INCA TRAIL

I got pick up in front of my hotel by a short Peruvian man that would turn out to be one of my guide (Nilton). He helped me out with my bags and we walked (pretty fast, I thought) a few streets away. There, I recognized Freddy, waiting on the sidewalk, his bag on one shoulder. He greeted me with a very warm smile and we continued our walk until the bus pickup. There was already a few hikers sleeping on their seats, when we boarded. I sat near a window, on the third row, and Freddy sat next to me. We picked up a few other travellers and started to drive in direction of Kilometres 84 -the starting point for our multi-days hike. We were half asleep, when we finally arrived. It was still very early but the sun had already started to heat the air -forcing each one of us to remove the layers we had previously put on. We all applied sunscreen, made one last stop to the bathroom, and then proceeded to the check-in. We started the walk on an ascent -setting the tone for what was about to come in the next few days. Being not acclimated to the altitude yet, everyone (but Freddy and Andrew) were already out of breath. To forget how I wasn’t in shape, I decided to focus on each one of my fellow hikers, analyzing them to see who was of the same “non-athletic” breed and who was going to be running that fucking trek. We were 16 in total. Freddy was used to trekking in high altitude, doing so every weekend back in Colombia. He was very polite, though, and I felt like he was going to adjust to the pace of everyone else. Andrew was of Egyptian origin, but lived his whole life in Australia. He was also a solo traveller, and his pace was pretty damn fast for someone living at sea level. He would mostly be at the front of the group for the whole four days. Josh and Daisy were an english couple that seems to have the same pace as I had, and they had a similar humour. I liked them instantly (and I thought they were both so pretty). Every time Daisy spoke, I took a moment to close my eyes and her lovely accent projected me, each time, in the Victorian era. Sophia and Emily were from USA and although Emily never seemed to be out of breath, she was always waiting for Sophia -who was going my pace too. I befriended Sophia very quickly, as we shared the same struggle and humour. I felt like we would have been very good friends, if we had live in the same country. Ray and Shannon were also from USA, and they made me laugh a lot. They were top of the group for the first day, but quickly adjusted back and slowed their pace for the next ones. During the whole trek, I thought they were absolutely gorgeous to watch- they seemed like a strong couple that loved each-other deeply, and were there to support one another. Renith was of Indian origin, living in Australia since a young age. He was amazingly kind, friendly and funny and I liked him instantly. His pace was consistent with the rest of the group, giving us the chance to chat here and there on the path. Mark and Sine were a couple from England/France, with what I would call a love/hate relationship. They kept fighting over things but it felt like a scene from a comedy movie more than anything serious. They were both quite quick, but were always doing pauses to allow everyone to catch up. Kay, Jinkang, Neethu and Krishna were two couples from Singapore and India -they had the slowest pace of the group, but they made it each day to the end, making everyone so proud of them. “Let’s take a few minutes here”. Our guide, Lizandro, dropped his things on the ground, pulling me out of my thoughts. We were now standing in the middle of an Inca site, everyone happy to finally have a pause so we could catch our breath. We all sat on the grass, the wind finally freshening us up, ready for what would become the first of several history lessons. Say what you want, but Lizandro had found the perfect formula to make all of us exemplary students: we would be so exhausted during the four days hike that we would  literally beg for more history lessons -so we could finally take a break from walking. After about 25 minutes pause, we continued our hike for a few hours before stopping for lunch. We laughed about getting sick because we saw one of the porter washing the salad with the river water - but the food was so fucking delicious that we ended up eating everything, regardless. We were already all bounding and I could feel that these four days were going to be epic -hard, but amazingly rewarding. We had a bit of time to relax, before starting up the trek again. We stopped in a second Inca site, to get another history lesson, and hours later we finally reached the first camp. We all settled in our tent, changed into warmer clothes and relaxed a bit from our intense first day. Freddy told me he needed to nap, because he hadn’t slept very well the day before, so I decided to go for a walk around the camp to leave him to rest. I was going to come back to wake him up only when dinner would be ready. After about 15 minutes, Lizandro called us to the dinner tent for afternoon tea. This would become a routine -and one that we would love. Peru had it right by serving us desert before dinner. 10/10. We chatted and ate all together, everyone being somewhat concerned about Freddy not being there. After a bit, Lizandro lined up all the porters and they introduced themselves to us. I thought this was absolutely beautiful and I was battling myself to not cry. Each one of them told us since how long they were porter and since when they were with this company. They kept cracking jokes in quechua and Lizandro was doing his best to translate from one language to another, keeping the funny essence as much as possible. It lasted about thirty minutes - and it set the tone for the whole adventure. We were all in this together, and it felt incredible to be part of the reason why these amazing people were employed. It was finally time for dinner and Nilton decided to go wake up Freddy. He wanted to make sure he was ok. All through this expedition, the guides and porters went out of their way to monitor every one of us and make sure that no one had altitude problems. Freddy joined us and dinner was served. We were all impressed by the fact it was a four course meal -the food was delicious and literally just kept coming. After the feast, everyone went back to their tent and we all called it a night very early on. I was personally exhausted, and we knew we had to wakeup at 4AM the next morning. Freddy and I had a very quick chat, but we both felt asleep around 21H.

At 4AM sharp, a porter knocked on our tent door to wake us up. We were offered a cup of hot coca tea and were strongly advised to drink it all. This day was going to be the most challenging of all -even though Lizandro promised it to be less bad than the the previous day- we knew what to except this time. The plan was to climb two mountains, in the morning, and then going down to the base camp in the afternoon. We knew this was going to be very challenging, one part of the path even being called ‘dead woman pass’. When we finally arrived there, we took over the highest peak and just chilled there for a while. You could feel the exhaustion but also a deep sensation of success in everyone’s voice. We stayed there for a while, before making our way down. About half-way through the morning, Ray started to feel very sick. That’s really when the cohesion of the group revealed itself -everyone was trying to help, from taking his bag so he didn’t have to transport it, to providing medication. I thought it was beautiful, to see so many strangers rallying to make sure he was going to make it. We were a team, until the end -no man was going to be left behind. We stopped at an inca site, for one more history lesson and then we stopped for lunch and a quick nap. The afternoon was going to be only descent and I was a bit concerned at how my right hip would handle it. Already, the morning descent had took a strain on it. I managed to survive and we all arrived at the camp safe and sound. Even Ray, who pushed like a champ, felt better by then. There was one final Inca site to visit, before the campsite, but Daisy, Ray and I decided to skip it and walk straight to the settlement. We arrived right on time to watch the sunset, while waiting on the rest of the group. Andrew arrived not too long after us -alone. We laughed about him running, once again, but in the end I think he was on a mission to ask me something before everyone came back. He took me apart. “Can I ask you something?”, he asked. “Sure, whats up?”, I said. “Do you snore?” I was a bit confused by the question. I answered negatively and asked him why he asked. “My tent mate snores and I really need to sleep tonight.” I felt like I knew where he was going with this, but I asked anyway. “Ok, and what do you want me to do?” “Can I come in your tent? We can send Freddy with Renith”. I looked at him in disbelief. “No fucking way. Freddy doesn’t even snore. I am not doing that to him.” “Yeah but I really need to sleep”. I felt the attempt somewhat rude, and like it was a backstab towards Freddy. “I am sorry but no. I like Freddy. I am not doing that.” Andrew apologized for asking and ended up saying that yes, Freddy was a cool guy. He left and didn’t talk to me until a day or so later -probably ashamed by his tentative. I wasn’t angry at him, I just thought this was a bit off of him to ask. The rest of the group finally arrived, and we settled in and took some time to relax. Then, tea and dinner were served (once again it was epic and we were all dumbfounded by how elaborate it was) and we all passed out in our tents pretty early on. Freddy and I had the chance to talk a bit more before we felt asleep, and I remember thinking that it felt like I knew him since forever. We laughed a lot and I felt him very open to talk about personal topics. He was interesting and i loved these small moments where we would just talk, in the darkness, and try to contain our laughs not to wakeup the other people.

We were once again woken up by porters knocking at our tent and offering us coca tea. It was still early, but it felt like everyone was slowly adjusting to waking up before the sun. This day was going to be easier than the others, with the path mainly going down. Lizandro estimated that we would get to the camp for noon, at last. We were all pretty excited at the prospect of a half-day hike and the energy was high when we started walking. Lizandro decided to make us take an alternative path (that we weren’t supposed to take), which turned out to be a bit longer but way less steep -and way more exciting. This path was overgrown with twigs and grass, but we all loved it very much. We stopped mid-way to a viewpoint where we were able to see the Macchupicchu for the first time (from very far away). There was a sense of relief, to finally see it,  but it became suddenly bittersweet. Everyone was becoming closer by the minute -it felt like a camping trip with old school friends, and i loved every minutes of it. It was almost over and a part of me didn’t want it to end. Our next part of the trek was literally everyone running after Nilton and Andrew, on a very steep and slippery dirt road. I swear to god we probably made it in half the time that we were supposed to take. We finally arrived at an Inca site, where we had to bribe Lizandro for an history lesson (he was hungry and wanted to go straight to the camp, so we all gave him some snacks). I thought our moms would be proud, if they had seen us bribing someone to give us a class, while on holiday. We sat on the grass, in front of some llamas, listening to Lizandro’s class, happy to finally be sited. Thirty minutes later, we started to walk toward the camp, where we arrived not too long after. We relaxed in the tents, some of us had our first (cold) shower in days, we had lunch and a quick cooking lesson (where we were all amazed to see the very rustic kitchen they used to make the very elaborate meals). Around 4PM we walked 10 minutes away, to our last Inca site until the Macchupicchu. That sight was absolutely grandiose and the weather just added on the drama of it. There was a storm forming in the distance and a rainbow crossing the sky, just above the ruins. We sat on the wall, listening to one of our last history lesson, feeling immensely grateful to be there. We had some free time, after the lesson, to explore the site at our rhythm. But we used the first part to try to make sense of how much tip we should give to every porters -and then the storm caught up to us and it started pouring rain everywhere. I walked back to the tent, had a nap, and then Freddy and I had a chat before dinner. He opened up about his current relationship, which such transparency that I felt we had been friends since forever. We were just honest with each others, without any filters, and I felt the conversation was amazing. We then proceeded to the dinning tent, where you could feel a mixte of emotions from everyone -it was our last dinner all together. To celebrate, the chef had baked a cake that amazed the shit out of everyone. We talked, laughed and shared that precious moment until there was nothing left on the table. We all regained our tent and Freddy and I continued talking until everyone else around got quiet. He felt like he had share way more about his life than I had did, and because he was so transparent with me since day one, I decided to be as well. I talked about my past relationship, about my accident and about all the reasons I was doing this trip. We felt asleep, once again trying to contain our laughs to not wakeup everyone else.

We were woken up even earlier the next morning. It was about 3AM and we were going to have a take-out breakfast, this time. We all had a quick coca tea and walked to the Macchupicchu entrance gate, a few metres away. There, we would have to wait about three hours for the gate to open. My stomach decided to act weirdly and I had to do back and forth to the public toilet during these three hours. Everyone was so helpful, though, sharing medication and trying to support in any ways they could. The medication took effect right on time, when the gate opened. We started to walk, with a good pace, under the rain that was pouring down. When we finally arrived at the sungate, everyone’s face was betraying deception. The weather was quite bad and the clouds were covering part of the Macchupicchu, making the whole site way less impressive than what we would have expect. After that very hard four days trek, we were quite sadden by the views. We kept laughing about being spoiled child and tried to keep our spirit high while we hiked towards the main viewing platform. The sun finally came out and, as we turned the corner to reach the platform, everyone became silent. The view of the Macchupicchu, the one we dreamt about when we first started to hike days ago, was slowly appearing behind the clouds evaporating under the sunbeams. It felt unreal, like someone had just drugged us and we had woken up in Hollywood, on a movie stage. We stayed about an hour, taking pictures and laughing together, before we walked down to explore and get our final history lessons. It was now unbelievably hot outside, the sun was scorching, but we took in each history class with an eager to learn and the hope of making the moment last longer. We sat in the shades for a bit, just to cool down and then we started to walk out of the site. At some point, an old man separated us from the guide and was taking it very slow, blocking the path entirely. He was stopping, taking picture, just not concerned at all by the people behind him. “Excuse me, we just need to pass to catchup with our guide”, I said. I thought I said it in a very polite way, but Freddy caught up to me on the path and asked me “Is there anything you care about? It feels like you don’t give a fuck about anything”. I was a bit surprised/shocked by his comment, like what the fuck does this mean. I replied that I asked politely, but that guy was blocking the whole path for everyone behind, it’s not a matter of not giving a fuck, it’s a matter of knowing how to live in society. He told me he taught me asking was rude. For a moment, I question myself if I appeared like a cunt every time I ask things like that. I know that I do it out of fairness (I like when things are fair, clear and I do not like when one single person’s joy is an inconvenience for everyone else around). I decided to split with Freddy and get some time apart, because I felt attack by his comment. Suddenly, the feeling of proximity with him vanished. I felt misunderstood and judge, and I didn’t like it. For the next hour, I tried my best not to be too close to him, until we made it to the bus we were suppose to take to go down to the small town of Aguas Caliente. I decided to sit next to Freddy and just explain how I felt and that his comment hurt me. We explained each our points and then everything was fine, again. I think Freddy is a person pleaser, and he will always put someone else’s needs before his. He has a hard time to ask for what he wants, maybe even to really know what he wants. I am the perfect opposite, in that sense. I put the greater good before an individual one. I want things to be fair, but I am not ashamed or afraid to ask and to state when something isn’t. Sometimes, it might look like I do not care about someone’s feelings, but I in fact care a lot about everyone’s feeling. I just balance and choose - should 7 people be annoyed by one person blocking the way so that person can have the best time slowly taking picture OR should I tell that one person to move, even though she might feel rushed, so that the group can pass and feel serene again. Call me utilitarian, but I choose the latter. And I won’t apologize for it. The bus stopped in the town and We walked to a small restaurant hidden in a back alley, to get lunch and enjoy our last time together as a big group. We all knew that internet was back, but we all chose to ignore it and stay away from our phones. We knew that, like every moment, this one would never come back. It wouldn’t be easy to try to re-create, either. About two hours later, we were forced out of the restaurant so we could make it in time to catch our train. The group was split in two -mine being with Daisy, Josh and Freddy. The train was supposed to be a scenic ride, but we got hammered drinking wine and chatting very loudly (I would like to apologize to the people in this wagon). We would have definitely missed our stop, if the train driver hadn’t honk the horn, announcing that we had to step out. Lizandro was already waiting for us, a smile appearing on his face when he saw us all smashed. We hopped on the bus, where I was designated DJ for the rest of the drive. Knowing well that millennials are fond of the past, I blasted music from the 90s and 2000s and the bus became a Karaoke. We all agreed to go out together that very night, but as the bus was approaching Cusco, I could sense the tiredness in everyone. I too, felt like it would be better to do it the next night, instead. Freddy was the first one to leave the bus. He said bye to everyone, but me. I was a bit shocked and once again wondering why he deliberately avoided to hug me goodbye. I thought we made peace. I thought we were close. I felt a pinched to my heart, but as I realized that I had misinterpreted our relation, I just decided to let it go. He left the bus, and then the group was split in two. We had two go in mini-vans because the big bus couldn’t make it to the narrowed street of the old town.  Neethu, Krishna and I were staying at the same hotel. It was absolutely magnificent and I passed out as soon as my two showers were done.

The next morning, I met Neethu and Krishna in the hotel restaurant and they told me they were going to the skylodge, as I suggested, that very night. I was happy that they would have the joy to experience it, but a bit sad because everyone had plan to meet up at the restaurant later, and I would have loved for them to join. It was raining outside, so I passed the day writing my blog, talking with my parents and reviewing the footage of the trek. A bit before the dinner plan, Freddy reached out to me. He asked that we meet, an hour before, to catchup before he leave town. When I saw him walking towards me, he was wearing a face mask and looking quite pale. “Are you okay?” I asked, a bit worried. “I had to go to the hospital yesterday night”. What? Wtf! He explained to me that he got sicker during the night and his dad had to call a doctor that ordered him to go pass an xray because his lungs were stuffy. I guess because of altitude, people don’t fuck around with that. He passed the night at the hospital, to be told in the end that he only had a laryngitis. He still wanted to see me one last time before leaving. “But you hugged goodbye everyone but me, fucker” I said, half-joking. “I knew I would see you again”. We walked to a coffee shop, ordered a tea and a coffee and chatted and laughed for the remaining hour. I knew we had a very different personality and probably a different way to express it -but we liked each other a lot. It was like we always knew each-other. I convinced him to come to the restaurant a bit, at least to see everyone one last time. We arrived and Andrew was the only one there. He had reserved a table for everyone. We chatted a bit and then Daisy and Josh arrived, followed by Sine, Mark, Shannon and Ray. The waiting time was awfully long but we still enjoyed our time, laughed a lot and had some tasty food (although Ray and I both agreed that we would never ordered Guinea pig ever again. There’s barely no meat in this and there was a weird fishy after-taste that we both weren’t fond of. Freddy was the first one to leave, granting me a real hug this time. It was hard for me to see him go, but I knew someday, somewhere, we would see each-other again. Around 22H, I said my goodbyes too because I had to take a flight very early the next morning. I hugged everyone, hoping to see them one last time before I leave Peru -but well aware that this might be the last. I walked about twenty minutes, in the dark and empty streets, without ever feeling unsafe.