OSAmag78

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 7 8
pass at 13,776 feet! No wonder I tried to get used to being at
altitude. I was going to carry a light backpack with a few
personal items including water and snacks. Tents, sleeping
bags, food and all the paraphernalia to cook and serve it are
carried by porters - 8 in total, including the chef Only 500
people are allowed to start the trail on anyone day, including
porters and guides. Day 1 started at about 8,500 feet and was
not too bad as we got to know each other whilst walking. The
1st campsite was much the same height as Cusco at around
11,000 feet. It was my 1st night in a tent since the old king
died and I slept badly.
SuNDAY
We started day 2 after an early breakfast and the path was
steep uphill all the way. Much of it was steps which themselves
are high and often make you cross the path to ease the legs. It
was a silent walk; no-one had enough oxygen to talk as well as
walk. Taking it slowly and stopping frequently were absolute
necessities. We were due to reach the highest pass before
lunch. When I got within sight of it (a couple of hundred
yards to go) I started to feel a little light-headed. Not good, I
thought. Although I was last in the group I took things even
slower. Stopping frequently and breathing deeply. On arrival
I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't feel euphoric about the
achievement but did feel somewhat emotional.
Now there was some downhill at last. Some of this had rocks
on either side of the path so that I could use my hands and
effectively scramble down. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of
the whole hike. I'm last at the next campsite too. We all went
to bed soon after dinner. The food was OK but nothing
special, too much rice and pasta. I had been told that the meals
would be based on potato, which would have been interesting
as Peru cultivates more than 4,000 varieties.
MoNDAY
After a much better night's sleep (it had to be) we faced a long
day's walking with plenty of up and down. There were 2 more
passes to go through; the 1st at 13,000 feet and the 2nd at
12,000. The muscles on my legs weren't aching when I got up,
even after all the effort needed for yesterday. Today was hard
going, just because it was so long, we must have covered at
least 13 miles and by the time I reached camp I was tired.
Next morning my muscles did, at last, ache. A feeling that
took me back to football training days!
TuESDAY
Today was utter madness! Aurora understood English but was
not very confident to talk in it. Even she was moved later in
the day to ask me why it started as it did. I was unable to
explain in any language as I simply didn't know. We were
woken at 3.30 am and given a "packed" breakfast to eat later,
so that we could start walking at 4 am. We walked for 5
minutes and then joined the queue at a departure control
point. This was due to open at 5.30 am!! Once we were on our
way (having eaten the cheese sandwich) we had a 2 hour walk
to "The Sun Gate". This is where you get the 1st view ofthe
ruins of Machu Picchu. I wasn't as impressed as I was
supposed to be, probably because we were still a bit too far
away to appreciate what we were about to experience (and I
wasn't wearing my glasses).
On the way down I was walking just behind the 2 American
girls. Steph suddenly threw her hands into the air and Karen
cried out "oh my god". The man walking up towards us went
down on one knee and clearly proposed to Steph. As it was
her boyfriend, although she had no inkling that he would be
there, she accepted. All very romantic, I thought, but how do
you top that with the honeymoon? I then saw someone close
to my own age for the 1st time for a few days. I realized that
they too had walked up from Machu Picchu (having got there
by train and bus) and that the Belgian couple, at 56, were
probably at least 15 years older than all the other walkers, with
one exception!
On arrival Machu Picchu was an amazing site/sight. It is a
huge ruin of a town built on top of a mountain. The Incas
knew how to move huge rocks and how to build with
interlocking pieces and sloping walls for strength. The
Spanish ruled Peru for 200 years but never found this place,
which is why it is so well preserved. Carlos explained a lot
about the place but the day was too hot so that, after the start
we had had, no-one had the energy to go round taking more
photos.
However, The Real Peru Co had booked me into a hotel in
Aguas Calientes, the tourist town at the bottom of the
mountain, with a ticket to return the next day The bus journey
up and down must be one of the longest zig-zag roads ever
built and took the best part of half an hour. It rained after
lunch but the joy of a warm shower and hotel bed were just
wonderful!
WEDNESDAY
The weather was wet again in the morning (the only place it
had rained the whole time) but once I had travelled back up
(above much of the cloud) I was raring to explore with camera
at the ready. I'm a bit of a heathen when it comes to old ruins
but this place was fascinating. And my legs feel really good
today. Eventually I returned to Aguas Calientes for a leisurely
late lunch and then a train journey, along the river valley, back
to Cusco. It was a nice slow ride with windows set in the roof
as well so that the dramatic Andes scenery can be enjoyed to
the full.
During the trip I had to "suffer" a couple of name changes
and I don't mean my long surname. Peruvians can't cope with
the soft "g" in Roger. So I was usually referred to as Roy ..er.
The guide on the walk, Carlos, seemed to get it right for a
short period and then probably forgot my name completely.
So I simply became, to the amusement of the others, "father".
This was most defmitely nothing to do with how many times
I asked "how much farther Carlos?" - I never had enough
breathe to spare!
THuRSDAY iFRiDAY
The train ride was the start of a very long journey home. I
spent another night in Cusco at the same hotel and then
caught a morning (1 hour late) flight back to Lima. I was still
much too early for my flight back to Amsterdam. This was 12
hours overnight and after a short hop back to Heathrow and
a couple of trains I was home early Friday evening.
This had been two fantastic adventures in one holiday. My
lust to experience the Amazon rainforest slated after more
than 50 years and a walk that may stop me from ever again
saying that I like walking up!
Roger Engledow
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