We did it!

 

Well, it was tough going, but we battled through altitude sickness, freezing nights, scorching hot days and attacks by wild bears (I might have made that up) to walk, climb, stagger and gasp our way along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu…

 

Day 1 – We started optimistically, with our guide José, a cook and five porters; following the Urubamba river through wonderful canyon scenery and passing through small homesteads – stocking up on fruit and water (and the odd ice-cream) on the way.  Very civilised!  The path wound upwards past Inca ruins until we reached our first campsite – at 3100m.  The altitude made us rather breathless, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  “Easy-peasy lemon squeezy” as the ever cheerful José assured us…

 

Day 2 – Well camping was fun (NOT!)  Remind me never, ever, ever to agree to “sleep” in a tent again!  Siberian gales and a mattress made from rocks are not conducive to sleep.  Quite welcomed the 5am wake-up call.  However, after a good breakfast and once the sun rose and warmed us up, it promised to be a beautiful, hot and sunshiny day.  This was to be the toughest day by far – almost all uphill.  The path now consisted of rough (very rough) stone steps of an interesting variety of heights.  Very hard work!   I was taking one of my frequent pauses to admire the scenery (i.e. get my breath back) when I was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea and the shakes – the dreaded altitude sickness.  José was by my side in an instant (apparently I’d gone very white), but with some “magic medicine” (smelling salts I think), gallons of disgusting re-hydration fluid, and instruction on “yoga breathing”, the sickness passed and I was allowed to continue.   We were climbing up to the infamous “Dead Woman’s Pass”. (Named after the shape of the rocks – not, as we initially suspected, previous causalities).  Finally, after climbing through beautiful forest and open meadows, to almost bare rock – a climb of 1200m - we finally made it to the top… 4260m (nearly 14,000ft) above sea-level.  We hugged (I don’t think any of us dared speak) and admired the unbelievable views, and allowed ourselves some moments of triumphant relief, before setting off on the knee-crunching descent (more huge steps) down to our camp (a mere 3800m).  As it started to get dark, our incredible porters, who had gone ahead to set up camp, came back to help us and carry our rucksacks.  They had their reward as neither Simon nor I could face dinner – extra portions of steak and chips all round…

 

Day 3 – New day, fresh start… very fresh!  Sub-zero temperatures overnight had left ice on the tents, but by wearing thermals and cocooning myself in all my fleeces, I’d managed to snatch a little sleep.  Got the breathing sorted, so despite the first couple of hours involving uphill climbing up again, I felt fine.  Today, we passed more Inca ruins, and a couple of little lagoons, before reaching the second pass – at a mere 3850m.  Here we decided against a human sacrifice, and made offerings of coca leaves to the gods.  No human habitation on our route today – but plenty of humming birds, deer and lamas to keep us company, as well as incredible views and more, stunning Inca ruins.  After the third, and last pass, we descend to a much more comfortable 2700m for our final night’s camping.  Downhill, I am fine and skip along like a mountain gazelle!  Fiona, who was fine on the ups, has trouble on the downs, so Simon and I “encourage” her with a new, Peruvian version of “she’ll be coming round the mountain”.   Again, we walk the last bit in the dark – aided by our lovely porters, our path lit by fire-flies and the wonderfully star-filled sky.  Much laughter and speeches as we say our goodbyes and thanks to our porters – there will be no time in the morning…

 

Day 4 – 3am start!  Are you kidding!  All for the sake of getting the porters away early, apparently.  We then have a little wait at the last checkpoint, before setting off on the last bit of our journey.  Relatively flat, until we reach the steep (and I mean steep - most of us do it on all fours) climb up to Intipunku – the Sun Gate.  Here, we get our first, magical view of Machu Picchu – spread out in the shadow of the mountain beneath us.  As we catch our breath and take lots of photos, the sun rises over the mountain, lighting up the temples and palaces below.  Finally we start on the gentle descent down.  The sun has scorched us from cloudless skies every day, and today is no exception.  As we smother on sun-cream, we pass tourists who have come up on the early train (cheats!) and are toiling up the path to the Sun Gate.  With pitying smugness, we tell them they should try doing the trail!  Then feeling like Supermen, we finally walk, grubby and knackered, into the lost city of the Incas…. Made it!!

 

Well, we're nearly ready and the training is going well...  A HUGE THANK YOU to all who have already donated!  Don't forget, we are funding all the expenses ourselves so every penny you donate goes straight to the Eye Project. 

Watch out for more photos...

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This May, instead of lying on a beach like a normal person, I shall be in the high Andes trekking the centuries-old Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  This is a four-day, high altitude trek over fairly rough terrain at heights of up to 13000 feet.  Worse still, at night we will be CAMPING!!  Yes, I shall be ignoring the habits of a lifetime and sleeping in a tent!!

 

 

 

 

 

So why is your comfort-loving friend putting herself through this terrible ordeal?  Well, I'm hoping to raise £1000 (or more!) for the Guildford Rotary Eye Project. www.guildfordrotaryeyeproject.org.uk.

There are 40 million avoidably blind men, women and children worldwide who cannot afford to have their sight restored.  The Eye Project provides training for eye surgeons, equipment, mobile eye screening camps, and facilities for the treatment of cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy.

A DONATION OF JUST £5 CAN ENABLE THE BLIND TO SEE AGAIN!

If we raise £500, you will have given 100 people their sight!!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

THANK YOU!!

7th May - UPDATE