Cusco, Inca Trail, Peru

Jeff and I had been planning to visit Machu Picchu for about five years.  I think we started talking about it when we hiked the Grand Canyon in 2011.  I know we began speaking about it in earnest on our honeymoon in February of 2012. We met a couple who had backpacked to the site.  We also met someone who had taken the train.  Both routes sounded exciting and like they could be an adventure.  And we knew either route would require some serious hiking.  We both knew we wanted to go before our bodies decided they were too worn out in the knees!

Time passed and life threw us some curves but finally last year we made the commitment that it was time to travel to Peru.  I had already started my over the top research of our travel plans before we’d even left for Italy.  I asked my husband if he wanted to hike to Machu Picchu or take the train and try to travel to other areas of Peru while we were there.  He was open to pretty much anything.  I asked him to do some research.  He came up with an interesting option.  He found Skylodge (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3143368/The-terrifying-hotel-world-Welcome-Skylodge-three-transparent-pods-clinging-400ft-cliff-Peru-scale-sheer-rock-face-reach-them.html).  This lodge involved scaling a rock cliff to stay in a glass pod that clings to the edge of the cliff and leaving via zip line.  This trip looked terrifying to me! (I did meet a couple that stayed there on our trip).  I no longer asked for Jeff’s help researching paths to Machu Picchu.

I read stories about the various train options to MP.  I read stories about the various trails to MP (Lares, Salkantay, Classic Inca, One day Inca, Two Day Inca).  It became evident that there is no easy way to get to Machu Picchu.  I thought long and hard about our options and finally decided that knowing my husband and myself we would never feel that we had done things right unless we hiked the Classic Inca Trail.  The classic trail is a 3 night/4 day hike that climbs up to 4200 meters (13,779 ft) and through numerous Inca sites along one of the many original trails from the 15th century.  My husband agreed with me that we had to do this so now I started my aggressive research of which company to travel with.

At one time the Inca Trail was traversed by as many people as wanted to and there was no real regulation on the trail.  People crowded the trail and left trash and erosion and the porters carried far too much weight (up to 50 or 60 kilos).  In 2001 the government finally started to put regulations in place to protect the trail and to improve the conditions of the porters (who even now only make an average salary of $15/ day and not all companies pay them the required minimum wage).  Permits are now sold to limit the number of people on the trail each day.  Only 500 people are allowed daily; of this number about 220 are trekkers.  The rest are porters, guides, and chefs.  It is required to travel with a Peruvian guide.  Campfires are no longer allowed.  Porters are now limited to 25 kilogram loads.  All of this is helping to save the trail and improve the lives of the porters.  Along with these regulations the government also started limiting the number of visitors to Machu Picchu to 2500 per day.  The climb up Huyana Picchu is now limited to 400 permits per day split into two groups.

There are literally hundreds of tour companies offering trips to Machu Picchu.  I started my research on the website andeantravelweb.com.  This site had so much information about Peru and was very helpful.  In the end I chose Alpaca Expeditions.  They had great reviews, provide a toilet at camp, include a porter for personal belongings in their price, and take great pride in their social responsibility programs and care of their porters.  They were a good choice.

Tour company chosen, dates selected now we just had to wait to see if we were able to get permits for the dates we chose.  We felt pretty confident because we sent in our reservation before the permits opened in January and we were going at the end of the high season.  Once we heard from Alpaca that our permits were secure we started looking for airfare.  It is highly recommended that you spend two to three days in Cusco prior to starting the trek.  Most companies actually require a two day stay.  Cusco sits at 11,000 feet so it definitely aids in the acclimation process.  I liked the idea of three days to acclimate so when I found an overnight flight that would allow us to work on Wednesday and have us in Cusco by 9:45 AM Thursday it seemed like the perfect solution.

I have a friend who spends every summer in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Years ago she taught me some tricks to help with adjusting to the sudden altitude change.  Jeff and I had asked our doctors about using diamox but neither doctor seemed to think the “altitude drug” was a good idea.  So I employed the techniques my friend had taught me.  I started taking ginkgo biloba, glucosamine, and hydrating.  I also started taking iron and a supplement called Altitude Rx.  I still believe one of the most important things you can do for altitude is to stay hydrated.  I wanted to go into the trip well hydrated and in the habit of drinking plenty of water.  A week before we left for the trip I started consciously consuming at least 100 ounces of water a day.  When we arrived I know I was still drinking at least that much and avoiding alcohol.  I’m happy to say I really did not experience any ill effects of the altitude except heavy breathing and mild fatigue climbing the steep streets of Cusco.  While still nervous about Day 2 of the hike I was starting to develop some confidence that this hike was going to be less challenging than I had originally feared.

Jeff and I had been hiking all year in preparation for this trip.  We even started the year with a New Year’s Eve midnight hike at a state park.  Living at 600 feet above sea level it is difficult to prepare for high elevation so we tried to simulate the terrain and steep elevation gains to the best of our ability.  We had three main parks that we trained in – Government Canyon State Natural Area in San Antonio, TX, Enchanted Rock State Park in Fredericksburg, TX, and River Place Natural Area in Austin, TX.  Enchanted Rock and River Place became our primary training grounds.  Enchanted Rock is a 500 foot high dome of pink granite in the Texas Hill Country.  The steep climb up this rock is a great test of fitness.  Jeff and I decided to try to hike there once a month increasing our number of summits and speed each time.  We eventually found ourselves quickly summiting the rock twice then once around the base then repeating the double summit.  It was a great cardiovascular workout and good preparation for the steep mountains we would be climbing.  We also added River Place to our monthly regimen.  This is a beautiful park buried in a neighborhood that I found online.  It had several steep inclines and a series of 3000 steps if you went out and back.  Knowing that we would be on uneven steps this seemed perfect and again a great cardiovascular workout.  I will say that both of these areas were instrumental to our fitness level on this trail.  We were also fortunate to travel to New Mexico and get in a hike at 10,800 feet a few months before we left.  It was hard but doable and we continued to train hoping we had done enough.

So many things started falling apart at home for Jeff and I right before we left that we were starting to think that maybe we weren’t supposed to leave.  The final straw was when our air conditioner went out and we were leaving for the airport in two hours.  Miraculously the a/c company was able to send someone to repair it before we left and off we went still very anxious.  From there on everything went very smoothly.  Our flights were all on time (actually early) and we arrived in Cusco with all of our luggage Thursday morning.

Our very first impression of Cusco is that it was not what we had envisioned.  For some reason all the stories I read still had me believing that Cusco was a quaint little village.  It was anything but.  Cusco is a bustling city of 500,000. Houses appear to be built on top of houses.  Our hotel had arranged pick up for us from the airport.  We headed down a narrow cobblestone street and suddenly stopped in front of a door that led to our hotel.  Hotel Rumi Punku is a charming hotel.  You enter through an original Inca doorway to a colonial style house with multiple courtyards and a garden.

We were given coca tea on arrival to help with the altitude.  We would be regular consumers of this tea during our stay.  We also would learn that everybody is a budding tour guide.  Our escort from the airport was quick to give us a brochure on the tours he offers. He also told us we had chosen the best tour company for the trail.

After a quick shower and unpacking it was time to start exploring.  Our hotel was within easy walking distance of so many major areas of Cusco.  Our priority was to get to Alpaca Expedition’s office and to be sure everything was in order for our hike and the two additional day tours that we had signed up for.  We had started to take a free walking tour of Cusco but when we learned it was a two hour tour we opted to head to Alpaca and then try to find a place to eat.  We had left our map with a recommended restaurant at the hotel so we found ourselves on a plaza with two restaurants dueling over our business.  They had some interesting items on their menu.  I ended up with a yummy trout with fried yucca and Jeff had a very tasty chicken dish.  And we enjoyed out complimentary Pisco Sour. We had opted to sit outside and quickly regretted that as our whole meal was disturbed by street vendors constantly pestering us to purchase their wares.  Women walked by with alpacas and baby lambs dressed up to have your picture taken with.  We would later learn that other guides laugh at these ladies and called them the “take your picture ladies.”  They would tell tourists that the lamb was a baby alpaca and ask them for 5 sols to take their picture with the baby.

We made our way back to the hotel and asked if it was still possible to get a massage that afternoon.  The hotel said no problem so we scheduled a couple’s massage.  My left calf was still sore from our recent hike in Austin and travelling overnight had taken its toll.  I will say that may have been the best massage I’ve ever had.  For only $50 we had a couple’s massage that completely relaxed us and loosened up my calf.  We now have a pact to do this after overnight travel whenever we can!  Day 1 was in the books.  I was a little concerned that the hotel supplied ear plugs on the bedside table but I slept just fine!