Tuesday 12th May
We were up at 5am for an early breakfast before getting the coach to Ollantaytambo, our last taste of civilisation before hitting the trail. We loaded up on water and chocolate and each bought a 'magic stick' from the locals as we hadn't wanted to bring walking poles. The scenery here was outstanding, and once back on the coach we took a tiny rocky road where it just got better and better.
When we arrived at the start of the Inca Trail our porters swarmed the coach, packing up our duffel bags and all their other equipment into massive bundels, heaving it onto their backs and then running off on their way. It was fascinating to watch!
It took a while for us all to check in (where we received another stamp on our passports!), and we took one group photo at the start before heading off on our way!
The first day of the trek was reasonably as we'd expected it to be. It was fairly easy going, with a few uphill struggles along the way, and we saw our first set of Inca ruins - Patallacta. A few people were finding it hard near the back, and Eamon was violently sick at one point. Andy especially started to suffer quite badly from the altitude, and to top things off it even started raining, but we all made it to camp as it started to get dark! The toilets at camp and lunch stops were literally holes in the ground, and they really smelt! If we needed to go whilst walking it was a case of nipping into the bushes and asking someone to stand guard! We had a short brief (a rare occurrence!) after dinner and spent quite some time looking up at the stars before going to sleep. There was absolutely no light pollution, and we've never seen such an amazing night sky. It was an unforgettable moment. We both coped really well with the first day, so we were hoping we would be alright with the higher altitude on the second day. |
Matt at the start of the Inca Trail
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