Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Inca Trail Day 3
Today we woke with satisfaction knowing that we were in for an easier day.
Today we call Inca Steps day. Yes I know we had a lot of steps the day before, but today we were on original Inca Trail, and there were over 3000 steps down.
I was getting more confident on my downhill, even though it was still pretty slippery. Because we had some time up our sleeve, we were able to add on a little side trip to some Inca terraces which added about an hour to our walking for the day.
We had a late lunch at the third campsite (still raining but mostly light). We were very pleased with our wet weather purchases. They certainly earned their keep.
We went to another archeological site, and then had a couple of beers (at this campsite there was a bar). After dinner we had a farewell ceremony as our porters would be leaving us at 4:30 am the next morning.
The farewell ceremony was very moving and emotional. Each of the eight porters told us a little more about themselves and then we made a thankyou speech to them. They had been so amazing the whole time, and we were starting to get to know them. Chapulin was the head porter and also our cook. At 32, he had been a porter for 15 years. Freddie was the youngest, the "baby of the group" at 19, and Domingo was the cheeky one. Felipe (I think) was the oldest at 43. They all looked older than their years (except perhaps Freddie), as they have a very hard life. We would really like to see the companies provide better gear for the porters (boots and proper backpacks as a minimum).
After giving each of the porters a hug and kiss, or handshake, goodbye, and them thanking us once again for our tips which help to feed their families, we went to bed. Unfortunately our tent was not very waterproof, and each morning we had woken with something wet. One morning it was my boots (which I managed to dry out enough). Tonight it was our sleeping bags which got wet, so we spent the night curled up so that we did not get too damp. Tomorrow was going to be another exciting day.
Today we call Inca Steps day. Yes I know we had a lot of steps the day before, but today we were on original Inca Trail, and there were over 3000 steps down.
I was getting more confident on my downhill, even though it was still pretty slippery. Because we had some time up our sleeve, we were able to add on a little side trip to some Inca terraces which added about an hour to our walking for the day.
We had a late lunch at the third campsite (still raining but mostly light). We were very pleased with our wet weather purchases. They certainly earned their keep.
We went to another archeological site, and then had a couple of beers (at this campsite there was a bar). After dinner we had a farewell ceremony as our porters would be leaving us at 4:30 am the next morning.
The farewell ceremony was very moving and emotional. Each of the eight porters told us a little more about themselves and then we made a thankyou speech to them. They had been so amazing the whole time, and we were starting to get to know them. Chapulin was the head porter and also our cook. At 32, he had been a porter for 15 years. Freddie was the youngest, the "baby of the group" at 19, and Domingo was the cheeky one. Felipe (I think) was the oldest at 43. They all looked older than their years (except perhaps Freddie), as they have a very hard life. We would really like to see the companies provide better gear for the porters (boots and proper backpacks as a minimum).
After giving each of the porters a hug and kiss, or handshake, goodbye, and them thanking us once again for our tips which help to feed their families, we went to bed. Unfortunately our tent was not very waterproof, and each morning we had woken with something wet. One morning it was my boots (which I managed to dry out enough). Tonight it was our sleeping bags which got wet, so we spent the night curled up so that we did not get too damp. Tomorrow was going to be another exciting day.
