I summitted Chopicalqui yesterday morning! Here is the official notification of our summit:

Congratulates Skyline Adventures team for their outstanding summit success on Chopicalqui at 10:25am yesterday morning. Under partly cloudy skys the team departed their camp at 5400m a little 2:00am. Once they topped out on the South West ridge they encountered deep snow guarding the exposed ridge. After 2 hours they managed to break through and gain the final plateau at 9:00am then 10:25 the summit.

Well tomorrow morning I will be heading out into the Cordillera Blanca to climb some mountains. Besides a slight sinus cold I picked up in the jungle, I´m feeling great and I´m looking forward to heading up even higher into the Andes.

I´ve included my itinerary below with specific dates. Needless to say there won´t be any more posts for a while. I still have some catching up to do and I want to get my Inca Trail post up as soon as possible.

Hopefully when I return to Huaraz I´ll be posting some photos of me standing on the summit of Chopicalqui.

June 16 Cebolla Pampa
Transport to Cebolla Pampa (Yanapaccha trailhead) and from there do a day hike to Laguna 69, (4950m). Return to Cebolla Pampa and camp there (4100 meters).

June 17-21 Yanapaccha Base Camp
From Cebolla Pampa hike to the Yanapaccha Base Camp (4750m).

June 22 Yanapaccha Summit
Rise and shine about 3:00 am for breakfast and gearing up for the climb. Head up to the glacier and begin the summit attempt (5460m)!

June 23 Cebolla Pampa
Pack up camp, and begin the hike out to the trailhead (Cebolla Pampa) and camp there. Spend the afternoon relaxing at a lower elevation.

June 24 Chopicalqui Moraine Camp
From Cebolla Pampa hike to Moraine Camp of Chopicalqui (4930m).

June 25 Chopicalqui High Camp
Ascend to the high camp located at 5300m on the glacier.

June 26 Chopicalqui Summit
Summit day! Go for the summit (6386m) then descend all the way to moraine camp.

June 27 Back to Huaraz
Hike out to the trail head and return to Huaraz. Back in town around 4:00pm That night a celebration dinner!

I´ve had a lot of requests for some pictures. Well I´m finally able to upload some so here are some pictures from the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. I´ve also added several new posts.

After a decent nights sleep the tent, I was woken up by one of the porters. The porter supplied each one of us with a bowl full of hot water. I washed my face, got dressed, and headed to the dining tent for breakfast. After breakfast the entire team of porters, guides, and trekkers all formed a giant circle and everyone then took turns introducing themself in español. In total our group consisted of 13 trekkers, 1 guide (Henry), 1 assistant guide (Enrique), 1 cook, and 18 porters. Quite the expedition! With this many people involved, I felt that we should be climbing Mt. Everest, not trekking the Inca Trail.

At 7:30 am we made our way up the trail. With Enrique leading the way, Andrew, Ross, and myself made our way up through the cloud forest. At approximately 10:30 am we arrived at the small village of Llulluchapampa for a quick rest and another great photo opportunity. From here we could see the dreaded Dead Woman´s Pass, which is the highest point on the trail at 4,200m.

At 10:45 am we began the climb up to the pass. It was now getting really hot outside and the air was getting thinner. Once again along with Enrique leading the way, Andrew, Georgina, Ross, and myself made our way ahead of the group. After a gruelling 45 minutes, we all reached the top of Dead Woman´s Pass. We all gave each other high fives and hugs as we celebrated our achievement. The four of us then climbed up a small hill located on top of the pass and took a bunch of photos. We cheered on the rest of our group as they each made their way up the mountain side. It was definitely a challenging day and everyone did an amazing job. Today we travelled another 11kms.

Once everyone arrived at the top, we took some more group photos. With our spirits high, we began the decent down to our next campsite, Pacamayo at 3,600m. After dinner a bunch of us gathered in the dining tent to play some cards. At first we played Asshole, but then Henry decided to teach us new game that was similar to Asshole, but which turned out to be a much better game. This game was called Shithead, and ultimately the loser of each round would become the shithead.

Well today I would embark on the adventure of a lifetime, South America´s most fabled trek, the Inca Trail (Camino del Inca). This morning we woke up nice and early. I had one last shower and ate a quick breakfast before heading to the bus. Thankfully I had prepared all my gear the night before, so I felt nice and relaxed in the morning.

At 7:00 am our bus departed the hotel in Cusco and we made our way to the town of Ollantaytambo, where we would have the opportunity to stock up on snack food or any other last minute items that people felt were necessary. I bought several Snickers bars. We all then hopped back on the bus and headed to Km 82, the start of the Inca Trail.

Once we arrived at the drop off zone, everything seemed so chaotic. There were trekkers and porters crawling all over the place. After a few minutes spent going to el baño and applying sunscreen, ourguide for the Inca Trail, Henry, called us over to where he was so that we could get a move on. We made our way down a path that ran alongside the Rio Urubamba (Urubamba River). Within a few minutes we approached the official starting point of the Inca Trail, which was indicated by a large wooden sign that you must pass underneath. After taking several photos, we all passed through the starting point and made our way down the path alongside the Urubamba.

After a few more minutes we arrived at the first control station at 9:45 am. At the control stationwe were given our Inca Trail permits and our passports were checked and stamped. Once everyone successfully passed throughthe control gate, we made our way across a swinging bridge that crossed the Rio Urubamba. What a great feeling! We were finally on our way.

Once we all crossed the bridge, Henry gave us a little speech and welcomed us to the Inca Trail. After the speech we began our jourey. As we began walking, I couldn´t believe I was actually trekking the Inca Trail. This is something that I´ve dreamed about since I first learned about it in junior high, and now I was actually living it! What an amazing feeling!

The first portion of the trail passes by local families´ homes who live along the trail. Occasionally the local people have stands setup to sell trekkers candies and beverages.

As we hiked on, dozens of porters flew by us at incredible speeds. These guys are amazing! Each porter is only allowed to carry a maximum of 20 Kgs (44 lbs), but when you actually see some of the loads that these guys are carrying, it´s pretty evident that they´re carrying more than they´re supposed to. To top it off, most of the porters will run, not walk, in poorly designed sandals. And guess what else? They do it with smiles on their faces. It seems that they all take great pride in their jobs. It probably also helps that being a porter on the Inca Trail is a decent way to earn a living in this region of Peru. Let me tell you, the porters definitely earn their money. In fact, after seeing these guys work, I feel that they´re grossly under paid. My hat goes off to all the porters! You guys are amazing!

At around noon we arrived at the first set of Inca ruins along the trail, Llaqtapata. After Henry gave a brief explanation of the ruins, we continued along the trail for approximately 30 minutes before arriving at a small village for lunch. Upon arrival at the village, all of our porters clapped, cheered, and gave us high fives as we each arrived at the dining area. This would turn out to be a reoccuring event everytime we would reach a new destination. It felt great to be greeted this way.

For lunch we had rainbow trout. After lunch we continued along the trail for a couple more hours until we arrived at our first campsite, Huayllabamba, at around 3:30 pm. Today we travelled approximately 11km and climbed from 2,500m to 3,000m. Huayllabamba is a small village and even has a small store.

After setting up camp we were treated to tea and popcorn. Before dinner Georgina, Ross, and myself explored some local ruins and briefly watched a soccer game being played by some of the locals and porters.

The evening was pretty relaxing. After dinner several of us were awestrucked by the moon and the starry sky. I took several photos of the night sky. Craig and Ellen, a couple from Seattle, were also inspired to take photos. I even managed to get some photos of the Southern Cross.

Ross and I each bought a cerveza from the local store. After drinking our cervezas and relaxing for a bit, we all called it a night and went to sleep. Tomorrow would turn out to be a big day as we would be passing the dreaded Warmiwañusca pass, also known as Dead Woman´s Pass.

Tomorrow morning (Thursday, June 4) I will be starting the Inca Trail. The plan is to be on the trail starting at 9:00 am. I will arrive at Machu Pichu Sunday morning.

So there won´t be any new posts for a while. I´m still behind on my posts, but I hope to post them after I get back from Machu Pichu. I have them all written, I´ve just been so busy and I´ve had no time to get on a computer.

Well, I´m off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day!

Today we got to sleep in. I woke up at 8:00 am, had a shower and then ate breakfast. For breakfast I had coco pebbles in strawberry yogurt, a ham sandwich, and a cafe con leche. Aren´t continental breakfasts great?

At 9:00 am our tour bus arrived. Today we would be taken to several Inca ruin sites. On our way to the firsty set of ruins we stopped at a couple of markets. I didn´t buy anything this time. After the market we headed to the Pisac ruins. The drive to Pisac took close to one hour. The Pisac ruins were pretty amazing. There are a series of farming terraces, along with several stone structures on top of the mountain. We followed a steep trail up the mountain to another set of structures before heading back down to the bus.

After everyone was back on the bus we went for lunch at some tourist trap in Pisac. It was crap. It took them an hour and a half to make me a chicken sandwich that consisted of a piece of chicken slapped between two pieces of bread. That´s it. No lettuce, no sauce.

After lunch our next stop was the Ollantambo ruins. These ruins were extremely impressive and consist of more steep terraces with an unfinished temple and a fortress on top of the peak. We explored the ruins for about an hour and a half before getting back on the bus and making the two hour drive back to Cusco. The next day would be a big day as it would be the start of the Inca Trail!

At 6:00 am Annette knocked on the door to our bedroom to wake us up. We quickly got our things together and headed down the ladder and over to the same buildiong where we ate dinner the previous night. We ate pancakes and drank coca tea.

After breakfast, Andrew, Ross, and I gathered up our belongings and made our way to the courtyard. We each gave Norma 25 soles for the hats that she gave us the previous day. We all then took turns getting our photos taken with our new family. After giving everyone a big hug, I thanked Norma and her children for the wonderful experience, and then we all said goodbye. Annette escorted us back down to the dock where we met up with the rest of our group. I thanked Annette once again, gave her another hug, and then hopped back on our boat, the Latino. As our boat left the island, our hosts stood on the dock waving with both hands until we were far from shore.

After three hours we arrived at the Uros floating islands. These islands are made up of totora reeds. We explored a couple of the islands and we even went for a ride in one of the totora reeds boats. I found it really interesting to learn how the islands are made.

While we were exploring one of the islands, I got dragged into a reed hut by one of the local women. Ross and another dude named Mike were also dragged into the hut. The lady then started handing over clothing for us to put on. We all ended up wearing these vests made of alpaca and some funny looking hats. Apparently I was dressed like their president because my hat had colourful balls hanging from the sides. I looked pretty ridiculous.

Dressed like the president I wandered around the island posing for photographs with people. I also managed to barter with one of the merchants for two Inca necklaces. After exploring the islands and returning my costume, we all hopped back on the boat and headed back to Puno harbour. Once we got to shore we hopped on a bus and returned to the hotel around 2:00 pm.

After a nice cold shower, Andrew, Georgina, Ilona, Ross, and I walked through Puno. We were on a mission. There are two big statues located on the tops of hills in Puno. We wanted to hike to the tops of these hills to see the statues. The first statue that we went to was of the first Inca. The hill was dirty and covered with garbage, even human feces. It also appeared to be a place where locals go to make out or get it on. We got to the statue, took some photos, and got out of there rather quickly.

Our next objective was a statue of a giant condor. We weren´t exactly sure how to get to the statue, so we wondered through the streets until we came across a giant staircase leading up to the statue. There are close to 1,000 steps leading up to the top of the hill at close to 4,000 m above sea level.

We made it to the top, took some photos, and then headed back to the hotel to meet everyone for dinner. After dinner I checked my e-mail, and then went to bed.

The boat ride to Isla Amantani took one hour and was also very emjoyable. Once we got to shore we were greeted by some of the locals. Tonight we were going to be staying with a local family in their homes. Andrew, Ross, and I were grouped together and we got introduced to our new mama, Norma. Norma spoke quecha and spanish, but not english. This was definitely going to be a test for my spanish skills as I seemed to have the best spanish skills out of the three of us.

Norma led us halfway up the island to her home. The walk back took close to 20 minutes up a steep rocky path. When we arrived at Norma´s home, we were greeted and introduced to her three children; Michael (three years old), Lady (seven years old), and Annette (14 years old). Norma then gave each one of us a special hat to wear for the duration of our stay. Each hat was different and was made of alpaca. We then presented our new family with the groceries that we had purchased in Puno. They were very appreciative of the gifts.

Their home was beautiful. It consisted of several buildings overlooking a central courtyard. The buildings were all made of mud bricks, which later on in the day we saw three men making an entire batch of these bricks. Pretty fascinating. Our bedrooms were on the second floor and we had to climb a sketchy wooden ladder in order to gain access. To our surprise, the rooms were really nice. There is no power here, so later on we would have to rely on candle power and our torches.

Andrew and I shared a room, while Ross took the second room; the pink one. We spent a few minutes organizing our belongings. At 4:00 pm Norma called us down from our rooms. We were to follow her to meet with the rest of our group. We walked with Norma up the steep hill for another 20 minutes where we arrived at the sports complex. Tired from the walk up and the lack of oxygen, many people rested on the benches. After a quick rest and a drink of water, several of us began playing high altitude soccer with some of the local children. It didn´t take long for us to run out of breath and get our butts kicked by the local children.

After playing soccer, several of us decided to climb to the top of one of the mountain peaks located on the island. Pachatata (Father Earth), the peak we climbed, is nearly 4,000 m above sea level. There is also another peak on the island, Pachamama (Mother Earth), but we never climbed it. Pachatata also has an Inca ruin on it´s summit.

The view from the top was spectacular and over lookef Lake Titicaca. The sun was also setting. After snapping several photos, I walked around the ruins three times. It is said to bring you good luck. We then made our way back down the mountain and met up with our families once again. Norma led us back to her home. When we arrived back at the home, we headed to our rooms to put away some things and also to wash up for dinner.

Norma called us to dinner so we headed down the ladder and over to another smaller mud building with a thatched roof. This was the kitchen/dining room. In the corner of the room was a small wood burning stove where Norma was busy boiling some food. Michael was sitting on her lap, while Lady and Annette sat beside them on the floor. We were told to sit at the table, so we did. The room was very dark and was lit by three candles, and also from the small fire in the stove.

It seemed a little awkward because of the language barrier between us. Norma introduced her children and told us their ages. We then took turns in introducing ourselves, by saying our names, ages, and where we come from all in spanish. At this point our dinner was ready. Lady served us our meals. We had kenwa soup, rice, and vegetables mixed with pasta noodles. It was very basic, but the taste was amazing! None of us could finish our meals. I kinda felt bad, but they did not get offended. Instead they took our leftovers that we couldn´t finish and put them off to the side. They would find another way to reuse them, either as food or compost.

After esting we felt the need to help out. After some terrible english/spanish attempt at describing washing dishes, Norma understood and provided us with a tub full of water. Ross washed and I dried. Andrew supervised. After washing all of the dishes I felt the need to entertain the children. When I was younger I used to work in a restaurant. This particular skill that I was about to demonstrate was towel origami. I folded the dish towel and with a quick flick of the towel, I magically transformed it into a chicken. ¨Grande pollo¨ I said. They all understood and laughed out loud, especially Lady. She really thought it was funny. Norma was also laughing, but I´m sure she was probably wondering why there was a crazy gringo in her kitchen playing with her dish towels.

We then got up and followed Annette into the courtyard where she provided us with ponchos. DOning our ponchos and our new hats, we followed Annette back up the steep rocky path to the town hall. It was now time for drinks and dance. Everyone else from our group also arrived dressed to impress. I bought Annette a Coca-Cola and myself a grande cerveza. The band started playing traditional music and we all started dancing.

For the first song I danced with Georgina. At first we weren´t too sure of the dance moves, so we just improvised. Soon enough we figured out the dance moves, as they were very basic. For the second song an older Peruvian lady grabbed me by the arm and hauled me out to the dance floor. Ross managed to film me dancing with the lady before he also got dragged out to dance. The dancing was exhausting, especially at the higher altitude. We spent the next hour dancing and drinking.

Something else that has become familiar to me in Peru, is that every Peruvian band that I´ve seen or heard, plays their own version of El Cóndor Pasa (Flight of the Condor). You may be familiar with Paul Simon´s version.

After our fiesta we made our way back down to our home and went to sleep.

Today we all got to sleep in. I woke up at 6:30 am and to my amazement I had a hot shower. It felt great! After eating breakfast we all met in the hotel lobby at 7:30 am and headed to the local market. Tonight we were going to be staying with a local family on Isla Amantani so we needed to bring them some gifts. Everyone stocked up on fruits and vegetables to give to their family.

After grocery shopping we all headed back to the hotel where our limousines were waiting to take us to the harbour. Since we were only spending one night on the lake, I loaded up my day pack with only the essentials. I left my main backpack at the hotel.

At 8:00 am we went outside to hop in our lims. Hehehe…. These so called limos that David promised us were actually tuk tuks, or bicycle takis. Ross and I shared one.

The journey to the harbour was a lot of fun. In total we had seven tuk tuks cruising down the hilly streets of Puno. It almost seemed like a race. Some of the tuk tuks even had stereo systems blasting out the tunes. One of them was playing Bryan Adams, which seemed a little odd, given the song that was playing (¨Everything I Do¨).

Once we got to the harbour we were escorted by our new guide, Gizcart, to a boat called the Latino. The Latino would take us to our first stop of the day, Isla Taquile. The journey took nearly four hours. I really enjoyed the boat ride. In fact I spent most of the ride having a ciesta on the upper balcony enjoying the fresh air and cool breeze. When I closed my eyes it kinda reminded me of being in a boat back home on the Red River.

Once we got to shore on Isla Taquile, we had to hike up an incredibly steep hill, and then continue on the the other side of the island where the village was located. The hike took around 30 minutes and followed a beautiful stone path. At the village I looked around the market and then went for lunch.

Life on Isla Taquile is very basic. For lunch we were all invited to one of the restaurants. All of the restaurants have the exact same menus and prices. Everything is set. In fact, we didn´t even get to choose which restaurant to eat at. That decision was made for us by one of the community leaders. For lunch I had rainbow trout (from Lake Titicaca), with rice, potatoes, and some vegetables. The meal was very basic, but it was delicious. The trout was amazing! I also learned that the rainbow trout in Lake Titicaca are actually Canadian! Hooray, some relatives! I also had kenwa soup.

After lunch Gizcart gave us an explanation of the local customs. We then were given the opportunity to but some souvenirs. After some more impulse shopping, we made our way down to the lake, where our boat was waiting for us. Our next stop was the next island over, Isla Amantani, where we would be spending the night with a local family. I´ll create a separate post for this.