Anyway, since Adam did such a great job of recapping the full experience, I thought I’d share some of my favorite/shocking/exhausting/humiliating/hilarious/moving moments of the trek with the blogosphere. In other words, my Inca Trail superlatives!
Most Humbling
As Adam has already mentioned, the company we hired for the trek was stellar. We did a lot of research beforehand as we had heard that some of the companies offering Inca Trail treks were guilty of exploiting their porters–forcing them to carry unreasonable loads, not paying them a living wage, etc. We wanted to do our best to avoid giving our business to company that would use such business practices. I was relieved to learn on the first day that the Peruvian government has recently lowered the maximum load each porter can carry from 50 (!!) to 25 kilos. (Granted, we’re still talking about booking it along a strenuous hike with 55 pounds on your back, but at least 55 is better than 110.)
I was immediately struck by not only how strong and fast the porters were, but how kind they were. They smiled genuinely and greeted us every time we passed one another. (Let’s be honest: they were kind every time they passed me. I was only passing a porter if he was sitting down taking a break!) We were met at each stop with gear, camp and food set up for us, as well as by a round of applause (for arriving alive, I suppose). The grins on their faces when we returned the applause were huge. They deserved it far more than we did, for sure. While our guide assured me that the porters were happy to have this job, it is, without a doubt, a grueling occupation. The toll on their bodies can sometimes lead to serious knee or back problems later in life. And there’s no insurance for them during retirement. It is a harsh tradeoff. However, as our guide pointed out, if these men were not working as porters, they would be farming–neither is particularly gentle on the body. The fact remains; however, that the porters working the Inca Trail are an amazing group of people. We were so grateful for them!
Our amazing porters (somehow the only picture of our porters I managed to snap):
Our amazing porters after breaking down lunch camp on Day 3 (somehow the only decent picture of them I managed to snap)
Biggest Shock
Two words: Squat toilets.
I expected to run into these in Asia. I’ve even seen one before in a train station in Italy (I practically ran back out because I was sure that I had accidentally wandered into the men’s room). Let’s just say I was a wee bit surprised when I walked into the first restroom on the trail and was greeted by a hole in the ground flanked by ceramic footprints. No photos. You’re welcome.
Best Show of Street Cred
Pouring one out for my homies the Pachamama.* Despite having been warned that alcohol should be avoided in the days leading up to the hike (because of the altitude), hot mulled wine was served after dinner the second night (and gratefully accepted!) Just before we partook of our treat, our guide stopped us, saying “Don’t forget to sprinkle some on the ground…” I almost burst out laughing because I initially thought that Cesar had watched one too gansta rap music videos! Thankfully, I held it together, because he elaborated, “… it is our tradition to offer our first sip to the Pachamama (the earth spirit/god) to show our appreciation.” From then on, we made sure to pour one out for the Pachamama.
*I have to admit that I am not winning any awards for street cred. I had to try three times before I settled on a spelling for “homies.” Such. a. dork.
Our homage to the Pachamama seemed to pay off, too… which brings me to:
Best Luck!
This one goes to everyone on the Inca Trail from Wednesday to Saturday. We knew that we were taking a risk by booking at the beginning of the rainy season. The refrain we kept hearing while preparing for the trek was “The weather is very changeable during the rainy season!” We were told it could very well rain every day, maybe not all day, but there was certainly a good chance that it would be a soggy hike. We were even warned by a couple who had done the hike a few weeks before us to be sure to bring heavy duty ponchos that would fit over us and our packs—they had worn theirs practically the entire hike. So we were prepared for a wet few days.
Much to our delight, our hike was mostly dry! It sprinkled a bit on the first and third days, but for the most part, the only rain came during the night. Our good luck (and the cooperation of the Pachamama J) meant that we only had to spend a short time in these snazzy getups:
The sun was shining the entire day that we toured Machu Picchu, only beginning to rain in earnest as we were walking to catch our train back to Cusco. As the train pulled out of the station, it started to pour. We could only marvel at how incredibly lucky we had been to be able to enjoy nice weather for the entire hike with the rain holding off until our trek and day at Machu Picchu were done. Thanks Pachamama!
Warm Fuzzies
Early on day three, we reached the second pass, Abra de Runkuracay. After the intensity of the second day, it was nice to reach a summit after climbing for only a couple of hours (rather than day 2’s climb of five hours!). We had some stellar views:
Once the entire group arrived, Cesar announced that we were going to do a ceremony to the Pachamama. He instructed us to bring our coca leaves (we had all purchased small bags of coca leaves to make tea and help alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness) and follow him. We climbed up a nearby hill to one of the highest points at that pass. The only tricky part was that there wasn’t really a path to the site Cesar chose for the ceremony. This posed a little bit of difficulty for some people in our group who weren’t so sure of their footing, but we all got there intact.
At the site, Cesar told us to choose the three best coca leaves from our stashes. As we went through our bags, he explained that the coca leaf was—and still is—extremely significant in the Quecha (Inca) society. The leaves are used as offerings to the gods, have medicinal properties and have figured prominently in Quecha life for centuries. Once we had selected our most perfect leaves, Cesar explained that the three leaves signified the three worlds recognized by the Quecha people. We then placed our leaves on an altar-like stone, facing east (the direction of the sunrise) and thanked the Pachamama for everything we were experiencing.
(Ceremony for Pachamama (2) and (3))
I have to admit, the ceremony really appealed to Adam’s and my inner hippie. The hike was tremendously beautiful, and knowing that we were hiking along the same path that pilgrims had hiked so many centuries ago to get to Machu Picchu was just overwhelming. Expressing our appreciation only seemed appropriate.
There were many other amazing moments, among them the excitement of waking up, without an alarm or wake-up of any kind, at 3:45 in the morning to get ready to (finally!) head to Machu Picchu
(Pic of us on third morning)
and getting a chance to really explore the rooms and details of Machu Picchu:
(Machu Picchu window revised; Machu Pichu Detail shots (20))
Overall, the hike and the visit to Machu Picchu were amazing. I completely echo Adam’s sentiments that this is an experience I’ll never forget—it might not be for everyone, but if you’ve ever thought of doing it, do yourself a favor and get to Peru. It’s well worth it.
~Meg
The Wander Year 