Travelling Roystons

The raison d´etre for our trip to Peru was to conquer the famous Inca Trail. Having booked this trip in March, our departure on the 20th of July was much-anticipated. We were picked up from our hotel at 4:00am (yet another early start!) and taken to Ollantaytambo for breakfast en route to our starting point. We were so pleased to meet the rest of our group, another four great young people, as well as our lovely guide, Sol. We also stocked up on some last minute necessities here including alpaca gloves, walking sticks and coca leaves for the porters that would be accompanying us.

After another short bus trip we arrived at the start of the trail, KM82, and crossed the Rio Urubamba to pay our fees, get our passports stamped and head off on foot for the next 4 days and 42 kilometres.

The morning´s 5 hour walk was a gentle 10km walk – we strolled along the Rio Urubamba still passing some villagers and still able to buy drinks along the way. We also saw our first Inca site, Llactapata, which really made us look forward to seeing more sites along the way and gave us some insight into the ancient yet impressive  Inca civilisation. Arriving at our lunch spot that day was such a pleasant surprise and made us thankful for choosing the agency that we did, United Mice. A tent was set up with chairs, table, tablecloth and even handwashing bowls. The food was way beyond our expectations – so we knew that we would at least not go hungry over the next four days! We were continually impressed by the meals served to us as the porters have to carry everything required for the trail on their backs including tents, toilet, propane gas cylinders, food, etc. Over the trail we had such culinary wonders as stuffed avocados, pizza, pancakes, won tons, cake, chocolate pudding, to mention only a few of our favourites! It was impossible to understand how the chef managed to turn this all out from two gas cylinders and a few bags of food!

However, not even the tasty meal could prepare us for what came next and it was during the afternoon´s walk that we realised this would be much tougher than expected. Although only 5km, the trail climbed a steep 700m to 3700m and at times I thought I would collapse as at this altitude breathing becomes more laboured. Thank goodness for Guysie, who very gallantly carried my pack for a while! Despite the numerous breath-catching stops Guy and I were thrilled to eventually arrive at the first camp site set out on a high, bare mountainside. After piling on multiple layers to ward off the freezing cold, another delicious meal and some hot tea we crawled into our sleeping bags for a night of tossing and turning in -8*C!

Pleased to have survived my first night of real camping, we woke up to find ice on our tent!!! We then set off to climb another 500m in just over an hour to reach the very appropriately named Dead Woman´s Pass at 4200m. It was at this point that Sol, our guide, pulled out her first surprise for us – Peruvian rum! So at 8:30 in the morning we were catching our breath while enjoying shots of rum on top of a mountain with awe-inspiring views of the surrounding snowcapped peaks. From here, it was a welcome downhill (for me, not for Guy´s knees!) to lunch in a beautiful valley before climbing again (and here I was sure I would die) to the top of the next pass (almost 3900m). Here Sol rewarded us with our next surprise – chocolate, which I must admit I enjoyed even more than the rum! We saw some stunning Inca ruins along the way and it was amzing to thing of the Incas building this route hundreds of years ago and actually walking on the stones that they had so carefully laid down and walked along. That night we camped beneath a gorgeous night sky in the midst of a cloud forest – thinking of home when we spotted the Southern Cross.

The next day was a much easier and warmer downhill to our last campsite where we realised that this trail was almost complete. It was a fun day as the group had got to know one another well and we all enjoyed chatting and admiring the views as well as the lovely flowers along the way, including orchids and begonias. Knowing that the trail would end the next day was a strange feeling as we had looked forward to this so much and even so it had far exceeded our most optimistic expectations. It was an experience of a lifetime and on that last night I realised that Macchu Picchu, the end point of the trail, had become part of the experience and not the reason for it.

The final morning was another 4am start to beat the crowds to Macchu Picchu and we raced along the path in the dark to reach Intipunku (the Sun Gate) just after sunrise. It was from here that we caught our first glimpse of Macchu Picchu, the famed Lost City of the Incas and recently announced part of the seven new wonders of the world. It really took our breath away, not just the size of it and the beauty of the surroundings but what we had accomplished during the course of the previous four days and how much we had loved doing it. From there it was an easy walk down the path to Macchu Picchu where we spent the morning exploring the ruins and climbing one more mountain, Waynupicchu, for a speactacular view of the ruins.

It felt very surreal to leave Macchu Picchu knowing this was over – it was an unbelievable experience and I can only say that if you haven´t walked the Inca Trail put it on your travel `to do´ list.

P.S. While we huffed and puffed our way along the trail we were astounded by the porters who each carry 25kg on their backs and do the trail in battered leather sandals. They leave each camp site after us and yet when we arrive at the next one it is set up with a hot meal waiting! Truly amazing. There used to be a race for the porters along the Inca Trail and a few days ago the winner completed it in 3:37 hours – unbelievable!!!

I am sure that it is true for all countries that there are some places that grab you and some that just don´t. Having travelled from Lima via Pisco to Nasca we were feeling a little `ungrabbed´ by Peru – dusty one-horse towns and gloomy skies. However, upon arriving in Arequipa we finally `found´ Peru. We spent two days in this city exploring its colonial buildings and cobbled streets as well as the gorgeous Monasterio del Santa Catalina, a convent dating back to the 1500´s and one of my new favourite places in the world. It is also famous for the museum that houses the famous ice mummy, Juanita, although this was the more spooky side of our visit! From Arequipa we travelled to the Colca Canyon, which is the world´s second deepest canyon (second to another in Peru) and home to the beautiful Andean condors. Since Peru was in the middle of a strike we had to leave Arequipa at 2am to avoid the blockades that strikers set out on the morning, which are then cleared away at night only to be set out again the next morning. The hot springs in Chivay, our stopover that night, were just the thing for the tired body following the early wake-up call!

From Arequipa, we flew to Cusco, which is a big tourist centre in Peru since it is the base from which to explore the Sacred Valley. Again, we found a gorgeous city with Inca ruins lining the streets, Spanish cathedrals, narrow cobbled streets and lovely little restaurants on every corner. It is from Cusco that we would depart 3 days later on the Inca Trail.

It has taken six weeks, but nevertheless I’m pleased to be posting my first blog. On our last day in the jungle Hugs acquired the taste (as evidenced by two helpings) for shredded palm hearts more commonly referred to by the villagers as “Amazon spagetti”, which, and I must add not too suprisingly, didn’t agree with her stomach! As a result the next couple of days were somewhat of a blur for my wife and hence I took over as the Travelling Roystons blog captain for this part of the trip.

My memoirs begin the moring we left Iquitos to fly back to Lima for the beginning of the next stage of our Peruvian adventure. The day began early at 3am as we boarded our taxi to the airport (what is it with all these early morning flights!). Very tired after not much sleep – “Amazon spagetti” and hundreds of locals protesting outside our hotel – we were not too pleased when we were confronted about 2kms from the airport, on the only road in and out, by the protestors from the night before who had settled in on this part of the road as part of their strike, successfully blocking our route into the airport. As there was no way past we strapped all our luggage to our backs and navigated our way through the bodies to the terminal. After landing safely in Lima and escaping the hustle and bustle of the Lima airport we caught a taxi to the Ormeno bus station and purchased two tickets to Pisco.

Pisco was nothing to write home about, a small poor town surrounded by desert and chicken farms and immersed in the fog that engulfs Lima and the nearby surrounding towns between the Andes and the Pacific coast. The purpose of our stay in Pisco was to visit neighbouring Paracas where we boarded a boat the following day bound for the Ballestas Islands. The Ballestas Islands are renowned for their many penguins, birdlife and colonies of sea lions plus en route you get a sight of the famous Candalabra which is a giant three pronged formation sketched into the sand dune.

That afternoon we caught a bus to Nazca with the intention of viewing the Nazca lines by plane. The next morning, a beautiful sunny day, we boarded a four seater Cessna and experienced an awesome 30 minute flight over the desert and adjacent mountain range. The mysterious Nazca lines were pretty amazing too – enormous patterns, their exact constructor and purpose unkown, dating back to before Christ!

Another bus ride followed, this time headed for Arequipa – a hairy 8 hour night ride on a double decker bus over numerous potholes and through a series of mountain switchbacks.

I cannot believe that our first big adventure, planned months ago, is already over but we had the most fantastic time in the Amazon.

Last Friday (6th July), we had a 3am wake up call and headed to the airport to catch a 5:20am flight, which was subsequently cancelled at 6am. In true Amazing Race-style we managed to get two of only a few seats left on the 3:20pm flight, which meant we spent almost twelve long hours in the Lima airport kept somewhat entertained by three small shops, McDonalds, the internet and our travel Scrabble (thanks Ches!).

We landed in Iquitos, which is the world´s largest city that cannot be reached by road, that evening and were so pleased to be warm and to see clear skies after two days in smoggy Lima. That evening we decided to be adventurous and tried ´ceviche´, which is raw fish Peruvian-style – never to be repeated!

The next morning we got up early and wandered through the Belen market – a myriad of stores selling everything from traditional medicine and live and skinned chickens to fruit and vegetables and clothing. After a quick breakfast, which generally seems to consists of jam and a roll in Peru, we were picked up by Muyuna (our Amazon lodge) and taken to the port where we hopped on a tiny boat for the 3 hour trip 140km into the Amazon jungle. It was so exciting being on that boat and watching the scenery change from a city to absolute jungle.

It was great to arrive at the lodge and realise it was a good choice! We had lunch, which like all meals was served at communal tables, and were surprised to meet a South African couple there too – and they were both at Stellenbosch University! It was really fun to have some new friends for this part of our trip.

After lunch and unpacking we had our first excursion into the jungle. Moises was our guide for the trip and he ensured everything was organised, which was such a pleasure, and his knowledge of the jungle was unbelievable – he can identify 1000 medicinal plants in the Amazon jungle, not to mention all the birds, insects and mammals. It was so exciting to be trampling through the jungle that we have learnt about since primary school and it is impossible not to love a place where you see and hear things such as laughing frogs, dancing birds, noisy night monkeys and trumpet screamers. However, the mosquitoes in the jungle were horrendous so we were coverd in clothing and Peaceful Sleep from head to toe.

That evening after dinner, we had a night ride along the river where our guide caught a baby Cayman and we had a chance to admire a gorgeous night sky.

Each of our four days in the jungle was as wonderful as the next and just being there breathing in the oxygen from the trees we´ve all heard so much about and falling asleep to the jungle cacophony was a priviledge. Some of the highlights of our Amazon trip:
– Swimming with pink dolphins (yes they really are pink!) in the Amazon River
– Fishing for our dinner
– Trekking through heavy jungle to find the giant lily pads
– Catching a glimpse of a drowsy sloth
– Witnessing dawn and dusk in the jungle.

An unexpected highlight was meeting really nice people at the lodge and it was super to be able to chat to other travellers from around the world.

After four unforgettable days in the Amazon we headed back to Iquitos en route back to Lima for the next part of our trip. One thing is for sure – we will definitely go back!

After 38 hours of travelling and having surprisingly made all our connections with our baggage, we arrived in Lima, Peru yesterday. So the South Amercan leg of our trip has begun and we are off to the Amazon tomorrow for 4 days – holding thumbs for a sighting of the pink river dolphins. More news soon. Love to you all!