29 March 2011, flight KL743, Amsterdam – Lima
I’m going on a 12-day trip to hike the Inca Trail and to visit the Amazon jungle in Peru. It is a trip organized by Gap Adventures. The Inca Trail, with Machu Picchu as finishing point, has been one of my dreams and now this dream is becoming reality.
30 March, Lima, Peru
I arrived around 6 pm in Lima and a Gap Adventures representative was awaiting me in the arrivals hall. Three hours later my friend arrived from Cape Town. We shared a glass of wine and then went off to bed so that we could explore Lima the next day.
We took a three-hour city tour. We did see some beautiful plazas but it was mostly just a huge city with way too much traffic. We were interested in tasting the local dish called ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime and herbs) and found a stunning place near the sea to enjoy lunch. We tried as many local dishes as possible and also had a go at pisco sour, the local drink which tastes very much like tequila.
The next morning we had to catch a flight to Cuzco, the old Inca capital and now tourism centre of Peru.
31 March 2011, Cuzco
Cuzco was nothing like I had imagined. I thought it would be much smaller, picturesque and intimate, and have a lot less cars. I was a bit disappointed …
Cuzco is situated at 3 450 metres above sea level so it’s very important to get used to the altitude slowly, and one shouldn’t do too much on the day of arrival. Our guide did that very well, walking slowly, showing us Cuzco.
My friend has this eye for spotting incredible local eateries, so we found this tiny little restaurant near the hotel that looked really cute and neat. It was like entering a family’s living room. In the back there was a mother helping her child with homework and the dad made the most delicious chicken soup for us while the son, who spoke a little bit of English, was serving us. It was really lovely, Peruvian food is delicious and healthy. Did you know their staple food is Quinoa and that the potato originates from Peru?
1 April 2011, Ollantaytambo, Peru
We are in the cutest village ever! Now this is how I had imagined Cuzco, but we’re in Ollantaytambo. Colourful houses, even more colourful people. Today was a beautiful day anyway. We started visiting a weaving project that is supported by GAP adventures.
After the project we visited the first Inca ruins of this trip, the ruins of Pisac. We also visited Pisac market. Ollantaytambo is also base of an important Inca ruin. We walked up, very slowly, 250 steps. The Inca Trail is about 10.000 steps so this was a good exercise.
2 April, 2011
What a beautiful day it was!! I don’t really have the right words to describe it but the Andes are incredible. Here are some practical tips in case you’d like to do this trail yourself someday:
When hiking the Inca Trail with GAP adventures, which is one of the biggest operators in this area, you will be well taken care of, and know for sure that they also take good care of their staff. The porters are not allowed to carry more than 25 kg. We had a group of 16 hikers and had a total of 21 porters, 1 chef, 1 assistant-chef, 1 guide and 1 assistant-guide. Each hiker is allowed five kilograms of luggage.
On the trail there’s a maximum of 500 people allowed per day. That’s why you would always have to book via an operator who will get you the permit. For lunch the porters had set up tents and tables. This was five-star camping to me! After lunch we still had a couple of hours to hike so off we went again. Sometimes I struggle a bit with the altitude but we embraced drinking coca tea and chewing the coca leaves, just like the locals. It’s also important to really stop when you’re out of breath and relax until your breathing is normal again before you start walking again.
3 April, 2011, day 2 of Inca Trail
Today was definitely the toughest day. We had to climb for about four hours to 4250 m, and that was after a night of almost no sleep. Since you go to bed very early, your rhythm gets very confused. At 11 30 pm we thought it was 5 am. We were woken up by the staff at 5 30 am. Around 7 am we started hiking and, like I said, it was tough, but it did seem as if we had more energy than yesterday so we didn’t struggle too much and the weather was good hiking weather – slightly cloudy and not too hot. Again, starting off with coca tea in the morning and chewing the leaves helps a lot. Apparently the oxygen is better (or faster) absorbed by taking coca. Yes, those are the same leaves which they use to make cocaine and you’re not allowed to take any in your luggage.
4 April 2011
It rained most of the day. We walked through a beautiful cloud forest. Hiking was mostly downhill today.
5 April 2011, Machu Picchu
We have arrived! After walking (almost running) for about one and half hours this morning we arrived at the sun gate and saw … nothing! It was misty and Machu Picchu had completely disappeared. But then it slowly started to clear up and we started to see this unbelievably beautiful place that was built by the Incas.
Booking info:
We booked the Andes to Amazon trip through Gap Adventures. The trip is 12 days long and costs just under R14 000 a person sharing. Make sure to book the traditional Inca Trail well advance or otherwise choose the less busy Lares Trail.
Contact:
Gap Adventures
Web www.gapadventures.com
Tel +1 416 260 0999
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