8 October - Inca trail through the Salkantay Pass
A horribly early morning AGAIN, but excitement to start the famous alternative trek to Machu Picchu, through the Salkantay valley. A quick WhatsApp to say hello and happy birthday to Harvey before being picked up from our hostel by our guide at 4.30am, and we were on our way to the trailhead at Soraypampa. Here we were introduced to our team at Alpaca Expeditions, the "Green Machine" who would be guiding us along the 5D/4N trek. There are three porters (who carry EVERYthing, thank goodness), a chef, two horsemen and a guide, all of whom grew up in the surrounding areas of the Sacred Valley and Cusco. We are feeling very happy that we picked a company that is local, not international, and who are trying very hard to make a name for themselves! Day 1 description, per the info pack: "Difficult - 12km - Highest altitude 4,620m, 15,157ft above sea level" Eeeeeeeeeek. Hopefully the trekking in Arequipa had prepared us a little for the high altitudes... Some highlights: - Breakfast: scrambled eggs, fruit salad, jam, tea, coffee, you name it. We realised at this point that we were going to be very well taken care of! - Our position in the group: in terms of hiking speed, we are the second fastest couple in the group. Perfect. - Salkantay Pass: huge sense of achievement that we made it to the top, despite the lack of oxygen and endless switchback climb. Hurrah! - Avalanches: we witnessed two huge avalanches on the Salkantay mountain, hearing huge cracks and crashes and then seeing the resulting tumble of snow and ice further down. Some lowlights: - Enduring four different seasons in one day: hot sunshine all the way through to full on blizzard snow. What are you supposed to wear?! - Camping: After all the excitement of starting the trek, it was easy to forget that we would have three nights in a tent (looking forward already to the fourth night, in a hotel). Argh, not my favourite thing. Especially when raining... Flashback to Glastonbury 2014: the Stress of the Wet Tent Flap. It was soooooooo cold at our campsite, we wore every piece of clothing we had with us. Early night needed, for another early morning...