We spent two days in Cusco gearing up for the Inca Trail and
getting over my attack of gastro. Our
good intentions for trips to the sites of the Sacred Valley melted away as I
focussed on returning to solid foods. This
ambition culminated in a pizza the night before we set out. A highlight as much for its maker’s theatre
in slicing it with a massive meat cleaver as for the taste.
The next three days were a beautiful parade of mountains, trails,
ruins and oh such amazing food. Both of
us – the vegetarian and the carnivore – ate so well that we put on weight with
our walking. We ate the best food we’ve
had since leaving London, and possibly for a good deal of time before
that. In hostels further south we have
been accustomed to a breakfast of dry bread and jam. On the Inca Trail our guide apologised for
the light breakfast on the final day: fruit juce, tea, coffee, bread, jam,
butter, pancakes, fruit and caramel sauce.
We could see that the porters were immense beings despite their
small stature. Carrying up to 25kg, they
were up before us, set off behind us, finished ahead of us and went to bed
after tucking us in. Any thought I had
ever given to running a marathon was sent scurrying off in shame when I heard
the record time set for the Inca Trail by a porter in a race a few years back. Unhampered by his rucksack he covered 42km of
trail up and down hills of 1,900m at an altitude entirely above 2,800m in 3
hours and 45 minutes.
We completed the trail in a more modest time, somewhere around the
19 hour mark over the course of 4 days.
We carried out a sizeable load of over 450 photos and you will find some
of them here.
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