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Empires, Trails and Tribulations
by Jeff Jowers

Date: 20th May 2001
Subject: Andean Empire

After five weeks in Ecuador, we crossed the border into Peru. The main difference was that the scenery got even more dramatic: the Andes really come into their own here. You also get the feeling Peru is a bit more "grown up" than Ecuador: tourism is a bit more advanced, prices are higher, and Lima has more "attitude" than Quito.

A regular feature of our first days in Peru was the health of the monkey. When we went to Baños in Ecuador, a group of 10 of us went on a 25km cycle ride (all downhill with a bus journey back, admittedly). We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a "pet" monkey. It was tied to its hutch by a lead round its waist. Its owner teased it with a branch and children threw things at it. It was the most disgruntled monkey I've ever seen. So Nicole (from our group) decided to go and stroke it. If you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, well, as soon as she got within range, the thing flew at her like the killer bunny and bit her. Having revised her opinion of the monkey, Nicole complained to the owner. He held up his scarred hands and said, "Yeah, he bites me all the time too." Although there was little chance of Nicole catching anything serious, we called back to Baños from every subsequent port of call to check if the monkey was showing any signs of frothing etc. and, with the words "the monkey's still alive!" we'd cheer wildly and drink beer. Now the danger period is over, I hope the poor sod's dead.

After Lima we went to Pisco and Nazca. (We didn't hang around too long in Lima. This could be a bit of a self-perpetuating reputation, as in, everyone says, "don't hang around too long in Lima" so you don't and then you tell everyone else not to. It's probably really nice.) Pisco is only famous for the local tipple, Pisco Sour, which I recommend (but then I would). It was also here that we had our first memorable menu translation: "Peruvian Grunt to the Vapor or Male Thing". This is a particular kind of fish, steamed, with a strong or "macho" sauce. We later had "She came, I tint". This took some working out: "She came" - vino. "I tint" would be translated by Basil Fawlty as tinto. What it was trying to say was "Red Wine".

Nazca has the huge desert full of lines, depicting all sorts of animals and shapes, "drawn" hundreds of years ago but visible only from the air. We flew over in the smallest plane I've ever been in, banking alarmingly so we could good photos out of the side. I'm sure there were some who would have been happier with postcards.
After that we spent the next six weeks back up at altitude, between 2500 and 4800 metres up. The next stop was Arequipa, and the nearby Colca Canyon. This is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, and is famous for its condors, which start their day's journey here. We set off at 6:30 in the morning to get to a popular viewing point. When we got there, there were a few people excitedly pointing. Sure enough, there was (cue Simon and Garfunkel music) a condor, sitting on a rock, about 200 metres away. Great. We'd dragged ourselves out of bed for a black dot. We sat there and watched it for about half an hour until, for no apparent reason, it decided to take off. Suddenly this was different. They have a wingspan of 2-3 metres and no qualms at all about flying straight over the heads of gawping humans. I guess we saw eight or nine in all, and it was quite breathtaking.

Date: 2nd June 2001
Subject: Incas, Trails and Tribulations

After Arequipa we got to Cuzco, the "base camp" for some of the best hiking in the Andes, and the most tourist-ridden place in Peru (if not all of South America). This means it's full of bars, restaurants and clubs. It also means it's full of people pestering you to go into their bar, restaurant or club. But it's a great place, and it's very beautiful in its own right, with lots to do in the city and nearby.
But of course, we were in training for the Inca Trail - four days, 50km, peaking at 4200m, sleeping in tents, peeing in bushes, cut off from modern civilisation. This meant only one thing - spending as much time as possible in the bars, restaurants and clubs. Eventually, though, we had to let go and set off into the great outdoors.

There's actually a train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, and it's cheaper than walking, but there was no way anyone was taking it. The Inca Trail was probably the highlight of the trip up to this point. It had felt as though everything was just a build-up to this. Now, having done it, I probably can't adequately explain why it's such a big deal. After all, all you do for four days is walk uphill, carrying your stuff. (Actually one morning is all downhill, but there are 2000 slippery steps and then you have to go back up again the other side.) Thankfully there are porters carrying the tents.

Of course, it's very beautiful. Snow-capped mountains and all sorts of wonderful scenery surround you. In fact you have to keep reminding yourself to stop and look at it, because when you're walking the easiest thing to do is look at your feet and try not to think about where you've got to go. The porters have a solution they swear by - coca leaves. Coca is the plant infamously used to make cocaine, but you need about 20kg of leaves and a tasty chemistry set to produce the smallest amount. However it's perfectly legal to chew the leaves, and for the locals they have almost divine properties. They provide relief from the altitude, provide strength, stamina and serve other important spiritual purposes. For the gringo, however, their most notable properties are (1) your mouth goes numb and (2) the taste and texture distract you from the discomfort being experienced by the rest of your body.

But I digress. The Inca Trail isn't very easy. This is probably the first aspect of the "big deal" thing: it's a challenge and you feel great when you've done it. The second aspect is what greets you when you get to the end. Because we'd made good progress, we got to the Sun Gate (the first view of Machu Picchu, looking down over the valley where it was built) before sunrise on the fourth day, and there were five other people there. By sunrise we were at the site itself, and it's something you don't forget in a hurry. It's stunning.

There's not a great deal to add about the place itself. We can only imagine what it looked like before the Conquistadors stripped off all the gold. We can only wonder at how they got the stone there, let alone build it. It's believed it was the most sacred place in the empire (there were different Inca Trails - commercial, military, and this is on the spiritual one) and the guides have a good idea of what the different areas of the site were used for. But that's about it. We don't know much about what it was like at the time, because nobody ever wrote it down.

To find out more about the beliefs and values of the time, go to Lake Titicaca, where there are still people who live in ways very similar to 500 years ago. They're not Incas, but they're people that the Incas could no easier conquer than the Spanish after them. This is mainly because they live on the lake itself. Some of them famously live on islands made of reeds. They have to keep adding new layers all the time to stop their feet getting wet. However we only get to see the islands where they sell you stuff, not where their homes are, as they're very private.

More interesting is the (real) island of Taquile. You can get a boat to the island and stay a night. A guide explains their way of life, traditions and beliefs, and you can see ancient houses, burial sites and temples. All money they make from souvenirs, food, lodging etc. is shared amongst the entire community. Inevitably, some households have set up private-enterprise lodging so, to get round this, all the private hostels have to take it in turns to spend their takings on a massive party.

Nobody steals and nobody lies, as this would result in being outcast from society. The girls all speak in whispers, and if a boy fancies a girl he throws small stones at her and hopes she doesn't run away. All couples have a trial period together before getting married - this can include setting up home and even having children. Only when they get married are they committed. It was really fascinating, a proper window on another world. Obviously, tourism is having an effect, and some of the brasher young things now have windows and even radios.

Before we left, our party took on most of the school in a game of football, which was great fun. It ended up as an honourable 2-2 draw, although not without some debate over the height of the crossbars. We were still at nearly 4000m above sea level and, even though the game was only about 5 minutes each way, it made the Inca Trail seem like a walk in the park (which, strictly speaking, it was).

After that we headed for La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de La Paz, capital of Bolivia, of which more another time. You'll be pleased to hear that Nicole is safe and well, and following our trip took up voluntary work in a Bolivian animal sanctuary. Really.

First published in VISA issue 56A (June 2004)