Our trek on day 3 was basically following the road to Lucamabamba. It was also time to say goodbye to our mulers and their mules who were returning to Soraypampa, taking 1 day rather than the 2 we took getting here. All our gear was now being transported in a van – a bit sad as it meant we were getting back into civilisation.
Fernando decided that we would walk the road because the track had experienced some slips and was too dangerous. Personally I think he made the call a lot earlier when he saw our ages. Anyway, it was fine for the the first couple of hours but soon the traffic started to pick up resulting in us being covered in dust. In addition, we could see the track winding through the jungle across the river looking far more enticing.
A lot of trekkers walked the first half of the track and then bussed the second half. We all agreed that no way would we want to drive along that road. The number of times the road was undercut by huge slips was scary, not to mention outright dangerous. We passed a huge grader doing road repairs that literally had 50cm spare either side of its wheels.
It was incredible to see where the locals grew produce. Seriously, some of the patches of land were on vertical cliffs. How they harvest them, never mind plant, is beyond me. We tried to take some photos but they just don’t do justice.
We arrived at Lucamabamba around 2 to find our campsite set up in a lovely private area at the back of a coffee plantation. Only 18.3km taking nearly 6 hours with a measly 400 of climbing today. Another magnificent lunch was followed by a planned kip in the sun. Firstly a group of German (?) tourists tried to crash our campsite only to be given a short shift by Fernando. Then as we were dozing off when we were interrupted by this awful noise over a PA system. A mixture of screeching voices and bad music. Turns out it was Mother’s Day and they were having a celebration in the field next door. However, Andy and I still managed to get some sleep through the noise.
Before dinner we had a tour of the coffee plantation (Katimore & Arabika coffee beans), got to pick, roast and grind and then drink our own coffee. Dinner was then followed by an incredible cake baked by Ebanhulio (on a camp stove!) to celebrate Daryl’s 50th. We then had some ales over a few games of cards.
Another early start to make sure we were in the cool air for our 3 hour climb. Daryl set a cracking pace which suited Deryn and I. The others trailed at a more leisurely pace. We passed quite a few trekkers on the way up, not surprising given that we reached the summit after only 90 minutes. Unfortunately in our haste we missed the famous swing over the valley at a coffee shop half way up.
However the benefit of our haste was that we had 90 minutes of privacy at the mirador just north of Llactapata with incredible views of the mountains and Machu Picchu in the distance. It was then a rather arduous descent for nearly 3 hours to Hidroelectrica and our final lunch with Ebanhulio and his crew. Andy and Daryl hoisted him on to their shoulders as a sign of respect for his incredible work. 13.1km, 7 hours and 980m of climbing on day 4.
We then boarded our train to the town of Machu Picchu and our interesting Flowers Hotel. Interesting in that the acoustics meant we could hear clearly Daryl showering in the room above. Fernando took us to his favorite local restaurant for our last meal together. A bit sad. Early to bed again as it was another 430am rise to get the 6am bus to Machu Picchu.
And its been a while since we shared a dog photo.
