High in the Mountains

I not only survived the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, I absolutely loved it!

It began early Wednesday morning when I met my guide Miguel and the two other trekkers in our group Bob and Christine, a couple from the states.  We drove to Mollepata, a small town at the start of the trailhead and after breakfast began the trek.  It was a sunny day and though some parts of the walk were steep I did okay, chewing my coca leaves to keep the altitude sickness at bay.  After a few hours climbing the road from Mollepata through the valley we stopped for lunch where our cook prepared this amazing garlic bread thing plus soup and little steaks, it was yum.  After lunch we lay in the sun resting for a bit before continuing.  As we rounded a corner into a valley we caught our first sight of the mighty Salkantay mountain, with its snow capped peak rising to 6271m.  That afternoon we continued through the valley towards the base of the mountain, where we set up camp for the night.  It was pretty cold there but we had hot chocolate and played cards til dinner, after which I crashed out in my tent equipped with two sleeping bags to keep out the cold.

The next morning at 6.30am was the start of what would be the toughest day of the trek - 22km, the first four hours of which would be uphill as we climbed to the pass at 4600m.  We warmed up quickly climbing the mountain and when the sun peeked over the crest of the mountain it was a glorious day, almost hot.  We rested at a small lake then continued to the pass.  I was quite a keen bean striding ahead, fuelled by enthusiasm and coca leaves, and when we got to the top it was gorgeous.  You could then see into the next valley and across to the high snow covered mountain ranges in the distance.  After a stop and some photos we began our descent, winding slowly down.  The path was dusty and kind of tricky to walk down but after a while we stopped for lunch near a mountain stream, then had a quick siesta before continuing the descent down, down, downhill, the dry mountainsides transforming to cloud forest as we went.  It was quite a tough descent, it went on and on and I did get a little cranky with the slippery path towards the end, but sucked it up to finish eventually after a long day at 5pm at our next campsite.  I enjoyed a celebratory beer, then got really sleepy!  The three of us played Uno to distract ourselves from how tired we were as we waited til dinner.  Bob and Christine were generally okay to trek with, nice enough but despite both being 24 they were kind of like an old married couple, and not in an endearing way.  They would snap at each other and there was this constant tension like they were trying really really hard to have a nice holiday together, but failing.  Ick.  It reminded me why I'm happy to be single!  Anyway a lot of the time I'd walk ahead of them so kind of be on my own anyway.

On the third day our guide Miguel abandoned us (something about his name being on papers for another group, so he had to go help start another trek) and we joined another group, of 6 girls.  We had seen them arriving to camp quite late the night before and before too long we figured out why.  They were really bloody girly.  A quick rest stop after the first couple hours turned into a half-hour break to apply sunscreen, fix their hats and hair, adjust items of clothing and reapply band aids...So I gained a new appreciation for Bob and Christine who like me only needed quick breaks.  One girl in the group charged along the path, only to collapse in a heap at our next rest stop, laying on the ground like a dying swan.  I knew she was sick because I heard her coughing, but really she was being quite dramatic.  Which of course I never am when I'm sick!  So once the path hit a road the guide got us all into a minivan for the last few kilometers of the walk so that sickgirl didn't have to walk.  But despite all that it was quite a nice morning's walk.  Again I had avoided the crowd, this time by trailing behind. Walking through the jungle humming away, looking at orchids, the sun shining through the trees and the trail sparkling with specks of a silver coloured kind of rock (some kind of metamorphic mica, my geologist friend Laura has informed me) I had a few little moments of bliss.  That afternoon after making camp at Santa Teresa we went to the hot springs nearby where the bliss continued.  After three days of trekking, no showers and sore muscles, sliding into the clear warm water there was heavenly.  I took pleasure in floating in the water, staring up at the clouds as they moved across the sky, changing shapes then colours to a bright pink as the sun began to set, bathing the mountains in a warm yellow glow. Ahh, it was truly beautiful.  That evening a bunch of different trekking groups converged on the one campsite where we had some beers, a bonfire and some locals brought out the guitars singing and dancing away, a great finish to the day.

The final day of trekking began at a section of the red Inca trail which we followed up the mountain.  There is one famous Inca Trail, the one leading to Machu Pichhu which thousands of tourists hike every year, but there are thousands of other trails all over Peru and surrounding countries.  They were used as a communication system in the vast Inca empire, with Chaskis running along them from post to post, delivering messages like a relay.  That way the central power could maintain its quite centralised economy with knowledge of what was being produced in its far away lands, and relay messages back again.  The trail we climbed that day led us up another 900m, but from a lower starting point.  I was full of energy that morning and strode ahead enjoying the trail, the forest, the morning sun and the birdsongs all to myself, the others catching up at rest breaks.  When we got to the top I could see some cool looking mountains across the valley, and started taking some photos.  Miguel who had rejoined us by then, asked me "Can you see anything?" and on closer inspection I noticed the terracing in the mountainside - it was Machu Picchu in the distance.  We sat inthe sun atop the mountain quietly staring out across the valley for a little while.  Then began the final section of our trek, the descent to the Hidroelectrico.  It was tough going again, I think harder than the ascent because by this point my knees were getting sore.  But in the last kilometer we were greeted by a bunch of yellow butterflies which flew alongside us as we walked the last section of the road.  I felt like I was in one of those movies about a marathon runner, with my little insect coaches beside me giving me encouragement to finish, or celebrating the end like living confetti, it was nice!  When we reached the end we collapsed, had lunch then got the train to Aguas Calientes, the town close to Machu Picchu.  Despite feeling like celebrating into the night, after one pisco sour I was so tired I had to go to bed - at 8pm! But in a real bed, woohoo!

So the final day came - visiting Machu Picchu.  I had been looking forward to it of course, but I wasn't dying to see the place, I was kind of just doing it because everyone else does when they visit South America.  But arriving there, I don't know if it was the sense of achievement of making it that far, or because its just beautiful, or because I'd spent the last few days connecting with nature and so there was some kind of spiritual feeling happening (this atheist is still trying to figure that one out) but I got a bit choked up!  Its a really, really special place.  Miguel showed us to the central plaza and then the sun rose over the mountains, its beams lighting up Huaynapicchu and forming shadows in the Temple of the Three Windows where we stood.  We walked around the city admiring the stonework, looking at the llamas grazing on the grass, then around to the Condor Temple.  After a couple hours showing us around Miguel said goodbye and we went our separate ways, me heading up Huaynapicchu  for another view of the place.  It was really steep getting up there, to the extent where I wondered how the generally short statured Andean Incas climbed such deep steps since I was struggling!  But at the top it was magnificent.  You could see Machu Picchu below, but also had the sense of being right at the center of all the surrounding mountains.  After climbing down again and checking out the Temple of the Sun, I sat crosslegged on the grass of one of the terraces, quietly breathing, feeling the breeze on my skin, looking out at the mountains and the ruins of the city just taking in the moment, it was magic.  I was at the site for around seven hours and could easily have stayed longer if I wasn't getting a bit tired and hungry.  In fact I got a bit choked up leaving again, too! So it was back to Aguas Calientes then Cusco, back to reality.  But it was a really fantastic few days, probably the highlight of my trip now.  We'll see what the next six weeks brings!