darragh murray

We were woken early at 6.30am (early than I am used to for sure). Day two, we were told, was going to be the hardest, with a pretty much constant incline up to Dead Woman´s Pass. Steve, Moss and I were feeling pretty darn good, and didn´t end up finding the walk as hard as some other people, though I have to admit, the last hour up to the top of the pass itself was pretty tough. The boys and I had long ago embraced the seemingly magical properties of coca, which allowed us to breathe much easier, as well as ignore the aches and pains that came with the walk. Our guide mentioned to us that if you can make it to the top of the pass in five hours, you are doing pretty well. Moss and Steve made it to the top in 2.5 hours, whereas I was slightly behind, hitting the top of the pass in exactly three.

What had been a previously beautiful day suddenly turned to shit, with the rain beginning to pour down as soon as we had settled ourselves for a rest on the top of Dead Woman´s pass. We pressed on to the campsite, amazed that the porters could seemingly sprint down some fairly treacherous ´stairs´ without killing themselves. It was another two hours of steep decline before we got to our rain soaked tent. The porters had only just got there before us, and had only managed to erect one tent. We quickly jumped in, and quickly were asleep. The time was 1pm, and we had arrived three to four hours ahead of the usual schedule.

Kit and Dave rolled in around 2pm, and the others followed around four or four thirty. The sun eventually came out, and we could semi dry some of our soaked clothes. Another great meal involving soup and chicken was cooked up and we devoured everything placed in front of us. I was slightly exhausted, and I went to bed while the others stayed up for a bit to play cards. Thus, day two ended.

When I last left you, the boys and I were staggering out of our hostel drunk as lords and being escorted to a bus that would start us on our way to Maccu Picchu. We greeted our fellow passengers with a chorus of obscenities as we tried to accurately describe how terrible we were feeling. I was positive they were not impressed. I promptly passed out, determined not to empty the contents of my stomach on to the well-worn bus upholstery. Moss decided to redecorate the external paintwork of the coach with a mixture of browns, reds, and yellow tints which vaguely resembled the food and drink he had consumed the previous night. What an artisan!

Anyway, our first stop was the town of Ollantaytambo, high up in the sacred valley. Inca ruins overlook what is now a touristy looking town. As we arrived, an Easter procession was underway complete with full brass band. We were also greeted by many local people selling walking sticks, coca leaves, and pack straps. I promptly lay down and passed out in what seemed to be a gutter. I think my drunken state discouraged the locals from selling me any goods, and none approached me. Even the local canines seemed loath to walk within five meters of my crumpled form. Steve went walkabout as per usual, and kept us all fifteen minutes late (Steve, really, you have a terrible sense of time!), which inspired anger in one of the trail guide. We were not making a great first impression.

We left our bus behind at the small village of Chilca (where more locals tried to sell us crap for the trail), and I finally began to feel less sick. Steve and Moss were still struggling, but I felt imbibed with new life. We were introduced to our guides Roberto and Manuel, strapped some sleeping mats to our packs, checked in with the trail regulation authority, before we hit the trail in earnest. Day one proved to be not too hard at all, with only one large incline. Thank god we did all that trekking in Chile and Bolivia and carried an adequate supply of coca leaves. We stopped at the Llactapata ruins for a breather, before having a great late lunch of pasta, soup and tea. I was (and still am) at the constitution of the porters who carry nearly thirty kilos of random supplies (i.e. propane bottles, tents, food for 4 days, and other random stuff) and still manage to run the trail in sandles. They constantly overtake the trekkers who carry twenty kilograms less weight! I felt some pity for them as I know it is not a particularly good occupation, and that some do get treated terribly.

We got to know our fellow trekkers, Trung, Siking, Elizabeth were all from the UK, Anna was from Singapore, while Kit and Dave were from the States. We all got along like a house on fire. After a good days walk we reached our first camp site at Llulluchupampa, and settled down to a fine meal, and an early, if not snug, nights rest, managing to fit three big guys into a two man tent. Day one = EOF.

It´s has been a while, eh? It seems that I´m weeks behind in my blogging as well as my journal writing. Currently, I´m working in the Secret Garden Hostel in Quito, Ecuador where work and constant drinking keeps my writing time to a minimum. Anyway, let me tell you about my first impressions of Cusco, Peru, THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD.

After leaving Puno, THE WORST CITY IN THE WORLD, I did not have high hopes for Cusco. Lonely Planet describes it as a gringo invested den of thievery. Lonely Planet is full of crap! This place absolutely rocked and we did not encounter any real shady behavior at all.

The boys and I arrived in Loki Hostel, Cusco, which pretty much has the same setup (and reputation) as the one in La Paz. And that suited us just fine! We arrived on my birthday and I went straight about drinking. Steve and Moss had a beer before sneaking off to have a look around the town. I decided to stay and watch ´Batman Begins´ in the hostel bar, accompanied by my good friend CUSQUENA (the local ale…which in hindsight is pretty terrible). Steve and Moss eventually came back and we smashed back some SANGRE DE DIABLOS (the blood of the devil), a hellish drink that tastes like petrol and I´m pretty sure can power small aircraft. A while later a cake was produced with my name on it – it seems Moss and Steve had conspired and purchased a cake - and we shared the cake amongst the other revelers and continued drinking. My night ended with me jumping through the open window of my dorm, nearly breaking my neck, and damaging a toilet with alcohol induced sputum. At one stage, Steve kicked a door in and screamed obscenities and I don´t think our dorm mates were very impressed, but fortunately for us, they didn´t speak English. This was certainly one of the more mature moments in my life for sure.

Over the next few days, we wandered the plazas of Cusco, checked out some amazing churches, drank real coffee (thank god), and had some excellent meals in ´gringo´ alley. Usually, I would end the night in the Loki bar drinking with the hostel dwellers, and dancing on the tables to Queen´s hit ´Don´t Stop Me Now´. They even had a short-shorts night where everyone donned, well, short-shorts. I finally got my opportunity to wear my Canterbury shorts, complete with rainbow long-johns. They went down a hit (Moss has photos of said outfit, which I´m sure the public will see at some future time). Furthermore, in my drunken state, I was convinced to go clubbing in this outfit, which raised some eyebrows from the native Peruvians.

We ended our first stint in Cusco with a mental all-nighter in local gringo hangout ´Mama Africas´ with our new friends Yianni, Harry and Jamie, and some other random Loki dwellers despite the fact we had to leave to go trekking on the Inca trail at 6 in the morning. Needless to say we were slightly wasted, and I´m not sure what our fellow trekkers were thinking when we boarded the bus.

I have some photos on facebook of my time in Cusco, which you can look at by clicking here.

Anyway, that is another adventure which I will update y´all on in due course. Take care all!

Some terrible local news from my current country of residence. Several people were killed when a lorry collided with a tour bus.

You can read the article by clicking here.

I´ma bit behind on my travel writing.

Post Copa, Bolivia, we crossed the border for a drive to Puno, in Peru.

In short, Puno is a pretty crappy looking town. We had some alpaca for dinner then watched a Harry Potter movie before decided to bust out of the town to go to the more happening Cusco. Perhaps I´m being a bit unfair, as we had a shite day the day we arrived in Puno.

I´ve uploaded some photos from my trip to Copa, Lake Titicacca and the Isla del Sol. You can view them (via facebook) by clicking on this link. Enjoy.