The Inca Trail - and how it became Hell on Earth for me!

Li and I did the Inca Trail, the classic 4-day version of it. Check out Wikipedia if you don't know what the Inca Trail is. In a nutshell, the Inca Trail involves hiking through the Andean mountains from about 2600m up to 4200m and down to 2700m at Machu Picchu, and all that via either a rocky or muddy trail, or big Inca steps/stairs. During the night you stay in one of the camp sites, i.e., camping. On the 4-day Inca Trail you hike about 43 km with the second and third day being the most challenging ones.

From my previous comments you may remember that I've been having trouble with altitude sickness. With the help of some medication it seemed to be OK (not perfect, but OK) and I thought I would be able to do the Inca Trail without too many problems. In hindsight that assumptions couldn't have been more wrong, i.e., I shouldn't have done the Inca Trail at all.

The first day wasn't too bad as you stay at an altitude of about 2600-2700m for the whole day,  but it was already a little challenge for me. If I would have known that the second and third day of the Inca Trail would become the most painful and horrible two days of my life I would have returned after the first day, but unfortunately I didn't.

The second day (also known as the "challenge day", because you have to go up
from 2700m to 4200m) didn't start very well at all. It rained fairly heavily
during our first night and some water leaked into our tent and the lower part of my sleeping bag got completely wet (including my socks and feet). I woke up
in the middle of the night because of that, but there wasn't much I could
do apart from trying to sleep in the wet sleeping bag. The anti-altitude sickness medication I've been taking (including drinking  lots of Coca tea) didn't seem to help much, because I ended up feeling  absolutely shit! Strong headache, nauseous, extreme difficulty breathing, stomach ache/cramps  and twice a bit of nose bleeding. It was very painful to reach the top at 4200m, but I somehow managed to do it. I arrived about 2h after the first one from our group arrived. I'm very grateful that they waited that long giving us the opportunity to do a nice group picture.

In addition to the altitude sickness I've always been having problems with my knees and I had to take some Ibuprofen to help with that on the way down. I think our guide mentioned something about 7000 Inca steps. Again I was the last one to arrive at the camp site and immediately after arriving I started feeling very sick and started vomitting, followed  shortly after that by diarrhea. I'm assuming this was caused by altitude sickness, but it could have also been caused by a stomach bug. To be on the safe side I started taking Antibiotics in case it was due to a stomach bug.

If I would have been able to stop at this point and take a taxi back to the hotel I would have gladly paid a thousand dollars for that, but at the end of the second day you are basically in the middle of nowhere. Either you go back which means a two-day hike (going back via the peak at 4200m) or you continue which means a two-day hike to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu. Only if I would have really gotten ill, i.e., an edema (HAPE/HACE) from the altitude sickness they would have called the helicopter which would have cost around 10000 dollars.

On the third day I still felt extremely bad due to vomitting and diarrhea. I tried to eat something, but couldn't eat much which resulted in me becoming very weak (in addition to the same altitude sickness problems I've had the day before). I continued the trek, but around lunch time my body basically gave up and I felt like a sloth walking around the Inca Trail. Every step became a challenge....

As it was getting late to reach the camp for the lunch break they ended up putting me on a stretcher and 5 of the porters carried me for the last 45 minutes to the camp site for the lunch break. Not a very pleasant experience, because I was too tall for the stretcher and it actually hurt being squeezed onto it. Also, in addition to feeling sick anyway I started feeling a bit motion sick on the stretcher. After arriving at the camp site I was able to eat some food and after
a bit of rest I felt slightly better. Don't get me wrong, I still felt absolutely horrible, but just slightly better and  I was able to continue the trek... I really really didn't want to, but being in the middle of nowhere there was simply no other option.  It basically felt like running a marathon while having the flu in
combination with vomitting and diarrhea. I continued - very slowly - trying to reach the camp site for the night.  I would have managed to reach the camp site on my own, but at some point  the guide was worried that it would get dark before I reached the camp site and they put me on a stretcher again and carried me the last 30 minutes.  Again, not a very pleasant experience. While it was hard for the porters to carry me on the stretcher they seemed to kind of enjoy it as it was something different and doesn't seem to happen that often. Of course
they got an extra tip from me for this after the Inca Trail.

I managed to eat a bit more food at the camp site and a bit of sleep before we had to get up at 3:15am on the fourth day. I felt a bit better on that day mainly due to the fact that we were back at an altitude of about 2700m. I managed to get to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu (the end of the Inca Trail) in a fairly good time, but it was still a bit of a challenge for me.

Most people enjoyed the stunning view of Machu Picchu at that time, but  I was simply happy that I managed to survive the Inca Trail without ending up in the hospital. I didn't even feel a sense of accomplishment.

A big thanks to Li who stayed with me all the time and my apologies to the other group members (and to Li), because I've obviously been a bit of a  spoilsport during the trip. It's hard to enjoy the Inca Trail, the beautiful landscape and Machu Picchu when you are in pain and feeling absolutely horrible.

If I could turn back time I would have never booked the Inca Trail
(or the trip to Peru at all), because it simply became the worst 4 days
I've ever had in my life.

I hope the rest of our 8-month trip will be less painful... and yes, I'm definitely going to avoid any kind of high-altitude activities.

Free Wi-Fi is everywhere, but it's shit.

Basically every hotel and every restaurant in Ecuador and Peru offers free Wi-Fi. That's very useful and usually good enough to check emails or Facebook (if it's actually working at all).
However, when trying to upload our photos to Facebook and to my server it is usually not sufficient. I back up pictures from the camera and smartphone to our laptop, but I'm trying to also backup/sync the photos to my server, but with all the pictures we've been taking we are talking about many GBytes of data, and that's too much for the crappy free Wi-Fis we've encountered so far. I'm not even shooting pictures in RAW format, but JPG only to not create too much data.
I would happily pay for good wired Internet, but all the hotels we've stayed at so far only offer their free Wi-Fi.
I've fallen about 1300 photos behind, and a few hundred photos I'd like to upload to Facebook.
Hopefully we get some good Wi-Fi in Rio or Buenos Aires...

Day 26 to 30 Cusco & Lake Titicaca (conclusion to Peru)

12 to 17 December 

Day 26 to 28: After Inca Trail, we spent 3 days in Cusco recuperating. It has a pretty city centre and many museums. Some even describe it as the most beautiful city in Peru. It used to be the capital of the Inca Empire for many years before Lima became the capital, but it now acts as a network hub for tourism. 

The town square is pretty with colonial style buildings (no surprise there!) and the houses on the hills provides a prefect backdrop for the main square. But what I will remember the city by is the Inca footprint embeded in the Colonial architect -  e.g. many cases, the Spanish built the Churches on top of Inca stones. One theory is that the Inca didn't finish their work when the Spanish came. Overall, the city has a lot of Inca history. 

Day 29 & 30: We took a 7-hour bus ride to Puno, the third largest city in Peru. There not much to see in the city itself,  other than that it's the gateway to Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world. We visited the floating islands and Tequile island. I have to say, the views on Lake Titicaca are truly impressive - perhaps it's the high altitude. I always feel the clouds are so closeby and they always come in many different shapes (and sometimes different colours - white, ivory and grey!) 

We have been travelling for a month now - 1 week in Ecudor and 3 weeks in Peru. I have developed special feelings for Peru and am impresses by: 

- Its natural beauty and varied landscapes (my favourite being Colca valley and Lake Titicaca)

- Rich history and culture especially the Incas who are experts in agriculture! (I have seen my share of Terraces though) 

- and the cheap fresh fruit juice! 

On the downside, travelling in this developing country is not so easy given the lack of infrastructure (and English). Even though we saw a lot of poverty, I have high hopes for Peru - hopefully this country will prosper, once again like the Inca times, from its rich agriculture! 

We are heading to Bolivia tomorrow! Stay tuned... 

Day 22 to 25 Inca Trail (No Pain No Gain)

8 to 11 Dec

Hmmmmm ... I am supposed to say the Inca Trail views are breath taking and it's once-in-a-life-time experience. I would agree that: 

- climbing the million Inca stone steps and using the camp site toilets are BREATH TAKING! You literately cannot breathe, trust me!  

- you really just want to do this ONLY once in your lifetime. 

The 4-day hike is much harder and physically demanding than what I expected. I have only myself to blame as I did not do enough research before I booked the tour! some people even train 6 months for this ...

Day 1: Relative easy walk for 5 hours, gentle incline most of the time 

Day 2: Toughest day, 5 hours of climbing steep steps (ascending over 1,200 meters), followed by 2 hours of descending over even more steep steps! The guide said there are more than 7,000 stone steps in total! 

Day 3: Longest day with more than 10 hours of walking but the most beautiful day with 4 Inca sites on the way 

Day 4: Early wake up call at 3.20am! Seeing the Machu Picchu in its sunny morning glory! 

Poor Lars was suffering from the high attitude sickness during the entire hike. My heart goes to him for completing the journey despite the pain. 

Now, the views are quite amazing for some parts of the hike. The last 2 days are especially spectacular. For me, Day 3 is the best. The mountains and clouds are right in front of your eyes. When it's cloudy, the ancient ruins look especially mysterious. One section of the path has a jungle feel to it. The different vegetation/colours are quite cool and you won't think you are 4,000 meters above sea level. Of course, the Inca sites are also very interesting and impressive. 

When I saw Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate on Day 4 at 7am, I had very mixed feelings. My first thought is that the ordeal is over, I will have proper toilet, shower and bed soon!! Then I was overcome with a sense of achievement (however short lived as I soon found out there is still more walking to do). Finally, I was slightly disappointed with the view. Let me explain.

We were lucky enough to see the sun shine over Machu Picchu in a very clear morning. It was completely cloudy the day before and people couldn't even see 2 meters ahead, let alone Machu Picchu. It also started raining 2 hours after we arrived in MP so I am extremely grateful for the weather. Manchu Picchu is as beautiful and magnificent as it can be. The problem is that it looks exactly like the pictures! I was hoping to be completely blown away, but because we have seen so many Inca Ruins already before/during the hike and the millions of pictures of MP on the internet (thanks to technology), there was no surprise left. Hence, my new motto in life - when you have low, or better yet, no expectations, you will not be disappointed :) 

Up close, Machu Picchu is larger than you think and there are many interesting sections/parts. There is no denial that MP is magnificent and the story behind its discovery is fascinating (a bit sad as well). What we see today is only 40% of the whole MP, the other 60% is still underground / uncovered! 

Some of the memorable moments on the Inca Trail: 

- first time I saw the porters (carrying gigantic bags weighing 20 kilos each) brought tears into my eyes 

- the images from the campsite toilets will give me nightmares for the next 10 years - living in a tent for 3 and half days cured my germ phobia semi-permenantly 

- the sense of relief when I saw Machu Picchu at Sun Gate - Woohoo, back to civilization! 

After the hike, I definitely appreciate the little things much more - e.g. toilet paper, hot shower and clean bed! So, fellow honeymooners, those who like finer things in life, and those who don't enjoy hiking or camping, think twice before you step on the Inca Trail. :P

I am glad this part of our trip is over - may this be the hardest part of our honeymoon trip! 

Day 18 to 21 Andean Mountains (Pre Inca Trail Training)

4 to 7 December 

The following days we were taken to various towns and cites of high altitude (up to 4,000 meters) and this was partly to train for the Inca Trail. 

Day 18: En route to Chivay, the gateway town to the renowned Colca canyon. On the way to this town, we visited the national park and saw lots of Vicuña, Alpacas and Llamas. The temperate changed from the sunny 28 degrees in Arequipa to snow hail in just a couple of hours. This is quite normal in the Andean mountains and the higher you go, the colder it gets.  

At lunch time, we tasted Alpaca meat, which is super lean and has no cholesterols. To be honest, I thought the meat is a bit tough and it tastes similar to something in between chicken and lamb. 

After arriving at Chivay, we went to a local hot spring for some hot bath and later saw a local/traditional dance performance. One dance called yellow fever in particular is very ODD! It mimics people who suffer from yellow fever and being whipped for cure ...  

Day 19: Colca Valley/Canyon/River. Colca Valley is my favourite landscape in Peru so far. The ups and downs, the mountain range, the terraces just gave you a unique sense of awe and peace. 

We saw a Condor on the way from a distance. When I looked at some close shots of condors on post cards - man, their faces are not pretty! 

Day 20: Early flight to Cusco, the 7th largest city in Peru in terms of population. However it's the most important city in Peru in terms of tourism and travel network. More on it later. 

Day 21: We left early for Ollantaytambo town, which has a large Inca ruin, the best surviving example of Inca urban/water engineering. 

On the way to this town, we visited: 
 - a women waving co-op community (a charity initiative by G Adventures), we saw how the locals spin alpaca hair into threads, use natural ingredients (e.g. flowers, salt) to dye the threads, and how to weave. All quite impressive. But I got spit on by a Llama! They stink!
 - Sacred Valley (a bit similar to Colca Valley), nice views from the top
 - Pisaq, a large Inca ruin site, impressive terraces and water work. 

I visited Ollantaytambo ruins after we arrived in town, it was equally impressive in terms of size and water channels. 

We were due to start the Inca Trail (4 days hike) the next day and wondered if we should escape and just book a flight to the Caribbean and lie on the beach with a cocktail in hand - that would be more suitable for our honeymoon :) But we didn't ... oh boy, we didn't know what we got ourselves into ...

Day 17 Special Birthday Edition

3 December 2014

After a looooonnng overnight bus ride, we arrived at Arequipa. At the start of my birthday, I had a fresh-out-of-bed look: my hair felt like straws and my backpacker attire was far beyond stylish. Once we arrived at the hotel, I took timely measures to return to my normal hygiene standards (more on this later on the Inca Trail...)

In the afternoon, we walked around the city and visited the local market. We bought some exotic looking fruits (one is called Cactus fruit) and glad to report that we are still alive!

Upon returning to the hotel, two of our group members reported that they have been bitten by bed bugs!!!! This brings me back to the fond memories 5 years ago, when I first arrived in London ...

... the winter of 2009, in the lovely Marylebone neighbourhood, I have bonded with the amazing Green's (then neighbours) over bed bugs ... I shall not elaborate on the details ... but let's say that I am full of gratitude towards bed bugs because I have met two amazing people!

My extensive research then has helped with our action plans at this 5-year bed bug anniversary occasion.

Speaking of milestones, I am grateful for what has transpired in my life in the last 10 years:

- on the day I turned 25 (for the first time), I received the news that I passed the chartered accountancy exam in Canada

- when I turned 25 again 5 years later, I was in London celebrating company Xmas party with English colleagues. 3 months before that, I had moved to London with one oversized suitcase and no job prospects. 

- now that I turned 25 for the 10th time, I am on a round-the-world trip with Lars.

I can't ask for more and am very grateful for the people in my life. You taught me, you loved/love me, you influenced me for better or worse and you helped to shape my life the way it it. I believe life is all about experiences so I welcome more adventures, new experiences and perspectives in the days/months/years to come. For those loved ones, please stay in my life. :)

My birthday drew a conclusion after the consumption of a surprise birthday cake from Lars & the tour leader followed by a few alcoholic beverages...but for the record, I am still 25!!

Day 14 to 17 Southern Coast, Peru (More than just the Incas)

30 Nov to 3 Dec

We have travelled along the Southern Peruvian coast for 4 days after departing from Lima. In general, it was hard work - early starts most of the days, long/overnight bus rides, high altitude impact, drastic change of temperatures and .... the threat of bed bugs!! In return. we were rewarded with some nice landscapes and historical sites! 

Day 14: Paracas, a city by the coast - the port was a bit underwhelming but we tried Pisco sour here... and it's definitely not my cup of tea, or rather ... spirit!   

Day 15: En-route to Nazca, a city in the dessert, we saw bare/sandy landscapes dotted by occasional vineyards. It's a bit strange to see random houses (very basic structures) and tombs along the road. We were told that these belong to people of lesser means. At the town of Inc, we stopped for more wine and Pisco tasting. The Peruvians certainly like sweeeeet wines! New things I learned:

- Pisco was distilled from white grapes and it has no colour in the original form 

- Certain type of Pisco has the same effect as the blue pill for men, allegedly... 

After passing by the oasis of Huacachina which was surrounded by sand dunes, we finally arrived at Nazca, a city of sand! 

Day 16: Nazca - there isn't really much else to see other than the Nazca lines. The mysteries behind this archaeological wonder are mind boggling. We took a flight on a 12-seater plane to see the lines from air. Some figures are quite easy to spot whereas others need some training on the eye first. They also vary significantly in size - I like the monkey and condor the most. There are many theories behind these lines and further discovery/investigation is still ongoing. What is most memorable is how much the plane swung side to side and how sick we all felt! Each passenger was given 2 barf bags ... Lars said the Nazca lines should be renamed as vomit lines!

We also visited the cemetery in Chauchilla with 1500 year-old mummies - they are pretty scary looking if you ask me.

Day 17: Arequipa, known as "white city", is the second most important city after Lima. It has a small, pretty main square full of colonial buildings made of white lava stones, hence the nickname. We learned that 80% of the Peru population (c. 20mln plus)  lives in the Lima region  so it's not surprising to see that Arequipa only has less than 1 mln people even though it's a very important city. One of the volcanoes nearby (called Misty) is still active and is predicted to erupt any time soon - phew, we left just in time! 

Overall, it was interesting to see the Paracas and Nazca cultures which pre-dated the Incas by more than 500 years! The Incas were referred to as Inca empire (as opposed to a culture) and only became noticeably strong in the 1450s. More on Incas later ...

Machu Picchu

With the help of some medication (Acetazolamida) I managed to get to about 5000m altitude... but still struggling with the altitude a bit.