Latin American Adventures: March 2015

I chose to do this trek for a few reasons. I have never really pushed myself like this, and after reading numerous reviews of "hardest trek of my life", I was intrigued. Another reason is that the all-famous Machu Piccu is overrun with thousands of tourists a day and I'm pretty sure is the most photographed place in the world. Although touristy activities can be fun, it seemed kind of cliche to go there just because everyone else does. I wanted adventure and peace, and that is exactly what I got with Choquequirao...mixed with pain and exhaustion.

I was originally planning to trek it with a company, but since I am solo, it was hard to plan something with a group since so few people do this. I was told that I could take the bus to a little town called Cachora (the gateway to the trek) and rent a mule and guide for however long I wanted for a whole lot cheaper.

So the morning of at 5am I wake up and am on a shuttle to Cachora by 5:45. On the way there was a landslide, so we were stopped waiting for the cleanup and the driver suggested I walk and find a taxi. I end up walking for about 20 minutes no taxi, and the van picks me back up. 2 more taxi rides later I arrive in Cachora (the van service only brought me so far).

The taxi driver and I start asking around for a mule and there are not many people around. We get to this little supply shop with a couple men and a kid inside and they start making calls for me. I sit down while waiting and Orlando (the oldest man in the shop) pours me some beer. We sit there waiting for his friend who was going to be my guide for around half hour, Orlando making sure my glass was never empty, making small talk. Sooner or later a man walks up who was going to be my guide. Now I was told I could do the whole thing in around 300 soles (just under $100) and I had rented my camping equipment the day before for a little over 100 soles, so I thought I would be fine with the 360 soles I had on me (no atms nearby). Turns out it wasn't enough for the 5 days I wanted, so I settled on 4 days (thinking that food was included). The guy leaves to get his stuff ready and comes back after another half hour or so...I am still drinking. We are about to leave when I ask if he should buy some food in advance only to realize that it was not included, so he ends up just walking away. After a moment of "wtf now?" Orlando turns to me and says "Ok vamos" (let's go). He said he would do it (without mule) carrying my backpack and including food for 80 soles a day. I graciously accepted, we ate lunch, and crammed a moto to the trailhead (saved us 2 hours of walking on a dirt road).

The first day we descended down to the river. From the river to the top is around 7,000 feet, took us around 3 hours with breaks. Along the way down there were 3 different camp sites with bathrooms and running water and locals living there, selling good, drinks, ect. We passed the first 2 and ended up at "La playa" on the river. We went to bed nice and early inside on mattresses to prepare for waking up early the next day (save time not having to take down tent, ect.)

Day 2 we wake up dark and early and are walking by 4am. It is a good idea to beat the sun, as the trail to Choquequirao is steep. And long. By around 8 or 9 we reach our breakfast spot in a little pueblo with no more than 15 houses where they grow corn and raise animals. Since Orlando knew all the locals, he had them make us a delicious breakfast of eggs, rice, and greasy French fries with caramelized onions. I could not have been more satisfied after 4-5 hours of trekking uphill. To that point we had traveled around 5 miles, but had climbed a good 6,000 feet (it's at the same if not higher elevation than the site).

After breakfast we continue on and another 2 hours or so we arrive to the site! I am literally exhausted at this point, traveling probably less than a mile an hour, still going up. First site of the ruins was pretty nostalgic. I was in the most remote location I have ever been in and there was nothing but vast canyons and mountains surrounding us. These ruins were on as steep as a hill could be, and a very large one at that. We explore the ruins uninterrupted by nobody (only saw 2 other people the whole time, plus the day workers). Walking on the steps, touching the rocks, all I could think about was who was here 500 years before doing the exact same thing, but as normal everyday life. The site was huge with ruins scattered all over the mountain on all sides. Nothing was exactly like the pyramids or Stonehenge where you couldn't imagine how it was built, but just seeing solid remnants of another civilization hundreds of years a before in such a remote and beautiful place was about as special as it gets. Apparently it is only 30% excavated as well, which means that it is larger than the infamous Machu Piccu if it were totally uncovered!

After a few hours of hiking up and downnn and up and down we head back. My goal was to make it to the second campsite down, but when we eventually got there Orlando said it was only half hour more to the river where we would be able to sleep in and on mattresses. When we arrived at La playa it was dark; we had been traveling for 15 hours and walking for 12 of them. I was literally dumbfounded that I had the ability to ascend and descend a total of around 11,000 feet in around 14 miles in one day. After sitting down for a couple minutes, trying to get up was almost impossible. But I made it! My legs, knees, feet, and arms were about as sore as could be, but I was so hyped that I just did that, that it was actually kind of hard to fall asleep! I took some ibuprofen and elevated my knee on my backpack to prepare for the next day (no meniscus is not fun).

The next day after a good 10 hours of sleep, we woke up at 7 and ate some pasta breakfast and headed up. About an hour into it my knee was hurting, so I took some more ibuprofen and wrapped my knee up nice and tight with a bandage I had. Another hour into it I was in excruciating pain and had to take another breather. Luckily we had passed the worst, steepest part but I was a little worried. Definitely pushed it to my ultimate limit the day before. Orlando offered to carry my daypack so I was lightened and just had my hiking poles. He pushed me to my limits, but also saved me carrying all the equipment. After that I was actually fine and 2 hours later we arrived at the trailhead where we started! Hiking all that we did the day before seriously conditioned me because even though it was still up the whole way, I powered through it almost easily. Since we had no service to call the moto to pick us up, we had to walk another mile or 2 to be able to call him (luckily it was flat).

The moto took us to a taxi, and I said bye and thanks to Orlando. I gave him my canvas backpack as a thank you which he was very gracious for. The taxi took me to a town where I caught a bus back to Cuzco and was back in town by nighttime.

All in all, vale la pena (it was worth it). I completed the hardest trek of my life and did it in 3 days nonetheless! I contributed to the local economy practicing responsible tourism and I was able to make Orlando's life easier giving him my pack. That thing has taken me through Central and South America twice and on the hardest trek of my life. It needed some work with some sewing and the zipper, but it lives on and I couldn't be more stoked.

I also want to note that I am proud of myself for staying hydrated the whole time (my ultimate downfall is muscle cramps and headaches which I get too often working hard). I had water tablets that took 2 hours to use and had 2-3 water bottles that I switched off with, constantly reminding myself to take sips.

And now for the photos..I hope you enjoy them and that they give you a glance at the highs of my trip. If you are still reading I hope I didn't bore you.

Passing through the landslide area on the way to Cachora

The town of Cachora and one of the few paved roads. The houses are made of mud bricks and the paint is for political elections.

First views of the trek, not bad.

Orlando, my mule and my guide.

It's hard to capture, but the wildflowers were off the hook! Along the way I saw every color.

La playa and the angry river. Since the construction of this bridge in 2002, the river has claimed 2 lives of people falling. I got some cool slomo footy of it.