“The Inkas Made Me Do It”

Woke up at 4ish - nipped out to the loo.
Came back and got snuggled back into sleeping bags for another hour. The stars were so bright through the glass domed roof, and we used the “Sky Guide” app to work out what we were looking at - the brightest stars were Jupiter and Orion’s Belt. We were lucky enough to see a shooting star, well Rach saw 1 more than Emma (devastated).

So, onto the trek. At this mornings briefing the team name was born - “Paddington’s possy” (funny misunderstandings of possy to the Non English speakers of the group.)

It was a challenging day - 12 hours total. Started with an ascent to Salkantay pass which took us 3 hours and to our highest point on the trek - 4630m. Salkantay mountain sits an an impressive 6271m above sea level, and translates as “Savage Mountain”.

At the top we learned from Felix that there is a total of 26,000km of the Inka trail across South America, much of which is unrestored. We completed a ritual with cocoa leaves and stones as a marker of respect to the mountain.

We then proceeded a 3 hour descent to our lunch spot, then a final gruelling 3.5 hours down to our site for the evening.
Wow was it worth it though… the team had been upgraded from Andean Huts to some more sky dome/hut hybrids (usually for premium trekkers!) - en-suite huts at the rear and a gorgeous domed front overlooking the Andes. Showering all the dust off was the loveliest feeling ever!!

The trek day was good - Good chat, nice vibe, some funny catch phrases in our tired, dusty delirium - for example “the inkas made me do it”, and Rach almost ruining a guy’s holiday by correcting him on his Condor photos, which were actually Andean Geese. Also asked Felix about healthcare/occupational therapy (or the lack of) in Peru which was really interesting.
As we progressed, there was a gradual transition from high snowy cool, dry dusty rocky, to luscious green humidity. Tomorrow we will venture to the edge of the Amazon jungle.

We ended the day, as usual with a tasty buffet tea and agreeing the plan for tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll sleep well in our comfy beds tonight!Read more