More photos from our hike on the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Posted by: Wink | May 2, 2012

: Debbie, Sue and Edna – our first pisco sour – at the Hotel Bolivar in Lima. Oh, yes…and it was 11:30am.

: Peruvian woman in Chincheros, with our guide Santiago. She was showing us how they make the natural dyes they use to dye the alpaca wool. They can get fantastic colors using natural plant materials! She had just squished a little cochineal bug which emitted a startlingly red color – which she applied to her lips.

: Remarkable engineering of the Incas – at the ruin at Ollantaytambo. They brought huge pieces of granite (using slaves – but did not use the wheel yet) from many miles away. They fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle using chisels. The seams between these rocks are so tight you cannot squeeze even a piece of paper into them. The intersections between the adjacent rocks are not 90 degrees – they are sort of interlocked, so that they will not shift sideways in an earthquake. About 30% of the walls are underground retaining walls. Mosaic artists would say these walls had good andamento.

: Our group at the start of the Classic Inca Trail – mile 82 on the Urubamba River at Pisqakucho.

: Wink above the ruins at Llactapata. Day 1, before lunch, on the Classic Inca Trail.

: View of Mt. Veronica from our first campsite – in a barnyard with chickens running about.

: Second morning – we stood in a circle (did the wave with our arms) and each porter stepped forward to tell us his name, age and how many years they had worked on the trail. Then, we did a “receiving line” and shook each porter’s hand and said “muchos gracias” to each of them. They are carrying all our food, tents, porta potty (there is one cacca man who drew the short straw) and 16lbs of gear for each of us. 6lbs of this is our sleeping bag and liner – so we have each packed 10lbs of extra clothes, meds, snacks, etc. In our day packs we are carrying maybe 18-20 lbs of essential layers, rain gear, water, headlamps, gorp and snacks, gloves, hats, sunscream (Our guide, Santiago’s, name for it). Though we booked through Zephyr Adventures in Montana, the local travel group they contracted with is called “Apumayo”

: Our cooks, working on lunch, day 2. We always had soup – “cream of god knows what” as a first course. Dinners included trout and rice, beef, chicken, etc. For dessert, one night we had chocolate pudding, another: jello! Drank lots of tea – anise, chamomile, black. The coffee was instant so we avoided it.

: Debbie and Wink – Dead Woman’s Pass. Putting on our layers for the misty descent to our campsite below. Day 2.

: Wink at Runcurakay ruin. You can see Dead Woman’s Pass in the notch to the left, and you can see the trail coming down from it. We descended a couple thousand feet to our campsite, and this morning, we climbed back up to 12,600′ – Runcurakay Pass. At the top one of our guides led us in a Quechua ceremony asking blessings from the sacred mountain gods (apu) of the north, east, south and west. We blew on coca leaves and made a wish.

: Dave with Santiago, our guide, above Runcurakay ruin (probably a resting station as well as a watch tower – of which the Incans had many – for defense and communication). On our way up to Runcurakay Pass at 12,600′ . Day 3 on the trail.

: A CLEAN toilet along the trail. A rare experience – we celebrated. Many were not so nice.

: Third night tent site at about 12,000′. Machu Picchu – the mountain – is below and to the left. What a view!!! Cold night – lots of stars, including Southern Cross, Orion, Venus, Milky Way and a new moon.

: Above our campsite, we met two British women who were also watching the 360 degree views of the sunset on the mountains – and drinking wine! They shared their popcorn with us.

: Dave at breakfast – Salkantay in background. We got up at 5:30am to see the first rays of the sun hit the glaciers on Salkantay and the other snow capped mountains. Not difficult: we were in bed the night before by 8:30pm. (Dark around 6:30pm – since we are close to the equator.)

: Our oldest porter – age 61 (He told us he was 58 but our guide says he is really 61. He is afraid to say his real age because he is concerned he won’t be hired).

: The last day of our hike – our group of hikers with our porters (Salkantay in the background). Our guide, Santiago, asked Dave to say a few words of thanks in Spanish to our porters. We also gave them a tip.

: Our group at Winay Wayna ruin (which means “forever young”). There is also a flower with the same name! Last day on the Inca Trail – we descended on the Inca Trail 7 miles to Machu Picchu.

: Debbie with Huayna Picchu in the background. She was the only female member of our party to climb Huayna Picchu the next morning (it is notoriously steep) together with Mickey, Joe and guides, Reno and Marco. You go girl!