From Cusco to the start of the Inca Trail

(September 23)

Our Inca Trail expedition began at the early hour of 5:15.  Our tour operator, Quechuas Expeditions would be picking us up at the hotel at 6:00 AM.  We finished up packing for the hike, and we took what would be our last shower for several days.  In addition to packing our daypacks and duffel bags for the hike, we had to re-pack everything from our backpacks that was not coming on the hike into our luggage that we would leave at the hotel.  At 6:00 we checked out and waited on the street our pickup van.  As we waited, every taxi that drove by tooted its horn asking if we needed to be picked up.  We didn't.  We saw several taxis unload groups of partiers from the night before (some still drinking beer).  The night before (Saturday night) we had begun to see the nightlife in Cusco come alive.  At 6:30 our van arrived - apparently the 6:00 pickup time was conservative.

The somewhat windy drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and the start of the Inca Trail

The drive from Cusco to the town of Ollantaytambo where we would start the hike was 1h30 minutes.  When we boarded the van, the three other "passengers" on our hike were already onboard -- New Zealanders K, V, and I.  After driving a few kilometers, the van stopped and our eight porters piled in along with an enormous pile of gear.  The porters came in the van and the gear went on the roof.  A few kilometers later we again stopped outside a market and bought bread.  A large plastic bag of bread was loaded, and after some banter in Spanish a single additional roll was tossed in the window for the driver to eat on the road.  After a few more kilometers, we again stopped in front of a store, and out came a 20lb propane tank. (20lb of gas, approx 40lb total weight). Just like the Blue Rhino tank you use with your gas grill at home.  Apparently all that gas would be coming with us on the Inca Trail.  Wow.  Our final stop en-route was to pick up our guide, Yawar, at  his (mother's) home outside Cusco.  Once we had Yawar, we could finally join the conversation in the van.  We passengers spoke only English, and everyone else spoke either Spanish or Quechua.

We arrived on-schedule in Ollantaytambo at 8:00, and it was time for breakfast.  (None of us had managed to have breakfast before our early 6:00 pickup.)  We ate at a restaurant offering an american breakfast with eggs, fruit, coffee, and bread for s/.12 ($5)  (s/. is the symbol for the Peruvian Nuevo Sol currency.  s/.12 is read "twelve soles (sol-ays)".

Breakfast restaurant

Breakfast restaurant

After breakfast some in our group purchased some last minute items (water and sunglasses), and we went to the ATM to again withdraw the maximum allowable amount (s/.400 = $159) to be used to tip our porters and guide at the end if the hike.

Next we drove a bit further from Ollantaytambo to "Kilometer 82" where we would start the hike.  The road we drove on got progressively smaller and smaller until we were driving down what seemed like a dirt path behind ramshackle dwellings.  Finally we pulled into a large open gravel area where another tour company was already unloading their van.

A and V stepping out of the van.  Notice all the gear on the roof.

It took about twenty minutes for our eight porters to load up all the gear into their large backpacks.  Each pack was carefully weighed to ensure that no pack weighed more than the legally-allowed 22kg (48lb).  The gear included food, cooking equipment, tents, and one small (<7kg) duffel bag for each passenger for our personal stuff (clothes, sleeping bag, and pad).

Porters packing the gear into large backpacks.  The red and black duffel bags on the tarp are our  personal stuff.

A short walk led us to the government control point and the official start of the Inca Trail.  Our passports were matched with our hiking permits and we were on our way.  Our porters had to stop at their own control point where the government weighed each backpack to ensure compliance with the 22kg limit.

Sign for the Km 82 starting point of the Inca Trail

Our group.

Porter checkpoint where each pack is weighed

Welcome to the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary (National Historic Pack)

We were now officially on the trail -- 26mi, 72 hours, and countless vertical feet of ascent, descent, and stone steps to go until Machu Picchu!