Inca trail
23 November 2015 | Peru, Cuzco
Allin Punchay! (Good morning in Quechua)
While flying from 0m to 3500m (Cusco), we realized we forgot to mention two interesting lessons from the jungle:
-never wear a headlamp while walking in the dark, because it attracts the Amazonian nightwasp (no, we don't have a picture of it!) and it aims for your eyes...
-never wear sandals while fishing for Piranha's, because they'll nibble at your toes once they're in the boat...
...for the concerned parents: both our feet and eyes are OK ;)
Before starting the high-altitude trek to Machu Picchu (=Inca trail), we spend two days in the charming town of Pisac to get used to less oxygen. Here we did a short walk to the ruins just above the town (where we had a great view to read a book - see picture) and we learned more about chocolate while eating it ;)
And then we finally started our 4-day hike to Machu Picchu! It's an ancient pilgrimage which the Incas used to worship the mountains & rivers along the route. We understand why they used this route, because it was spectacularly beautiful! Apart from all the interesting ruins along the trail, the scenery was amazing. In between the rain and fog we saw snow-capped mountains, green gorges, waterfalls and rivers snaking far below.
And we were very lucky to see the Andean spectacled bear (!!) and the biggest colibri in the world - and some less spectacular animals like chinchillas, guinea-pigs and lamas.
And as any pilgrimage it was a tough route to walk - we had to wake up @ 3.30(am!) and on better days @ 5.00, we suffered from altitude sickness @ 4200m after climbing a steep path for 4 hours, we were rained upon everyday (luckily we had the right gear) and we created four extra layers of skin (sunscream & mosquito repellent & no showers) - this all explains Loes' picture with the lama ;)
Another thing that made the experience interesting was that 5 Peruvians were walking with us to make our trip comfortable (a guide, a cook and 3 porters) - we prefered a group-tour, but there weren't any other bookings at our agency. Of course we felt a bit ashamed because they had to work so hard and carry so much weight (30kg each!) just for us. And no one would do this work if they had another option :(
Luckily our company&guide treated the porters well (we heard other stories) and we had the opportunity to hear their side of the story and interact in a respectful, fun way.
On the 4th day (after waking up @3.30 and standing in line for 1,5 hours to get a stamp from the goverment official) we reached Machu Picchu with an almost clear sky and sunshine! :D the city ruins are impressive, but we felt that the surrounding mountains are even more impressive!
Now we're back in Cusco where we'll take some Spanish classes the coming week (and maybe improve our salsa-skills ;)). Afterwards we might go to NP Manu, but the road is blocked by a strike which may take a while. They like strikes here, we couldn't visit the natural history museum either :(
So our next story will be in Spanish - mucha suerte entenderla!
Erno y Luz
Ps: the reason for waking up at 3.30 the last day of the Inca trail is not because the sunrise is best then (that would be much better 3 hours later as the fog has cleared..), but because the porters can only take one train back to the starting point which surprisingly goes at 5.30. And they need to carry the tents and everything with them. So the tourists have to suffer as well...
Ps2: we tried some new food again: alpaca, various vegetables and guinea-pig (the poor animal kept looking sadly at Loes)
While flying from 0m to 3500m (Cusco), we realized we forgot to mention two interesting lessons from the jungle:
-never wear a headlamp while walking in the dark, because it attracts the Amazonian nightwasp (no, we don't have a picture of it!) and it aims for your eyes...
-never wear sandals while fishing for Piranha's, because they'll nibble at your toes once they're in the boat...
...for the concerned parents: both our feet and eyes are OK ;)
Before starting the high-altitude trek to Machu Picchu (=Inca trail), we spend two days in the charming town of Pisac to get used to less oxygen. Here we did a short walk to the ruins just above the town (where we had a great view to read a book - see picture) and we learned more about chocolate while eating it ;)
And then we finally started our 4-day hike to Machu Picchu! It's an ancient pilgrimage which the Incas used to worship the mountains & rivers along the route. We understand why they used this route, because it was spectacularly beautiful! Apart from all the interesting ruins along the trail, the scenery was amazing. In between the rain and fog we saw snow-capped mountains, green gorges, waterfalls and rivers snaking far below.
And we were very lucky to see the Andean spectacled bear (!!) and the biggest colibri in the world - and some less spectacular animals like chinchillas, guinea-pigs and lamas.
And as any pilgrimage it was a tough route to walk - we had to wake up @ 3.30(am!) and on better days @ 5.00, we suffered from altitude sickness @ 4200m after climbing a steep path for 4 hours, we were rained upon everyday (luckily we had the right gear) and we created four extra layers of skin (sunscream & mosquito repellent & no showers) - this all explains Loes' picture with the lama ;)
Another thing that made the experience interesting was that 5 Peruvians were walking with us to make our trip comfortable (a guide, a cook and 3 porters) - we prefered a group-tour, but there weren't any other bookings at our agency. Of course we felt a bit ashamed because they had to work so hard and carry so much weight (30kg each!) just for us. And no one would do this work if they had another option :(
Luckily our company&guide treated the porters well (we heard other stories) and we had the opportunity to hear their side of the story and interact in a respectful, fun way.
On the 4th day (after waking up @3.30 and standing in line for 1,5 hours to get a stamp from the goverment official) we reached Machu Picchu with an almost clear sky and sunshine! :D the city ruins are impressive, but we felt that the surrounding mountains are even more impressive!
Now we're back in Cusco where we'll take some Spanish classes the coming week (and maybe improve our salsa-skills ;)). Afterwards we might go to NP Manu, but the road is blocked by a strike which may take a while. They like strikes here, we couldn't visit the natural history museum either :(
So our next story will be in Spanish - mucha suerte entenderla!
Erno y Luz
Ps: the reason for waking up at 3.30 the last day of the Inca trail is not because the sunrise is best then (that would be much better 3 hours later as the fog has cleared..), but because the porters can only take one train back to the starting point which surprisingly goes at 5.30. And they need to carry the tents and everything with them. So the tourists have to suffer as well...
Ps2: we tried some new food again: alpaca, various vegetables and guinea-pig (the poor animal kept looking sadly at Loes)
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23 November 2015 - 19:34
:
Pictures will be added soon! -
23 November 2015 - 20:35
Patries En Wim:
Weer een prachtig verhaal, we zijn benieuwd naar verdere details. Hopelijk stoppen ze snel met staken zodat jullie nog naar Manu kunnen gaan. In ieder geval veel succes met jullie Spaanse lessen. -
24 November 2015 - 15:23
Gerrit En Jannie:
Mooie foto's en leuk reisverhaal. Het ziet er daar prachtig en indrukwekkend uit. Lijkt ons een bijzondere ervaring, maar zeker ook inspannend. Nu jullie Spaans bijspijkeren en wellicht wat uitrusten. We zijn benieuwd naar het volgende verhaal. -
24 November 2015 - 16:00
Jaap:
Eet ze op die alpaca's! Beter een alpaca op je bord dan op de dijk. -
24 November 2015 - 20:00
Tvdp:
Top dit! -
30 November 2015 - 07:38
Douwe:
Mooie avonturen zeg! Ben erg benieuwd naar de foto's. In aanvulling op Jaap zal ik ook de Cavia en Andean Spectacled Bear toevoegen aan de lijst met voorbeelden van vee. Wat staat er nu op jullie planning? -
26 December 2015 - 15:18
Alexander:
Leuk zo'n reisverslag. Veel plezier
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