We know it has been a while but we have been moving around so much lately.
We are finally getting the time to write in our journals and get some postings out. We are currently taking a vacation from our vacation and just hanging out in a small beach town south of Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Hope everyone has a great holiday season.
The city of Cusco, Peru was the center of the Inca empire. Its original layout was in the shape of a puma with its head being the fortress on the mountainside above and its body the town below. Cusco is city that is easy to lose time in. We called it gringolandia. It has everything a gringo can want and then some all centered around a beautiful main square. Restaurants and shops are everywhere and even small movie theaters. The foundations of most of the buildings near the square are the remains of the Inca buildings and temples. The stonework is incredibly intricate with the huge blocks fitting so tightly together that no mortar was needed. It is still impossible to slip even a sheet of paper in between their joints. The task seems even more impossible when you realize that the Incas did not have metal tools or chisels.
We spent our first few days exploring the town and lining up a guide service to take us on the Inca Trail. On some streets, you can’t walk more than 5 feet without seeing a guide agency. They all offer basically the same package but at an amazingly varied range of prices. We have been burned a few times by agencies not providing what we were promised and so we were trying to be very picky about it. We made sure we got everything in writing and have found that in South America, if it is written down on the receipt, you might get it, but if it is not, tough luck.
Inca footpaths are all over Peru but the section from Cusco to Machu Picchu is the one most commonly referred to as the "Inca Trail". Once on the trail, the real Inca trail does not start until after you have crested the highest pass on the second day. It is on average 4 or 5 feet wide and lined with thick interlocking blocks of stone. It was designed for use by people and llamas and it would be impossible to use a wagon on it as it can be very steep with large steps. They were OK for me but hard on Cindy’s shorter legs. The Incas also seemed to have no concept of switchbacks and the trail often climbs at quite a steep slope.
Unlike our previous hiking experience, this one was supposed to be easier. We would have a guide and porters. We had originally thought that we would do it self supported but found out that this was no longer allowed. We would still have to carry our clothes, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and any other personal item we thought we might need. I left the nose hair trimmer in the hotel. The porters would carry the food, tents and cooking equipment. The hike options are for 4 days - 3 nights, 2 days - one night, or "forget that pain, I am taking the train". True to our newfound masochistic tendencies, we chose the first option. The reward at the end of the journey is the ruins of Machu Picchu. It was rediscovered in 1911 and theories abound as to why it was never found by the Spaniards after their "conquest" of the Incas in the 1560s. It remains the most perfect surviving example of Inca architecture and planning because it was never looted and destroyed. The more plausible theory is that it had been abandoned even before the time of the conquest and was therefore forgotten about.
In recent years the government has finally imposed weight restrictions on how much the porter could carry and there were actually a few weight check stations along the trail. I think the limit was something like 20 kilos. In the past the conditions for the porters were horrible and unchecked. They could often be required to carry double that amount. As the conditions have improved the number of porters has increased from a few thousand to over 5000 employed in any given season. The guide agencies have then used this as an excuse to dramatically increase the price of the trip while still paying the porters a substandard wage. The government has also decided to increase the price of the park entrance itself. In 1999 the park entrance fee was $17 and today it is $50.
Three days later we were on the train heading toward mile marker 88, the jumping off point for the trail. It takes a few days for the agencies to get the trail permits and we spent them exploring the many ruins around Cusco. Most of the first day was spent in transit and it was an easy 1/2 days hike after that. The porters would hurry on ahead of us and set up camp before we got there. I was surprised to find out that the campsites were not rustic at all. Most were areas of land set around a few houses and an outhouse. We were obviously going to living in style on this trip. The cook woke us up early with a cup of hot tea and then a leisurely breakfast of boiled starch. Of course it was on the second day that the real hell of the trail began. There are 3 passes on the train over 3700 meters or 12000 feet, with the largest being over 13000 feet. Cusco is quite high but we had lost much of that altitude on our way to the trail start. I figured that the passes would be a piece of cake after what we had been through the week before. Say the word with me now. "Stupid"... Yes the climb really sucked. 5 hours of suck to be exact. It was beautiful scenery but much of the time was spent just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Amazingly we were constantly being passed by porters from one group or another as they raced to get ahead of us to set the evenings camp. Even though we were traveling at the end of high season, there were plenty of people on the trail and at times you got into a traffic jam of puffing, red faced gringos all wondering just what the hell they were thinking when they signed up for this.
On the third day, I got sick. I’m pretty sure it was from something that I had eaten the day before. The food they cooked was not that bad but the hygiene of the porters and cook was not great. I found out later that many people from many other groups also got sick on the trail. Seems to be a regular occurrence. We only had one pass that day and it should have been easier than it was to climb it but all I could do was just put my head down and keep walking. For Cindy and most of the others I talked to, it was the best day, with beautiful views all around of the Andes. I just endured it as best as I could. Dinner was not an option that night and I missed out on the wine the porters had brought. Needless to say, the thought of missing out on booze still has me distraught.
The next day was short with a few hours of walking to a spot called the sun gate, where you can watch the sun rise on Machu Picchu. We were late and missed it. And then it was just another hour down to the ruins which even seen the second time for me were great. All in all I would say that the hike is not worth it though. Machu Picchu is easily accessible by train and if anyone is considering a visit, my advice is to take that option and spend more time exploring the wonderful ruins all around Cusco and accessible by bus.
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