easier for guys. Double bad news - because the bathrooms were so nasty, people would go Nos. 1 and 2 in sneaky places. Yes, I'm pretty sure I stepped in human crap, which is way smellier than animal turds.
- The food. I ate better during the hike than the entire trip. I'm talking about five course meals, starting with appetizers like fresh guacamole, soup, a main dish with tons of sides, dessert and tea at the end. Oh, and on the last day, there was a cake!
- Tourism is still pretty new. Apparently, the Shining Path communist turned terrorist group that existed in the 80s and 90s crippled tourism to Machu Picchu. But once they moved out of the area combined with Unesco's activity at Machu Picchu, tourism started playing a larger role in the community as of 2001. Today, about 200 people each day are granted a permit to hike the Inca Trail. Still, it seems like this area will only become more and more commercialized. I noticed a couple of brand new hotels being completed in Aguas Calientes, the town at the start of the road to Machu Picchu.
- Oh yeah...and of course there was the landscape. It was very serene, lush, and had a constant view of glacier Mt. Victoria.
The hike:
Day 1 was a breeze, even with my 15 pounds if gear. We walked about three miles in a gentle sloping trail. On Day 2, shit got real. It went from steep to steeper for about ten miles. The weather fluctuated from sunny and then misty, windy and cold. But the terrain we covered was breathtaking. We passed waterfalls and climbed thousands of steep steps.
Day 2 was the hardest, but Day 3 was a nice combination of steep uphill, lots of Incan ruins and trekking through the jungle. Oh...and lots of downhill. And by this time the group members were all bff's and had warmed up to each other. Yes, even to me and my dumb jokes. for example, I made them listen to my joke about the "Anis" tea that was served at each meal. You know, like "I've had enough Anis for one day." Or, "I don't like Anis." I know...it should Anise. But that's not what it says on the tea bag.
Day 4 was the Machu Picchu day. We started at 330 am, and made it to the Sun Gate about 630 am. When we arrived, the Sun Gate - which provided a view of the valley where Machu Picchu was - was completely covered in fog. But after about 20 mins, the fog burned off. It was amazing. It was like we were standing on top of the world.
From there, we hiked about another hour to Machu Picchu, which by that point had started to become overrun by tourists who took the bus I without doing the Inca Trail hike. Yes, we copped an attitude against those cheaters.
By the time we hit Machu Picchu, we were pooped. David the guide made us listen to him during a two hour tour. Most of us just wanted to pass out on the grass because we were so tired. The truth of it is that while Machu Picchu itself is amazing and beautiful, I found the hike to be more enjoyable than the destination itself.
We strolled around for about three hours until we made our way to Aguas Calientes, where we would eventually take a train home. But for the four hours that we waited, we decided it would be a good idea to relax with a beer or two. Twenty liters and many rounds of Spoons later, it was finally time to head home.
I know that this recap is too wordy, but it doesn't give justice to the experience and the friendships that were formed on this journey.
As one woman said as she was standing on an Incan terrace looking down at the valley: "The world: isn't it great?"
Yep.
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