The time in the trip had arrived that most of us had been waiting for - the inca jungle trek! The trek we´d be taking was an alternative to the one that hourdes of tourists come to trek day after day. As apposed to dealing with 500 people, we only had to contend with a dozen or so. The first part started out with a cool descent of nearly 8,000 feet by bicycle. At the top of the mountain it was cold and cloudy, but our rapid descent brought us into the thick of the jungle. Where the jungle began, so did the dirt road. The group flew down the mountain at top speeds all listening to their music selections. Speed, bumps, chickens, trucks and mosquitos were all to be contended with here. A couple of the girls ended up with some arm scrapage, but more or less we all enjoyed the ride.

The next day began at 4 am with breakfast, then a trek to the jungle. No day in the Peruvian jungle is complete without some coca tea. I joke with the group that I´m trying to become addicted to the coca leaves, as they are as harmless as any english breakfast tea. Some say the British empire was built over cups of tea, well the same could be said about the inca empire with coca leaves. No one could demonstrate this more than our guides Alex and Aurelio. Alex could consume 1,000 leaves in the matter of a days walk, as he demonstrated to us on our first day.

The first days walk was tough, but our reward came at the end when we arrived to the hot springs near the end of the trail. Huge pools had been carved out for us to enjoy the hot waters, once used by inca kings to relax after a long day. And like kings we felt after arriving after a tough walk.

The next day we set out for another long walk that brought us to the Machu Pichu base camp. We arrived early, and were able to scale the mountain next to Machu Pichu for a preview of the next day. The hike was 1,000 meters straight up, and left us exhausted and resting early that night.

4:30 arrives, and the group wakes for the ascent of Machu Pichu before sunrise. We arrive to clouds, but as the sun rose they quickly burnt off to reveal what all of us had seen many times before on television or friends photos. It´s just as you would imagine, a quiet, magical place that words don´t do justice to. Montezumas revenge, or should I say Tupac Amaru´s revenge had taken a hold of me that morning, so I wasn´t able to scale the neighboring mountains for views. But I was contented with exploring the ancient city, and after I found the panoramic button on my camera I had no regrets about not climbing the famous Waynu Pichu.

Our guides had left, but had taught us a lot about the incas and their customs. They had also left me with a 200 leaf a day habit that i´ve been trying to keep up. I gotta run, need more coca leaves...

Adam Beecham
Program Leader


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Author Adam Beecham Posted

Category Peru Departure 2008