Machu Picchu Trip 2008

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Day 0 - The Briefing at the SAS Office Nov 23

Well, Lets start with the briefing at the SAS office the previous night. We reached a little late due to the fact that our sacred valley tour got a little extended. We were overwhelmed by the first sight of the group. Andy and Patty sitting across the room, Deepak and Trinh to the right corner and the irish boys split across the room. Mark arrived later than us ... and Vicky arrived later and impressive was she :). We had Lucy there too ... and then Tom and Ana and how can we forget our brasileiro friend Rafael. Virgilio and Yjohans introduced themselves and the trip in details. I was impressed and at the same time super excited. Everyone introduced themselves and in a very comprehensive way. Looking forward to meeting at the square the following morning at 5:45 am

Our Fantastic guides

Virgilio - Our lead guide with loads of knowledge who understood the needs of the group and paced it well. A very funny person whose idea of flat was very different .. and we called it the Peruvian flat.

Yhojans - the young guide. The kujiwato .. and very knowledgeable too. A friend of "Hotte" who lead the other group but everytime they met .. it was a kujiwato discussion time.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Day 1 - Start of the Classic Inca Trail

Day 1: As agreed on the previous night, we meet at 5:45 AM at the Plaza Regocilo. Everyone looks fresh and the excitement shows in the face of all. The bus comes and we all board along with our backpacks which are dumped at the back of the bus. An exciting bus journey awaits as we are stopped midway for a police inspection. I don't know what happened as the saying is ... "welcome to Peru" ... we are held up on the side of the road for a very considerable period of time jeopardizing our start time. Breakfast is served on the bus and we finally are on the move to Kilometer 82. As we reach Kilometer 82, we find that Vicky's sleeping bag is missing .. must have been misplaced or lost somewhere. We all line up to take our first group picture in front of the famous Inca Trail sign along the Urubamba river. We also get a pack of snacks for the trail and we head for the Control office. We slowly get our passports stamped and take the swinging bridge to cross the river and wait for the rest of the team. It was not a bad day of hiking as Virgilio said .. it is mostly a flat terrain .. (mind you ... it's peruvian flat ;) ). Its a wonderful day with bright sunlight. Lunch is served around 2 PM. I can't beleive we are having restaurant quality 3 course meal high up in the Andes. Some of us take a power nap and we start on our way to the first night's camp. We pass the archaeological site of Llactapata. We are not staying in the usual camp site of Wayllabamba. We climb a bonus of extra 2 Kms to our exquisite campsite in the high jungles. We have the first sight of the tents ... our home for 3 nights. Dinner is served early and we retire to our tents with tired legs. What a spectacular starry night. As the night progresses, so does the thunder and lighting with hail. It rained and rained almost all night long with thunder, lightning and hail. Glad it was at night and not during the day. (some people got water in their tents).

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Day 2 - The toughest day .. Climb Dead woman pass ... then down 800m, up 600 m and then down 600 m

Day 2 - We are told that this is going to be the toughest day of the trail. The overnight rain had bathed the trees and drenched the surrounding mountains. It was a spectacular sight in the morning as fresh snow could be seen on the high slopes. The sounds of the waterfalls ans streams echoed through the mountains. The beautiful Victoria peak appeared all day long showing its beauty in various forms .. sometimes shy and covering itself with clouds and sometimes glaring its beauty. After a healthy breakfast, we started our 2nd day bright and early. We slowly paced our way and we could clearly see the bold and young sprinting forward and with gasping breadth, we reach the grasslands (i forget the name of this place). This is a perfect place to relax and an ideal photo shooting opportunity. Virgilio being a master guide and knowing our spirits, took us in a special path along the grassland. We passed grazing llamas and alpaca and we were also lucky to see the Andean deer. I need pictures of the deer (please). We could now see the "Dead Woman Pass" high up there and we were all ready. It was surely a challenge as we slowly and steadily climbed the "Dead Woman's pass" ... 4215 m the highest point of the trail. Comment: Day 2, with the summit of dead woman's pass seemingly only meters away Andy initiates the 40 club. 40 steps and a rest. I know it sure helped us to the top ..... It was a moment of achievement, a moment of triumph and a moment of reflection. A time to relax and get ready for our grueling downhill journey (the knee torture). We drop down 800m and come to our lunch site. After lunch, we hike the high jungles up 600m and then down another 600m to reach our campsite. The Irish and the Aussie lads started the game of .... (please help me with the name of the game). I joined in but sucked big time. Those guys had a record of 28 (before i joined). The porters and the cooks were introduced this evening and so did we introduce ourselves. It was night to give our tired legs a rest. A bottle of Peruvian rum arrived and we had a refreshing cocktail before dinner. It started raining during dinner and we had to hurry. It rained cats and dogs at night. We were so lucky that it rains at night and the day is bright and blue. I think we all had a good nights sleep.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Day 3 - On our way to Winaywayna

Day 3 - The 3rd day started on a spectacular note. We are in a high jungle area with birds chirping and waking us up surrounded by snow capped peaks. The sky is all blue with the occasional hide and seek game played by the clouds. As usual, breakfast is served in the open and we all start towards Winaywayna. We are a little ahead from the other trekkers and this was one of the easiest trekking days. We passed the archeological site of Phuyupatamarca and relax there for a while. Virgilio gets going and his vast knowledge of the Inca culture is evident as he explains the purpose of this site. Its a wonderful day as the sun god is smiling on us. Some wonderful orchid's are captured. We finally reach Winaywayna around 2 PM for lunch. Like all other days, a sumptuous lunch is prepared for us and we devour it. It was also a day to hang around and sip some cold Cusqueana (the Preuvian beer). Some of us quickly take the opportunity to have a hot shower (timed 8 mins). I know some people wanted to go for the massage too but hey ... After lunch and sipping some cold beer, we follow the footsteps of Virgilio to the archeological site of Winaywayna. An impressive site and a time to ponder. The last dinner was a treat as our so called photographer took pictures and collected emails. It was a warm night with slight drizzle now and then as we wake up at 4:00 am to make our final day's trek.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Day 4 - We are at Machu picchu

Day 4: We start our day very early in the morning. We wake up at 4 am and after a quick breakfast, we start at 4:30 am. This was the day when we had to wear our ponchos and rain coats. A cloud of uncertainity prevailed as to whether it would rain all day or not. We passed the control at WinayWayna at 5:30 am . After 4 days of undulating Andes terrain, we finally reach "The Sun Gate" in a misty morning with no view of Machu Picchu. We all performed our newly learnt Andean Magic to move the clouds and mist away. Slowly but surely, the mists started dissapearing and the granduer of Machu Picchu comes to sight. It was spectacular and so was the joy of achievement.