Salkantay trek – Part 1

Hoff was going to be writing this part but she has lots of Christmas shopping to do online, so you’ve got me again folks!

I left you as we were about to get our bus to Cusco from Arequipa. We were back on the Peru Hop bus as we’d already booked and paid for this leg. Another early start and then around ten hours heading north, climbing up to around 3500 metres. We were pretty stiff by the time we got there – lots of walking in the previous days meant we needed the break but at the same time we were now bored of buses. We got in quite late but luckily the bus company arranged a taxi for us to our hotel. For Cusco we splashed out and got a boutique place with a huge bed and swish amenities. We needed a good night’s sleep but also somewhere to store our bags for the five day trek we had ahead of us (and somewhere nice to stay afterwards as well).

After dropping our bags we swiftly headed off to a nearby hotel to meet the rest of our tour group and have the tour brief. Then we wolfed a pizza and tried to get some sleep before yet another 0400 alarm.

The next day we were awake before our alarms, as usual. I was still finding it really hard to sleep at altitude, something that would continue until we finally dropped down onto the plains in Chile weeks later (a story for another blog). We grabbed our kit and jumped on the bus that would take us to the start point. After a stop off for breakfast we slung our packs over our shoulders, and following a quick hello chat from our guide, we stepped off on the first part of our trek. It was a relatively easy 11km to the first overnight stop and we took the time to chat to our fellow hikers. We’d be living with them for the next five days so it was good to get to know them.

Very soon we arrived at our first camp. Each couple or two person group had their own what can only be described as human sized dog kennel to sleep in. They were perfectly comfortable though and once we’d rolled out our sleeping bags and set up our little portable lights, we felt very at home. After a massive lunch cooked by the chefs accompanying us, we walked up to the lagoon above our camp. It was a steep climb but the views were amazing at the top. We even saw an avalanche on the mountain above us which was both impressive and scary at the same time. They are incredibly noisy and powerful, and quite a sight to behold. We made our way back down to camp and had tea – a huge plate of popcorn accompanied by hot chocolate or coca tea (for the altitude). No sooner had we finished that and we were served dinner, which was massive. We were all hungry but still couldn’t finish it all. After dinner the cooks came out and introduced themselves, and they did a local dance accompanied by ‘willing’ volunteers from our group. Hoff was one of them and it was hilarious to see her jumping around to crazy Peruvian music. She was still really full from dinner so felt pretty queasy after it (check out our Instagram for a video of the dancing). It soon got dark and we all needed to sleep – the early morning, walking in the fresh air and another early start the next day meant we needed our rest. I got another altitude induced nose bleed (surprise surprise) but once we were in our sleeping bags we felt sure we’d get a good night of kip.

We were wrong. The altitude (4250m) and the cold meant that we slept fitfully and when our alarms went off we could hardly say we were refreshed nor looking forward to 22km of walking, much of it uphill. However, after a cup of Coca tea brought to us by the chefs and then a massive breakfast and coffee, we felt a bit better. We strapped on our walking boots again and started the climb to the pass. At 4600m it would be the highest part of the trip. It only took a couple of hours but it was hard climbing most of the way. However the views were amazing and totally worth the hard work. We took lots of photos and lapped up the sunshine – the clouds cleared just enough for us to warm up a bit. We also managed to get a glance of another lagoon and could also hear the rocks falling on the cliff side opposite us. It was all pretty surreal.

We started the climb down and almost immediately the terrain and the weather changed. It started to warm up and rain as we descend into the cloud forest. The hills become stepper and more luscious, and soon we were being assaulted by mosquitos. A quick stop for lunch brought a brief respite from the bites and the wet, but we still had 9km ahead of us. We were pretty soaked as we got nearer to the day two camping spot but luckily the sun came out for just long enough to dry us out a bit. We were some of the first from our group to arrive and we found we’d be in three or four person dorms for the night, complete with bunk beds, which was a nice sunrise. We grabbed a cold shower, which was lovely and refreshing, then bought a well earned beer which we enjoyed whilst reading our kindles as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

Another huge tea followed by heaps of supper meant we were ready for bed. That night we slept much better, apart from around 30 mins in the middle of the night where we were woken up by a huge thunderstorm. The rain was the hardest we’d ever heard and as it hit the tin roof above us it sounded like thousands of drummers banging as hard as they could right by our heads. It did cool things off though and kept the mossies at bay which was a positive. We fell back to sleep, regenerating our energy for day three of the Salkantay trail.

Up next – we trek on towards Machu Picchu, avoiding cows, dogs and the odd falling avocado!