The Lares Trek

On top of the pass looking to where we were headed

Last Thursday was the last day before our trek started with Llama Path. We had a relax day and bought anything we might need. We had a pre-trek meeting that night and we were off at 5am the next morning on a bus.

The first night our campsite was at 4300m at Puyoc. We gained roughly 1100m on the walk. It was nowhere near as tough as we were both expecting. I think the walks we did in Ecuador really helped, and it meant we could enjoy it a bit more. There are heaps of stops along the way, more than we would have given ourselves. It rained on and off lightly for most of the day, and I had a bit of a headache and a shooting pain up the right side of my body for most of the morning. All of the other people were super worried about the cold and disappeared into their tents for ages when we arrived at camp. We were very glad we brought our own towels because the very small ones they gave us were soaking wet - I would reccommend taking a travel towel with you even if they provide one. We passed a small set of ruins in the morning and lots of poo. They use a lot of mules, the porters don't actually carry things, and hence there is poo everywhere.

The first night was a bit cold and the people who hired sleeping bags had damp to wet sleeping bags. Neither of us slept well, we kept waking up, and Brandon had a couple of strange breathing episodes. I was so hoping for porridge for breakfast. I shouldn't complain, it was bread and pancakes and fruit. This day was the summit day, 4830m. The climb was hard, but much easier than Cotopaxi. It is a very pretty walk. Until almost at the pass we had been following a river, and had passed through very green valley-type areas and rocky areas. When we were about halway to the pass it started snowing. That was magical. When we reached the top, the view on the other side was amazing. We had been walking through reasonably foggy land and the otherside was so clear. It was all downhill from there. And it was beautiful. We passed a number of lakes, and there were people with pack llamas passing us. We also passed quite a few villages where the children would run out because they are used to getting lollies and things from travelers. They had to make do with our left over apples and quinoa bars. At lunch it was decided we would go all the way to Lares that day instead of camping almost there. It rained on and off before getting quite heavy for the last 1-2 hours of the walk. I was soaked by the time we arrived at Lares hot springs. Apparently there was more than the 300mm of rain our jakets are waterproof to. I was with another girl from our group because the guys had stopped to wait for people, and neither of us had money. We had to wait outside the springs because they wouldn't let us in without paying, and the camping site was inside the hot springs grounds. That's really something the company should have told us. When you read the itinary, it sounds like the hot springs is an option that you pay for only if you want it, but even if you didn´t want to get in the pools you would have to pay if you wanted to sleep in camp that night. When we finally got in, Brandon and I were first in the springs. It was so good to feel warm after walking in the rain. It was also really good to have a proper toilet instead of a very small hole in the ground in a breezy tent... Don´t look down too much and hold your breath are my recommendations. That night was much warmer, but everything in the tent was wet in the morning from condensation.

Our guide didn't really have anything planned for day three since we finished early. Although it seems like a lot of groups finish early too. We were at the springs with 2 other groups that had finished early - also something the company should make people aware of. Breakfast absolutely sucked on the last morning. All our other meals were great. They had cooked a sponge cake in a pot, which is impressive, but literally all there was for breakfast was the cake and some sweet bread. We all sat there not eating until we were prompted to, I think because everyone was expecting some eggs or something with a bit of nutrition. After breakfast, most of us hiked up a nearby peak, just a short walk. The only reason we did this was because one of the other groups were doing it so we asked if we could. Our guide came with us, even though he didn´t seem that keen to go all the way to the top.

It was then on a bus and train to Aguas Calientes, the town in the valley below Machu Pichu. We were shifted out of our lovely double bedroom with a view of the river because another couple in our group had booked a double bedroom. We didn't even know that was an option, and neither did another couple in our group who got put in a tripple room. Anyway, we made do with out twin room with a view of an interior hallway out the window... maybe the company should also put room options on their website... Llama Path was pretty good, but the minor details that I mentioned stopped it from being a great experience. We had a group dinner, which was included, that night. The portions were very small and we paid about 4 times what we had beenin Cuzco for 2 lemonades (we could have bought a meal for two in Cuzco for the price of the lemonade), because drinks were not included. Everything is free for the guide though. Which is fair I guess, but when you pay a small fortune for a lemonade and he had a few beers because they are free, you feel your desire to tip reduce significantly.

Machu Pichu in the next post!