Lares Trek - we survived (just)

As I´m writing this you may have realised we survived our Lares Trek which began on 25 June - the alternative Inca Trail - just Steph and I were doing this trek, the others in the group left for starting the Inca trail in Ollyantaytambo the day before. After leaving at 5.45am from Cuzco and up some very rocky and windy roads, we visited Ancasmarca an Incan site on the way to the start of the trek.

At Ancasmarca at 7 in the morning

 The start of the trek with Belarus and Ilhenio. Don´t really know why we have our arms in the air!

We then headed to Lares to pick up bread rolls as gifts for all of the local children we´d meet. Our guide Huilo then introduced us to our cook Belarus (well that´s what it sounded like) and porter Ilhenio (although we were also having 3 horses to carry all of our stuff too!).

On a mish uphill

The first few hours we a slight uphill, and waiting at the end was a 3 course lunch, soup, chicken and chips and banana and caramel sauce! So we were a bit stuffed! We only had an hour and a half to get to camp, but we had a steep climb to it, absolutely knackering as we were over 4000m above sea level. We met some local familes and saw their houses (including many (live) guinea pigs running around!)

Cute local children at the end of day 1. How knackered do we look.

GUINEA PIGS!!!

Camp was all set up when we arrived, it was already very cold so we put more layers on and awaited yet another 3 course meal for tea! We went to bed around 9 as it was so cold, dark and we had an early start.

We slept ok, we weren´t cold in the night (well we must have both had around 6 layers on each plus thermals!) but there was frost on the ground when we woke, but at least the sun was shining again! The first 2 hours were a fairly steep uphill to 4600m, the highest on the trek. Hulio apparently said we did it in a quick time, but we felt pretty pathetic! We were rewarded at the top with an incredible view of a lake, surrounded by snowy mountains, and all very serene and peaceful.

Frost at 4200m. It was -5 during the night. Mmm toasty.

We made it to the top! Stunning lake to boot :)

The next section of the trek was pretty flat, until we got to a steep downhill which took me ages to get down whilst Steph and Hulio sped down - my knees were killing me and my toes! Luckily we were rewarded with lunch at the bottom of the hill - yep you guessed it another 3 course-r! We had to rest for a while for it to digest! The rest of the day was a fairly easy, flat walk, past many local families and children to whom we gave bread and the prezzies I´d brought from home (cheers for the pens and pencils Mother!)

Glad to see my old pens and pencils getting good use in Peru

Camp on the second night was in the middle of a local village´s footy field, and even though lower than the previous night seemed colded as it was deep in the valley and the sun had already started setting. Again, we put more layers on and had a great last night dinner - including alphabetic noodles!

The Lares Trek in noodles (the mayo is the snow capped mountains!)

Our last night´s sleep on the trek was only disturbed by braying bulls at 1am - seriously infruriating and a bit scary! We woke to sunshine again, setting off from camp about 7.30am. After a fairly easy walk we climbed a big hill to get to Pumamarca, another Inca settlement. From then on it was a fairly easy walk, until a few steep downhills, I think Steph and I were coming to the end of our tethers, it was v hot by then and we were knackered!

We finally arrived at Ollantaytambo to catch out train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu. We could barely walk by then so after getting to the hotel, having a shower and a quick bite, we had an early night for the 6.30am bus to Machu Picchu....