Cusco and Ausangate trek, near Tinque, Peru

Cusco was, by far, the richest place we´ve been so far. It is a very modern city with indoor shopping malls, fancy restaurants, and LOADS of tourists. The tourists make up a much greater cross section in this city than we saw in La Paz, with people of all different nationalities and ages roaming the streets (La Paz with has almost exclusively Israeli 20-somethings).

The best things to do in Cusco are to eat, drink, get massages, and shop. As expensive as those hobbies are, it was a bit dangerous for our budget. So we wandered the streets with famously old cathedrals and amazing, large walls of stone, then booked our next trek in the Andes.

A road near Tinque, Peru

We signed up for a 6-day, 5-night, guided trek around Nevado Ausangate – supposedly one of the top 10 hikes in the entire world.   At only $170/person, including a guide, horses, a cook, all food and transportation, the trip was a bargain. We had a terrific time and I could write pages about what happened on the trek and how beautiful the views were, but, instead, I will try to summarize the highlights.

Some curious children in a mountain village

Our group of 7 consisted of: (1) our guide, conveniently called “Guido,” who was a 20-year-old small guy who consistently gave us incredibly inaccurate information but was, otherwise, very nice; (2) Casiano, who we all called “The Horseman,” a stoic and experienced porter who worked several times harder than anyone else at every given moment by caring for all of our luggage and supplies, driving the horses in flip-flop-like shoes made of old tires, setting up and taking down camp every day, and cooking us hot, yummy home-made meals three times a day; (3) Violeta, a guide in training along to learn the route who did a whole lot of nothing and seemed to require a nap after peeling a carrot; (4) Jenny, a tourist from England and to-be lawyer with a soft spot for animals, (5) Alex, a good-humored Englishman and to-be financial analyst (he and Jenny are dating); (6) Michael and (7) myself.



Michael (and his new hat) with some traditional women who set up their ¨tienda¨ outside our tent

Our first night, we camped in a valley leading up the Ausangate mountain. Despite the miles of empty places where groups can camp, we, of course, ended up camping in the same 100-sqaure-foot area as a large Israeli group.  Fortunately, many of the boys (and *one* girl) were quite friendly and it turned into a bit of a party with lots of talking, wine, rum, a delicious three course meal prepared by The Horseman, and even a shared hookah. 



A llama farmer with one of her more tame llamas

The next day, we steadily climbed up the valley through marshy, low grasses and over small streams, passing llamas, sheep, traditional houses and watchdogs completely distraught with the unusual outsiders´ presence. One dog was particularly threatening, but when Guido threw a rock near it to keep it at bay, it eagerly chased the rock down like a much-wanted game of fetch. Perhaps it was just lonely :)

Crossing our first pass!

About the time we crossed over the highest pass of that day, the hail began. It hailed for the next several hours, on and off. We were a colorful group with red and orange jackets, pink, blue and yellow ponchos. The hail covered the next valley leading up to a glacial lake and our camp for the night with a heavy dusting of white, prompting Jenny to exclaim “it´s like Narnia!” It truly felt like some magical world we were entering.

 

Entering ¨Narnia¨

We had a short, impeccably-timed period of good weather that allowed us to set up our campsite for the evening. But, while sitting in our large cooking tent and waiting for dinner, the hail/snow began again and the wind began to really blow. Seemingly out of nowhere, a huge gust knocked down the side of the tent!  Jenny and I took our places as human tent poles to keep the whole structure from collapsing while Guido, Michael and Alex donned ponchos over their cold-weather clothes (looking awfully similar to teletubbies) and bravely went out into the storm to fix the tents.  The scene was quite chaotic.  As was his nature, the Horseman stoically re-lit the stove and carried on cooking as though nothing happened.  As was her nature, Violeta looked cold sitting in the corner. 

Everyone stayed in surprisingly good spirits, perhaps thanks to the rum and hot tea being passed around. Somehow during the fray, Alex found an old horses´ skull in the meadow which he cast into the tent after a strong gust of wind. Jenny and I both screamed but thought it was hilarious. After the tent was fastened securely and the tents salvaged, we enjoyed a wonderful meal, but for the men being covered in wet snow and rain. After a few more rum-teas, the wind died down and we went to bed. The sun dried everything out in the morning within a short time. Like clockwork, every afternoon we had a hail storm, some lasting longer than others, but that second day and night were particularly memorable.


Just another fantastic view on our trek, with llamas



Some llamas we passed on our trek

While not an informative guide, Guido did make some interesting contributions. Apparently he comes from a family of shamans and so, just below the highest pass of the trek (about 17,000 feet), he led us in a ritual to please the Apus (the mountain gods of Ausangate). We poured a little rum on the earth before taking a drink ourselves, made a wish on three coca leaves before burning them, and stood in silence while Guido said a prayer in Quechua, the traditional language of Peru. That was pretty cool.



Taylor on a ridge next to the glaciated Ausangate

A silhouette of Taylor with Ausangate in the background 

 Our last night we stayed near some thermal hot springs and had the traditional Pacha Manka, which means “earth oven” in Quechua. Basically, a lamb was slaughtered that morning by The Horseman´s son. Then The Horseman built a fire in a hole in the ground to heat of a bunch of rocks shaped like an igloo which were placed over the fire. Once hot enough, the sheep meat, yams and potatoes were inserted into the hole in the ground with the hot rocks, and then covered with grasses and dirt to cook for about 45 minutes. It was delicious. I´ve never eaten so much meat in my life. The little tienda below was well-stocked with cheap wine and our evening turned into quite a celebration, culminating in an enthusiastic drinking game of Quarters with all of our crew, even Violeta. We didn’t stumble to our tents until almost midnight, an unheard-of bedtime during a trek.



Our group around our Pacha Manka dinner, just before our game of Quarters began

Michael & Alex chowing down on some baby sheep

While the trek was awesome, it was a bit of a relief to get back to Cusco and have a nice long shower.