The only way to trek ...

A river runs through it ... Ollantaytambo

And so do men on horseback ... I think my camera beep spooked these horses a bit ... I should know better and did say 'perdon' to the Peruvian cowboy ... and I love the shot ...

An ace wave from a Quechan kiddie in classic hat ...

Me and the cute Lizbeth at 4500 masl on top of the Ccasa Pass ...

Snow tipped Andean peaks are just jaw dropping huh? ...

As was Maisie Jones´ Andean dopple-ganger who studiously wrote in the exercise book I gave her ...

Day 75 - Wednesday 26 March 2008

I've most definitely changed since my last post - though sadly not my clothes - I whiff a bit because I´ve just come down out of the Andean highlands having spent, and wait for it, 2 days camping! I say camping because it's actually titled 'a luxury trek' but more about that in a minute

We arrived in Ollantaytambo a few days ago at the birth place of the Inkan rulers (they were a royal family immediately descended from their god-figure, Wiracocha) and they literally came out of the earth right where the sun hits the ground during the Winter solstice in a triangle of light created by the surrounding mountains - you can´t make this stuff up - it´s that good!

By the way we have to remember that the race of people were Quechans - Inkas refers only to the royal members - the mitimars were the middle classes who paid Inka taxes to live under their influence while the huaranas were the Inka's slaves - this is, I hope, factually accurate and correctly spelt?!

Ollantaytambo (pronounced Oi-an-tay-tam-bo) is my favourite place of this trip (alongside Moab in Utah) - it's right in the heart of the Sacred Valley and has a huge Inkan feel about it (500 years later!) - ancient terraces, a river rushing through it, high mountains everywhere, Wiracocha's face carved into the mountainside and the layout of the small, kitch town still intact - this is because it was the Inkans centre of agriculture so the Spaniards weren't interested in destroying it or stripping it of it's wealth (there was none there!) - the guide books will send you elsewhere but if you're ever in Peru miss Ollantaytambo at your peril!

I'm quoting facts now directly from an awesome local book that I've picked up having seen our Peruvian guide, Alberto, using it regularly (by the way the adventure company, Intrepid have been superb and, while I'll comment about group v individual travel in a later blog, I highly recommend them)

I say this because they've just sorted out one of my best ever life experiences that I wouldn't have been able to sort out on my own ... trekking from Lares to Ollantaytambo

The trek takes 3 days and, for me, finished just a few hours ago!

We started in Lares at 3500 masl (metres above sea level) - Lares is 2.5 hours up a winding, dirt road from Calca in the Sacred Valley and we bathed in hot springs where slightly sulphorous water has burst out of the mountainside and created a wonderful set of yellow-ish pools of naturally hot water - if only they could have burst out where the trek finished I might smell better!

And then before you could wolf down your lunch (cooked by the unbelievable Rimaldo who created the simplest, tastiest, 3 course meals off his knees using fresh spring water, market produce and fruit off a nearby tree!) we were off - uphill - I say uphill - upmountain is more accurate ...

Our support team for this trek (there were 2 paying customers) consisted of our guide, Lizbeth (who insisted on calling me 'boy' all trek!), Rimaldo (the chef), the assistant chef (who´s name I didn´t get), the general assistant (who´s name I also missed!) and Fernando (the horse boy) - oh, and, of course, the horse - talk about a fellowship - I had the Lord of the Rings music in my ears for large parts of our Andean adventure!

The format was that the support team would do everything apart from walk for you - but then the horse was there for that if you were desperate - I wasn´t - and for the record performed very strongly at our highest altitude of 4500 masl (I think Everest base camp is about 6000 masl to give you a marker - Lucy´s done it and might be able to help us out?)

Bless 'em - they'd make camp, cook for us, pack camp, charge ahead of us and do it all again - heck - they even woke us up with a cup of 'mate de coca' in our tents first thing at 6am (the incredible, amazing coca tea!) - now that's camping that I love - and I did love it - I felt like a kid again - and I feel bad about not doing it for so long but that's why I´m out here to re-learn a few things - count me in for a few days next time the Jonesys and Harris'!

From Lares we skulked (the best way to describe the slow, laborious and best approach to trekking the largest mountain range in the world) upmountain for a few hours - we travelled alongside gushing rivers (I wasn´t prepared for how many and how full they'd be at this time of year just after the wet season) and walked into local villages where everyone's almost outside the system of the world - we were right out there on our own amongst nature and it's most resilient people

And it's those people that made this trek so over-whelming - these people have nothing of financial value compared to us in GB - and I mean nothing - their floors are mud, their houses are mud and grass, their clothes are woven llama wool and their water comes straight out of a river - and yet they are so rich - when they saw us coming the kids would come running towards you shouting 'ola' or 'allillanchu' (the ancient, highland language of Quecha) and were clearly, blissfully happy - and this happened not only up from Lares but again, and again, and again - the first time though it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you can't help but smile!

We camped the first night at Waca Wasi at 3900 masl and it's amazing how tired you can be at 8:30pm - when trekking you're following the pattern of the sun - up with it and bed with it - I nodded off immediately! - but not before I´d spread some of the old Jez-magic for 3 local kids who just stood and watched me sort out my tent when I arrived - well that wasn't enough for me - I turned round and showed them all my kit and ended up getting a go with their best toy - an old tire and stick! - if you've seen Ewan Mcgregor getting to know the local kids on his trips - I copied him - and it worked a treat!

The second day started at 7am and finished at 5pm - but boy did we cover some ground - the entire trek is 36K - 8K from Lares to Waca Wasi - 16K from Waca Wasi to Willock - and, finally, 12K from Willck to Ollantaytambo

Waca Wasi to Willock took us straight over the Ccasa Pass at 4500 masl - and past what was once a glacier just 30 years ago but is now just a marshy plateau - another be green/global warming check point for me - a whole morning going upmountain with diminishing supplies of oxygen - but pah to asthma and all that! - I felt incredible and actually wished the trek had been harder now I´m sat on my backside back in civilisation - it was an atmospheric, cool, bleak morning with low lying clouds - loads of herds of llamas - loads of potato crops - nobody else around - and an immense sense of isolation on top of the world - just what I wanted!

But after another cracking lunch (Rimaldo's soups hit the spot!) we started descending and the scenery changed - we turned the corner of a mountain (as you do!) and everything opened/cleared up - the sun came out and there, miles away, were our first sight of snow capped Andean peaks fronted by lush green mountains and another fast running river that had forged a gorge we were heading straight down - wow! - I also found Maisie Jones' Peruvian dopple-ganger hanging out with her family and enjoying the sun! - the same mannerisms, smile and almost as beautiful ...

We camped the night alongside the tiny community of Willock at about 3200 masl and borrowed their community hall's toilet (I did say it was luxury trekking!) - and as if all this wasn't enough every cloud disappeared to display the night sky at it's best - the Milky Way shone brightly and threw out the clearest shooting star you could wish to see! - I need to join the astronomy club when and if I get back!!! - now this is really important for the Inka history I´m absorbing - because they worshipped the sun and the stars - in fact they believed the Milky Way was the reflection of the Sacred Valley

And to today - a simple, downhill jaunt to Ollantaytambo and I've gushed about that already - Inkan terraces that are rarely visited and still worked, even more local communities with welcoming faces, images of the Inkan's sacred animals portrayed by the natural landscape and the sun shining brightly to guide us home ...

This has all wet my whistle for longer trekking time in Nepal and I can only hope it's half this good - it'll likely be even better! - but (wow!) the memories of those Andean people and shaking their hands will stay with me forever - far from being disappointed about not doing the Inka Trail I´m over-joyed to have trekked from Lares - if I'm always doing things a bit differently to everyone else I've worked out that I'm always happy!

Sorry but more IT issues here in South America (this time logistical not technical) and the photos will follow - I promise!

Over and out from Aguas Calientes - we've just had a meeting with our local guide who will take us around Machu Picchu from 6:00am tomorrow morning - what a way to spend a Thursday - I really can't wait to see and blog about one of the 7 Wonders of the World ...