Day 16-18

Day 16
The alarm blared at 4am this morning so we got up packed our bags and got ready! Quickly called my parents as it’s my 21st birthday today!

We headed down to the hotel lobby and met our guide and loaded up into the van. We sped off towards km 82 which is the official start of the Inca trail. We stopped briefly for some breakfast and then went to the starting centre. Had our passports checked, and our guide Miguel gave us some information about the Inca trail including the many different types of ecosystems we would see along the way. Then we were off!! 12k to complete. It started off pretty relaxed, following a river that meandered through small villages. Within 5 minutes the views were spectacular!! Half way through we stopped for lunch and were given a 3 course lunch!!!! One of the dishes was fish but I was too hungry to care!

We also took some time to enjoy some Incan ruins. Some far away in the valley but some that we could walk right through!

We then headed off for the second half of today, with 2 sections of pretty steep by the time we got to base camp I was pretty tired!! And this is meant to be the easy day- worried for tomorrow!

As we arrived our porters clapped us in, it really feels like we should be doing the other way considering they carry 25kg on the trail and beat us to camp every time!! The tents were already set up when we arrived all very civilised. We enjoyed sitting back admiring the view from our campsite of the amazing Andes mountains and took a trip to the local village to get a coke and the boys had a local beer! This is our only night in civilisation so need to make the most of it. Apparently 500 people hike the Inca trail everyday so I expected it to be heaving. Thankfully to my surprise when you are on the trail you don’t see that many other people at all, only really at the designated rest stops!

As we got in around 3.30pm we had some time to kill so went and explored some Inca ruins at the top of the hill. Completely empty you could wander right through them it was very cool. We met two young boys playing there and Keira and I proceeded to play a kind of hide and seek game with them. The language barrier didn’t matter, it was just fun!

Finishing off the evening with a warm dinner with the group we headed to bed early to try get lots of rest for the 5 am wake up call tomorrow! Really enjoyed being in nature and easing into the hiking today.

Day 17
Slept pretty well last night bar the donkeys and dogs making noises at 3am! Got woken up with some coca tea which was nice and warm, last night was t too cold but i was slightly on the edge. We had breakfast which consisted of bread and porridge. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the food so far but have to say the porridge was very watery and not great but finished it up as needed to fuel up for the day. As we had breakfast the Sherpas packed up our tents, really is Luxor’s treatment!

I’ve been dreading today as this is dead women’s pass- clue in the name! It’s over 1,100 metres of elevation gain over 8km. That might not sound too bad, it was. There was no flat at all, it was just up the entire way. We split it into three chunks taking a 20 min break in between. The first section was not too bad, it was 2km and took us an hour. Then the second section was pretty hellish for me. The heat was pretty immense at points and I just felt crap. It was just stairs and stairs and slope, it was never ending. This was 2.5k and took us just under 2 hours. Now the final push 3.5k!! The air is so thin as you go above 4,000m above sea level that you can never catch your breath, at least not unless you are stopping for 10 minutes. Our guides advice was take a one minute stop only. At the back of the group I pushed on, stopping every 100m or so to try breathe deeper. Jacob kindly walked with me for the uphill knowing I needed some company. Doing this whilst still recovering from a cold with reduced lung capacity was HARD. Jacob started to feel ill, we think the effects of altitude so we both took it slow falling about 5 mins behind the main group.

We saw a snake slither past and also a dear up on the cliff face. We then somehow saw the summit ahead of us. Wanting to take another break as my lungs were burning I pushed on as I heard cheers coming from the top. And then WE WERE THERE! I collapsed and ate half of my snacks feeling defeated but also feeling amazing and on top of the world. The views were incredible. Huge mountains and valleys it was insane. What was also nice as there were only maybe 5 people at the top who weren’t from our group so felt very personal. Reassuring everyone that my sense of humour had now returned we took so pictures and soaked in the view. Sadly there is no rest for the wicked with Miguel saying it was time to start the decent. This was a 4km decent and took us 2 hours due to the fact it was Incan steps the whole way. As we started the decent the clouds moved in which was very evocative but with them came the rain. Putting on our coats and bag covers we carried on down. The steps were now lethal from the rain, with every step feeling like I might slip I took extra time choosing every footing. We went from 4,250m to 3,500m. My knees by the end were so sore that when I saw base camp I cheered with relief. We arrived to a hot lunch which we gulped down enthusiastically. Trying our best to not get the inside of the tent went we laid down and took a long needed nap!

The rain only got heavier and having just got dry and warm I couldn’t think of anything worse than going out of the tent for dinner. Jacob went having not had much lunch and kindly brought me soup to have in the tent. Trying to peg our tent out more to keep the rain from getting into the edges we settled down for another night.

Day 18

Another knock at the tent with coca tea woke us up this morning. Blurry eyed we climbed out the tent and settled in for a nice omelette and a coffee and then it was go time. The beginning of today consisted of the final mountain pass of the Inca trail. We had to hike back up to 4,000 metres which, when my legs were sore from yesterday was harder than it should have been. Thankfully it only took us 2 hours to get to the top where we had a quick snack break. Then we had to go all the way down the mountain the other side, I asked Miguel is the Incans knew how to build tunnels and he said yes, I don’t think they utilised them as much as they should have!! We then proceeded to climb up again and walk along a mountain through the rain and cloud forest. This was really beautiful with so many birds and plants it’s the most diverse we have seen so far. Sadly the chronic illness pain started to kick in about an hour before lunch which made this hour pretty hard work. Once I got to lunch I drugged up and felt a lot better. The porters and chef presented us with a cake for “completing” the Inca trail! Bless them! They have been so attentive and friendly this whole trip.

Now for the “gringo killer”. Over 1,000m of de-elevation of almost entirely Incan stairs. This was exhausting and my legs were absolutely shaking by the end. Half the group sped off which means I walked most of this alone but it was actually quite nice as I just enjoyed the view and took pictures on the way down, as well as having a chat with some porters in very dodgy Spanish. Part of the reason we chose G adventures was due to the fact that they treat their Sherpas well. Decent pay, maximum 25kg to carry, and new walking shoes and clothes every three months. Talking to these Sherpas from the other company they were wearing sandals and flip flops with one of them pulling their sole of their shoe back to show me how broken they were. This was really shocking as i cannot imagine having to do this trail in bad shoes.

Eventually made it down to enjoy some Incan ruins before the last 20 minute walk into camp. We arrived a bit later today around 4pm I think so sorted out our stuff and then had our last dinner. We had an amazing three course meal and then thanked the cook and the Sherpa and gave them our tips. They have worked unbelievably hard and absolutely deserve it.

Early to bed tonight as up at 3.30am to do the final hike up to Machu Picchu. I can’t believe the Inca trail is coming to an end, it’s been exhausting and amazing at the same time.

Going to do another post for last day as have so many photos!Read more