twelve countries twelve months

Three months into our trip and this is one of the biggies – one of the highlights we have been really looking forward to – walking the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  So did it live up to our expectations or was it over hyped?

Well it didn’t get off to the best of starts, when three days beforehand I fell down with food poisoning following a dodgy Peruvian kebab!  By the first day of the trek I was still feeling a little tender, but we had booked this more than six months ago and it was going to take more than a bit of a stomach ache to hold me back!  We met our companions for the next four days – 4 Americans, 7 Aussies, 19 porters, 2 guides and 1 cook.  All of the other trekkers had hired personal porters to carry their equipment, leaving just Rach and I carrying our large ruc-sacs.  We weren´t quite sure if they were all being lazy or if we were being stupid!  After going through passport control (that’s right you get an Inca Trail passport stamp) we were on our way.

The first day was 12km across relatively flat terrain passing through local communities.  We stopped for lunch by an old Inca village and arrived at the camp site at about 5pm.  Almost immediately my food poisoning decided it hadn´t finished with me quite yet, and at the same time one American girl and one Aussie girl also fell sick.  By the morning all 4 Americas were suffering, and one decided he couldn´t carry on and had to be carried back to the start by a mule.

The rest of us soldiered onwards, although some soon regretted that decision, as the 12km of the second day were almost all uphill, from the campsite at 3100m to Dead Woman´s Pass at 4200m.  Then, just after the relief of reaching the top, it started hailing really heavily with stones the size of ball bearings that really hurt.  I´m sure one drew blood when it struck my ear!  Despite all this torture I really enjoyed the day and by the evening everyone was starting to feel better.

The second night claimed two more victims of sickness – by now the porters had their work cut out brewing special tea for all the casualties!  I was feeling much better but, although Rach felt fine, she was starting to worry how much longer it would be before she got struck down by the Inca Trail curse!

At 15km the third day was the longest, but most rewarding of the trek.  The path now consisted of the original Inca stones, and was dotted with Inca ruins in amazing condition.  We saw an old Inca trading center, a resting place for Inca messengers, an Inca religious site and most spectacular of all – an old Inca farming site.  We walked through the clouds over two mountain passes, before descending over 3000 stone steps down to the camp site.  Fortunately when we arrived the porters had already put up our tents and had a cup of tea on the go!

The last day was only 6km, but in order to reach the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu for sunrise we had to get up at 4am and walk like the wind!  But it was worth it – looking down on the ancient city illuminated by the early morning sun was a unique sight that I will never forget.  Unfortunately it was on this morning that Rach started to feel ill, and the 6km sprint finished her off.  Not only did she not feel up to the guided tour of Machu Picchu, but she couldn´t eat or get out of bed for the next four days, and it resulted in our first trip to a South American doctor.  This meant the pressure of taking photos of Machu Picchu fell on my shoulders, so I hope you like them.

Despite all the illness we both agreed that the Inca Trail lived up to our expectations.  We were worried that it would feel more like a motorway than a mountain trek.  There were times when the trail was crowded, but by the afternoon everyone had spread out and we would often walk for ages without seeing anyone else at all.  The scenery was amazing and arriving at Machu Picchu from above in the early morning sun was unforgettable.