It was time to start our long-anticipated trek. Ambreleah, Alysia, Sally, Audrey, Kim, Francelli, Eddie, and I loaded up at 6am to join our tour guides Yoel and Nilton. We had over an hour to our next stop, where I was hoping to nap a bit. But I can't nap on demand. We arrived in the small village of Calca to stock up on food. The chef and assistants got a bunch of food to feed us over the next few days. We also grabbed a few things to give to a family that we were meeting in a couple of days.
As it got lighter out, and we saw more, we couldn't help but stare out the window. All I wanted to do was stop and take photos. And finally I got my wish. We got a group llama shot looking over the misty mountains.
We eventually made our way to Lares, where there were some lovely hot springs we were going to enjoy after breakfast. We have been up for hours, so I was anxious to eat. We got delicious fresh fruit and eggs, along with coco tea to help avoid any altitude sickness. Good thing there's no drug test in my near future.
After getting our fill, we jumped into the hot springs. The pools were varying temperatures of hot, so it was fun to try out each one. You can't stay in them for too long, but was cool to try each one. There were a few other locals there, but it felt like we had the place to ourselves. I think a visit back after the trek would have been amazing to soak our potentially sore and tired bodies.
After changing and drying off, we drove a bit more and finally arrived to the trail head, where we were starting the actual trek. We were at 3300 meters (10,827 feet). And we were off.
We went up hills and down them. We walked alongside rivers.
And saw sheep.
We also fit in another delicious, and filling meal in the village of Kiswarani. If that is what you want to call it. It's not even on the map. Luckily for us it rained during our lunch. Not before or after. Soon we were back on our way. Our horses with the supplies eventually passed us in order to set up camp before we arrived.
Shortly before we arrived at our campsite, we saw some cool waterfalls. They were no Iguazu, but still beautiful in their own way. Especially with all that mist.
We got settled in, and had more coco tea to warm up. After a little bit of a rest, we had our first dinner camping. Each time they brought out a meal, I was impressed. This evening, they had a structure that I'm sure helped, but still, were were camping. The food did not disappoint.
We tried to get some sleep that night. I slept on and off since not only was I not in a bed and in a tent, but I had to pee a couple of times (all that coco tea), and it rained during the night. I couldn't complain though. I wanted the rain to get out of it's system while we were not hiking. And I can't really expect a great night sleeping, even if we did get mats to sleep on.
The crew woke us up the following morning at 5:30am (surprisingly I was already awake) with some coco tea. We cleaned ourselves up as best as we could and ate breakfast. Before hitting the trail, we did formal introductions with our entire Alpaca Expeditions crew, which included our chef, Mario, his assistants, and the porters. I remember some names, but not all. I should have written them down.
We got going and had some spectacular views of the lake we slept near. Luckily no one fell in during the night. There was a sharp drop off near the tents and our guides told us about previous sleep walkers. Also luckily, the rain stopped.
The views kept getting more amazing as we walked along. We saw more llamas, including a black one, which is pretty special. I forget why, but it is. Just go with it.
The second day would be the toughest, so it was recommended to take very short breaks as we climbed in elevation. We would have allotted breaks, but my short breaks were easy to take as I couldn't stop taking photos, including the other sisters on our trip.
After a few hours, we arrived at the summit of Condor Pass, at 4680 meters (15,354 feet). Which included a misty view of Mount Pitusiray and a glacier in the distance.
We got a point where we took a bit of a longer break. We may or may not have taken a quick nap in the sun before continuing on our way.
We weren't far from our campsite, so we arrived shortly thereafter, which was located in the village of Cancha Cancha. This village is the only village in the Lares Valley that does not have modern technology, including electricity and cars. After our lunch and a siesta, we got to visit with a family and understand some of the Incan traditions that they still practice.
The Quechua wake up and go to bed with the sun, in their stone and grass-thatched roof one-room houses. There's one bed for the entire family (that would've have been so crowded in my family), with guinea pigs under the bed that they raise to eat or sell. The kitchen was close by with a fire in between. It was a very smoky house. It was a nice welcome for heat since it was chilly outside, but hard to breathe. It's really interesting to see how they still live, even with such advances in technology. I think it's refreshing, but it would also be hard to do knowing what we know. It's a very simple life.
After our introduction into the life of the locals, we filled up on yet another delicious meal. And had some sort of alcohol-infused dessert. I think it was peach or maybe pear. I had a headache and was tired, so can't remember properly.
After dinner, we were all pretty tired, but before bed, we all gazed upward and were amazed with all the stars we could see. Our guide had an app on his phone to show us the different constellations. I think it may have been one of the starriest nights I've ever seen. Even when I was in the desert in Jordan. I'm curious about stars, but it's hard for me to see some of the constellations sometimes and there usually aren't that many out. But this was different. It was amazing. I wish I did know more at that moment. I have to get that app downloaded. Although there would be limited use of it in NYC.
We finished our day with walking 14 kilometers (8.6 miles), a gain of 830 meters (2723 feet), and went to bed at 3750 meters (12,303 feet) according to the tour company. My Fitbit says we walked 10.6 miles and 151 flights of stairs. Another deserved night of rest. I'm not sure which is more correct, but will go with the higher number of course.
The third day arrived, and with that the eve of Aunt Sally's 60th birthday. We had mentioned her birthday was on the 1st and it was a big one, but we wouldn't have the Green Machine with us anymore at that point. I mentioned that maybe an early surprise would be good. Not sure if that was actually going to happen, but after breakfast, we noticed there was some activity. They surprised Sally with a cake. It was so great. Sally was so surprised, and so thrilled. We sang Happy Birthday and then proceeded to have cake for breakfast. And it was good. I have no idea how they made a cake at our campsite, but it was one of the better cakes I've had. Sally may have gotten cake in the face shortly after this photo. A Peruvian tradition they say.
After the celebration, we continued making our way down the mountain. The scenery along the river continued to amaze.
As we walked along, remnants of civilization started to appear. We came across a bunch of workers supplying electricity up the mountain. I'm curious what the impact will be like. I think it will help, but definitely change their way of life. And you'll see more tourists. We barely saw anyone on our trek. We were on the edge of the season, but I know the Inca Trail would have been crowded. I like having the place to ourselves.
We came across a road, and then eventually to a larger town, Huaran, where we got the lowdown on the local brew, chicha. It can be fermented or non-fermented, and it's derived from maize. This was supposed to be alcoholic and since it was the end of our trek, I figured why not, let's have a glass. Looking back, I'm not sure if there was alcohol in it, but I at least tried it.
Soon we arrived at our final stop on our trek, at 2700 meters (8858 feet). It had grown a lot warmer since we were down in the Sacred Valley. We ate a great lunch and said goodbye to everyone. Most of our crew are locals and were headed back to where they live.
It was a pretty great trek and I think everyone was pretty happy with what they accomplished. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but mostly because of the unknown. It ended up being such a great experience and I would highly recommend the tour group we went with.
We loaded up the bus that arrived during lunch and headed to our next stop, the Salineras salt mines in the town of Maras. There's a salt water spring that spills over the mountain and fills the different chambers that belong to the locals. They turn around and sell their various salt products.
We hopped back on the bus and continued on our way to Ollantaytambo, where we had a bit of time to wander, and then eat dinner. It was a short visit, but long enough for Sally and I to decide to come back later on after Machu Picchu.
After dinner and a pisco sour, we grabbed a quick tuktuk ride to the train station and a couple of hours later we arrived in Aquas Calientes. A shower was on the immediate agenda. Then attempting to get connected to the real world. Very slowly, and not always successful. Then bed.
Officially, the last day of our trek was 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) and we reached 2000 meters (6562 feet) in elevation in Aquas Calientes. My Fitibit said we did 10.9 miles and 50 flights of stairs. I'm going with my Fitbit on this one again.
 |
| Market stop. |
 |
| The group for the next few days. |
We eventually made our way to Lares, where there were some lovely hot springs we were going to enjoy after breakfast. We have been up for hours, so I was anxious to eat. We got delicious fresh fruit and eggs, along with coco tea to help avoid any altitude sickness. Good thing there's no drug test in my near future.
 |
| Very fresh breakfast. |
After getting our fill, we jumped into the hot springs. The pools were varying temperatures of hot, so it was fun to try out each one. You can't stay in them for too long, but was cool to try each one. There were a few other locals there, but it felt like we had the place to ourselves. I think a visit back after the trek would have been amazing to soak our potentially sore and tired bodies.
 |
| Lares Hot Springs. |
After changing and drying off, we drove a bit more and finally arrived to the trail head, where we were starting the actual trek. We were at 3300 meters (10,827 feet). And we were off.
 |
| The beginning of our trek. |
We went up hills and down them. We walked alongside rivers.
 |
| Misty mountains and rumbling creeks. |
And saw sheep.
 |
| Sheep just roaming around. |
We also fit in another delicious, and filling meal in the village of Kiswarani. If that is what you want to call it. It's not even on the map. Luckily for us it rained during our lunch. Not before or after. Soon we were back on our way. Our horses with the supplies eventually passed us in order to set up camp before we arrived.
 |
| Horses getting ahead of us. |
Shortly before we arrived at our campsite, we saw some cool waterfalls. They were no Iguazu, but still beautiful in their own way. Especially with all that mist.
 |
| Kiswarani Waterfalls. |
As we were making our way up and over the falls, a couple of cute girls appeared. We took the obligatory photo and gave them some soles. Since they were Quechua, they didn't know much Spanish, let alone any English. So in the best way I know how to communicate, was to attempt to race them up past the waterfalls. I was trying to get them to open up a bit since they were pretty shy. But once we started 'running', they had smiles on their faces. They are clearly way better at running up mountains than me. But I think I put on a decent show, and tired them out. And tired me out.
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| Running up mountains. |
Soon we arrived at our campsite for the evening. According to the tour company we were at 3850 meters (12,631 feet) and hiked 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). According to my Fitbit, we hiked 7.55 miles and went up 179 flights of stairs. My Fitbit usually underestimates the actual mileage, and of course includes all the walking around before the actual trek started, and the walking around the campsite in the evening.
 |
| Campsite for the evening. |
We got settled in, and had more coco tea to warm up. After a little bit of a rest, we had our first dinner camping. Each time they brought out a meal, I was impressed. This evening, they had a structure that I'm sure helped, but still, were were camping. The food did not disappoint.
 |
| Dinner. |
We tried to get some sleep that night. I slept on and off since not only was I not in a bed and in a tent, but I had to pee a couple of times (all that coco tea), and it rained during the night. I couldn't complain though. I wanted the rain to get out of it's system while we were not hiking. And I can't really expect a great night sleeping, even if we did get mats to sleep on.
The crew woke us up the following morning at 5:30am (surprisingly I was already awake) with some coco tea. We cleaned ourselves up as best as we could and ate breakfast. Before hitting the trail, we did formal introductions with our entire Alpaca Expeditions crew, which included our chef, Mario, his assistants, and the porters. I remember some names, but not all. I should have written them down.
 |
| The Green Machine crew. |
We got going and had some spectacular views of the lake we slept near. Luckily no one fell in during the night. There was a sharp drop off near the tents and our guides told us about previous sleep walkers. Also luckily, the rain stopped.
 |
| Reflections. |
The views kept getting more amazing as we walked along. We saw more llamas, including a black one, which is pretty special. I forget why, but it is. Just go with it.
 |
| Llama. |
The second day would be the toughest, so it was recommended to take very short breaks as we climbed in elevation. We would have allotted breaks, but my short breaks were easy to take as I couldn't stop taking photos, including the other sisters on our trip.
 |
| The Bello Sisters. |
After a few hours, we arrived at the summit of Condor Pass, at 4680 meters (15,354 feet). Which included a misty view of Mount Pitusiray and a glacier in the distance.
 |
| Made it to Condor Pass. |
It definitely wasn't easy, but someone did need to take the emergency horse up part of the way. I won't name any names. Just put their photo.
We had a warm beverage (coco tea again) and some snacks to recharge ourselves before making our descent. We headed down the mountain, which was a little trickier, but easier. We soon came to a river crossing. But fortunately, it was tiny. So just a few hops and we were on the other side.
 |
| Opting for the emergency horse. |
We had a warm beverage (coco tea again) and some snacks to recharge ourselves before making our descent. We headed down the mountain, which was a little trickier, but easier. We soon came to a river crossing. But fortunately, it was tiny. So just a few hops and we were on the other side.
 |
| Crossing rivers. |
We got a point where we took a bit of a longer break. We may or may not have taken a quick nap in the sun before continuing on our way.
 |
| Quick nap. |
We weren't far from our campsite, so we arrived shortly thereafter, which was located in the village of Cancha Cancha. This village is the only village in the Lares Valley that does not have modern technology, including electricity and cars. After our lunch and a siesta, we got to visit with a family and understand some of the Incan traditions that they still practice.
 |
| Traditions that still stand. |
The Quechua wake up and go to bed with the sun, in their stone and grass-thatched roof one-room houses. There's one bed for the entire family (that would've have been so crowded in my family), with guinea pigs under the bed that they raise to eat or sell. The kitchen was close by with a fire in between. It was a very smoky house. It was a nice welcome for heat since it was chilly outside, but hard to breathe. It's really interesting to see how they still live, even with such advances in technology. I think it's refreshing, but it would also be hard to do knowing what we know. It's a very simple life.
After our introduction into the life of the locals, we filled up on yet another delicious meal. And had some sort of alcohol-infused dessert. I think it was peach or maybe pear. I had a headache and was tired, so can't remember properly.
 |
| Dessert. |
After dinner, we were all pretty tired, but before bed, we all gazed upward and were amazed with all the stars we could see. Our guide had an app on his phone to show us the different constellations. I think it may have been one of the starriest nights I've ever seen. Even when I was in the desert in Jordan. I'm curious about stars, but it's hard for me to see some of the constellations sometimes and there usually aren't that many out. But this was different. It was amazing. I wish I did know more at that moment. I have to get that app downloaded. Although there would be limited use of it in NYC.
We finished our day with walking 14 kilometers (8.6 miles), a gain of 830 meters (2723 feet), and went to bed at 3750 meters (12,303 feet) according to the tour company. My Fitbit says we walked 10.6 miles and 151 flights of stairs. Another deserved night of rest. I'm not sure which is more correct, but will go with the higher number of course.
The third day arrived, and with that the eve of Aunt Sally's 60th birthday. We had mentioned her birthday was on the 1st and it was a big one, but we wouldn't have the Green Machine with us anymore at that point. I mentioned that maybe an early surprise would be good. Not sure if that was actually going to happen, but after breakfast, we noticed there was some activity. They surprised Sally with a cake. It was so great. Sally was so surprised, and so thrilled. We sang Happy Birthday and then proceeded to have cake for breakfast. And it was good. I have no idea how they made a cake at our campsite, but it was one of the better cakes I've had. Sally may have gotten cake in the face shortly after this photo. A Peruvian tradition they say.
 |
| Happy Birthday Aunt Sally. |
After the celebration, we continued making our way down the mountain. The scenery along the river continued to amaze.
 |
| Down by the river. |
As we walked along, remnants of civilization started to appear. We came across a bunch of workers supplying electricity up the mountain. I'm curious what the impact will be like. I think it will help, but definitely change their way of life. And you'll see more tourists. We barely saw anyone on our trek. We were on the edge of the season, but I know the Inca Trail would have been crowded. I like having the place to ourselves.
 |
| Putting electricity in. |
We came across a road, and then eventually to a larger town, Huaran, where we got the lowdown on the local brew, chicha. It can be fermented or non-fermented, and it's derived from maize. This was supposed to be alcoholic and since it was the end of our trek, I figured why not, let's have a glass. Looking back, I'm not sure if there was alcohol in it, but I at least tried it.
 |
| Chicha. |
Soon we arrived at our final stop on our trek, at 2700 meters (8858 feet). It had grown a lot warmer since we were down in the Sacred Valley. We ate a great lunch and said goodbye to everyone. Most of our crew are locals and were headed back to where they live.
It was a pretty great trek and I think everyone was pretty happy with what they accomplished. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but mostly because of the unknown. It ended up being such a great experience and I would highly recommend the tour group we went with.
 |
| We did it. |
We loaded up the bus that arrived during lunch and headed to our next stop, the Salineras salt mines in the town of Maras. There's a salt water spring that spills over the mountain and fills the different chambers that belong to the locals. They turn around and sell their various salt products.
 |
| Sitting on the edge of the salt mines. |
We hopped back on the bus and continued on our way to Ollantaytambo, where we had a bit of time to wander, and then eat dinner. It was a short visit, but long enough for Sally and I to decide to come back later on after Machu Picchu.
 |
| Ollantaytambo. |
After dinner and a pisco sour, we grabbed a quick tuktuk ride to the train station and a couple of hours later we arrived in Aquas Calientes. A shower was on the immediate agenda. Then attempting to get connected to the real world. Very slowly, and not always successful. Then bed.
 |
| On the train to Aquas Calientes. |
Officially, the last day of our trek was 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) and we reached 2000 meters (6562 feet) in elevation in Aquas Calientes. My Fitibit said we did 10.9 miles and 50 flights of stairs. I'm going with my Fitbit on this one again.
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