To preface this post, it was almost a year in the making of this trip before it finally came to fruition. I was kindly asked by one of my best friends if I would like to take the life changing journey to Peru and hike Machu Picchu. Since I agreed to go, I decided to take it seriously and actually train. In the process of training by hiking around Oregon, I fell madly in love with the excitement of adventure and the high that happens between the starting point and the final destination. I have discovered more about myself in the last few months than I ever thought possible. Every day leading up to Day 1 brought mixed emotions of excitement, nervousness, joy, anxiety. Despite the ebb and flow of emotions of the approaching trek, the day crept closer and closer. And then. It happened.

Day 1 – Training Day

We landed in Cusco, Peru in the afternoon of a Friday. I won’t go into detail about the flight from Lima to Cusco, but all you should know is that you should make sure you give yourself more than an hour to get through customs to your flight. Cutting lines and running through the airport like a madman isn’t the most fun.

The altitude change is no joke. Cusco sits at around 10,000 feet above sea level. Let’s just say the first day spent in town was monitored closely with tons of coca leaf tea. 

Read about  Cusco Day Two HERE

Read about Cusco Day Three HERE

Day one started off very early. Our tour company, Wayki Trek, picked us up at 6am. From there, we drove for a couple of hours and stopped at this cute breakfast spot. It was also the last place for us to pick up any last minute items before the trek started. 

Another hour was spent driving from there to the start point. This drive was incredible. The weather was clear enough to see the Andes. I have never seen anything so beautiful. No offense to my beautiful mountains back in Oregon, but they pale in comparison to the Andes. We drove all the way down into the canyon where there were a couple beautiful small towns to get to the start. Here we had our passports checked and the porters picked up our bags.

We were pretty anxious to get started after the long drive. After crossing a bridge, the trek was on. 

The nerves quickly left once the heart rate picked up. Almost immediately the trail inclines without much of a warm up. However, very soon, the trail levels out to what the locals call Peruivian Flats. This is a term that describes intermediate hills.

Our tour guide, Frankie, had us stop a few times to explain the history of the Inka people and how the trail came into existence. There are a few different routes to get to Machu Picchu, but the Inka Trail is the oldest and most historic. Along the four day trail, there are many Inka sights that give today’s architects a run for their money. 

MP Day One is considered the Family Trail. That’s because there are many small villages along the way that allow travelers to pass through and use their facilities. The first days’ trail isn’t actually apart of the Official Inka Trail. The official Inka Trail starts Day Two. 

The Family Trail was rather enjoyable. Because the intense part of the hike doesn’t start until Day Two, it was nice to be able to hike at a good pace and see all the small villages throughout the mountainside. Locals used mules and donkeys to transport goods from larger towns, so every once in a while we had to move aside for them.

The mosquitos only got really bad after we had lunch. There was about a 30 minute section where it felt as though I was playing Astroid trying to duck and dodge all the bugs. Luckily, I managed to survive.

After about an hour of trekking along, we came upon our first Inka sight. The view from up above the site was gorgeous. Down below, at the center point of five valleys meeting point, was what is believed to be, a storage place. Our guide, Frankie, told us that in each direction were different villages that specialized in harvesting different products, and that this was their meeting point where they would barter with one another. These items included potatoes (Peru has over 4,000 types of potatoes!), coca leaves, llama jerky, and corn.

The group that I made this trek with consisted of varying degrees of hiking experience, yet all were talented enough to be on the journey. I, however, typically ended up ahead of the group. With my headphones in and taking in all the sights and smells and feelings around me, I got lost in my own world. We were told that our campsite for the evening was about an hour ahead, so be on the lookout for campsite 11.

After a while, I started passing campsites, acknowledging that I should be soon approaching my groups site since I was passing through the small town, Huayllabamba. However, never seeing a sign, I kept going. The trial started getting steeper and the time kept passing the hour mark I was expected to arrive by. Then I saw a group up ahead with a campsite 10 sign. I asked them if 11 was just up ahead and the person looked at me with a fearful look. “You with Wayki and Franklin?” Yes. “Your campsite is all the way back down there,” as they point ALL the way back down the mountain. Turns out I hiked an extra mile up past my campsite and was now on Day 2 trail.

I laughed the whole way back down. Finally a porter from my group found me and took me to the site I had passed. Truthfully, there was no sign and our site was off the path on someone’s farm, so I would never have found it on my own regardless. Everyone clapped as I walked through he gate as I turned beat red with laughter.

We finished off the night with a gourmet dinner cooked by our porters. Dinner was rather quiet while all of us recapped our long Day 1, and mentally prepared for Day 2: Challenge Day. We knew we faced an all day uphill battle, but there was no turning back now.

Next Up: Day 2: Challenge Day.