My trek along the Inca trail
to Machu Picchu by
Lindsay Quayle

As the song goes “Where do I begin.”  I have found it very surreal this week being back at my desk in Peel at work, remembering I was high up in the Andes trekking last week. It was one of the most amazing weeks of my life and I am so glad I had the chance to do it. 

.  Paddington	The flights out were never ending, from Isle of Man to London, London to Madrid, Madrid to Lima, Lima to Cuzco, which we missed because of a delay so had to wait another few hours for the next flight. And of course, I just had to take Paddington home to Peru!	The group checks-in
The funniest thing I remember was  Pete, from Global challenges, pushing a trolley along with  2 “portaloos,” he was bringing out for our camp sites. Some weird comments flew about!  We finally arrived in Cuzco and caught the bus to our Hotel, which was superb. It was a smallish place and all the rooms centred around a middle courtyard, it was really pretty and the staff were really helpful and also spoke perfect English. .		Garcilaso Hotel

The authorities were trying to persuade the parents to send the children to school and if the children brought home too much money, the parents felt they were better off selling on the streets.  I had started to feel a bit sick with the change in altitude so after an evening meal I went to bed quite early

Saqsaywaman	We were all up early the following day, (a lovely choice of breakfast at the hotel) and loaded into a coach to take us to see some of the old Inca architectural sites, Mainly one called “Saqsaywaman” a lot of these have only been uncovered in the last 20 or so years and are still being excavated.  We were split into smaller groups and our guide “Effi” took us round and talked to us about the history of the place.	Our Guide Effi
All the guides spoke perfect English and are so proud of their country and it’s heritage. A lot of records have been lost as they were destroyed when the Spanish invaded, they either killed off the people who had the history to verbally pass down the generations, or destroyed any written records.   We hiked for miles after visiting the sites, up and down mountains and hills, it was very hot. It was really bizarre to find at lunch time a couple of awnings set up in the middle of nowhere and a lovely lunch being served for us.   We trekked on after lunch going through some beautiful scenery, until we met up with our coach and another historical site. I was feeling really sick by this time and waited in the coach.   On getting back to the hotel I had a shower and changed and we went out for a lovely meal, but I couldn’t eat too much. I was so upset at feeling the altitude sickness. I  had some rehydration salts as I felt maybe I had had too much sun as well. Miraculously, the next morning I felt so much better and we all had an early breakfast and sorted our backpacks and water and piled onto the coach for the beginning of the Inca Trek .   It was quite a long ride ( about an hour I think) to the  last town before the start of the trek. We found the toilets, and bought rubber tips for our hiking poles, you have to have them on by law as the trail is eroding with all the metal tips. Lots of ladies walking around with baskets with rubber tips, poncho’s for the rain, headscarves, most of us bought something. Then back on the coach for another hour to the railway station where the train takes the “non” hikers up to Macchu Picchu.   There was great excitement amongst us all as we got to the bridge that starts the trail.  We had our permits and passport checked, then a group photo. Then it was over the  rickety bridge and the start of the trek. We climbed up for quite a while and eventually it evened out and we stopped for a break. Then it was on again , up and up. It was getting quite high.   Oh My God is that what  we have to climb Starting point for the rail travellers At the start of the climb the view of Cuzco My last chance to turn back! We've started and it is already very steep I can’t remember all the time factors as I was too tired to keep up with my journal every day, and it was usually dark by the time we got to camp, so it was a bit hazy, but the most amazing thing was all the porters carrying all the equipment for camp would be racing past us and camp would all be set up when we arrived.   The first lunch stop we were treated to a three course lunch in tents all set up before we arrived and served by chefs in spotless whites. It was bizarre. We refilled water bottles, had comfort breaks and carried on . We hiked most of the afternoon, stopping for a snack break half way until we arrived at our first camp site. The porters and chefs were all there with the guides, clapping and cheering as we arrived. (I was always near the back the first couple of days ) We were then all introduced to the porters. What an amazing bunch of guys. Most of them are farmers and they do this to make money while they wait for crops to be ready. They were all so cheerful.   Our fantastic porters Swollen due to altitude Our camp site My tent Our dining room!

It was our first night under canvas, mostly 2 to a tent, a bit cramped but I slept really well, We were woken early with a cup of coca tea ( for the altitude sickness ) As we were camped by a farm there were various animal noises all night such as cocks crowing, donkeys braying, dogs barking.  
After breakfast we set off for the highest point of the trip, to Dead Woman’s Pass, so called as it is reckoned that the view between the mountains at the top looks like a woman lying down, nothing to do with the effort of getting there!  

Some of the younger ones made it easily, but a few of us straggled at the back until there were half a dozen of us then just me and Rosie, the Doctor and one of the guides. They offered to carry my backpack, but I was determined to make it myself.  A sight I will never forget is being well back down the mountain, and the early arrivals all at the top shouting encouragement, it was fantastic. I eventually made it, second to last and the cheers went up.

After a rest and photo shoot, it started to rain so the guides wanted to get us on the move as it can be very slippery when wet and we had a long way to go down . From 4,600 metres to our campsite at 3,900 metres.

Up early again the next morning as we had a long day ahead of us. Every morning we were woken at 5am by the porters with a hot drink, usually coca tea for the altitude, then afterwards we  had a bowl of hot water each left outside the tent to clean ourselves as best we could.  This camp site was next to a very fast flowing river and in the middle of the night when I got up to use the toilet, I got quite disorientated and was worried I would end up in the river. However, every night the porters took it in turns doing hourly shifts to walk around the camp sites, so it wouldn’t happen, I would have been stopped before I fell in I am sure, but it was still quite scary.

We trekked for most of the day, stopping for a snack break and water refill if needed.  All in all we were on the go for nearly 12 hours with breaks, and the last few of us reached our final camp around 6-30pm.  Joy of joys, this was quite a big site with SHOWERS, it was well worth paying for a shower. Certainly not luxury, quite basic, but heaven after washing in a bowl for 3 days and trying to keep clean with wet wipes ! 
Again, a lovely meal set up for us and early to bed. Some stayed up and had a few beers at the bar on the site, but I was ready for my sleeping bag. 
The guides had decided that we would not leave too early next morning as there was another camp set up with loads of Americans, who were up and about and making a lot of noise from about 4am . We were woken at 6am , but most of us were up anyway. After breakfast we all sorted out our tents and backpacks, then the head guide called us all together.  He gave thanks and bid farewell to the porters, who were going back to Cuzco. 

We then left for a final trek to Machu Picchu, by this time the altitude was even lower than Cuzco and I was on top form.  What can I say about Machu Picchu? It was magical, wonderful, spiritual. amazing.
Our guide, Rueben, explained various buildings as we went round, a lot of the knowledge is supposition as I explained earlier, most records are lost, though Rueben said there are some in Spain , which Peru are trying to get back. 

Below you'll see one of my pictures which show the windows all matching perfectly.  Their knowledge of the land, the tiered system for farming to stop erosion and hold water, the sun stone, which was worshipped, placed exactly to catch the sun as it rose in the morning, there was also a sundial that was very accurate. There were lots of rooms their use can only be guessed at. One that was like an altar, which it is assumed was used for sacrificial offerings to the gods, whether animals or young maidens or both is not known.:  There are houses that were presumably for the higher ranking people and other areas for the workers.  It is a whole city, and so much bigger than you would think from the pictures.  We couldn't get around all of the site in our allotted time.
The following are just a few of the many photos I took when we reached that magical plateau:
But first, here is a 90 second video that shows the majesty of these mountains click to view

I hope my pictures convey some of the majesty of this beautiful city and its surroundings, the mountains were stunning, but they cannot do it full justice, nor can my descriptions. There is a train route if ever you decide it is a “must see” trip. You don’t have to take the journey we took, but it does make it even more special when you have walked the original trail that the Inca’s took all those years ago.
After dropping off all our stuff at the hotel and reclaiming our bags, it was lovely to have a shower and put on clean clothes. A few of us went shopping for bits we needed, then back to the Hotel. I had the luxury of just lying on my bed and reading for a little while and having a doze until it was time to meet up for dinner. We were taken to yet another superb place to eat and I think nearly all of us celebrate with wine or Beer or some sort of drink that wasn’t water! 

On the Friday, our free day we had been given the choice of visiting a local school set up by an English lady who was trying to get more girls educated, or we could go river rafting, or just have a day to go shopping or whatever. I opted for the river rafting as it is not something I'd have ever done and there is little chance on the Island as we don’t have the rapids.
While a couple of instructors inflated the raft, another fixed us all up with the right sized suits and boots. The instructors went over all the safety precautions with us, and explained that the starting point on the river looked quite easy and was flowing at a fairly good speed, but not to be taken in, as it was fast. They normally rate river rafting from 1-6, one being a mild swirling to 6 being “we get out and walk around this one.”  We were going to be doing level 2 and 3. It was really exciting going along and then suddenly seeing this bubbling cauldron of water coming up, nothing too rapid , but for novices like most of us,  it was great and the instructor guided us around rocks and into the “fray” , I really enjoyed it. We were on the river for about 2 hours in all, we had one little break were we met up with the other two boats and had a quick snack & drink to keep our energy up and to get us ready for the last couple of rapids which were much faster.  

We're all kitted out

We're ready to roll

Quiet to begin with

It got a lot rougher

We all met up at the hotel with those of the group who had been to see the school and exchanged stories and pictures, then it was shower and change to look dressed up for the first time in days to go out for our celebration dinner.
What an evening, it was superb. The buffet was great. The entertainment was provided by local musicians and dancers and they were excellent, the music was good, the dancers  energetic and the costumes so colourful. The atmosphere was buzzing with us all exchanging stories and the wine etc flowed freely. 
Pete from Global challenges gave a little speech thanking us all for taking part and thanking all the guides. Mark from IOMCC also thanked us all and said it had been the biggest single fundraiser for the Children’s Centre. We were all presented with a medal to say we had done the trail. Then Effi of the guides gave a lovely speech and presented every one of us with a necklace with the Chakana Symbol. We were all very emotional.  Here are just a few of my pictures from our last night in Peru.

Would I do it again, probably not as I found it really tough , but I would recommend anyone to have a go, it was the most amazing and challenging thing I have ever done and a wonderful achievement, Macchu Picchu was magical and stunning, and in my time, I have climbed Ayres Rock (to the top) and the Sydney Harbour bridge, but this was the best.

 I have never fancied Skydiving or bungy jumping, so I’ll have to think what I could do next, I quite like the idea of the 10 day trek through the Grand Canyon , but that’s for another day.

Thank you for taking such an interest in my trek, it has really been appreciated, and I have been asked already to do a couple of talks with slide shows. My fund raising far exceeded my expectations and I now have over the £3,000 needed, with more to collect yet. So a very big thank you to all those generous people who donated money, bought raffle tickets, tombola tickets, came to see the show my daughter put on etc etc . I am overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness.

God bless you all and thank you again

My biggest thanks to my husband Bernie who has continued to support me all the way through his illness, encouraging me to take photo’s and write about my training, which was hard as I was back and forth to the hospitals in the UK,  and when he was home, in between treatments, I didn’t want to leave him on his own for too long. Then the last few weeks when we knew he would be finishing his treatment just after my departure date ,he  insisted I must still go after all I had done to raise the funding, and the buying of all the equipment and the training. Thank God , he is recovering well and so may it continue, and my grateful thanks to him for everything.   
Lindsay