Lares Trek (Leg 1)

 

South America Day 11

I woke up still a little dodgy, but much better which was fortunate because we were about to start a 3 day hiking expedition.
Our first stop was the small town of Calca and the local markets for supplies. Calca is the gateway to the road to Lares (the start of our hike). The markets would allow us to buy toys and stuff for the children along our hike. For me, it was more about finding an inner sole for my recently repaired hiking boot. I was sent off with the assistant guide, Jose', who managed to find one nice and quick.

The road to Lares was long and windy. The photo above was taken from the high point as we crossed the ridge. I saw a condor briefly which was all very interesting, but the trip was still a bit tedious. The scenery was interesting enough.

 

The start of the trek was the hot springs just outside Lares. You can see the buildings in the background of the shot above. We got done big time by the guides (it was to become a pattern). We had nowhere to stop for "relief" along to long drive from Calca and with a bus full of girls, there was some desperation involved. The issue was that the only place to relieve ourselves was at the hot springs complex which cost quite a bit to enter regardless of whether we wanted to use the baths or not. Turns out the springs were a disgusting milky brown colour and  the locals seemed to have come to wash themselves in them. It wasn't at all inviting.
Never the less the cooks/porters cooked us up a nice lunch and we set off from the back of the hot springs complex across the bridge in picture. Again an opportunity for a group shot. This one had the entire clan but the shot at the end of the trek looked a little different.

 

We set off up the Lares Valley toward our first camp. It wasn't that difficult to start with as it was a fairly gentle incline. The hike in Colca Canyon some days earlier was harder. It was quite pleasant wandering beside the small stream.

 

Despite the easy going, we still seemed to spend a lot of time stopping and waiting for stragglers (this was the first). Special K was the first casualty and started the "I didn't sign up for this" saga. Actually she did sign up for this because it was pretty clear in the GAP trip description and difficulty rating. There we a few others that were finding it difficult while some of us were wondering how this was going to play out over the next few days.

Above is the view of the opposite side of the valley at our first rest stop. Although the incline wasn't too extreme, we'd been steadily gaining elevation.

 

  

Along the way there was no shortage of birds including this little humming bird. The purple flowers are apparently used a lot by the locals as a clothing dye.

 

Base Camp 1

We continued up the valley into the fading light at the end of the day. The stragglers were left behind with the trailing guide. As the light faded, the temperature dropped sharply and our core temperatures went with it. I thought I was getting a bit of a pinched nerve in my right arm from carrying the back pack and camera, but it turned out to be circulation.
As we reached the camp at Wakawasi we realized the porters and the mules had beaten us there. The tents were all pitched and dinner was in progress. My cold arm was more of a problem than I first thought and it took half an hour curled up in the sleeping bag to bring it back to normal. I've got to say I was worried for quite some time. Mental note for the next day to make sure I have warm gloves.

 

Sacred Valley

South America Day 10

 

I successfully retrieved my boot only to realize the next morning they hadn't put the inner sole back. I'm a goose for not checking it when I picked it up, but I didn't want to hang around in that neighborhood too long.

We piled into a bus early on day 10, in my case reluctantly. I felt awful. My body was doing it's usual trick when I pick up a bug and went into high temperature and body shutdown mode.

Enough about my woes. We set off north of Cuzco past the Sacsayhuaman ruins and on to Sacred Valley (pictured). My recollections of that day are fuzzy to say the least so my comments will be scant. This photo covers only a small part of the valley that stretches some 25-30 kms.

 

Sponsored Village

The first stop in Sacred Valley was a small village that GAP sponsors to ensure that the local crafts aren't lost. Yet another tourist trap if you ask me. Kerri tells me the crafts were very expensive and the public toilets were disgusting. I have no comment on account of being out cold on the back seat of the bus loaded up with paracetamol during the stop.

 

Guinea Pig is a Peruvian delicacy. They look all cute and stuff, but you have to remember they're on the lunch menu. Dad calls them turners because they turn good food into shit.

 

I made it out of the bus for the Pisaq ruins and struggled along for the short walk. The local guide rambled on for some time about something I wasn't listening to (and I don't think anyone else was either). The tag line at the end had some sort of global warming message.....

 

I'd bypassed lunch that day so I could sleep & by the time we reached the Ollyentambo Ruins, I was trashed. The clan headed up to the ruins & the bus took me back down to the modern town of Ollyentambo where we were staying that night. I crashed out in bed and slept for a number of hours.

Kerri took a few photos while she was at the ruins including these ones. These are called the ten windows. Apparently there's some sort of acoustic phenomenon when you stick your head through one of the windows.

 

Above is the view back to the town where I was sound asleep, Ollyentambo. I surfaced later that evening and wandered around until I found Kerri and the others. I had dinner and crashed early. It was the worst day of the entire tour for me. It's a shame because I would have liked to have a better look around the Inca ruins in the area. I find ancient ruins so much more interesting than the replacement European buildings.