World Citizen Backpackers: Start of the Inca Trail

I thought about how I wanted to write this post. We have done so much in the past 4 days and it's hard to just separate it into separate posts, but this will be about day one.

I woke fairly early and checked out of my hostel. Fortunately, I was able to store a bag at the hostel so I wouldn't have to hike with it. Around 5:30, the bus came by and picked me up from the hostel. I was excited! We had one more stop to pick up two others. As we got closer to the starting point, it felt like standing in line for a roller coaster. You know it will be fun and out of your comfort zone, but nervous about not knowing what is ahead.

We stopped in Ollantaytamba for breakfast at a restaurant where I had eggs and toast with coca tea. I met a nice, older couple that I ate with who were from Australia, named Peter and Caroline.

After breakfast, we were able to stop at a shop to get water and bags of coca leaves. We have to carry our own water on the hike. We all met back at the bus and continued to the trail head. As we got closer and could see the trail, we all became excited. We crossed the railroad tracks that the "cheaters" use to go directly to Machu Picchu. There is a sign, that says it's the start of the trail, that we got a group picture with. We lined up and presented our tickets and passports to get in. We waited for a little bit before our tour guide (Freddy) set us free to cross the bridge to start the trail. We started up a high, stone staircase to a landing where we could see one side of the mountains and the river. Freddy met us up there and we continued on.

The trail was fairly easy, though our legs weren't used to it yet. The paths were much like the ones you see on TV where it's a narrow path and a shear drop. The landscape looked a little like a dessert with cacti. Freddy stopped us and showed us a parasite that was used as dye when smashed. He has to be one of the most entertaining and funny tour guides I've had.

Most of this section of the trail consisted of rolling hills; a good start. Along the trail were occasional shelters for us to sit and rest (it was hot, reaching 80 degrees). Most of them also had stands selling drinks and snacks. We stopped at the first one and intoduced each other. There were 4 Australians (Peter, Caroline, Sebastian, and Nicole), three Germans (Julius,Paul, and Justas), five English (Kellie and her mom who's name is hard to pronounce and spell, Matt, Emily, and Lucy) one Irish (Aoife), and three Americans (Ray, Jeff, and me). There were also the tour guides Freddy and Pepe. As we hiked, I got to know a little of each of them. It was nice to have a conversation with someone in Irish, not to mention she was the first person I've talked to who knows Irish.

We stopped for lunch where we had soup, rice, fish, chips with guacamole, potato, and tea. After each meal, we also had tea and coffee. When lunch was over, we continued on the mostly flat trail. We were fortunate to have seen a few ruins and terraces along the way, not to mention the awesome views of the mountains.

We were given the option of taking the long or short way to camp. We all decided to take the long way to see an awesome Incan site. As we sat on the edge of the mountain, we could see the whole Incan ruins with an awesome mountainous background, not to mention llamas everywhere.

When we got to camp, we chose our tents. I shared a tent with a German named Julios. I was able to get a small bath in a cold stream and washed my shirt (which didn't dry for 2 days).

We hiked up to a ruin called the sun gate to watch the sunset. We were there for maybe an hour before it got cold and we went back down. We hung around for a while until dinner was ready which consisted of soup, rice, chicken, potato, flambé banana, and tea. Each meal incorporated rice, meat, and potato. Dinner was great and we all decided to head to bed early. It was a little chilly in the evening, but overnight only got down to 51 degrees.