Part 2 - You gotta cough to get off
Day 6
The evening before I dreamt of peanut butter, honey, junk food and video games. This day (while i was happy to be alive and well) was the first day of really not wanting to keep going - I was exhausted. This section of the trek was also the least described in my guide notes and having got (the usual) vague directions from the locals I set out a little apprehensively.
I followed the mighty Yanama River downstream to cross a makeshift bridge and followed the path through rainforest to a creek crossing. While I assumed I had to follow the path I got a little confused for a bit looking between two sets of two farms that both might have been my markers. The path eventually brought me to a campesino who pointed me upwards and onwards. I climbed and climbed, finally coming to the edge of the forest and a view of the grand expanse of the Valley Quelchamachay which was split down the middle by a huge wedge of lower mountains. As I continued around the valley the path dropped as did my spirits, as I knew the end goal on the morrow was a pass of 4600m which I was nowhere near at the time.
The vegetation on the steep slope was mainly intact due to scarce inhabitation of humans and I passed through more gorgeous cloud forest and waterfalls - there was no shortage of water on this section of the trek due to the protected and snow-fed microclimate. Down down I went and finally reached the river where I lunched and questioned a passing father and son for directions. It was sublimely beautiful. And i was on the right path, so pack up your spilt milk and soldier on, cowgirl. The cloud forest continued to impress me as did the multitude of birds flitting about.
Slowly a stark granite massif revealed itself to me - it was very reminiscent of the Fitzroy and Torres del Paine mountains in Patagonia. Being the only person there made it all the better and with every passing viewpoint was revealed more spectacular scenery. It was definitely the most beautiful day of the trek and one of the most scenically beautiful of my life - next to the magic river in basically uninhabited wilderness with the mist swirling around the Tolkien forest. It was an awesome walk and defintely inspirational, which was great for me as I was absolutely shattered from so much hard uphill.
Dark rainclouds threatened to unleash and did drop one or two, but I kept them at bay through sheer denial (and a little cloud-bursting). The last part of the day was a gentle climb into a surreal valley with a few cows and horses following the Inca stones. I set camp early, saw my campo friends from earlier again (people actually live there!?¿¡) and explored upvalley a little. My ultimate pass for the morrow was very close to the nevados and from my vantage point seemed nigh on impassable. Then I noticed the Inca road slowly traversing and ascending to a faint path to the top. Looked like fun to me!
Day 7
I`d set my alarm for early but woke at 130am due to being camped at around 4100m near glaciers. In the morning I scraped a thick layer of frost from my fly before setting off on the brilliant Incan path. I again saw the campesinos who seemed to be walking out of the steep bowl into nowhere - where the hell where they going? I took many breaks on my way to the base of the steep incline from where I was mentally steeled to execute a Galaga-fied ascent. In the end this wasn`t really necessary because of a decent path, and I was soon climbed into the snow towards the 4650m high Choquetacarpo Pass. Clouds swirled around the snow again and i was rewarded with great views back down the valley and over the two ranges to my right and left.
Getting to the top was a great moment as I knew I had finished the hardest ascent of the whole trek and (although there was another high pass going towards Espiritu Pampa) it was figuratively all downhill from there. I added to the many cairns dedicated to the mountain spirits, forced salty balls (yuk!) down my throat for energy and set off downwards to Huancacalle, still some 15km away. According to a official sign this path was protected Incan heritage and indeed it was consistent and very impressive in its construction with small bridges, proper drainage and some very wide sections. The last section became a dirt road which made for fast walking and I made good time, eager to reach the town where I planned to have a rest day.
I was pretty zombified by now and I was having serious concerns about whether I`d be able to continue - after eating my provisions for six days I was pretty much over them; my financial situation appeared very tough and of course I wasn`t in the best physical shape. I stumbled on past pathetic drunks that claimed to be guides (everyone is a guide here :) who automatically assumed I was with a tour company. I figured I might as well just get a $ sign tattooed to my forehead to make it easier for the Peruvians to understand what I was about as it sometimes seemed like thats all they see in me. I passed a couple and a 4wd, who after some tentative converstation invited me to join them back to Huancacalle - whoo hoo! But (fair enough I guess) they were interested in talking to me about lots of stuff as usual and i really didn`t have the energy to communicate in Spanish, luckily Dom spoke slowly to me and I got through with minimal pain.
As we entered small but nice enough Huancacalle we ran over a small pig - i watched the process of it quickly dying then the proceeding discussion of apologies and what to do from there including talk of paying for it - that definitely wouldn`t happen in Australia as the driver had taken due care but the pig was just slow and careless. So with carcass next to my backpack we continued down to Pucyura, the land of Internet and I soaked up the technology, charged my Ipod (!) and inhaled some chocolate greedily. Of course though, someone wanted me to buy something, even in the Internet place. The girl working there, Rutme, pronounced "Rootme", had a boyfriend called Roger (not pronounced "Rogerme") who carved scenes into wood like the olden day Cusco scene he showed me. Very fine work indeed.
I walked back up to Huancacalle and found exactly what I`d wished for coming into town that day - a camping place with a kitchen and electricity to charge my camera batteries - yes! So after waiting for and bartering with the resident manager Apolenar I had a great price, a place to rest easy and cook my savoury burgers and chocolate balls into a yummy soup and some nice company - Apolenar hand-crafted amazing textiles on a loom from alpaca and sheep wool and sold them for very little compared with his dedicated input. I checked the time as at Quelcamachay my phone had decided to reset itself and I after not checking the time had guestimated... upon confirmation it turned out to be exactly right... I am the legend of all legends. According to the guest book Apo had a steady trickle of visitors but I was the only one for my two nights. For every bowl of delicious salty broth he accepted from me he provided me with an appreciated cafe, bread roll and a chat- cheers Apolenar and Huancacalle Community Camping :)
Day 8
The next day I slept in until 730, whoo hoo! Free of the gorilla-on-my-back I stepped light as a featha to Vitcos, a restored Incan estate atop a hill just over the way from the township. Again the Incas had great eyes for the grandiose, symbolic and beautiful and with a spectacular setting made for another amazing experience - like the snow-capped mountains in Patagonia the Incan action was getting a little ho-hum! The terraces of Los Andenes were next on the agenda with terraces and carved boulders and then on to Yumi Rumac, a set of moated canals and carved rockery around a sacred boulder. The place had a solid feel to it and I sat for a while in front of the rock soaking the ambiènce of its carved steps and symbology. One collection of stone piece was arranged (or carved) into a perfect line such as I`d rarely seen in Incan stonework. Very cool - I then followed the Incan path back to town and enjoy some Peruvian local radio at Apolenar`s... loud male voices yelling at you enhanced with maximum 80`s effects over the top of local music. The music seemed a combination of Chinese love-twang and country/blues, by necessity including lyrics from the following selection - "corazon", "mi amor", "why have you left me¿", "i love you so much" etc.
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