Day 1 on the Inka Trail

Up and boarding the bus at 7:30 we were anxious to get started. Four people from our tour group combined with 5 people from another Gap Adventure tour group for the 4 day trek through the mountains. Our guides Demas and Henrica would lead the way. We were to carry our day packs , while 17 porters carried our tents, food, duffel bags, sleeping backs, chairs and tables for meals and everything else they would need to make our camping adventures as comfortable as possible.

The porters were amazing. Barely 5 feet tall, they each carried packs on their backs at least 50 - 60 pounds. Often the packs looked bigger than the men themselves. They even carried propane tanks for cooking our meals. Once their packs were packed the porters would run up the path, easily passing us and all set up for our next meal prior to us reaching the designated stop for our lunch or stop for the night.

Before starting the trek, all the paperwork had to be verified and permits confirmed to passports before you could proceed onto the Inka Trail. Turns out we were 9 sleeping bags short. So our guide frantically worked at having the sleeping bags delivered to our porters. The challenge was that we couldn't start the trip until all the porters with enough bags crossed the entrance gate. So for 1 1/2 hours we sat at the border waiting to begin the trek. We were eager to get started, especially since we could see that the initial part of the hike appeared to be straight up hill. What were we in for? Finally our porters arrived, our passports stamped and we were off.

Day one was deemed the training day, with lots of gradual climbs, some flat walks and gradual declines. Spread throughout were a few really steep inclines. The challenge was finding the right pace including timing of stops to catch your breathe so you didn't burn yourself out. Eventually we found a comfortable pace and pushed up and down the mountain. Although i huffed and puffed up the mountain, my heart and lungs never hurt as bad as when we were running the Curling Club hills as part of the marathon training. Today I was thankful for every hill we ran. I only wish we had run more,

Our first stop for lunch was basically a farmers field, but by the time we arrived, the porters had a dining tent set up, with tables, chairs, table clothes and bowls of warm water to rinse our hands and faces off. Pretty impressive. Lunch started with vegetable soup, followed by a fish and rice entree. Then a 1/2 hour rest period to digest our lunch before heading off for another 2 hours of steady hiking before we would stop for the night. The last half hour was straight uphill. The stairs were killers and we had gained over 650m in elevation since the start of the trek. Did I mention it felt like we were always climbing uphill?

Finally we had reached the destination for night one and we were all ready to be done. Tea at 5, including popcorn and crackers, dinner at 6:30 and then we were all ready for bed by 7:30. Climbing into our sleeping bags we knew that day one was supposed to be the easy day and we were all exhausted. Hopefully I get a good nights sleep and stay warm.

The ride to the Sacred Valley

Wednesday morning we left Cusco for the beginning of our adventure to the Inca Trail. Our first stop was at a small farming village part way up yet another steep hill. When the van came to a stop we were in the middle of the very small farming community and a group of women were standing in the middle of the square, spinning wool, weaving and knitting clothing. The women spinning wool held a large bundle of wool in their arms and used what looked like a child's toy top hanging down by their knees to spin the wool. First we got the opportunity to feel the different types of wool. Alpaca was the softest and smoothest. The Llama was a bit coarser and the sheep's wool was the roughest. It was very clear why Alpaca was the preferred wool to work with and wear. After learning about the different types of wool we were then taught how the wool was dyed to the different colors using natural dyes found in plants. The longer the wool was boiled with the plants in a large pot, the brighter the colors. Once the wool was dyed to the appropriate color it was ready to be woven or knit into the article of choice. A small table cloth can take 2 to 3 months to weave using the basic tools originally used by the women of Peru. Unfortunately the native methods are becoming a lost art in Peru. Therefore in an effort to preserve the history and skills Gap is sponsoring the community in order to teach young woman the trade so that the ancient skills are not lost. So of course we had to purchase something from the vast selection of Alpaca clothing available. We both walked away with attractive scarves that I am sure you will see us sporting once back home. As a matter of fact, they have come in very useful already with the cold evenings we are encountering.

Back on the bus we were heading to a large artisan market in Pisac for more shopping, if you hadn't already had your fill. The town had a fairly large market, filled with more clothes, sweaters, hats and mitts made from a variety of wools. It was starting to feel like same stuff, different location so we took a quick tour around and headed back to the bus.

We were now in the Sacred Valley. Our next stop saw us climbing high into the hills to the ruins of an Inca fortress that overlooked the entire valley. Determined to reach the top, for the best view of the entire valley we worked our way through the maze of the ruins. Slightly out of breathe we were at the top overlooking the valley. The fortress was built so that the Incas could see the valley from all three directions that could be used to enter the valley.

From here we headed into the Sacred Valley for a buffet lunch. The hit of the buffet was the desserts and several of us had more than one. The favorite a carmel square. After lunch we were back on the bus heading to Ollnataytambo. A small town home to another set of ruins overlooking part of the Sacred Valley. Again we climbed the multitude of stairs heading to the peak for the best view of the townships below. Imagine standing at the top of the mountain preaching to the citizens below. It would have been very majestic and powerful delivery of messages to the masses.

We were spending the night here, so had a few hours to wonder thru the small town before supper. Randy and I found a small Blues Bar, which seemed so out of character in this tiny town so we just had to sit on the porch and have a drink. Time for supper and an early night. Tomorrow we would start the journey across the Inca Trail. While we tried to sleep many of us were a bit restless. I think it may have been nervous, as travellers we met along the way said the trail was very difficult and the nights cold. Nerves, anticipation, and excitement wrapped up in a restless sleep.