Salkantay Pass Trail with Fredy's Mercury
all the herbs of the Andes, on the road to Machu Picchu
Since last time…
We tried acclimating to the elevation of the Peruvian Andes, and got on Diamox to help with the effects. The plan was always to go to Machu Picchu, and we chose the four day scenic route through the Salkantay Pass, rather than the Inka Trail. Our small team included Canadians and Americans that got along incredibly well, and led by the indomitable Fredy. He tasked us with thinking of our team name during our briefing meeting the night before. Vicious Vicuñas (a type of llama, and the name I threw out as competition) lost out to Fredy’s Mercury. He gave us a team chant that we all struggled to remember for the entirety of the hike: “I want to break free!”
Recap
Total Miles: 13,087 mi
Miles Traveled: 3,801 mi
Current City: Salkantay Pass Trail, Peru
Current Elevation: 15,190ft (Denver is 5,280ft for reference)
4 Lessons from the hike…
1. Perú expects you to come unprepared:
Cusco has one of the highest densities of trekking and camping equipment in the world. If you ever come to hike down here, don’t plan to bring more than a few pairs of base layer clothes because you can rent backpacks, gloves, rain gear, winter jackets, headlamps, and more. Altogether you could easily rent all of this for less than $20 per day.
2. Herbs and spices are all around you, if you know what to look for like:
Chiqchipa (Tagetes minuta):
An herb with a strong smell, with a mix between mint, anis/tarragon, and citrus. It’s related to huacatay, which is used extensively throughout Peru and is a leaf with similar profile. We were told it’s use to flavor cuy (guinea pig) and is likely part of the Matacuy spirit we had talked about last time.
Muña (Minthostachys mollis)
If you don’t drink coca tea, there’s more than enough muña tea flowing for a nice digestive and diuretic effect. It has a strong eucalyptus and vegetal flavor, unlike many of the mints popular in North America. I guess I like Andes Mints more than the mint of the Andes.
All the others
Achupaya, a type of Bromelia related to pineapple that is used for drinks among other things; 1000’s of orchid varieties, pinko pinko, allaczapatilla, tumbos (loved these ‘banana passionfruit’), granadillas (another passionfruit-esque fruit, but sweeter), and so many other things that I couldn’t spell or find online outside of these days.
3. Elevation must be respected.
Everyone on our trip had some form of effects from altitude sickness. Fiona had it the worst in our group, with headaches, nausea, and more. Diamox only dampens the effects, but comes with tingly fingers and altered taste buds. The latter of which we noticed primarily through sparkling water literally tasting flatter and more bitter, even though it was the same brands we’ve always had in the US.
4. Tough efforts make fast friends.
The second and third days were each over a half marathon of walking, with thousands of feet of ascent and descent. Fredy made sure we saw one another as a team and that we all made it to the spaces safely and helped each other when we needed it. Long, breathless climbs turned to story-filled declines and flats that gave us time to learn more about each other’s homes, desires, and reasons for being on this difficult trek. Despite it being only four days, Fiona and I now feel we have a smattering of friends throughout parts of North America we may have not met otherwise.
Gratitude…
The people made the trip for us and truthfully gave us such a high for the first leg of our honeymonth. The conversations we had, the attention to detail from our guide, the friendly children we met on our penultimate day of hiking, the waiters, the cooks, the horsemen, and all of the folks we didn’t get to meet along the way made it a time worth remembering. Our legs need a long break after the forty miles of hiking, and our hearts need the same amount of time to fully soak in the deep connection with humanity we felt during our time in the Peruvian Andes.
Our small cooking team, Eynar, Jackie and Rosalino made us a delicious cake to celebrate our honeymoon. Another team of hikers had used an appliance that shorted out the electricity and heat in our whole facility, so they managed to make this cake on the stove in the dark…it was one of the best experiences of our lives, but we’re glad to be in the front country again.
