April & May, 2005
May 2 - 5, 2005
So, we're back from four days of hiking and camping on the Inca Trail to the sacred site of Macchu Picchu, which was built by the Incas 600 years ago. Parts of the trail, including most of the stone walkways and staircases are literally 600 years old as well, built by people without any modern tools. Unbelievable, all this in the heart of the Andes Mountains, which made for an amazing experience.
Macchu Picchu is nestled in the middle of nowhere. To get there, you hike for four days, for over 15 hours. And, you are at pretty good elevation, about 12,000 feet a lot of the time, so it can be challenging at times. You are huffing and puffing the entire way, and you tend to get a little sore in the mornings. We climbed for 5 hours one day straight uphill from about 10,000 feet to 12,500, up a stone staircase that never seemed to end, of course with full packs. Then you get to the hard part, hiking for 2 hours straight down a similar staircase that never seems to end. That's just day 2 of the 4 day trek. All along the trail there are several other smaller Incan ruins as well, so Macchu Picchu is not the only attraction.
Some people literally had to be carried by the porters. And, these porters were carrying so much stuff already as it was. Wearing sandals, or at best Chuck's, they would lug all of the tents, food, cooking supplies, tables and chairs, lanterns, and their own gear. Some of them were literally carrying cast iron stoves and full size propane tanks on their backs. Plus, these things were not in state of the art packs. Instead, they were all tied up in big burlap or woven sacks, or sometimes in bundles of cloth slung over their backs with ropes. Obviously, these guys are in ridiculous shape. As we hobbled down the stairs, they would go jogging by, and by the time we arirved in camp, everything would be set, and food would be cooking. As a nice touch, they would also wake us up each morning with tea, either made with Coca leaves, or the good old fashioned caffinated te puro. Nice way to wake up.
Since it was so cold the second night, we hiked a bit further the third day, and stayed near a lodge that had hot showers for a small fee, as well as beer, snickers and twix bars for sale. Although we had to dry off with our underwear, the beer and candy were so nice after 3 days of treking. Plus, the group of 5 Australians, 3 Americans, 1 Brit, 1 Dane, and a Peruvian we did the trek with became a fast group of friends. After 3 nights of playing a lot of cards, and then adding beer to the equation, it was a pretty good time.
On day 4 we had to wake up at 4 am, which SUCKED, so we could hit the last trail checkpoint by 5:30 am, and watch the sunrise over Macchu Picchu. Well, it was worth it. Macchu Picchu is glorious. It is not only as majestic as it looks in pictures, but it is shockingly well preserved. With very little imagination (essentially just imagining straw roofs on the homes) you really feel like you are experiencing the city as the Incas did 600 years ago. The granduer of the temples, homes, courtyards, and walls is all the more incredible in that the entire city was built in only 45-50 years, without modern tools, at 12,000 feet. To give some perspective on the tools used, our guide explained that they would insert pieces of wood in cracks in the rocks and then get them wet until they expanded and cracked the stone. Pretty smart, but it couldn't have been very expeditious.
Arriving early was great because we got plently of time to just lounge around with the llamas that live there, and we still spent over 2 hours touring the site. Plus, the weather was perfect. The sun was particularily nice, because it made it possible for the altar on the temple at the top of the city to absorb a ton of heat. The Incas were sun and moon worshippers and they would utilize the quartz laden granite altar to harness the sunīs cosmic energy. It was pretty cool to feel the heat radiating off of the altar just like people did 600 years ago. Plus, the shadows on various stone dials on the temple were also easily visible. Apparently, Macchu Picchu is often very cloudy, and visibility is not great. Guess we got lucky.
Anyway, it was incredible. You should really get here one day, before its too late.
