Inca Trail Day 1, Peru

So the whole reason we were in Peru was to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  Today was the day that journey would begin.

I was up by 3:30 to get a last shower in and be ready to meet our guides by 4:30.  David and Toribio (Toro) came to get us.  We were expecting a car outside so we could go pick up the rest of our group.  Instead we found that our hike was starting early as we headed off at a quick pace all the way down our street and to another and finally to our bus.  Apparently our bus was too large to fit down the street so we started our cardio early that morning! We picked up the rest of our group from their hotels and started the two hour drive to Ollataytambo.  We were told to use this opportunity to sleep like a baby llama but not to snore like a puma.  It was a drizzly morning and we all happily accepted the offered blankets and attempted to get a nap.

We stopped in town for one last rest stop and opportunity to purchase supplies – snacks, water, etc.  It was definitely raining now.  We headed back to the bus but found it was locked so we all crowded into the doorway of the small store and watched as the bus was unlocked and porters started to board.  When we got back on there were people everywhere.  Porters were sitting three to a seat and piled up in the aisle and more continued to board.  We were only expecting 15 so we didn’t know what to think.   We would later learn that there is a shortage of porters so possible porters wait in town and are picked up and taken to the starting point to be hired by the different companies. We were responsible for picking up this group of porters.

The day was definitely looking dreary.  I was debating adding my rain pants.  Ebony put hers on.  We arrived at KM 82 and watched as our crew started to prepare for our trip.  Alpaca Expeditions prepares breakfast for its groups prior to starting the trail.  As the porters starting dressing and organizing our things our chef,  Alejandro, starting cooking breakfast.

Our table was set up under cover due to the rain but then things started to improve and our table got moved back into the open area.  David took this opportunity to teach us that we could be in charge of the weather, “Happy faces, happy weather!”  We all thanked Ebony for putting on her rain pants to chase away the rain and started to get to know each other over breakfast. John and Cara were a young couple in their twenties from New York.  She is a news producer and he is a mechanical engineer.  Ebony and Aleh  were two audiologists also in their twenties from Australia.  We had invited Jill and Gregg along.  They are both in real estate related careers and in their fifties.  And then there was Jeff and me.  It was going to be an interesting group.

We had our final bathroom stop after breakfast, were given snacks for the trail, and then backpacks were on and we headed off. We were all happy to see clearing skies.

We passed the porter checkpoint first.  Here porters check in and have their bags weighed.  If their gear exceeds 20 kg  they are not allowed on the trail. We stopped for pictures at the sign that it is the entrance to the trail and then a little bit further and we were at our checkpoint.

Here we presented our passports and permits.  We were a little disappointed that our passport didn’t get a stamp but the permits did. Once our permits were stamped we crossed a very mobile suspension bridge and we were on the trail!  Weather was good, scenery was awesome, this was going to be great!

One of the early things that surprised me about the trail was how residential it was.  We were clearly walking through villages and around people’s homes.  Occasionally a motorcycle would go by.  Some of us joked that we didn’t know there was an option available to take a bike.  We were heading out to follow the path of the Incas and people were passing us going to and from their homes, work, just going about their daily lives. 

We stopped at a cemetery on the trail.  David talked to us about his ancestors and the importance of burial.  He showed us the parasite on the cactus and the red tint it created.  He told us this cactus is actually farmed for this parasite so the tint can be used in lipstick.

It didn’t take long to learn that today’s easy walk on Inca Flats was not going to be easy or flat.  We very quickly started climbing on our walk.  I couldn’t understand why I was finding it so difficult.  I had trained for this!  I was trying to find my pace but it seemed my body was not cooperating.  I really began to question if I would survive day two if today was so hard.  I looked at Toro and his face seemed to be a reflection of my own fear. I don’t think he believed I was going to make it either!

We stopped at our first rest stop.  It was a place to buy snacks and drinks and to use a toilet.  One stall had our first Inca toilet – a porcelain basin in the ground, and one had a regular toilet.  A black and white cat made the rounds between members of our group.  It was super sweet and comforting. The rain was continuing to hold off and we were reminded again, “happy faces, happy weather!”

After our rest stop we hiked for a while until we reached our first set of ruins, Patallacta.  We were given some time to explore the ruins and then we gathered for David to share some history with us.  My exhaustion was starting to catch up to me and I caught myself starting to doze off a couple of times.  David was very good at imparting knowledge to us but I think my body was ready to be done.  After learning about the site packs were back on and off we headed to our lunch spot, about two hours away. 

We reached lunch at the perfect time.  Just as we entered the dining tent the rain started again.  This would be our first time to see our team in action.  The porters had arrived well ahead of us and set up the dining tent and the “meditation” tent and anything the chef needed to start cooking.  They had trays of warm water with pumps of hand soap and towels waiting for us to wash our hands.  We all eagerly chose a “sink.”  Inside the dining tent was a black and white cat.  It seemed to have the same personality as the cat earlier in the day.  We became fast friends and I took great comfort in the feline curled up in my lap.  David walked into the tent and did a double take when he saw the cat.  “That’s the same cat!?” He said.  He just kept looking and saying, “That’s the same cat!”  I said, “well if it is I want to know why we didn’t get to take the short cut the cat took!”

More animal antics were occurring outside the tent.  A burro had smelled something he liked in the trash.  A porter was trying to shoo him away but the determined donkey grabbed his prize and started to take off.  Porters were trying to remove from the trash from his mouth and one got kicked.  The donkey proved more determined than the porters and got away with his prize.

Lunch was our first opportunity to really appreciate our Chef Alejandro’s skills.  It started with a fantastic avocado salad.  This was followed by a second course of soup and then trout, rice, corn with cheese, and a bean salad. And then after the food we were given a digestive tea.  For lunch it was a mint tea.  This would become the norm for all of our meals – salad, soup, main course and sides, followed by digestive tea.  Not too shabby!

Lunch was our first time to meet the “meditation” tent.  There were also actual toilet facilities here so I think most of us opted for those instead.  I will say that I was very appreciative of our tent on the trail.  The Inca toilets are as disgusting as other blogs say they are.  When you appreciate a porta potty with a trash bag of used tissues next it that should tell you something about the state of other toilets.  Which leads me to an observation about toilets in Peru.  Flush toilets at the airport and any facility we were in always had a small garbage can beside the toilet to dispose of paper and a sign warning not to flush the paper.  As we waited to board our train I actually asked our Australian friends if this was true in Australia as well because I was starting to wonder if it was just a south of the equator thing.   They assured me that they flush toilet paper at home

At lunch we were told it was time to apply insect repellant.  Unfortunately some bugs had already found me but I applied my 98% DEET and off we went refueled and ready for the rest of our journey. We would spend two more hours hiking mostly uphill.  It seems I sucked on some coca candy hoping to help me through the end of the day’s journey. One of the challenges of the day was the changing weather conditions.  I would start with my jacket on and then feel like I was overheating and be removing layers.  Then it would be time to bundle up again. David had named us the “Walking Dead family” early on.  He said now we are fresh zombies, by the end we will be full zombies.  Fortunately we made our way into camp around 5 PM and stood awe inspired at the view as the porters finished setting up our tents. Some enterprising women were at our camp selling beer and snacks and water.  A few people took them up on the beer.

We were assigned to our tents and went in to start unpacking for the night.  Hot water and soap and wet towel were brought to our tents so we could freshen up.  Then we met in the dining tent for “happy hour.”  Each night happy hour consisted of an assortment of teas, coffee, hot chocolate and snacks such as popcorn and cookies.  Even though we knew dinner would follow the popcorn and snacks were always a welcome treat.  Dinner followed with soup, chicken, rice, vegetables, fried yucca, and impressive banana flambé for dessert.  Our digestive tea this night was a celery tea which was quite a hit with several people.  At dinner we talked about the plans for the next day. We would be waking up at 5:00 AM with breakfast at 5:30 and on the trail by 6AM.  We were all nervous about day two but David reassured us “in the words of Michael Jackson impossible is nothing!” He also assured us that it would be better tomorrow because we would be rested. I joked that when I made it past day two that I felt I would find ways to share with anyone who I could get to listen what I had done. I could envision myself standing in the grocery store line and turning to those in line around me and starting the conversation, “hey, I just survived Dead Woman’s Pass.”  After accomplishing this, I really should be doing exactly that!

After dinner it was time to go to bed.  I have a bit of a complicated eye history and I had struggled with how to do this hike.  Unfortunately water is only given on arrival to camp so I found myself using hand sanitizer and a lighted to mirror to remove my soft contact and RGP contact.  It seemed to work just fine though.  The challenge was when I realized I only had my hydration bladder to use to rinse with when tooth brushing.  Somehow I managed to make that work as well.  We crawled into our mummy bags and found them quite warm for the night.  Unfortunately I did need a bathroom break this night.  As I was ducking back into my tent I saw a huge grey animal jump through the bushes.  I was glad someone had asked if there were any wolves there and was told no.  I feel certain it was probably a burro but boy could it move!  Back to bed with the hope of a few hours of sleep!