The Inka Trail, Day 2. The Easy Part.

We woke up the next morning to find the hills surrounding the valley wreathed in mist. As was the case every morning of the trip, we were greeted with steaming cups of coca tea waiting at the front of our tent.

Our tent was pitched on a grassy slope inhabited by three donkeys. It was conveniently close to the outhouse, which featured a hole in the ground framed by a set of ceramic foot pads. Thanks to our headlamps, we  managed not to fall in in the pitch dark.

As soon as we got up we were led back to the kitchen for breakfast. Another delicious soup and a piping hot drink made of ground fava beans and cinnamon. It sounds weird, and it was, but it was also quite tasty. First the fava beans are dried and roasted over the fire, then they are ground to a powder on a stone slab with a two-handed stone pestle. The powder is then mixed with water, flavored with cinnamon, and served as a hearty, filling breakfast drink.

We had just started breakfast when our trekking guide, Jose Condor, showed up, ready to hit the road. A flurry of porters took down our tent and away we went, too quickly to get a photo with our host family.

On the way to the trailhead, we passed many villages.

Finally, we reached our staging area. It looked like rain.

The porters packed and left quickly. Soon, it was just Jose Condor and us.

After a short walk, we reached the official start of the Inka Trail. Or, I should say, of this section of this Inka Trail. There are actually 40,000 miles of Inka trails, comprising many different routes, but this is the section most people call "The Inka Trail."

We walked past the porter's weigh station. Jose told us that the government and the porter's union have instituted strict rules about how much each porter can carry. It's set now at 20 kg. Before, companies used to exploit the porters in all sorts of ways, but Jose assured us that the worst companies have been run out of business, and the porters do pretty well now. This is a second job for most of them. Most of the time they are farmers.

Once we crossed the river, the going was mostly flat, only gradually climbing as the river dropped away below us.

As we climbed, the clouds opened, and the sun appeared.

There were some ups and downs (mainly ups), but on the whole it was a fairly easy six-hour hike through incredible scenery, sprinkled with the occasional ruin.

We reached camp just before sundown. The porters had been there long since and had already set up our tent and cooked us dinner. Carlos, the cook, had made a huge spread, including an exceptionally delicious trout stewed in tomatoes and onions. The man can cook. We ate very well indeed on the trek.

We watched the sun set on the snow-capped peaks across the valley. As the stars came out, Jose and I compared astronomy notes. I have a good command of the northern constellations, but know next to nothing about the southern sky, so Jose was a great help. The moon was nearly full, so the stargazing was fairly minimal, however.

Next: climbing the Endless Stairs of Death.

P.