Wow wow wow.
It felt like we had already had the trip of the lifetime and it hadn't even "started" yet.
All these days of acclimating are a great thing, but they are also a RISK because here we are with our first world stomachs eating at restaurants and brushing our teeth with third world water. So it was a bit nervy hoping we don't get sick, hoping the meat is cooked all the way, hoping the lettuce on the burger isn't contaminated with raw water.
Peru is high risk for contamination and we are getting ready to LAUNCH INTO THE WILD.
So sure enough, Jim got a little bit of the gastro situation...nothing serious, but enough to make me NOT SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE in fear of the worst (him being too sick to hike with us?)
He took lots of pepto and some immodium, and fingers crossed it's FINE EVERYTHING'S FINE.
And it was fine! Phew.
I was pretty nervy the morning while we were waiting for our Alpaca shuttle to pick us up and take us to the trailhead.
This sweet wild dog felt my nerves and came to calm me down. He just laid right by us and let us know it's going to be FINE, GRINGO.
Our Alpaca bus picked us up at the stone bridge. We got on and the bus smelled like morning. Some of the group had been on since Cuzco, some got on at Urumbumbo.
At this point we are mostly strangers. So fun to think about how much we are going to get to know each other in the coming days.
We got dropped at the trailhead in Piskacucho
8923 feet
They had a spread of breakfast for us to enjoy. Fruit, eggs, bread. Coca tea.
I wish we would have gotten a better group picture this first day. The cast of characters!
We had: the two couples, me and Jim, Jamie and Andy.
Plus the four gal pals/sisters in law: Jamie's friend Nicole the spearheader, Azha, Liz, Sarah
The gay couple from New York: Judah and Johnathan
The brother and sister: Henry and Jilly
The mother and son duo: Brittney and Dane, Ben and Ben's mom.
As we ate breakfast there was a so much activity going on with the porters. They were packing up our duffle bags and packing up their bags to the absolute brim. Pack pack pack.
They pack so fast. I said multiple times - watching them pack up an entire meal, dishes, chairs and table situation: it takes the relief society hours to clean up after a meal! These guys are packed and hiking within MINUTES.
Then Abel our guide "ok team!" called us over to where the Shaman gave us a blessing and we put some coca leaves on a shrine.
Ahem.
The Shaman had his zipper down. That was all I could think about the whole time he was telling us things about the sacred nature of this and that - bro XYZ!
But THEN. Andy and Jim behind me were giggling like deacons because: Andy dropped one of his coca leaves on the ground on accident. I don't think coca leaves are supposed to touch the ground because the shaman bent down and picked it up and put it in his mouth....and Andy said when he bent down his (whisper) penis fell out of his zipper.
So they giggled.
So anyway, moving along.
We next had to get in line and show our passports to the official at the window.
You are not allowed to hike the Inca Trail without a guide. So they made sure everything was in order, and then we were actually boots on the ground!
Day One: About 9 miles,
About 2000 elevation gain,
end at elevation 10829.
That's about as high as the top of Mount Baker.
"Inca flat" for most of the hike (but it was a lot of up hill! especially at the end of the day).
Cross the Urumbamba River.
You guys, these porters were one of the top most amazing things about this whole thing.
They were so fast and had so much weight in their packs.
The Peru government has finally put a cap on how much they are allowed to carry (25K), but it used to be no cap and even crazier amounts of weight.
The beginning of the trial was wide and dirt, following the river.
There was a bit of traffic from the locals only of mule, horse, motorcycle, three wheelers.
For a lot of the day we could see this peak "Veronica".
Later, on day 3, Veronica would come back into view! I need to see a map to understand why.
There were also so many rest stops, villages, snack places along the way.
So many locals, so much "traffic".
Andy bought our guides Abel and Jose a popsicle here.
I believe this stop is a town called Meskay. We bought a diet coke and chips mmmmm.
There were actually so many stop and rests this first day. I think they were making sure we started nice and easy.
The locals also supplied all the porters and guides with this weird drink that first day.
It is called chicha de jora - a mildly alcoholic Andean corn beer, and they would drink a whole big cup.
It is supposed to be energizing and revitalizing for those hard working porters.
Along the trail this first day we were kind of getting to know each other and sizing up who is who and what is what.
I wish we would have got a better picture of this situation, but the mom/son combo Britany and Dane were a puzzle because they were wearing like normal mall clothes, and their backpacks were like school backpacks with no hip support and very HEAVY.
Britany was walking way behind and did NOT look well.
Jose had to take Dane's pack for a while up a steep part.
Later on in the day Andy and Jim took turns carrying Britany's backpack. It was heavy and they had to kind of carry it on one shoulder because they also had their regular backpacks on.
Another break, another stray dog. Pet it with your poles ONLY! Don't touch the wild dogs, you'll get sick.
So many burrows, mules, donkeys, horses.
There were lots of ruins all along the way.
Abel teaching us about stuff.
He has such a cadence to how he speaks.
We a familia, we a team, ok team, interspersed in every sentence like a tick.
A little rest before we push on to lunch.
At one part of the trail, we came upon this family coming home from a market day.
They had their animals full up and were walking along, dogs, kids, full family making their way home.
Another rest stop.
Here Jose showed us one way that the Inca made such colorful fabrics -
he found a "parasite" bug thingy, and had it in his hand. He then squished it and ground it up in his hand, and it created a ton of this red dye.
Then he gave us all tattoos:
Finally we made it to Hatunchaca for lunch!
We washed our hands and lay around while the porters and the chef made food for us.
We thought lunch would be peanut butter sandwhiches or something, but no. It was soo much fresh food from scratch, on a table with chairs and napkins.
Platter after platter of food.
The BEST trout I have ever eaten there with a red pepper sauce.
The mother son duo finally made it to lunch, dragging in like the DEAD.
I was grumbling about how there is NO WAY Jim and Andy could carry her pack for another three days.
Think back to the hotel room when we weighed out every ounce, and debated wether or not to bring the extra socks because is it worth the weight?
and here they are slinging 10 extra dead pounds over their left shoulder for this poor lady.
She said she "hasn't kept anything down" since she got to Peru. And it shows. She looked so sick.
She got to lunch and just collapsed on the ground.
During lunch she threw up the little bit of soup she ate.
Thankfully Abel made a plan with her to turn around, stay the night at one of the local's home, then back to Ollantay to heal and maybe meet us in Maccu Piccu in a few days.
Jim and Andy were off the hook.
(while I grumbled at how unfair it is that they had to carry her pack, I am so thankful for their absolute nonchalance at taking her bag. Without question. Without anyone telling them to.)
On that note: there was SO MUCH FEMALE ENERGY in our group.
Jim and Andy were the only Men/Dads in the group. All other males were older brother energy, or gay.
(besides the guides and the porters, but they don't count)
I LOVE dad/man energy on a long, hard trek across the Andes.
A few times they tested out the porter's packs to see how heavy - VERY.
PACKS ON! for the last few miles before we make camp.
These last miles were hard! It was so hot and dusty and up hill!
This donkey was so close to camp!
(Later, while we were sleeping, we heard some porters whistling and hee-ya-ing, driving him out of camp. It had come to eat some of the chef's fresh vegetable loot. )
This bridge and water source was SO CLOSE TO CAMP!
We got there, our tents were set up, and a bowl of hot water is delivered to your tent flap.
Aaaah. I washed my hands and face and took out contacts and it felt so great.
Every night while dinner was finalizing, there would be "happy hour" where you could go in the mess tent and have tea and popcorn, and other snacks.
This night they introduced the porters. There is Abel and Jose our guides doing the translating.
I can't even describe how amazing Abel and Jose were. We got to know them so well as the trip went on.
It's crazy how important these people are for 4 days, and then you never talk to them ever again.
I love them. They are so cute and shy while being introduced.
Most of them are local farmers, doing the porter gig as an extra way to bring in money.
They are truly the top most amazing part about the whole trek.
And then there were 14 of us.
Jim, me, Jilly, Sarah, Henry, Andy, Jamie, Nicole, Ayza, Ben's mom, Ben, Liz, Judah, Johnathan.
At dinner, I made the mistake of sitting in the very back of the tent where I got STUCK. After being in there eating and socializing for hours, my social battery was SUPER DEAD. I just wanted to be alone (with Jim of course) in my tent NOT TALKING ANYMORE. Plus I needed to fart.
High altitude gives you the ALTI-TOOTS.
Finally it was time for bed. Our tents are so close together so Jamie and Andy heard all the altitoots.
