Room with a viewWe rise early, eat a hearty breakfast at the hotel then meet Angela at 7 a.m. The San Agustin Hotel graciously holds our luggage until our return tomorrow evening. Angela is prompt and reviews our trekking plan for Andean Lodges. We then gather up our daypacks and drybags with additional items. The drybags will be carried by llamas during our trek. Our trailhead is an 85-mile drive away, as soon as our driver arrives, we load up and head out of Cusco. Angela explains that we will drive through several communities on our way and will stop a few times for bathrooms and to experience some local culture. As we twisted and climbed higher and higher in the mountains, I was surprised to see villages and farming. Angela was a good cultural guide and explained what they are growing (potatoes, wheat, and quinoa) and how they can grow these items (ancient terraces and soil enrichment). We stop a couple of times to take photos and purchase a few handmade items from a small community. When we get out to meet our horseman and llameros, I feel the altitude and the remoteness of this area. Angela says that we are a little over 14k feet and our destination for today sits at around 15.7k feet. Our hosts make us a lovely avocado and chicken salad with tea, served on the loveliest tablecloth. The food on this trip is almost beyond belief, considering how high and remote we are. After lunch we head out and up, the terrain is much different than the Inca Trail. There really is not a well-defined path, it is sandy, and dry with lichen and rocky areas. We have a border collie that leads the way followed by us trekkers and Angela, then followed by llamas, a horse, and horseman. Angela says if we do not feel well due to the altitude or need a break, we can ride the horse. Lisa does do this for about a quarter of the hike today. Heidi, who is normally our strongest hiker, feels the effects of the altitude today and takes this hike slower than what I expected. For me, I take it slow and steady and do not seem to have too many issues. I can enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the cool air. Once we reach the pass, we can see our lodge in the distance as well as several glaciers shining in the afternoon sun. We make our way down and are greeted by one of our Quechua hosts with a conch shell horn. The Andean Lodge is an amazing feat of architecture in our location. There is no electricity here but solar provides warm water to wash up and there is a lovely wood stove in the main room with lots of comfortable seating. As we enter the lodge, we are guided to benches where we remove our shoes and place warm alpaca skin slippers on. Then our hosts guide us to tea service and our rooms upstairs. The rooms are nicely appointed with amazing views and private bath. The sun is starting to set, and I quickly unpack, shower, and run down for teatime. I feel tired and hot chocolate sounds amazing. I make myself a cup and walk toward the fire. Angela stops me and says that my lower lip is blue. I reassure her that I feel fine and was just running around. After I sit for a minute, the dusky lip resolves itself. However, I am reminded of the altitude and take precautions to conserve energy this evening. There are three travel parties staying in the lodge tonight (full capacity). We all mingle and learn about the other adventures. Some are completing a 4-night adventure with Andean Lodges and are on their fourth night, another group just completed a day of mountain biking before trekking with Andean Lodges. Some are heading for the Amazon or Inca Trail following this trek. It was an evening of lively conversation and courses of delicious food. Once in bed, I started to feel a little short of breath and slightly uncomfortable. The room was very cold, but our hosts provided a warm water bottle (we called them “babies” on the Inca Trail) to sleep with. We also were covered in layers of down and alpaca blankets. In a few hours, I would become warm and shed a few of the covers. Overall, I slept better than I thought I would.
