Adventureye

Machu Picchu Sacred Trek 2010

Here I am again, profoundly grateful for everyone’s generosity. This year’s Sacred Trek earned $54,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund, $9716 of that from you wonderful people who supported me. Again, I thank you.
I’ve decided this year to tell my story straight from the diary I kept on the trail…well… I’ll edit out the bits about our very hot local guides since I’m sure you don’t want to hear all about Miquel and Juan and how handsome and caring and knowledgeable they were. So here goes.

Sin equipaje(without luggage). No duffle showed up in Lima. I’m confident it will show up and I’m happy and breathless at 11,200 feet. Combing my hair leaves me panting. Casa Andina, our hotel is a renovated 18th century manor. The dark, cozy lounge has a huge stone fireplace with a yummy, red couch to melt into. We are greeted with coca tea to help adjust to the altitude and sit gazing at the beamed ceilings and elaborate gilt framed religious paintings depicting saints and sinners. There is a small sunny courtyard outside our room. On our way to my birthday dinner Cat, Rachel and I walked through cobbled streets, our first acclimatization hike being a steep street with stepped sidewalk and cars belching black diesel smoke. At the restaurant we were led into a charming outdoor courtyard with tiki torches, candles and gas heaters. On one side was a huge clay wood burning oven, where fresh yeasty buns filled the air with a homey aroma. We got free welcome drinks of Pisco Sour (the first of many). Pisco is distilled from grape must. The sour is made with pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white. A dash of bitters tops it off. YUM!! Bread came with 2 dipping sauces; a peanutty cilantro and a kind of spicy tomato sauce. Appetizers were giant, chewy kernels of roasted corn in buttery sauce, and rocoto relleno, a chili stuffed with meat and cheese. Entrees were whole local pink trout boned and stuffed with tomatoes and dill, chicken in a creamy light cheese sauce and tender alpaca skewers served with an assortment of roasted potatoes. Dessert was a purple corn pudding, sweet, tart, creamy with dried fruit chunks all through. Afterwards we strolled through town taking pictures of magnificent cathedrals and checked out handmade silver jewelry. It was a lovely first night smelling wood smoke and lilies.

17 May Cusco
The rest of the gang arrived today. Good to see old friends. We cruised around Cusco taking pictures, shopping, changing money and rejoicing that the luggage showed up! I’m able to wash some things and thankfully I have my warm fleece jacket because it is cold at night in Cusco and we’re only going up from here. Naps in the afternoon and another fantastic meal for our official welcome dinner. Met our local guide Miguel.

18 May Cusco

Today we explored Koricancha, the temple of the sun, built to honor the sun god, Inti. A church and convent were built on top of the Inca shrine. Then on to La Catedral, where a church was built on top of the palace of the Incan deity, Viracocha, and El Triunfo, Cusco’s first church which is built on top of the main Inca armory. All this was done to symbolize Spain’s victory over the Incas. We went next to Sacsayhuaman, which everyone pronounced sexy woman. An impressive example of Incan architecture there are 3 terraces made with giant stones, some as high as 17 feet and weighing as much as 350 tons. The center arena was used for military and religious ceremonies. The Spanish toppled much of this structure to use as a quarry, the stones being used to build churches. The fact that I was raised Catholic and am of Spanish descent has never impacted me before this. Who the heck are my ancestors, anyway? I feel such sadness when I see magnificent ancient cultures desecrated. I felt the same in Egypt, knowing how great that civilization once was and to see the decline. What compels man to conquer and destroy? I’ve never understood the sense of superiority that must exist for that type of behavior to develop. Ah, well.

19 May

On the road! 3 ½ hour drive to the trail head. 2 girls slightly carsick…I personally love the drive, sitting in the back seat with my head out the window, tongue lolling like a happy dog. On the way we stopped at the ruins of Tarawasi, built from polished granite. I saw cochineal in its living state! I knew the name as an ingredient in foods and cosmetics used for its red coloring. I knew it was some sort of beetle but what I didn’t know is that it is a parasite that lives on the leaves of nopal cactus in clusters covered with white stuff looking like giant mites. When you crush it blood red goo oozes out! On the trail heading to our first lodge a couple of girls are feeling queasy, one actually hurling in the bushes on the side of the trail, bravely moving on, refusing to ride the sag wagon (aka, horse). I am sure I would not have been so strong. Along the trail we saw a tree full of bromeliads and the biggest hummingbird I’ve ever seen. A flock of falcons soars overhead. Arriving at Salcantay Lodge, at 12,000 feet, we are greeted with warm wet towels, purple corn juice and a spot to put our boots where they will be cleaned and set out for our hike tomorrow. The eco-lodges along this route have been sustainably built with materials from the surrounding area and are staffed with locals. There is a cozy lobby with a fireplace and a view of Mt. Humantay and Mt. Salcantay (elev. 20,574’). The towels are folded into animal shapes on our beds, which are turned down and warmed with hot water bottles at night. There is a hottub in the courtyard. Is this roughing it?

20 May

Acclimatization hike up to a glacial lake at 13,800 feet. Hard uphill. A Quechua Shaman named Felipe came with us to this holy place at the base of Humantay to perform a ceremony for us. He laid out a large piece of paper on a square of cloth and placed upon it, sugar, llama wool, cookies shaped like cars, confetti, herbs, powders, chunks of unidentifiable plant or possibly animal matter, all the while chanting in Quechua over the pile. We were each handed 3 coca leaves to wish upon while turning to the cardinal points. We then added our leaves to the pile on the paper. Felipe bundled up the pile, wrapping it carefully in the cloth, tying it with string. He touched the bundle to each of our heads in turn, blowing through it and chanting, calling on the spirits of the surrounding area to give us a safe journey through the mountains and valleys, to protect our friends and families and to grant our wishes. We then did our own ceremony, flying the prayer flags we carried, calling out the names of our loved ones who have suffered from breast cancer. This is why we trek; to honor those people and applaud their strength in dealing with a brutal disease. Later that night in another ceremony, we burn Felipe’s bundle in a roaring fire under the stars, sending the smoke and our prayers into the cosmos.

21 May

Crossed the pass today. It was hard but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. 15,200 feet. Light snow fell when we arrived then the clouds cleared, allowing us to photograph Salcantay. We heard and then saw a small avalanche on the mountain, luckily nowhere near us. The star of the show on this trek is Alice, who spent a night in the hospital in Cusco, on an IV, with salmonella. She and her partner Connie left the hospital, caught a minibus to the first lodge to catch up to us, and crossed the pass right alongside us! On the downhill side we watched a couple of kestrels’ half-assed attempt at grabbing a chinchilla. The chinchilla escaped. I don’t think the kestrels were very hungry. Arrived at our second lodge at 12,874 feet.

22 May

Clear skies, stunning snow capped peaks then down, through cloud forest. Bamboo, orchids, humming birds, bromeliads and butterflies everywhere. Arrive at the next lodge at 9642 feet to an Andean BBQ similar to Hawaiian imu. Food is cooked in a pit with hot rocks. Cuy (guinea pig, yum!), pork, chicken, lamb, 6 kinds of potatoes, fava beans, sides of creamy avocado, carrots, beets, mushrooms, tomatoes, yummy sauces to top everything with. I ate 2 huge plates. Later relaxed in the Jacuzzi overlooking the confluence of 3 rivers.

23 May Lucma Lodge 7343 feet

Today was like hiking in Hawaii. Haleconias, bird of paradise, passion fruit, avocado, banana, coffee, orchids, all between 7000 and 10,000 feet. Followed the Rio Santa Teresa valley along a trail on the edge of a cliff. Steep, wide, rocky dirt slides, chunks of mountain hacked out to make a new road. Crossed springs, creeks and rivers across rocks and bridges. Saw a butterfly as big as a bird. The last stretch to the lodge was on an ancient Incan stairway through jungle and a coffee plantation. Another fabulous dinner of beef, sweet potato patties with dulce de leche, sautéed mushrooms, onions, favas, carrots, zucchini and green beans. I slathered everything in chilies, of course. Dessert was coffee mousse!

24 May

Today was a rough day. Perhaps harder than the Salcantay pass. Although we only climbed to 9000 feet it was muggy and still. It felt like hot, wet air was going into my lungs for 2 solid hours. Then we saw Machu Picchu far across a deep valley with snowcapped peaks in the distance and it was all worth it. After lunch we hiked down, down, down a steep slippery trail that required total concentration on every step. Finally at the bottom we encountered a bad juju, James Bond-esque construction site for a hydroelectric plant on the Urubamba River. A huge hole is drilled in the side of the mountain. On the other side a vast gushing manmade waterfall emerges. It looks like if you went into the hole you would find high tech weapons manufacture and men in white jumpsuits working alongside armed goons. We passed the site and headed to the station where a combination of sweaty dreadlocked backpackers and locals wait for the train. The train ride up to Aguas Calientes winds through steep, jungled mountains, alongside the river that rose so hazardously last January. We stick our heads out the windows to see the old tracks that were ripped out by rushing water, trees torn out by their roots and houses in shambles. More movie scenes as we arrive in Aguas Calientes at dusk. This time it feels like we’ve stepped back in time with Indiana Jones. Crowds of people are walking along the tracks, muted neon lights glow in the mist and rain. We find our way to the Machu Picchu Pueblo hotel and are astounded once again by luxury. Several intimate nooks in the vast lobby have fireplaces where a group can gather privately. Complimentary Pisco Sours are served. The hotel has converted 34 acres into a nature preserve and humming bird sanctuary with groomed paths leading through eucalyptus, ficus, begonias, orchids and ferns. Perfection.

25 May

In line for the bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30 am and already 300th in line. Zig zag up to the ruins in time for a stunning sunrise. It’s hard to believe we are actually here. So many years of seeing the iconic photos and now I’m shooting them. Some of us take the steep slippery trail and stairs up to the top of Huayna Picchu for a completely different view of the ruins. Miguel gives us a guided tour; we photograph llamas, watch a chinchilla trying to be invisible and take photographs for our gear sponsors. It’s the perfect finale for our most excellent adventure. Some of us spend hours in the market place back in town searching for the perfect souvenir before our farewell dinner.

26 May

Back in Cusco, is it over already? We have one final farewell meal at Chi Cha. We make quite a scene. Everyone stares. We are having so much fun they just can’t believe it. We’re loud Americans but we’re happy and respectful and tip hugely so I think the staff mostly had fun with us. Outside in the Plaza de Armas we create another scene while we take Charlie’s Angels photographs and laugh hysterically.

27th May through to the end.

I figure I’d better wrap the last days up into one entry since some of you may be bored by now. I went to Lima, spent the day with my Peruvian friend Sam whom I’ve known since I was 13, squeezed 2 weeks of Spanish lessons into 10 hours of class, did my final souvenir shopping, ate the best ceviche of my life, got a respiratory ailment from running in the heavily lead laden toxic nasty pollution of Lima (what possessed me?), spent a couple days in California with my friend Pam, her husband Bob flew us from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay for lunch in his Cessna and finally back to Maui where the first thing I did was change into a swimsuit and go jump in the ocean. Home sweet home.

Once again, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of you who supported me. Next year I am heading out on my 5th trip for the Breast Cancer Fund……Everest. Stay tuned for details, I’ll be passing around the hat again.