Macchu Pichu and the Inca Trail

Hello again faithful readers!

CUZCO
As hinted in my last post, I had the privelege of traveling to Cuzco and Macchu Pichu (one of the seven wonders of the world) the last days of March. When people ask me how it was, my first response is that, compared to Chimbote, the Andes are like a different world. Cuzco is a growing, red-tile roofed city that -- especially in the section we were in -- caters to tourists, the reason that among Peru`s regions it is one of the only ones not in the red. The Plaza de Arma`s is well kept, green and flanked by two colonial churches (the Cathedral and the Jesuit Compania de Jesus church) along with colonades of shops and restaurants. Street vendors offer postcards or their often beautiful artesian crafts every few meters, which at times can grow tiring. Visitors to Cuzco hail from all sorts of places, including the US, Europe, and Australia especially. Our hostel was located on Cuesta San Blas, a narrow stone-paved street near a wall exhibiting some of the fine examples of Inca stonework that managed to survived the Spanish re-construction of the city following the conquest. The masonry is remarkable because of the exact nature in which stones were carved to fit together in an interlocking manner, withstanding even the strongest earthquakes with no mortar. We saw numerous examples of this labor intensive effort during our time in the central Andes. During our three days in Cuzco after flying from Lima, we rested the first (to adjust to the altitude of about 11.000 feet), toured the Sacred Valley the second (the Urubamba River valley and ruins of Pisaq, Ollaytatambo, and church at Chincheros) with an organized tour, and visited city sites such as the Sacsayhuaman fortress and Inca Museum on the third day in between preparing for our Inca Trail hike. Unfortunately, my aunt Janie, weaked by a chest cold that I gave her, came down with progressively worse sorroche, or altitude sickness, and grew increasingly weak. Thankfully, with the assistance of our hostal staff, who called a doctor to visit her, we were able to get her assistance at a local private clinic/hospital on the eve of our departure. At the time Mom and I didn`t know if Janie would be able to meet us Macchu Pichu as planned (taking the train), but it turns out that with oxygen and pressure chamber treatment Janie improved enough to meet us at MP gate on our last hiking day, which we were very grateful for. Janie was even more grateful to finally return to Lima and then SF, appreciating more than ever the rich sea-level air.

THE INCA TRAIL
The Inca Trail trek that Mom and I took, with 13 other trekkers from the US, Ireland, Colombia and Australia, was for me the highlight of the trip. SAS travel provided guides, food, tents, and many thoughtful touches (like a wake-up call each morning that included coca tea in the tent). Details were quite organized, making it a bit hard for me to believe at first that we were actually in Peru:). A team of 22 porters and two cooks carried the gear and most of our personal packs (I and two others carried our own, which I may not do next time out of kindness to my knees) but still we were periodically passed on the trail by the laden porters, going ahead to either set-up and prepare lunch or to set-up the tents and campsite at our evening destination. A few other groups were also on the trail, on which campsites were scattered along the 48 km route that we covered in 3 1/2 days of walking, arriving to MP at about 9:00 am on the fourth day after a 4:00 am wake-up. Especially after the group found out Mom`s age after the second morning introductions, most of the group at some point complemented me on my mom with statements such as `Your mom`s amazing` to which I readily agreed (she was the oldes on the trip, and I was the second oldest). She moved along at a bit of a slower pace, especially during the climbs with their vast number of stone steps, but always made it in -- a guide named Washington took good care of her, accompanying her all the way. On our longest day a couple porters offered to carry her (which she refused), and then a group of four walked with her the last 45 minutes to camp, holding flashlights to guide her in the growing darkness. We did arrive to MP together on the last day, and I am very proud of her and thankful that she had the enthusiasm to undertake this adventure with me.

Another star of the trip were the Andes themselves: grand in scale with towering peakes, various snow-capped mountains with glaciers, and deep green valleys. The quiet was a great change from noisy Chimbote life, even if the altitude made us stop a bit more often on the climbs to catch our breath and let our heart rates subside a bit. The weather was overall quite good -- I enjoyed the cooler climate as a change from the Chimbote summer -- except for a morning of rain on the day we crossed the highest pass (Dead Woman`s Pass -- named for the shape of the ridge and not for any actual event). At the top, more that 13,000 feet in elevation, the rain was a freezing slush and I didn`t stop long to savor the moment before descending the stone steps for an hour and a half to our lunch site where we tried to dry off a bit. Fortunately, the afternoon brought partly sunny skies and a descent to warmer temperatures that dried our shoes and clothes (that weren`t poncho protected) before we reached our evening camp. The route gave a good lead-up to the ruins of Macchu Pichu, as the Inca stone road was punctuated by various smaller ruins along the way which our guide would tell us about. Because of the rugged terrain, very little development has reached this area of the Andes even to this day, so it was not diffucult to imagine oneself a traveler of five centuries ago along the same road. As the rain cleared and we descended into MP on the last morning, I was impressed by the size of the site -- larger than I expected. After a tour of the site, we descended to the tourist town of Aguas Calientes at the mountain´s base for lunch and a short stop at the natural hot springs before catching the train (only way to arrive there) back to Cuzco, celebrating on the way with our fellow hikers by having the Peruvian national drink, a Pisco Sour.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!