28 June 2003 Mini-description of the trek:

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Day 1: London - Lima "We depart London Heathrow on a morning flight to Madrid, connecting with a flight to Lima, where we arrive early evening. We will be met on arrival by the tour operator and transferred to Hotel Jose Antonio where we shall spend the night."

4.15am and my cab was late. What a start of the trip! But I somehow made it to the airport for 5.30am - relieved to find myself with a group of 50 strangers; wondering what it all will be like.. And? It was great. So many lovely people ready for the same mission I enjoyed the flights - probably also because I never flew as a child and all the flying I've done since was just around Europe, couple of hours with 'Cheep Flights Co.' & this was something else (already an adventure) Lima -I am not quite sure what to say about it. It was an interesting place (sadly we missed an earthquake by just a day, as one of our tour guides said) and I'm glad I've seen a little bit of it but the time we've spent there was enough to get the feeling that 'really, we're headed for mountains, not a city'.

Day 2: Lima - Cusco "We transfer in the morning for the 1-hour flight to Cusco. This is an amazing flight over the Andes, with stunning views of snow-capped peaks. On arrival we transfer to the Hotel Royal Inca II. After lunch at a local restaurant, the afternoon is best spent at leisure acclimatising to the rarefied air of the High Andes. We stay overnight at the Hotel Royal Inca II."

This day was the first South American day. Our 9am flight took off at about 9.30 and nobody was too bothered. What's the point in being so stressed all the time? Just chuck away your watch and chill out. Cusco was love at a first sight. The place is breath takingly beautiful, so are the people and so are the mountains. Our hotel was wonderful, I had my first coca tea and about half a dozen of mild heart attacks straight away. Had a rest and spend some time wondering around, being constantly approached by little boys selling post cards and kisses (I'm not kidding, one 13year old did... sadly I've run out of cash at that point... ;-) Finished the day with an exquisite dinner & already felt in love with all of it. x

Day 3: Cusco "Today we acclimatise and prepare ourselves for the trek. There is opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Cusco and it's numerous cathedrals and markets. Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire and there are plenty of Inca remains in and around the city, in fact many of the present day buildings are clearly built on Inca foundations. We will also have the opportunity to visit the Inca fortress of Sacsuayhuaman, a vast and impressive Inca complex overlooking the city. Once again we spend the night at the Hotel Royal Inca II"

Amazing, beautiful, wonderful, great... anything else I could say about Cusco...? This was our first whole day in the altitude - my heart was beating like mad; I was barely able to walk up 2 flights of stairs (after which I had to sit down to have a rest and catch my breath)... quite curious - how am I going to walk up those mountains? But I don't remember this question bothering me too much. I was enjoying what I had and there was no need to worry about anything. It would all be fine one way or another, I was in Peru...

Sacsuayhuaman, or as we Europeans say 'Sexy woman'. Took a cab up there to get a bit higher (and more breathless), explore, do a bit of wondering around and then walk down to Cusco, suddenly feeling noticeably better. Spent the day in and around the 'city' being a tourist & at the end of the day had another gorgeous dinner - again with live pann pipe music and traditional dances (as an ex-music teacher I have to say that I've never enjoyed Mozart as much as I did when it was plaid for us on pann pipes with drums)

Day 4: Cusco - Chlipahua (15kms) "We have an early start today with a visit to the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo whilst our mules and provisions are loaded at Papichu Bridge. We then join up with our guides and mules at the Papichu road head for the start for the trek. The trail climbs steadily via a small 'pampa' at Amparaki to the Wetuq'asa pass (3900m) where there is an Inca wall and fortress known as Qusqoq'awarina 'the place you can see Cusco'. We shall stop here for lunch and enjoy the great views of the Vilcabamba massif - Mt Pumahuanca, Mt Chicon and Mt Veronika. We descend from the pass to the small valley of Anapahua. We cross a stream and head up the valley to our campsite at the small settlement of Chilipahua."

The first day of real walking. Wow! I tried chewing on coca leaves but didn't really enjoy the taste of them & I tried talking to people but realised that instead it's better to shut up, breath regularly and maybe just listen to others & later on during the trek I kept walking only with people who could just quietly admire the beauty around us... Some time ago I've noticed that we tend to spend all of our lifes in our heads, thinking way too much & this was the last thing I'd want to do in these mountains. We were instructed to leave what we don't need in the hotel (to make sure that we don't kill our mules with all the unnecessary crap) & I chose stuff like make up, mobile phone, book, a few more things and, most important- my brain (deprived of oxygen it would not function properly anyway) I chose to be in love with it, nothing more and nothing less. Just enjoy it. And so I did

Day 5: Chilipahua - Ankascocha (23kms) "This will be the longest day of the trek. We leave camp and immediately begin the steady climb up to the Pampaq'asa pass (4650m) this will take between 4-5 hours, once we reach the pass we descend for another hour to our lunch spot in the Silgue river valley. After such a taxing morning this beautiful lunch spot is very rewarding. We then take a route along the valley, up and down paths to our campsite at Ankascocha."

I'm not sure if this felt like the longest day but it certainly was a hard one. I spent the night drifting in and out of sleep (heart beating the same way it does when you wake up from a nightmare), listening to the river and having little acid-like visions. Pretty cool. Woke up when a couple of cute blokes brought us some coca tea (I loved those mornings ;-), packed and went for our breakfast - at this point we all learned that the breakfast would indicate how hard the day will be. I think that this morning we had porridge. We left the camp site at 7am and started our slow walk. Really slow. Unbelievably slow. And that was the beginning of 'me versus the altitude' competition. I should admit this - I felt that I was losing most of the time (but, on the other hand - I made it! I didn't go on a mule, nobody else carried my bag for me... well done little me!) The mountains were like nothing I've ever seen before. Breathtaking & beyond description, so pure... This is the place I really want to go back to.

Day 6: Ankascocha - Keska (22kms) "The day begins with a long ascent to the Ankascocha pass, the highest point of the trek (4700m). Along the way we will have amazing views of snow-capped mountains, waterfalls and emerald glacier lake. The are also fine views of Mt Huayanay and the Silque Valley. The trail then descends to our lunch spot, a lush meadow where two waterfalls cascade into the river. We head down the valley past small farmsteads and patchwork fields to Paucarcancham, a recently restored Inca site that was once a check pintat the confluence of the Keska and Pampacahua Valleys. We enter the Keska Valley and along the way we may spot Alpaca and Llama which roam freely. We will camp in the village of Keska on the valley floor."

This day was a killer. I was tired from the 2 previous days, ended up being one of the slowest people and therefore, arriving to break spots as one of the very last trekkers, had the shortest breaks. I had problems breathing and keeping going. It was hard but definitely worth it (more pictures from this day are on the '10 June' page ) It was a truly breathtaking experience. My trekking buddy Alice chose a mule ride for the start of the day - I must say that it was something I was quite keen to try (never had a pony- put it this way) but was too shy to ask & plus I thought it would be a bit unfair on those poor animals that already had a lot to carry. When we arrived to the camp site I was nearly dead - however I seem to remember this as one of the most beautiful evenings. Astonishing view, tent next to the llama parking lot - what else could I ask for... Despite the fact that my body was not coping extremely well, my soul and spirit had the most splendid time.

Day 7: Keska - Q'ente (14kms) "Today is a relatively easy day. After a short climb from the village of Keska we walk down the Cusichaca Valley and finally join the 'commercial' Inca Trail. We pass through small farming communities with patchwork fields. The scenery transforms quite dramatically becoming lush and abundant with plant life such as Orchids, Cactus and Eucalyptus. We lunch by a glacial stream where the brave can take a dip. This area is dotted with Inca sites such as Cusichaca, Q'entemarka, Machu Q'ente and Wayna Q'ente which we pass as we continue our journey down the valley, finally descending through pine forest to out campsite at Q'ente. We camp in a very pleasant spot on the edge of the Urubamba River, a wonderful place to sit and watch the sun go down."

This was an easy day (or at least that's how I remember it). We woke up into the most wonderful scenery, again & just walked - talking, laughing, enjoying every minute of it, loooooooooooving it! It got a little bit more difficult later on in the day when we started meeting other trekkers - the 'commercial' ones & had to realise that there are more than 70 people in this world... Evening was fun - the guys plaid football (us versus Peru / guides), I just sat around with the women, shouting & later on, under peer pressure, had a couple of tiny beers. Fun.

Here are a couple of pictures from our lunch spot - my darling Alice, Freddy (definitely the best guide) and me.

Day 8: Q'ente - Machu Picchu (16kms) "We rise early this morning to catch the train along the Uruba,ba Valley to Km 104 where we disembark. Here we cross the bridge and hike up to the Inca site of Chachabamba - we stop for a brief visit before tracking the 3-4 hour climb up to the famous ruins of Winay Wayna. This is a beautiful route with many lookout points over the Urubamba Valley. As we climb we enter the cloud forest passing a spectacular waterfall. Beyond Winay Wayna we once again join the 'commercial' Inca Trail which cuts across the ridge and climbs up to Intipunku - the 'sun gate' along original Inca steps. Here you will get your first exhilarating view of Machu Pichu. From Intipunku, we head down hill and through Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. This evening you can relax under the stars in the 'hot springs' that the town is named after - a truly memorable experience. We shall stay overnight at the Machu Picchu Inn."

Alice and I were a bit worried after Libby's talk last nigh - are going to be able to walk this? Up the hill all the time, no stops because we need to be at a particular point at a particular time, very narrow path to walk on and sheer drop to our right... I really didn't know if I would be able to make it. At my own pace- yes. But like this? It took us the whole morning to decide... that we'll go with the gut feeling when the train stops. And so we went for it. Beautiful day, beautiful walk (piece of cake really - could not understand what was Libby on about with that scary talk), amazing scenery... and finally I felt like I've acclimatised and was just as fit as anyone else. Cool

Arriving at the Sun Gate was a bit of a surprise & at the same time it hit me - this is it, this is the end of our walking (sad). We took some pictures of us, guides and everyone and carried on walking to Machu Picchu. Most people seemed really excited (no indication of sadness) and I manage to catch up with that somewhere along the way to Machu Picchu. Now, what to say about Machu Picchu without repeating what has been said about million times? Hmm... pretty astonishing and well worth those 5 days on our feet Aguas Calientes was the best place to celebrate our achievement. Wild west. I don't remember doing a lot of the 'relaxing under the stars' as suggested in the itinerary but I do have some vague memory of partying the whole night... Our day early 'gala dinner' was lush, the pub where we moved on was excellent and I spent the whole night dancing (like I have not done for years)

Day 9: Machu Pichu - Cusco There will be plenty of time to explore Machu Picchu this morning. Little is known about this mysterious site, what it was used for or why it was abandoned. A guided tour may help unravel some of the secrets or you can explore on your own. There will also be time for shopping in Aguas Calientes. Late afternoon we will catch the train back through the Urubamba Valley to Ollantaytambo. Coaches will be waiting here to take us back to Cusco where we shall enjoy a Gala dinner in a local restaurant to celebrate our achievement. Once again we will stay overnight in the Hotel Royal Inca II"

Do I start at the point when I woke up or do I start by talking about the first 5 hours of the day - dancing and drinking...? Ok, woke up - in retrospect I'd say that I was still pretty drunk (so what ?) Feeling a bit rough, Alice and I decided to have another look at Machu Picchu. I am not quite sure how we managed to get there (ok, bus - but what about the other stuff?); then we found a nice quiet spot and talked. I felt disappointed with all the other tourists - all those people in clean clothes who got there by public transport instead of their feet (cheaters!)

Coming back to Aguas Calientes I didn't do any shopping - a bit hangover at that point... & so I just rested in the hotel lobby waiting for the rest of the group to gather for lunch. Lunch was, again, amazingly nice and after that we had to go. Train, bus, Cusco and that's it. I felt desperately sad sitting on the bus and watching the beautiful massive mountains disappear. It was the real beginning of the end.

Day 10: Cusco - Lima - Madrid "Transfer to the airport in the morning for the 1-hour flight to Lima. We will take historical tour of the city and enjoy a typical Peruvian lunch before returning to the airport for the late evening flight to Madrid."

Blurred morning, early start, in tears. Leaving Cusco was hard & we all looked like some weird funeral party, in pain, leaving pieces of ourselves behind.

First flight (Cusco- Lima) I just could not let go & spend most of the time going through my pictures. In Lima - we had a few hours to kill (well, most of the day really) and ended up being taken to the most awful place by the ocean full of cheesy shops and pizza places - not too different from any British seaside entertainment arcade. As one of my mates accurately described the afternoon - this was just like rearranging deck chairs on Titanic. Lima to Madrid: slept through most of the journey, tired, sad... my bag still smelled of mountains, grass and coca tea and I've tasted the worse airline food ever.

Day 11: Madrid - London "Arrive in Madrid early afternoon to connect with our onward flight to London Heathrow arriving late afternoon."

Feeling well shitty. Tired from all the flying, not wanting to leave the mountains / Cusco / Peru ; not wanting to say 'goodbye' to my fellow trekkers and return to my fairly stressful London life. Followed by 2-3 weeks of quite serious depression, questioning the purpose of my existence - not a lot of difference between me and my mentally ill clients. Glad to know that most of my trekking mates felt the same.

Copyright Radka Goes to Peru - 2003