Saturday, October 06, 2007
Machupicchu - camino inka
Well what can I say about both of these that hasn´t already been said. Machupicchu is now one of the wonders of the modern world and camino inka has long been one of the classic walks of the world. And rightly so, for both, as they are fantastic. But, if you want a step-by-step talk through of the walk then you need to look else where, maybe on a travel blog. Although this maybe looking more and more like a travel blog it isn´t by my intention.
So here´s my comments:
When we arrived at Machupicchu there was hordes of turists from agua calientes, ie all those who didn´t to the camino. Maybe a good idea would be to allow the walkers who get up at 4am to get there for early morning to have a few hours and then to let in all the rest. The 4 day walk is like a pilgrimage to machupicchu the royal city of the Inkas, and all you can hear is some obnoxious loud American talking, well, almost shouting. Maybe I need to justify what I just said. On this trip and others I´ve met Americans and they´ve been top people but there are a certain percentage, who are obnoxious. The same can be said of the British abroad and other nationalities. So please don´t be offended if you one of the former group as it´s been a pleasure to meet you.
If I had gone for the easier route I would have missed out, and not had a respect for what the inkas had created. I don´t think that people who may not be able to complete the trek should miss out but I think the people who do do it, should get the experience they were expecting. I think it is possible to have a balance.
Talking to one of our guides we found out that there has been a lot of changes with the agencies. He said 5 years ago they didn´t supply guides with tents and they had to go and find a cave to sleep in for the night. They now do provide a tent, albeit a two man tent for as many as three. But, the shock is the porters who 5 years ago didn´t have a limit on what they could carry. Apparently often carrying 40kg+. They now have a maximum of 20kg. But it´s hard to believe that the packs they carry, I would guess are at least 120 litres, are lighter than that. After they´ve had the "weigh in" they certainly are open two taking on more for a price. And who can blame them, with a wage for a day of s/20 to 25, they are working for survival not for profit. Also their days are long, the cook was providing food at 6am and carrying a gas canister big enough for the 4 days and for 15 people, along with the rest of the tooks of his trade, setting everything up for lunch and again at the evening camp for dinner. Thanks, Jose Maria (that´s his nickname I´ve forgot is real name). How many English twenty one year olds could russle up a 3 course dinner for 15 people, and good food at that, on a mountain.
The agency gave an indication that you should tip upto s/40 for the porters we gave 60. I don´t know what other goups gave, but we wanted to give more for this group who work so hard for so little.
So what have I learned from this is, maybe we should be asking agencies about the native people who will be working on this kind of trip and how they will be treated, and not just thinking about how will I be treated.
So here´s my comments:
When we arrived at Machupicchu there was hordes of turists from agua calientes, ie all those who didn´t to the camino. Maybe a good idea would be to allow the walkers who get up at 4am to get there for early morning to have a few hours and then to let in all the rest. The 4 day walk is like a pilgrimage to machupicchu the royal city of the Inkas, and all you can hear is some obnoxious loud American talking, well, almost shouting. Maybe I need to justify what I just said. On this trip and others I´ve met Americans and they´ve been top people but there are a certain percentage, who are obnoxious. The same can be said of the British abroad and other nationalities. So please don´t be offended if you one of the former group as it´s been a pleasure to meet you.
If I had gone for the easier route I would have missed out, and not had a respect for what the inkas had created. I don´t think that people who may not be able to complete the trek should miss out but I think the people who do do it, should get the experience they were expecting. I think it is possible to have a balance.
Talking to one of our guides we found out that there has been a lot of changes with the agencies. He said 5 years ago they didn´t supply guides with tents and they had to go and find a cave to sleep in for the night. They now do provide a tent, albeit a two man tent for as many as three. But, the shock is the porters who 5 years ago didn´t have a limit on what they could carry. Apparently often carrying 40kg+. They now have a maximum of 20kg. But it´s hard to believe that the packs they carry, I would guess are at least 120 litres, are lighter than that. After they´ve had the "weigh in" they certainly are open two taking on more for a price. And who can blame them, with a wage for a day of s/20 to 25, they are working for survival not for profit. Also their days are long, the cook was providing food at 6am and carrying a gas canister big enough for the 4 days and for 15 people, along with the rest of the tooks of his trade, setting everything up for lunch and again at the evening camp for dinner. Thanks, Jose Maria (that´s his nickname I´ve forgot is real name). How many English twenty one year olds could russle up a 3 course dinner for 15 people, and good food at that, on a mountain.
The agency gave an indication that you should tip upto s/40 for the porters we gave 60. I don´t know what other goups gave, but we wanted to give more for this group who work so hard for so little.
So what have I learned from this is, maybe we should be asking agencies about the native people who will be working on this kind of trip and how they will be treated, and not just thinking about how will I be treated.
