Inca Trail Day 1 - May 30, 2011

Babe and I woke up bright and early for breakfast and to have our luggage stored while we were away to Machu Picchu. (we were to stay at the same hotel upon our return)  There was another couple doing the same thing...I guessed that we would probably see them on the Inca Trail.  We took only essentials with us that could fit in a large duffel bag (that Qori provided), to be carried by a porter, limited to 6 kilograms per hiker.  This included our toiletries, extra hiking clothes, and our travel pillows.  Babe and I would carry our own water, snacks, and hiking equipment such as poles and headlamps.

Our guide Jimmy (who has Quechua origins - his full name was Jimmy Chuquihuyta Gamalla), Basilio the cook, and a Qori Travel assistant (I never got her name) met us at the hotel.  The assistant dropped off our rental sleeping bags for the trip.  It cost USD $18 per person to rent and they were good quality Marmot down sleeping bags.  All I had were $20 bills, so they said they'd give us change after the trip. (we never did get change back, so some advice would be to have a lot of small bills in pristine condition)   Renateo was driving the van again, and we were off on our 2 hour drive to Ollantaytambo to pick up the rest of the porters and purchase provisions for our 4-day hike to Machu Picchu.

Upon arrival in Ollantaytambo, everyone dispersed to do errands, and Babe and I went in search of a public restroom, clean if possible.  Fortunately there was one in the building with the tourism office.  We purchased a couple of large bottles of water to fill our Camelbacks and a couple of Gatorade-like drinks, then waited for everyone to return to the van.

waiting in Ollantaytambo...it was cold

Once the group reconvened, we drove some more over unpaved one-lane roads to get to the "Camino Inka" trailhead at the 82 kilometer road marker.  A train station was also there, so we saw trains that were taking the easy way up to Machu Picchu. ;)   The altitude here was already at 9000 feet.

trail head starts here

a train heading to MP

porters checking in and getting their packs weighed...they are only allowed to carry ~45 lbs

There were so many other tours there and we didn't see any other groups with two people in it, like Babe and I.  We saw our friends from the hotel, in a group of four.  It was a pleasant surprise to have found out we were going to have the guide and all the porters to ourselves...at least I didn't have to worry about being the slowest in the group.  (and thankfully I carried enough cash for extra tips!)  The other tour groups seemed to be color-coded, with porters wearing bright colors like red, blue, yellow and purple.  Our guys were pretty non-descript, though their packs bore the "Qori Travel" logo.

And so our Inca Trail hike began!  It started as a leisurely stroll through picturesque landscapes, with ruins scattered about.  Jimmy even found some ripe prickly pears and cut one up for us to eat.  Porters were rushing by us, carrying packs that looked heavier than 50 lbs, and some of them were wearing sandals, which Jimmy told us was made of old rubber tires.  I couldn't imagine hiking the Inca Trail with rubber sandals, never mind the 50 lb backpack.

a little ways after the trailhead

the trail surrounded by ruins

and more ruins

We stopped at a resting point, where there were "convenience shops" set up for drinks and snacks.  Babe bought a bag of coca leaves to chew, like chewing tobacco.  Jimmy bought some ash to mix with it.  He asked if our jobs required drug testing; chewing coca could cause a drug test to be positive, so he generally warns hikers who work for the military, etc. not to do it.  Babe and Jimmy put a big wad in their mouths with a piece of ash rolled in the middle for flavor. (yum...?)

even ice cream is available!

big wad of coca with ash in the middle

The trail was mostly flat up until now, when it became more stair-like.  Then all of a sudden, around a corner, the magnificent ruins of Llaqtapata awaited.  We didn't go down there; another trailhead went by it and we saw some hikers making their way up to the altar hill.

stairs, but not too steep

almost as awesome as MP

lots of ruins

altar located next to the ruins, looked pretty treacherous to climb

Then it was time for lunch at a rest stop.  Lots of the other tours also stopped here.  The porters had already arrived ahead of us and set up the kitchen tent.  Half of the kitchen tent was dedicated to the "kitchen" and the other half was the eating area, divided by a tarp hung up in the middle.  Two plastic pans of warm water and soap were set out for the two of us to wash our hands. (this happened at every meal)  We were served a fruity Kool-aid-type drink before lunch...today it was orange-flavored.  Lunch would always consist of an appetizer and bread, followed by soup and main courses, ending with coffee or tea.  All utensils, plates and cups were made of stainless steel.

our porters setting up tent and lunch

you'll see me wear this outfit the entire hike...

washpans and soap

avocado and queso appetizer, yum

reminded me of egg drop soup

I'd rather drink coca tea than chew it

The meal was delicious.  I forgot to take pictures of the main courses! (I think it was chicken breast and potatoes)  The remainder of the hike was pretty flat and non-eventful.  Our campsite was near Wayllabamba, where there were ruins all around.  We actually got there before all the porters did...they said that we were too fast. ;)  The porters pitched us a 4-person tent with a tarp in it, and put inside the rolled-up sleeping bags, ground pads, and duffel bag for us to set up.  Our restroom facilities consisted of an outhouse about 100 feet away from our campsite with no running water (it looked like water used to flow) for the squat toilet.  You needed to bring a roll of toilet paper with you as well as a headlamp when it got dark.

where are all the porters?

surrounded by ruins

a high-altitude mountain sunset

Sunset came pretty early in the evening as the sun dipped behind the tall mountain backdrop.  It wasn't your typical sunset as we were at ~10,000 feet.  Dinner was similar to lunch except that there was dessert at the end of it.  It was really dark in the kitchen tent so I couldn't take any good pictures. 

I thought it'd be hard to go to sleep without a shower especially after a 5-6 hour hike (though it was not strenuous today) due to feeling sticky.  However, we changed into light thermals for sleeping (which covered almost every inch of skin) plus new socks.  We also brought facial wipes to wash our faces, so in the end, we didn't feel super dirty.  It helped that I put my hair up in a French braid, keeping it off my scalp to eliminate that "itchy feeling".  Our sleeping bags kept us warm during the chilly nights as the temperature dropped to the 30's.  It was nice to have a 4-person tent to have space to move around and to keep our backpacks inside.  We were advised to keep everything inside, including boots, as things "disappear in the night".

We went to bed early, as tomorrow would be the worst day of our hike...so-called "Day 2", where we hit the peak of the Inca Trail at close to 14,000 feet, called Warmiwanuscca, or "Dead Woman's Pass".  I hoped not to contribute to the namesake!