Day 1: Trek to Machu Picchu

Raul & the Q'ente team pick me up from my hostel at 8:00am. He seems to have an entourage, and they are all very polite and help me with my bag. We picked up Sanjay & Nirupa, my two travelling companions, from their hotel. I was a bit worried about travelling with a couple for 7 days, but they couldn't have been better people. They are funny and great to be around, and they made for great travel mates and friends.

We took a 2 hour ride to Mollepata, which is where we would begin our trek. We met our cook (Telivio) and his assistant, as well as the man that owned the mules that we would be using for the first 3 days to carry the tents, food, and our main rucksacks. All I had to do was carry my daypack; it was great. We only hiked for 4 hours, and we already arrived at our camp. The service that we're receiving is behind my expectations. For lunch, I assumed that we'd have cold food and sit on the ground to eat. They brought along a table and four very basic folding camping chairs. For lunch, I had a vegetable stir fry. Hot food! The cooks had also prepared hot water and placed it in warm basins, along with soap and a towel. This was the definition of luxury.

Our camp for the night was a secluded grassy area filled with horse shit. It sounds worse than it really was, as all of the manure had already dried. You just had to kick it out of the way when you wanted to sit down. We were protected from the wind on all sides, and the view of the surrounding mountains was fantastic. We were playing cards after dinner, and I don't think that I've laughed that much in a long time. Raul taught us a game called Nervioso, which requires you to slam your hand on the table when a certain type of card is flipped over.

Something that I would come to realize and cherish over the next few days was the solitude. We did not see any other tourists until we reached the Inka Trail. The 7 day trek past Mt Salkantay isn't the most popular trip for tourists, and I was surely glad of this. The trek felt like more of an adventure when it was just the 8 of us and the mules.