PachaMama contd...
On Friday, as acclimatised as we had time for, we set off with our little band of hikers to hike an alternative route across the Andes to Machu Picchu, as government restrictions since March this year have limited the numbers all on the traditional route to 500 a day, so that there is now a 2 month waiting list! However, the result was that we trekked through breathtaking scenery, surrounded by Llamas and Alpacas (almost as cute as my sloth! … and much tastier!!) without another tourist in sight. After six hours walking each day, we camped at night in incredible locations, and could have been the only group of people on the planet! A real highlight, on the second day we called into a little village where the guide knew the locals, and were invited into one of their houses. Living just as the incas did 500 years ago (and not far from how the Irish lived 150 years ago!!) it was an incredible journey back into the past. The houses are stone, with thatched roofs and no windows! Little barefoot children, dressed in the customary bright red patterned blankets, peeped curiously from every corner, while granny, muttering nonsense, wandered around the mud yard, eternally spinning with a sort of yoyo type spinning contraption which all the women keep on the go the whole time. Inside the house was, of course, pitch black, except for an open fire in a clay stove in the corner on the floor. Gradually we could make out the woman of the house sitting in the corner, and the raised bed area, about 2 foot off the floor, under which, nestling in straw, the guinea pigs twittered and scurried. A local delicacy, these guys only need to eat the vegetable scraps, and breed quickly enough to supply a constant source of meat. The downside is they can't take the cold, and hence the lack of windows!
They're tasty too, we've had them squashed and fried, a Cusco speciality, looking a little like fried roadkill (I wish they'd remove the head and paws!!) but tasting a bit like chicken wrapped in thick pork crackling! Now, there's an idea for you, Ger, - solve two problems in one, and just reveres over your little rodents!!
Anyhow, on Saturday night we crossed the highest pass of the trek, at a breathtaking 4,400m (or half the height of Mt Everest, or half the altitude a plane to mainland europe flies at!), a full 200m higher than "dead woman's pass" on the original inca trail. We camped at 4,200m, in minus 3 degrees, by a picturesque lake, surrounded by Llamas in the mist, before finishing with a long downhill trek on Sunday, which had the knees clicking even before this mornings climb. The oxygen rush (which I blame for last nights revelry) isn't doing anything for the poor feet, though! Tonight its back to Cusco, where we're due to go White Water Rafting tomorrow (why do we do this to ourselves???), and then off on the overnight bus to Puno, gateway to Lake Titicaca, on the border with Bolivia. We hope to reach La Paz by the end of the week, if we don't die of exhaustion, or this bloody cough, my only souvenir from the jungle!
In the mean time hope all are well
Adios, amigos