Searching for Shangri-La: Machu Picchu-Tales from the Trail

Tales from the Trail

Because the Inca Trail is so popular with tourists, Peru limits the number of permits that they issue and requires that all trekkers hike with a tour company. Anyone who shows up in Cusco and tries to book the trek for the following week is told they are out of luck. We booked last April, so on Monday morning (at 5:40AM) we were good to go. The bus picked us up and drove us to the trail head which is about 2 hours from Cusco.

We hiked for the better part of the morning, beside a raging river and past a few Incan ruins. The porters, who were carrying the tents, food and all the equipment, ran ahead down the trail and set up for lunch before we arrived. As we ate a delicious spread of avocado salad, chicken soup and grilled trout, the rain started. We hiked in the drizzle for the rest of the afternoon, until we reached this bar.

...where everybody knows your name. SPOILER ALERT: It's Gringo.

Although it's hard to tell that this is a bar, the stick with the red plastic bag signifies to passersby that this is the place to drink. And the drink of choice? Chicha, an alcoholic beverage made of fermented corn, which is brewed in a large pot.

Yummy!

It looks, and tastes, a lot like yeast. The Andean people have a tradition to pour some of the chicha onto the ground before they drink it, as an offering to Pachamama, the goddess Mother Earth. Another Andean tradition is the gratuitous use of coca leaves. People high up in the mountains swear by its medicinal properties, saying that it reduces the risk of altitude sickness, increases your energy and curbs hunger. Go figure. The coca leaves are chewed in the side of your mouth, between your cheek and your gums, with a bit of charcoal to release the alkaloids of the plant (or so I'm told by Mr. Science... I mean Mr. Stratil). The Andean people believe that coca leaves are the food of the gods, and that we must ask permission to chew them. Before chewing the leaves, our guide told us to give an offering of 3 leaves to Pachamama, and thank her for the coca leaves and for all the beauty on earth. So we did.

We hiked for the rest of the afternoon to reach our campsite, which had already been set up by the porters. Hot coca tea and snacks were waiting for us, and dinner was served around 7. We went to bed early, listening to the gentle yet demoralizing sound of the rain hitting our tents. As Hemingway said, "The rain was making the finest sound that we, who live much outside of houses, ever hear. It was a lovely sound, even though it was bitching us." In the morning, it had cleared a bit and we got up and started hiking around 6:30. The second day was to be the longest and most difficult day, with 15 km (9.5 miles) to hike and 1200 meters (about 4000 feet) to climb. We had a second breakfast, or elevensies, at a break in the trail. And then the rain started again. Virtually everyone on the trail had purchased cheapie ponchos in Cusco, in a variety of colors. (Turned out to be the best $2 we have ever spent!) But the effect was that we looked like a tribe of multicolored gnomes hiking up the hill.

We climbed up, up, up the stairs, through the valley to Dead Woman's Pass at 4215 meters (13,780 feet).

My green gnome at Dead Woman's Pass

After the pass, we had a beautiful and less brutal downhill climb to the campsite. We settled in to our tent and enjoyed some well-deserved rest for the afternoon. Having been on the trail before, I knew that there is only one thing that you want to eat after a long day of hiking. Snickers. So we brought 6 of them. One for each of us for each of the three long hiking days. We affectionately called that time of day "Snickers Time."

It's actually pronounced "Sneeeeckers Time"

That night, the clouds cleared while we ate dinner. As we walked out of the dinner tent, we saw millions and millions of stars. The sky was so clear that we could see not only the Milky Way, but we could see the dark spaces within the Milky Way (apparently that is really interesting). The sky was pretty spectacular.

We slept well that night and woke up ready for another day of hiking. After a short climb, we arrived at the first of many Incan ruins that we would see that day. Our guide told us to carry a rock from the site to the pass so that we could offer it to Pachamama. When we arrived at the second pass (3950 m/12,900 ft) we held a simple ceremony for Pachamama. We offered the rocks, three perfect coca leaves and something that was significant to us and in return, we asked Pachamama to grant us one wish. Most people offered different kinds of foods that they coveted---coca candies, Milano cookies, chocolates etc. No, I did not give up one of my Snickers bars. I gave her 2 peanuts and a raisin. Actually, I dropped one of the peanuts. Despite my crappy offering, she treated us well and granted the wish that I'm sure every single person made at the ceremony:

"PLEASE- NO MORE RAIN!!"

Mark's offering

After the pass, we continued the hike through the cloud forest, which is effectively a rain forest but with clouds instead of rain. Well, sometimes both. Lucky for us, the rain held off.

After lunch came the dreaded Gringo Killers, a 1000 meter descent on stone stairs. On the way down the stairs, through the cloud forest, we saw lots of flora and fauna, including 4 different kinds of bamboo, two toucans and a deer.

At the end of the Gringo Killers was an Inca site, called Winayhuayna, nestled on a hillside which was once used for agricultural cultivation. It resembles a giant beehive on the side of the hill. These days, the hill is mostly used by the llamas. Careful, they spit! And shit!

That one in the distance looked at me funny.

We arrived at our campsite around 5 and relaxed until dinner. We went to bed early, because the next morning was the final push for Machu Picchu. The wake-up call was to be at 4AM but we hardly slept that night, listening to the rain hitting our tent, thinking that our worst fear- Machu Picchu in the rain- was about to be realized. When it was light enough to see, there were only clouds. The beautiful mountains we had seen the night before had disappeared in a white mist. We had to stop at a check-point about 5 minutes from the campsite. Of all the trekking groups, we were the last to arrive. Everyone waited until 5:30 for the checkpoint to open. While we waited, the rain started. Slowly at first, then harder. Now back into our gnome outfits, we started the hour and a half hike to the Sun Gate, the vista point where you can see Machu Picchu for the first time. The idea is to get there by 7 so that you can see the sun come over the mountains. Even though we knew we wouldn't be able to see anything once we got there, it didn't matter. They group was going to make a run for it. The only word to describe the hike is frenzied. We literally ran down the path, up the Inca steps, and then back down for a solid hour. Some other trekkers were not so happy to be passed by the running gnomes, including one particularly surly old man who shoved a member of our group. As people stopped to catch their breath or get some water, we pressed on and made it to the Sun Gate just before 7AM. And we saw......

NOTHING.

Nada.

Zip.

With a quiet curse to Pachamama, we headed down the steps on our final descent toward Machu Picchu. But then, as we arrived at the top of the hill overlooking the ruins, she finally smiled down on us. The sun broke through, and we were able to see Machu Picchu in all it's glory. And glorious it was.

There is really no way to explain how majestic Machu Picchu is. From the mystery surrounding it's creation and the disappearance of the Inca, to the incredibly preserved stone structures, to the scientifically advanced nature of the buildings, we were awestruck. In 1400AD, the Incan people had the foresight to construct their buildings on rolling marbles, which is the newest anti-seismic technology now used by cities like San Francisco. They also built some structures on a 13 degree inward incline to push the force of the buildings outward so that they would not topple during an earthquake. And that is to say nothing of the sheer size of the place. Pictures could never do justice to the immense beauty of Machu Picchu.