Wake up call at 5:30 a.m. by the chaskis, who greet us with a cup of hot coca tea. We have 30 mins to pack up, before heading to breakfast. Freshly made Pancakes, toasted bread, jam, butter: not bad for camping breakkie...actually, this is better than what most people, myself included, take time to engulf every morning. Only thing missing in my book, is fresh fruit, but that's understandable, given the fragile nature of the stuff.
Just before the start of the trek, the 'Llama lover's group' (as baptised by our guide) gathers into a circle, chaskis, cooks and trekkers alike. After a brief but warm introduction to every member of the party, we go on to some warm up exercises, which consist of us all all standing shoulder to shoulder in a circle, and all rushing towards the centre with a loud cheer at every cycle. Sounds corny, but very fun in actual life, and excellent for group bonding.
This is meant to be the longest toughest day of the classic Inca trail. With a first brutal ascent of 1,200 metres to the dead woman's pass, starting at an altitude of about 3,000 m.
Break midway
Francis and myself get into a nice climbing rhythm, and we lead out the group. Towards the very last section of the incredibly demanding relentless climb, I get dropped by machine Frank, who seems to have no idea of the basic human limitations in any demanding physical activity: exhaustion, overheat, gasp for air...!!!
Dead Woman's pass...!!!
Needless to say that the views from the summit were just out of this world. We didn't time the rest of our fellow trekkers, but the next people to show up simultaneously about 15 mins later, were Sarah, and the mascot of the group, Zachary, 12 yrs old...!!! follow a slow trickle of fellow trekkers, each greeted by our loud cheers and applause...last person up must have come at least an hour after us (if not more)!!!!
Views from the summit...
Quick snack and coca tea, and we head down the valley. I start off slow, but pick up speed, and reach lunch site a good 10 mins before everyone else. The problem with going down so fast, is that it's not really physically demanding, and I completely forgot to drink and hydrate myself properly, and pay the consequences with a slight headache and depleted energy levels!!!! Rookie mistake...!!!!
Another reminder that any small lapse of judgement or concentration can have dire consequences came in the form of a trekker from another group suffering from a very bad spill. He was reported as having sustained bad cuts, and was still a bit dazed when my companions overtook him. They offered whatever assistance they could, but ultimately, the victim's friend tended to him, whilst waiting for proper medical care. He was reported to be ok, whatever that means, given the situation.
Another steep descent into the valley leads us to our camp site, in the middle of the Andean cloud forest. As the name suggests, it's not really a place for star trails, so I figure that I'm going to spend a good night's sleep.
The toilets in this camp site must be the most gruesome in both sight and smell that I have ever experienced in the whole of my 34 years on this planet...!!! Latrines are to be expected, but this level of filth is unmatched. To add insult to injury, out of the 4 latrines available, 2 have had their doors knocked out completely, one had no lock and creeps open when shut, and the final merely stays closed by virtue of the bad extreme snug fit of the door in its supporting frame!!!!! Wonder what the women's toilets must be like???????
Head off to bed at arnd 8, and unfortunately, only get about 5 hours, before my sleep is interrupted. Twist and turn for an hour or so, without success, so wake up to start the write up of the Inca trail so far.
Side note: the cooks introduced us to some weird small berries boiled to produce a yummy beverage, which can best be described as having the taste of bilimbi pickled in sugar....with a slight hint of lemon....yum...!!!
Day Stats:
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