We had a long list of errands to run prior to beginning our 5 day journey in unknown conditions (unknown to me and Andrew that is). I needed to make sure I can take care and find a solution to my contacts situation and we needed to go to the Wayki office for our Inca Trail briefing at 10am. After having breakfast at the hotel, we headed straight to the briefing with our packed backpacks and gear. The briefing was helpful, we paid the remaining balance due for the hike/tour, met most of the people we would be hiking with, and discussed our itinerary in detail, managed expectations, and had our last minute questions answered. After the briefing, we had time to get lunch and run errands before heading out for the porter's village ("PV"). Not everyone in our tour signed up for this -- this was when I started to question whether we should have signed up for this!
Luckily, I was able to find an optical store that sold my Acuvue Oasys contact lenses - though I had to pay a fortune for them: $145USD for 2 boxes! Sigh. Oh well! It was worth it because I had no doubt I needed them. It took us a while to do this, but we still had some time to grab a bite. Andrew and I had these great pork sandwiches (spicy!) sold in small deli/restaurants near the Wayki office (we were being extra cautious about what we were eating) while Peter opted for street fare, where he had the most amazing fried chicken. I had a bite and it was heavenly, but I was worried my stomach could not handle the grease and questionable handling of the food since I was already feeling slightly off the past few days from altitude. The streets were super crowded with festivals and parades going on everywhere - we were visiting Cusco at a good time; it was the winter solstice and tons of celebrations were going on in the streets. Andrew and I even had time to quickly browse the street stands for a few quick souvenirs.
We met at the Wayki office, packed our duffel bag for the extra porter we hired, and hopped into our van en route to PV. The ride wasn't long - we made a stop where we were highly encouraged (hence the stop!) to purchase gifts for the porters' families. We picked up some groceries and toys as gifts. Upon arriving to PV, we had to hike up to the porter's home from the road on this super steep hill. I thought I was going to die - I had such a hard time climbing up which made me panic about the days ahead of me.
We slept around the corner from them in tents
Stunning view of rural Peru from porter's village
After settling in a bit, we were sent into the fields to help the farmers harvest corn. After all, this is what we signed up for -- experiencing what it's like to live like them! This was my favorite part of the PV experience - being on the field and harvesting crops. We had a great time and learned a lot from our kind guide. The farmers also offered us Chicha (corn beer) which was delicious! I really enjoyed it but did not take more than one sip given the sanitary conditions. We were also offered a variety of corn, beans, and potatoes in a bag with a spicy dipping (cheese?) sauce. I had a few pieces but was worried sick that I would get sick from eating with my dirty farming hands and food coming out of a rice bag. It was fun nonetheless doing and trying new things! Our work was done and we headed back to the house to have dinner in the kitchen.
Passing by donkeys in the fields
The girls are so comfortable with their animals and vice versa. So cute!
Harvesting corn on the fields
Having a great time :)
The produce from our harvest!
Corn fields and porter's village
Animals grazing about the land
Our mid-day snack of corn, potatoes, and beans
Sunset sky
[Left] Chickens hanging out in the porter's yard [Right] Peter helping porter's wife prepare dinner
The porter's wife made us a big dinner of cheese, potatoes, and other things I've never had before. It was a humble dinner, but truly authentic. After dinner, we moved from the kitchen to the "living room" where we met with the village's kids - they sang for us and we danced to some Peruvian music. It was very awkward in that it definitely felt forced but what did we expect lol. Afterwards, we distributed the gifts we brought - I wish we had more to share, we didn't know the whole village was going to show up! It was a long night and most of us were ready for bed. The tents were ready for us and we got acquainted with sleeping outdoors next to the outhouse for the night on a hill (mind you, it was on an incline so it felt as if we were sliding the whole night) with a range of animals surrounding us. It was intense. The night was really cold. I woke up in the middle of the night between freezing and having to pee really bad. I tried to hold it in but I could not hold it in. I woke up Andrew so he could help me navigate how to piss in the great outdoors. I knew the outhouse was quite harsh so I opted to just pee on the grass out in the open since it was pitch dark and no one was around (thank god for our headlamps and Andrew's Surefire - more on that later). Before going back to bed, I took all the clothes I brought with me and layered on at least 6 more layers to get warm so I could sleep. It was a rough night to say the least. I almost cracked. If anyone suggested returning home that night, I would have happily followed. This made me extremely nervous for the Inca Trail. We had to do this for 3 more nights and I seriously started to doubt whether I could make it.
