Choquequirao! We Did It!!!!!!!!

I´ll start by saying that climbing Choquequirao was bloody hard! Its actually a harder, more gruelling climb than Machu Pichu ha!
When Mum and I heard that Machu Pichu was definatly closed due to all the flooding and land slides, we were quite disheartened, however, our tour company put Choquequirao to us instead. We origianlly thought this may be some lame attepmt to keep our money and send us on a crappy walk which wouldnt in anyway compare to Machu, BUT on doing a little reseach and deciding to take a chance, we ended up taking on this amazing challenge and having such an incredible 4 days of a trek, and we both think that it was as good or maybe even better than doing the famous Machu Pichu. Heres our story......

Day 1, up and about super duper early, wake up call time was 4:30am! wowee! but were both so nervous and excited that I dont think we slept much at all, at least me anyway, whenever I looked over at mum she was lightly snoring and fast asleep! Quick showers, on with the layers as its chilly at that time in the mountains before the sun comes up and force down some coco tea & jam & bread (well not too much forcing for me as I can always eat breakfast no mater what time it is) meet and greet everyone, all half asleep and a bit dazed and then pile into our mini bus for what turns out to be 7 or so hours of bumpy driving round mountain bends, up and down steep hills & on roads that are still being layed! (as the flooding has washed away the previous ones). All in all were all pretty eager to don our walking boots and sticks and get out there on foot into the wilderness. We even, all had to pile out of the mini bus 2-3 times to move fallen rocks from the buses path, due to land slides, this was fun, like a bit of volunteering really, and team bonding!
Oh, being in nature. Well, the 1st loo stop before the hike started was a really wake up call. Mum and I were shown the loo, which was actually at the bottom of a muddy feild, it was a tiny wooden shack with a rough pice of black tarpaulen draped a bit to loosley for my liking, like a flap over the front, which conceiled a hole in the ground and 3 large chickens! OH MY GOODNESS, im all up for roughing it but this is crazy! So, Mum, kindly suggested I go first, off I went into the shack, how on earth do I do this, for men its no problem but for us girls, very very tricky indeed!! and the 3 fat chickens watching didnt help at all!! So there I am, trying to manoover myself, trying to keep my dignity as the tarpaulen didnt cover much, when all of a sudden, one of the fat chickens fell and got trapped inbettween one of the walls wooden slats. Well, it made an all mightly cluckking noise, started flapping like a chicken possesed! and nearly made me and itself fall down the poo hole!!!!! I was laughing histerically and a bit scarred to be trapped in this confined space, now half dressed with a mad hatter of a bird! Mum could hear all of this commosion and was herself laughing her head off and all this for the sake of a little wee! I feared this was going to be the 1st of many quite disgusting, funny but alarming toilet incidences.

Being in totally surrounded by nature, the most incredible mountain range, plants and trees I had ever seen was constantly breathtaking and occasionally overwhelming. We were on one side of this amazing mountain range and were to hike up, down and around all of it over the next 4 days, just look at these pictures, how huge these montains are, how close and then how far we were from this fast furious uncontrolable river, which we actualy crossed by rickety wooden slatted bridges twice! We hiked 61km up and down hill, such a long long way!

We carried part of our belongings, and donkeys and strong little porters carried the rest. This was a fantastic and came as a welcome suprise as we thought we would have to carry everyth9ing like little pack horses, the whole way and even though mum and I tried to pack light, a back pack crammed full of warm clogthes for the evenings, spare shorts, sun hats, water & snacks for those emergency times inbetwwen meals when only a piece of chocolate orange or cookie will see you though that last up hill struggle, really added weight and would have made this trek quite a bit more of a struggle! After all, we were, at most times, 2000-3000ft or maybe its metres (I will check, if only for my personal piece of mind) above sea level and the altitude was high & shortness of breath common, we were, just to renforce this issue, doing a very steep hike, in unfamiliar conditions and basically our lungs we not used to it! or our legs for that matter!!

Food, as you know, is very important to me, not just to keep me alive but to enhance every single day, espcially on this journey around the world, and fill my days with new smells & tastes that make me smile and leave me craving for more counting down the minutes till the next feeding time. Well, on this trek, we were not disapointed in the slightest. After our 1st gruelling uphill session of about 3hrs, we were all left panting and struggling for breath and all also wondering weather everyday was going to be this challenging. When we were informed by Chino, our friendly guide, that lunch was just down the hill. Well we all hop skipped and jumped down this aloe vera filled valley to what was a little shack on the side of the hill, with camping seats for all of us and hot tea waiting. We weed in the bushes (again very very tricky when on the side of a steep moutain and everything was quite open) washed our hands in the cute little hand bowls provided and sat down to a very tasty 2 course lunch served by a waiter in typical waiter attire, how funny and really refreshing. It was vegetable soup to start, piping hot, followed by tasty stirfried beef with rice, and always, coco or fruit tea ro aid digestion to finish - super!

It was getting to the end of the 1st day, Chino thought after lunch that it would be better for us to go a bit further on our fresh legs, and try and reach the 2nd campsite which was over the river and half way up the mountain so that we could start the next morning further up and ahead of schedual, saving us time and energy the next day, we all agreed, (not that we actually had much choice, but it was a good idea) Oh my goodness, he said it would be 1.5hrs climb up steep hill, on the zig zagging path to this campsite and that we would reach it before dark, what a lie!!! This was a strugle! the night was drawing in, we were having trouble drawing breath! the group had divided into 2, the 4 Ozzie boys had run ahead, competing with each other, Mum and I were in the middle and Van & Aga were behind us, middle ground, I didnt mind this ranking, and actualy it was the ranking for the whole trip so not bad going Team Donovan! As we had 1.5hrs in mind and had done this already, and it was getting dark & we were growing exhasted and wondering if we were EVER going to reach camp! I kept telling Mum that were were only round the corner, half believing this and half wishing it to be true! Every so often we would see a lone light in the distance and Id holler to mum that it was the camp and we had finally amde it! but no, twice it was a ctually other hikers making their way down the mountain with a head torch on, bugger!! This was a real test, and as it was the 1st day and we had nothing to comapre it too we found it really tough, but carried on, will power winning over energy and eventually made it to the top! horrah!!! knackered!! but feeling elated, especailly after a sit down and a chat to the Ozzie boys, Paddy, Gerard, Dave & Marti and they told us that actualy they had stopped racing each other because it was a silly idea and was far too tiring and actually they hadnt been there that long either and it was bloody challenging for everyone! this made us feel lots better, well that along with a 2 course dinner and some hot tea and a quick change into non smelly clothes!!!
Comfy, cozy tents, a good rest, crap awful hole in the ground smelly toilets & a shower in the form of a Johnsons wet wipe (or 3) and we were set to trek another day horray!!

The 2nd day was good, so so so much to see, but a lot of going down the mountain, which sounds great but is actualy a bit harder as it hurts the old kness, even of fit young things like me, Aga and Van, we all suffured a bit and had to absorb a lot of Iboprufren along with the tasty meals each evening. Life of a hiker hey!

We heard & saw beautiful water falls, a strong, gushing out of control caramel coloured river, floating, light airy puffy white clouds ( we were actually above and at points in, these! I love clouds, I think as much as trees, oh we saw lots and lots of delicate, fairy tale esque species of trees. Trees with dozens of wirey coiled spirals hanging from every branch. Sporadic Cacti springing up on the mountain side every so often, which take you by suprise and made me smile and think of Desperate Dan and comic books, somehow, I never think they look realistic and life like, instead, always quite surreal.

The 2nd campsite, actually had working toilets ( no toilet seats, but hey, no change there!) and a cold shower, but still, a shower non the less. Brilliant!!! I am camping, but I do like to be clean, yes I do. We were perched on a grassy ledge cut out of the side of one of the mountains just below Choquequirao. We arrived after a hard mornings slug of a hike just in time for a lovely lunch then had the choice of an afternoons rest, fantastic! or we could take a sneek peek at the ruins, this meant climbing the rest of the mountain, tempting.... but as we would experience this the next morning anyway, the majority of us laid out our camping mats and had a bit of a sun bathe, showered or had a little afternoon nap, before ¨Happy Hour - an hour before dinner of popcorn or other tasty snacky treats & cards & hot tea - always hot tea!¨ Only Paddy & Gerard ventured up the hill, good on them, but bugger it, Id perfer to rest, catch the sun shine and have a little kip.
It was at this campsite that Chino introduced a great card game to us, it is called Spoons. Ill explain in person when I see some of you, well worth playing but very competetive and addictive! It was also at this campsite that we had our 1st drink in days! 2 little shot glasses full of tasty argentinian red wine mmmm mmmm and much appreciated by all!

The next misty morning we climbed the steep mountain to explore Choq (for short) It was such a misty, slightly drizley morning that the whole site & all of the views were covered for the first 30min that we were there and Chino was explaining the history, then, just as Paddy & Gerard were telling us what was actually right before our eyes, if only the mist would clear, IT DID and the place was vast, and absolutely breath taking. Olny 30% of the ruins have been excavated, this consisted of cute houses, basic frames of buildings & structures, drainage systems & lots of terraces where they grew all of thier food. These buildings & their history were interesting, but the real wow factor came in the form of the surroundings, delicate clouds hovered all around, in and out of the structure, the mountains surrounding it and the rapid river that ran below. These clouds only added to the magical views and feelings that engulfed us when standing on top of this incredible place. I loved taking so so many pictures, as the clouds parted and the beautiful views over the valley were unveiled. This was one of the high points of the trip, we were all very lucky to experience this.

After this, we had a long long way down the mountain to go. (Please cut to pic of mum sat on her bum in a prickly plant, sorry mum I had to put this in, it was funny and the only fall you had all trip) and accross the wild river over a rickety swaying wooden bridge to be rewarded with a lovely lunch by the river side and a snooze in the afternoon sun ahhhhhh bliss!
Only a small ish steep hike left, before we reached our last camp, where cold beers and a night of cards awaited us, what a brilliant funny last evening to be had by all. Staring up, with full tummys at the magical clear night sky above, all totally amazed by the sheer number of glistening stars and the milky way hanging over our heads - yet another high point.

One more filling breakfast of pancakes, mayple syrup, porridge & caramel cake baked specially by our lovely chef Fernando, all wipped up on the top of a mountain, stoking us up for our final leg of the journey through a valley of thousands of violet lupins, Cacti & lush lush trees. A perfect enchanting end to a magical, challenging trek.

It was the spectacular views, comeradierie amoung our lovely group of people, my mum by my side and the sheer challenge of treking Choquequirao that made this such an incredible, once in a life time adventure.

Happy Happy Happy - now, lets get ourselves to the nearest bar for a large well deserved glass of vino tinto mmm mmm