This day was our really big hike. We got up at 6:00, had a gourmet breakfast (hot quinoa cereal with fruit, juice, tea, bread and jam, pancakes with dulce de leche). Walter also gave us each a bag snack to carry with us which contained a banana and a juice box. Then we were off. We hiked until 5:00 and it was very strenuous. At first we went up for 4-5 hours until we reached the first pass, which was at 14,800 feet. Much of the path was quite steep and rocky, and we all had some trouble catching our breath at that altitude. Camille was always way ahead of everyone, taking good photos of the flowers and the animals. We passed many farms with sheep, alpacas, llamas, pigs, etc and were way up above the tree line. Once we went over the pass we were treated to stunning views. There were glaciers in all directions, an alpine lake below us, and views into different valleys. There were also the tundra plants and tiny flowers all over. We also managed to see an Andean condor flying overhead. Our guide, Daniel, said they are endangered and he has only seen 2 in five years of trekking. We hiked down a ways, across the valley and across a second pass, and then down to lunch. Everyone was pretty tired, but we still had 3-4 hours ahead of us.
After most of the day seeing no sign of other people, we started bumping into rural homes and some isolated communities. The homes were mostly one room, made of rock with a thatched roof from the tough mountain grass, with a single opening for a door. They had pens made of rock for animals, and gardens. At this altitude, the only crop that grows well is potatoes. The have hundreds of varieties of potatoes of all sizes, shapes, and colors. They also use the cycle of freezing at night with sun during the day to naturally freeze-dry their produce so they can store it. Most of the local people we saw spoke only Quechua or maybe a little Spanish. They wore the traditional Andean costumes with colorful weavings, sandals, and hats shaped like bowls (where they sometimes stored things over their heads) with bands of beads hanging down. The weavings on their ponchos were all different, with symbols representing their family, for instance their crops or animals. The women and older children often had babies slung on their backs, even while they were climbing up and down the mountains or pick-axing the potato fields. There were no roads or horses, only walking paths. To buy or trade goods, they strap things on their back and walk to the next village. And we could appreciate how difficult that was! And we had light loads, hiking boots, and poles. According to our guide, schools are provided for grades 1-6, although they may have to walk a long way, and there is not always a teacher there every day. They learn to write and speak some Spanish. If they want to attend school after that, they have to go to boarding school in a city, which is mostly too expensive for the farmers.
Our guide spoke a little Quechua and we got to go into a local house. The entire house was probably 20x30 feet. Their guinea pigs ran around loose on the dirt floor. This is one food that can be raised in a house! In one corner they had a fire pit for cooking with pots and tools hanging on the walls. There was no chimney, so the entire roof was charred and the place smelled very sooty. On the other side were some sleeping platforms and piles of alpaca fur blankets. There was a loom set up in one corner. The little girl of the house made bracelets and belts and once she had been trained, the older girls made beautiful weavings on a loom made from sticks. The weaving was done in their spare time after they had worked the fields and tended their animals. The old men or the younger kids were in charge of herding the animals out to graze in the mountains and bringing them back to the enclosure at night. This family had piles of potatoes, fava beans (I think) and corn drying in the yard, laundry drying on the stone fence, a small chicken house, and a little tent structure made of sticks and grass where dung was drying to be used as fule. The parents in this house had gone to Ollantaytambo to trade (4 hour walk?) and the 20 year old daughter was in charge of the house.
We bought a guinea pig (Peruvian delicacy) from them to cook for dinner. We got to carry it down the hill live in a bag for Walter to prepare. We also passed the people working the potato fields. They used a hand tool to break up the dirt clods, then picked through to find the potatoes. They were then piled onto a tarp and when the pile got big enough, someone strapped it on their back and carried it down the hill. There were groups working together and they seemed to be having a good time, listening to music and laughing while they worked. It looks like really hard work. They often chew coca leaves while they work. It keeps them from getting hungry, is supposed to help with the altitude, and according to Daniel it strengthens teeth, cures all colds and aches, and many more magical properties.
When were arrived in the horsemen’s town, we set up camp for the night. The setting was a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. We camped on the soccer field. Walter made a fire and roasted the gunea pig so we all got to try it. Pretty good, but not a lot of meat.
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