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Following the Inca Trail

Posted 11/04/08

The early morning start at Manchester Airport was the culmination of months of planning which included fundraising, a practice expedition and many hours of after school meetings. The group seemed to take over the check-in queue for the Air Canada flight to Lima, with a stop off in Toronto. The journey there was tiring but exciting and two days later we were being transported into the shanty towns of Lima, the Peruvian capital city. We spent our first night at the Hostel Iquiqui and the following day we started our journey north to Huaraz where we were to acclimatise and complete our first expedition of three days.


The city was a contrast to what most people had previously experienced. Our Hostel was reminiscent of a Ritz compared to the dilapidated streets which surrounded us. It was very cold due to the altitude; however the sun was extremely strong so despite the cold breeze it was possible to walk around in a tee shirt. Everybody was separated into groups which had separate tasks each day; there was also a team leader and a deputy team leader who was to co-ordinate the activities. The tasks included map planning for the three day Olleros-Chavin route, buying lunches and preparing lunches. My group were given the task of purchasing the lunches, which involved exploring the city and bargaining: all in Spanish of course! After several hours, we returned with bread, ham, cheese, butter, fruit and a strange type of chocolate. I found it very rewarding to converse in Spanish throughout the whole expedition and act as interpreter on several occasions. Speaking Spanish put some of the group at an advantage, which resulted in some practical jokes and on one occasion saving Andy from losing his equipment at the laundrette.


On our first evening, we walked into the centre to find a restaurant. We were given the equivalent of $5 each to dine, which was plenty because everything was so cheap: a full meal with drinks came to about 13 sol ($3). The following days were spent preparing for the expedition and acclimatising.


The journey to our starting point was spent sitting like sardines in minibuses with all of our equipment placed around us. We unravelled ourselves at the starting point, greeted by our llamas which were going to accompany us, carrying some of our equipment for the trek. We walked in our groups, pacing ourselves about 30 minutes behind each other and set out for the mountains. The unsettled climate, which varied like it did during our practice expedition in the Scottish Highlands, was suited well to our equipment which was prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions.


I remember the first night very clearly. Our group were the first to arrive to the campsite; we set up the tents, and put on some warm clothes. The mountains masked the sun which resulted in it becoming dark quite rapidly. Everyone was very tired and it wasn't long before all the cookers were put away and we were all going to sleep. I peered out of the tent to see if anyone was up and I was astonished by the cloudless sky which was scattered with stars; many of which can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. However, it was almost -5ºC so to save myself from freezing, I took a picture and went to sleep.


The walk continued for two more days, with the same structure. We woke up very early to pack up the campsite, loaded the lamas with our equipment and began walking. The scenery varied from stony mountains to areas densely covered with vegetation. On the last day of our trek, we passed through a village and received a celebrity-like reception. The children were running after us and we were surrounded by locals of all ages asking for food. The group liked it at first; however, it became a little intrusive so we gave them the last of our supplies, took some pictures and moved on.


The finishing point for our first expedition was a restaurant and the entire group were very relieved. We arranged with our guide Edwardo to be taken by private bus back to our accommodation in Huaraz, however there was some confusion which resulted in myself and Mr Blackwood walking thorough the town in an attempt to hire a private bus. The guide had actually arranged for us to travel on public transport, which isn't quite the same as in England. However, there was nobody around to take us privately so we boarded the Chavin coach home, along with a variety of animals including sheep. The coach journey, although talking much longer, was a memorable experience as the driver stopped off at various farms to load animals to transfer to market towns. We arrived, eventually, at our Hostel and packed up once again for the second part of our expedition.


Following Huaraz we travelled to Cusco, a vibrant and popular city in the heart of Peru. We travelled from Lima airport on the surprisingly comfortable LAN Peru airways on a journey which took just over 1 hour. Upon our arrival, a sea of blue (the group wearing their expedition t-shirts) seemed to invade the surprisingly small Cusco airport where we were met by our coach and police escorts. The Hostel was not far away and, after checking in at the hostel, we were given the day to explore the city. Everyone was pleasantly surprised because the centre was a sharp contrast to the poverty we had experienced in Huaraz. Cusco, which is the gateway to Macchu Picchu, was more touristy and we took advantage of the restaurants and shops.


The following day the group was introduced to Carlos, our guide for Cusco and the Inca Trail. We were given tours of the city on foot and by bus with our driver who, coincidentally, was called Schumacher. Carlos was a native of the area, and his mother tongue was Quechua (the Inca Language). He was extremely knowledgeable and gave us many in-depth tours of the city and some Inca sites. The main event, however, in Cusco was the Inca Trail and we set aside an entire day in preparation for it. Our group planned the route, researched the expected walking times and weather and Carlos checked it and added his own information. By the evening, our bags were packed and so began the mental preparation for the 4 day Inca Trail expedition.


Everyone was up having breakfast at 4.30am ready for our bus transfer to KM-82, the Inca trail starting point. Following a 2 hour scenic-but-bumpy coach journey, we were greeted by a sea of Peruvians selling walking sticks, chocolates and water. I managed to huddle my way through buying only an Inca walking stick stick, but others had it less easy as they were swarmed with products. Carlos introduced us to our team of porters who would be carrying the group equipment, setting up tents for lunch and for our campsite, cooking the food and cleaning it up. There were 26 porters, which equated to almost one each. Nobody knew what to expect of them first, but it was only a few minutes into the expedition when they ran sprinted past us towards the heavily inclined hills carrying nearly twice the weight of our backpacks. The start of the Inca Trail was film-like as we crossed a footbridge over a large river and disappeared straight into the mountain range. We had only been walking a few hours when I happened upon a brightly coloured tent which was our lunch tent. The porters had set up kitchen and dining tents just for lunch. At the entrance was hot water to wash our hands - to us, at the time it seemed unbelievable.


The following four days to the site of Macchu Picchu were incredible. We traversed across green mountains, along stony paths, through primary jungle and over Inca settlements. It was tiring, but the excitement kept the group going. We spent our final night camping in Wiñaywayna which had hot showers and a café with a breathtaking view of the back of Macchu Picchu, the site we were heading for on the final day. An early start of 4am was required to give us time to have our final breakfast and walk to the Sun Gate in order to see the sunrise over Macchu Picchu. It was also Elizabeth's birthday and our chef made a cake; which upon first glance seemed to utter 'It's the thought that counts', but turned out to be quite tasty. We were up so early, the gates to the mountain hadn't yet been opened. Nobody spoke on the journey to Sun Gate; we were excited to what we were about to experience, astonished by the scenery around us, and tired of course!


Gasping for air, the sights of Macchu Picchu appeared before our eyes surrounded rising mist. A slight change of plan resulted in us heading straight for the Inca site which was below the clouds. Within half an hour the mist had lifted and it was a beautiful clear day. Seeing Macchu Picchu through my own eyes sent shivers down my spine. It was an image that will never leave me. It was not just 'Wow' that indicated the rest of the group felt the same way, but the repeated blinking and beeping of cameras pointed at it. After some gazing, Carlos gave us a tour of the site which was in surprisingly good shape considering its age. Many photos were taken and it was a worthy end to the Inca Trail. Lunch and refreshments were at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge hotel bar where we waited for a coach transfer to the town of Aguas Calientes where, after some shopping, we took the train back to our starting point.


The final part of our expedition was to Lake Titicaca in the city of Puno, South Peru. We spent two nights there and had a magical day which began with a very amusing bike-taxi ride for the whole group to the port where we boarded a boat. We had tours of the Islands, including Uros, a man-made reed island. The few families who live there harvest reed to make new parts to their little island. The people are very poor and fish for a living; however, they have the great ability to move their Island by removing anchor-like sticks from the edge of the Island and towing it using a boat. Some of us purchased hand made local gifts from the island and had a tour in a reed boat. There was another excursion to an island where we had lunch and were introduced to the customs and traditions of the locals. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing on the top deck of the boat because our journey home commenced the following day.


We had another, increasingly familiar early start with breakfast at 6.30am and we were transferred by coach to the extremely small local airport in Puno. We boarded, what appeared to be, the only flight of the day to Lima. Upon arrival we were taken back to the Hostel which we used on our first night of the expedition. We weren't staying there in the evening, but used the rooms and showers for the day to freshen up before our journey home. The following day we were able to explore Miraflores, the well-developed centre of Lima to shop and have our final group meal. In the evening we boarded our first of two 7 hour flights home. There was a 12 hour stop over in Toronto airport and some of us were able to explore the city, but we were soon at Manchester airport greeting our families with our new tans and telling stories which we will never forget.


During my time at Liverpool College, the variety of excursions available has always been impressive. I have been skiing in Austria, Italy and America, on work experience to Paris, and Duke of Edinburgh's expeditions all over the UK. Expeditions such as Quechua Cadet Peru are what make the school stand out, and I would like to thank Major Pickett and all the accompanying staff for making it possible.


Stephen Irvine

Yr 12


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