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Lares Sacred Valley Trek, Alternate Inca Trail Route
Lares Sacred Valley Trek, Alternate Inca Trail Route
Sharon Ward
August 25, 2006 |
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| The Ward family at a high pass on Lares Sacred Valley Trek. | |
First, I can't explain the warm feelings of our hike in a few words.
Secondly, I can't speak to the Inca Trail as we haven't hiked it and we probably would have had great experiences there too as we are a family that enjoys the opportunity to travel. However, we did love our hike. We enjoyed seeing the remote highland communities and marveled at the strength of the people that made their homes there. We felt an intimate connection to the people and the mountains.
We saw no other campsites and only a handful of fellow tourists in our 4 days in the mountains. It was just our family, our guide and the porters trekking along and we felt very special and lucky to be there. The scenery was unspoiled by crowds. The hike pushed us to elevations we had never been to (about 15,000 feet) and it was a pleasure to end the hike in the Lares Hot Springs and soak in the pools.
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| | Gracious Quechua hosts who shared guinea pig in their home. |
We enjoyed the people from our porters to those we saw in the mountain communities. They baked potatoes for us in Cancha Cancha. We passed them herding their llamas on the trail and enjoyed the children that ran out from the rocks to watch us pass. In Quiswarani, we were fortunate to be invited into the home of our head horseman for guinea pig - a delicacy. The people live a sparse existence and yet they were so generous. We sat on little benches made of wood around the fire on the floor in the main room. This is where the cooking takes place. The guinea pig was offered to us and it wasn't until we insisted that the family had some too. Other guinea pigs ran around the earthen floor. When we asked to take a picture, they insisted on dressing in their finer clothes.
On our return to the states we sent a box with some presents and a framed picture of them that our guide, Franco Negri, promised to have delivered. We felt they were bringing us into a part of their lives. As we left the community, a group of children surrounded us and wanted to shake our hands. And then there was our guide, Franco Negri. He was very personal, had a great attitude and sense of humor as he encouraged us along the trail. Our entire family related to him on a personal level. He knew the area, the demands of mountain hiking and the customs. The people knew him and were delighted to see him arrive. He cared about the people and we watched him interact with several of them in an attempt to help. We enjoyed our conversations with him and met up with him later in Cusco for drinks.
Overall, we learned a great deal about mountain trekking and about a group of people that we will never forget. We were glad we experienced this as a family and continue to talk about it. Our daughter Jessica has several pictures of the children hanging on her living room walls. Rick wants to do more mountain hiking. Milana continues to teach Spanish camps and shares these experiences (especially eating guinea pig) with her students.
Sharon and Richard Ward
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