After little or no sleep (it felt like Christmas Eve as a kid) as we were full of nervous energy we boarded our bus at 4.30am. After a bumpy and scary bus journey to Mollepata we met our group for a quick breakfast. We were warned it would be freezing for the first two days (until we reached the jungle) but we were greated with blazing sunshine (not always welcome when youre all muffled up and have a long uphill walk ahead!).
Ronan got sick before lunch and we were worried
it was altitude sickness but must have only been dehydration due to all the layers, but everyone in our group was fantastic and a quick energy drink after our lunch seemed to do the job. Day one was about 7 hours of treking (most of which was uphill) and so we were delighted to arrive to the most basic campsite (pic is view from there) imaginable i.e.a piece of flat ground!!! Having said that we were treated to a great feast for dinner (popcorn and hot chocolate also which was much appreciated) with all 11 of us cramped into the dining tent! Everyone wrapped up well and after a couple of games of sh*thead we had an early night as we were warned the second day was the toughest!
Woken up at 6am with a cup of coca tea (good for the altitude), then pancakes for breakfast (living it up) but a slight shortage of water, not good for a tough hike! We packed up our tents and set off for a long day. Our campsite was at 3800m and we had to reach 4600m by crossing between 2 mountains over the next 4 hours before our 2 hour descent for lunch! It was really tough, hard to get your breath back but the feeling on reaching the peak was amazing (even if it you cooled down very quickly!). Not everyone made it as one of our group members had to be carried by a horse! (story later on!)
After lunch we had a 4 hour descent to the next campsite (which Orla found tough, especially in the rain and mud and the sore toes didnt help!), luckily we made the campsite just before it got dark as there arent too many floodlights or heaters in the middle of the Andes. Dinner was a quiet affair as our entire group was knackered and we all hit the hay early.
Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we woke up (5.30am) and we had an easier days hike (4 hours but pretty downhill in comparison to the previous day!). It was warm and sunny in the jungle and the river and scenery were amazing (which we had a bit more time to appreciate). There were a few scary bridges en route (if you could even call some of them bridges!) and we were delighted to arrive at the end of the days trekking to be met by a small bus in a village called Playa which brought us to our luxurious campsite in Santa Teresa. This campsite was the only one so far which had a toilet, and the toilet even had a flush!!!
The lads even had the energy here for a quick 4 a side football match Peru and Ireland v Europe (Europe won 5-3) before we all hit the hot springs (first wash in 3 days) which were hot and refreshing, the water being surprisingly clear! Definately good for the tired muscles! We returned to the campsite for an amazing meal and a few beers sitting around the campfire before bedtime (we were all definately getting more acclimatized!).
Our lovely feast in Santa Teresa
A campfire with our wonderful group
We had a lie in till about 8 and then enjoyed some breakfast and conspiracy theories!!! Luckily we made the decision to pay 6 soles to get the chef to bring our bags with him directly to Aqua Caliente (as our horses had left us in Playa), most of our group did this and it was well worth the
money! We expected an easy enough stroll but our guide neglected to mention to us the scary rickety cable car crossing with a fast flowing river below. We have to say the locals took the crossing in their stride which gave us some confidence!! and it actually was nicer then expected. Other than that the walk was uneventful and pretty montonous especially follwing the railroad tracks from Hydroelectric to Aqua Caliente. Aqua Caliente was a lovely colourful town, expensive though but thats to be expected and we all ran for showers in our hostels and some pizza for dinner with another early arise awaiting us to get to Machu Pichu.
Ronan got sick before lunch and we were worried
it was altitude sickness but must have only been dehydration due to all the layers, but everyone in our group was fantastic and a quick energy drink after our lunch seemed to do the job. Day one was about 7 hours of treking (most of which was uphill) and so we were delighted to arrive to the most basic campsite (pic is view from there) imaginable i.e.a piece of flat ground!!! Having said that we were treated to a great feast for dinner (popcorn and hot chocolate also which was much appreciated) with all 11 of us cramped into the dining tent! Everyone wrapped up well and after a couple of games of sh*thead we had an early night as we were warned the second day was the toughest!
Woken up at 6am with a cup of coca tea (good for the altitude), then pancakes for breakfast (living it up) but a slight shortage of water, not good for a tough hike! We packed up our tents and set off for a long day. Our campsite was at 3800m and we had to reach 4600m by crossing between 2 mountains over the next 4 hours before our 2 hour descent for lunch! It was really tough, hard to get your breath back but the feeling on reaching the peak was amazing (even if it you cooled down very quickly!). Not everyone made it as one of our group members had to be carried by a horse! (story later on!)
After lunch we had a 4 hour descent to the next campsite (which Orla found tough, especially in the rain and mud and the sore toes didnt help!), luckily we made the campsite just before it got dark as there arent too many floodlights or heaters in the middle of the Andes. Dinner was a quiet affair as our entire group was knackered and we all hit the hay early.
Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we woke up (5.30am) and we had an easier days hike (4 hours but pretty downhill in comparison to the previous day!). It was warm and sunny in the jungle and the river and scenery were amazing (which we had a bit more time to appreciate). There were a few scary bridges en route (if you could even call some of them bridges!) and we were delighted to arrive at the end of the days trekking to be met by a small bus in a village called Playa which brought us to our luxurious campsite in Santa Teresa. This campsite was the only one so far which had a toilet, and the toilet even had a flush!!!
The lads even had the energy here for a quick 4 a side football match Peru and Ireland v Europe (Europe won 5-3) before we all hit the hot springs (first wash in 3 days) which were hot and refreshing, the water being surprisingly clear! Definately good for the tired muscles! We returned to the campsite for an amazing meal and a few beers sitting around the campfire before bedtime (we were all definately getting more acclimatized!).
Our lovely feast in Santa Teresa
A campfire with our wonderful group
We had a lie in till about 8 and then enjoyed some breakfast and conspiracy theories!!! Luckily we made the decision to pay 6 soles to get the chef to bring our bags with him directly to Aqua Caliente (as our horses had left us in Playa), most of our group did this and it was well worth the
money! We expected an easy enough stroll but our guide neglected to mention to us the scary rickety cable car crossing with a fast flowing river below. We have to say the locals took the crossing in their stride which gave us some confidence!! and it actually was nicer then expected. Other than that the walk was uneventful and pretty montonous especially follwing the railroad tracks from Hydroelectric to Aqua Caliente. Aqua Caliente was a lovely colourful town, expensive though but thats to be expected and we all ran for showers in our hostels and some pizza for dinner with another early arise awaiting us to get to Machu Pichu.We have to add that we had an absolutely brilliant group for this trek, there was a great mix of people but and only one of them thought he was being drugged and followed by the Swedish government! P.s. this is especially for you guys alex and flo, Mr. Napkinhead may be following shortly if I can work out my memory card - Greg!
1 comment:
hi orla and ronan, nice website but you forget to speak about the two most important stars in this trek..... doesn't matter we spend some good time with you even if you speak to fast with an irish accent.
Do you want a cigaret?
Take care for you trip.
the 2 swiss.
flo and alex
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