Peru Part 3: The Nomadic life, Humantay you don’t scare me , a mango & a pee for 10 sol and Bollywood songs all the way to Macchu Picchu

So it begins. This is what we all came for. We are ready and eager. We spent the evening of the 16th September packing for these 4 days. This was something to behold. Our limit was 5kg. Could you do it? Everyone’s room looked the same, clothes and items strewn across the furniture and floor. Simon finished his and watched from bed as I struggled … those who know me will understand how tough this was. It’s normal 20kg for 4 days 😂. But I did it!

So at 5.30am on the 17th September we were ready to leave. Our 5 kg (hmm) bag plus our small day rucksack 🎒. This is also the start of the “bladder training” from Simon. The sort you have in your bag for easy water access.

We had breakfast en route before we entered the national park.

This is the point where I should introduce Nico who would be our guide to Macchu Picchu. His assistant was a 24year old named Elisben .The qualities Nico showed are many and the patience he needed was plentiful. He was also super cool 😎.

The first walk up was supposedly quite easy but a lot started feeling the impact of the altitude . Fatima and Sati in particular needed support.

We arrived at the first lodge where we were to share! The toilets and showers (cold obviously) were at one end of the site.

The cook team were there already and after lunch we all had decisions to make. You could rest , do a shorter walk near the lodge or go and tackle Humantay! ofcourse I hadn’t learnt to say no by this point.

So a smaller group that contained Nitasha , Chie. Nico , Vishal. Kamal, Simon and myself set out to get to Humantay Lake which is 4200m above sea level.

I would say about two thirds of the way up I started to struggle and remember I hadn’t really suffered badly with altitude sickness to this point. Kamal also was struggling a little. I thought was going to pass out. I was struggling to move forward. With the encouragement from Nico, Vishal (and some drugs) and Simon who kept me upright I eventually made it. I played my favourite Bollywood tunes to power me. If you were wondering where Nitasha and Chie were … already there. They were like mountain goats !! Oh and I did have a little cry.

We walked back as it was starting to get dark. I felt much better by now.

Because Simon and I politely declined to share with Mr & Mrs Vaingankar we ended up in another lodge a few minutes down the hill.Not as cute but the facilities were nearer !!!

On the 18th we started our ascent to Salkantay (4600 above sea level). Don’t worry we were on horseback apart from Nitasha, Vishal, Simon. Chie and Nico. These horses were so calm and so familiar with the rocky paths that we were literally given a horse and off we went. Even Susan who had never ridden before.

After a lovely ride up which was pretty uneventful apart from hearing later that Fatima had fallen. Thankfully nothing broken and she didn’t make a fuss although was obviously in pain.

We waited only for a while when the first of the walkers arrived. It was Simon!

After all this we embarked on the walk that we all remember. It turned into the night walk ….

Doesn’t the photo below look like something from the National Geographic!

The walk to our next lodge was long and dark in the end . We were on narrow unsteady paths. Most of us had our night lights, some didn’t as it wasn’t supposed to be this long! We all supported each other and sang and chatted our way back. I have no photographs of this period as spent most of my time shouting ,”tuck in” “stay left” , being Roz’s light or playing music. Rekha had been carried down like a baby in a papoose. It was sight to behold and it all happened so fast! She got back at 7.30pm. We got back at 10pm!😥

We were in a lovely lodge overnight and there was talk of another walk early morning of the 19th. Nope I hadn’t learnt my lesson. Had proper FOMO so rushed and got ready to join this bunch.

This is the small group that went for walk.  

It was a beautiful walk. We came across different terrains and had to change routes due to landslides. I won’t lie there were some inclines that slowed me down but overall fabulous. We also passed some farms – Avocados and papayas.

We picked some Inca berries along the way and painted our faces and pretended we were tough Inca warriors. Ofcourse we are!

We had lunch with the rest of the gang and then went to a small coffee plantation.

That night we were overnight in pods. Let’s just say they are not warm or sound proof. Not easy for a tall man to get in and out without a few bumps.

On the 20th we woke up and needed to exit the area as traffic was controlled. This meant we had to stop at a small place to have drinks and play games until we got the green light.

We then went up to the Hidroelecttica station point which was the last stage of the trek to Macchu Picchu. Here you can also get the train which is what Rekha did. We had lunch and then walked along the rail track to Aguas Calientes.

The walk was flat and easy.

We were overnight in Aguas Calientes. Night time here was like Ibiza in the hills. Buzzy , loud with music and dancing. They must have been young. We just wanted to buy some water and go to bed. Only one minor drama today, we lost Rekha. She’d got off the train but at the wrong stop in town. We should have realised something was wrong when Nitasha, Vishal, Nico and Elisben were all missing and running around Aguas Calientes! They did eventually find her in time for dinner.

So on the 21st morning we had breakfast at our hotel and headed down to face the long queue for the bus upto to Macchu Picchu.

The Japanese girls (Chie, Chika and Kiki) had an earlier timed ticket so they had already left with Nico. We queued and queued but the organisation was faultless. They’ve obviously done this before. It’s about a 30mins journey to the entrance. We were met by Nico who guided us around the site. This blog isn’t long enough to really go into much detail but needless to say the Incas were a very special people. Macchu Picchu is referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas”. The site was apparently a summer palace built for the Emperor Pachacuti. Sharing some images but it’s impossible to pass on the feeling of wonderment at how these people lived and survived at such an altitude. I suppose each civilisation leaves behind a unique impression and the Incas seem to have touched many.

After descending back to Aguas Calientes we just about managed to catch the train back to Ollantaytambo . To maximise the tourist experience the train has a glass ceiling.

So that was very long. And we haven’t finished our adventure in Peru yet !! Please stay with me 🙏🏽. I can’t promise that the next part will be any shorter. 😂

(I took most photos but you’ll recognise the really good ones as Roz’s work.)