Trekking Machu Picchu 秘魯馬丘比丘

Out of all my travels around the world, there are three places that have definitely left a mark on me, Peru is one of them.
我到過世界多個地方旅遊，有三個國家令我留下最深刻印象。兩年前我去的秘魯是其中之一。

I went two years ago, and if you go to Peru, of course you have to go to see the Machu Picchu. It doesn’t matter if you do it the difficult way and hike and camp for four days, or the easy way by train and bus, you have to go! I opted for the middle option, a 2 day 1 night hike for 15 km as I wanted to challenge myself a little and make it more memorable.
如果去秘魯，馬丘比丘當然是必去喔。無論是走艱苦的4天3夜遠足露營，還是較輕鬆的坐火車及公車，我都覺得一定要去。我選擇了中級難度的行程， 2日1夜遠足15公里。我自知體力有限應該沒可能應付4天遠足，但又不想行程太過輕鬆。要挑戰自己才會更珍惜，令旅程更難忘，所以選這個行程最適合不過。

My hike started from Ollaytaytambo where we had been staying for a few days since we arrived at Peru. I figured it was better that way so I could get used to the altitude first. Our guide picked us up at around 6am in the morning to the station for a short train ride to the starting point of our hike.
我抵達秘魯後，先在Ollaytaytambo待了幾天適應較高的海拔，所以馬丘比丘行程在這裡開始。出發那天，導遊一早6點多到旅館接我們去到火車站。

There are separate train carriages for tourists and the locals like our guide and porters, so our guide told us to look out for a sign that says KM 104 by the side of the track and get off when the train stops. Here is the ‘station’, and the beginning of our trek to Macchu Picchu. The time is 7.30 in the morning.
火車分遊客及本地人車廂，所以我們要跟導遊分開坐。他吩咐我們要留意火車停在一個KM 104的大標誌前就要下車，因為這裏沒有正式的火車站。這裡就是我們下車的地點，挑戰馬丘比丘從這裡開始。當時是早上7點30分。

By now our guide and us had been trekking for an hour. Our starting point was down by the river behind the mountain on the left. Although it was October it was still quite cool, and by the time we’ve ascended up here we were so hot that we’d removed all our outer gear.
這個時候導遊和我們已經走了一個多小時。 而我們的起點是在照片中左邊那座山背後的河邊。 當時是10月底，還有點涼意，但我們走到這一個高度時已覺得很熱，需要把外衣脫下。

It’s actually quite high up here, I guess around 2500m ASL and you can get an idea of how high we are from the clouds and the pylon on the right further down. The path that we’re walking along doesn’t look too bad and is quite wide, but if you look down it can be quite scary!
這裡大概是海拔2500米高，從雲層中及河畔的電纜塔可以大概看到我們的位置有多高。這段路的步道也蠻寬闊很好走，只要不往下看就可以。如果不小心滾下去，我相信 …

Our destination for lunch is a bit further on at Winay Wayna.  This is the grey blob of concrete you see in the blue circle in the photo above. Winya Wayna means ‘forever young’ in Quechua, the indigenous language spoken by the people living in the Andes.
午餐地點是對面山 Winay Wayna附近，就是上面相片中藍色圈圈內灰色的地方。 Winya Wayna 在安第斯土語是’永遠青春’的意思。

Here is a full view of Winya Wayna. You can’t really seen how impressive it is from this photo as its difficult to put it into perspective with anything, but one thing for sure its high up in the mountains amongst the clouds. The other thing is, the fact its built in the middle of nowhere and how they built it on such a steep slope is in itself a massive achievement and mystery.
從這照片可以看到整個 Winya Wayna，但因為沒有對比較難看到它是如何真正的宏觀。唯一可以肯定是它位置很高，幾百年前如何在荒山野嶺建一座如此壯觀的社區，真是令人摸不著頭腦。

After a bit more climbing, we finally arrive at Winya Wayna forty minutes later.
我們繼續攀爬，40分鐘後終於到達Winya Wayna.

This site is an Inca site at 2650 ASL and dates back to the 15th century. As I enter the site, I see these massive terraces in front of me. The guy in the photo is our guide so that gives you some idea of how big the site is.
Winya Wanya是印加帝國的遺址，在海拔2650米高，15世紀建成。到達 Winya Wayna 迎接我們的是這一層層高聳的梯級。站在照片中的男子是我們的導遊，雖然他個子較小，但仍然可以感受到遺址是如何宏偉。

On the left hand side of these terraces is a staircase to get to the top. As we were climbing up we came across these llamas who stood in our way, and had no intention to budge at all. This is the first time I’ve seen llamas, they were so cute and perfectly harmless.
梯級左邊有一條較小的樓梯伸延到遺址的頂部。我往上走時遇到幾隻駱馬站在梯級上，完全沒有讓路的意圖。牠們很可愛完全不怕人， 我走到旁邊跟牠們拍照，牠們也沒抗拒，非常溫馴。

It turns out they had some business to get to first, and once they were done they finally stepped aside and let us pass.
後來發現原來駱馬要辦牠們要辦的事，完事之後，牠們就自然地站在一旁讓我們經過!

Here’s a full view of the site, I think it’s just absolutely stunning. It’s a pity that you will miss this if you catch the train and bus. How they managed to build these structures and on this scale 600 years ago so high up in the mountains is just beyond me.
Winya Wayna真的很美，如果輕鬆遊坐火車去馬丘比丘就看不到哩。整個遺址分開高低兩部份，中間有一排排很有特的色房子。房子屋頂是很整齊的三角形，結構絕不馬虎。而梯級每一級高度很平均，帶有點弧度，遠望非常美觀。遺址位處偏僻，幾百年前在這麼陡的地方構建整個社區，真是不可思議噢!

In this photo you can see the river on the left hand side, that gives you an idea of how far we’ve ascended within 5 hours.
從這照片中看到右邊的河流，就是我今天早上的起點。5個小時走了不少路啊！

About 15 minutes walk further on is our lunch stop. This is a camp site for people on their 3rd night of the 4 day trek so there is a bit more facilities. There’s even a basic kitchen here for the porters  to cook for their clients.
從遺址再走 15分鐘就是我們午餐的地點。這是一個中途露營地點。如果走4天3晚的遊人，最後一晚就會在這露營。所以這營地的設施比較好，有一個簡單的廚房,讓照料我們膳食的團隊煮飯方便一點。

By the time we got to the site, our lunch was ready waiting for us.
我們到達時，午餐已準備好。

There were two types of fresh salad, steamed vegetables, fried chicken and rice. Although this may look simple, it was really tasty especially the salad. But what impressed me most was the effort it took to cook this meal.
雖然在山上，不過午餐十分豐富。有兩道沙拉，蒸蔬菜，雞排和白飯。這頓午餐看來很簡單，但我知道背後花的人力物力真的令我受之有愧。

Not many people do the two day trek like us, but as a minimum each group must have a guide and a certain number of porters, three in our case for the two of us. Here are our porters.
像我們走2日1夜的人不多，所以我兩算是包團。每一個團都一定有最基本的導遊和挑工支援團隊人數。像我們就有一個導遊帶著我們，和三個挑工，就是這三位。

The first time we saw them was at lunch time. They caught the same train as us in the morning but I never saw them takeover us, yet they arrived at our lunch stop before us.  Our guide told us they trek another route which is more difficult but faster. The main point is, they have to carry everything needed for our 2 day trek including all the food and fresh water, the cooking utensils, stove and a can of gas, the tents (our sleeping one and the big one where we had lunch) and sleeping bag etc for the 6 of us.  I thought my trek was difficult, but it’s nothing compared to these guys.  They are real heroes.
大家早上都是坐同一班火車，但我一直到午餐才見到三位挑工。從下火車那一刻，沿途上我看不到挑工在我身邊經過，但他們竟然比我更早到達營地。原來導遊說他們是走另一條比我們更陡峭的捷徑。重點是，他們還要背著我們一行6人這天所需的所有食物，清水，餐具，煮食爐和一罐瓦斯，還有帳篷睡袋，和剛才我們午餐的大帳篷和坐得很舒服的椅和桌! 天噢！我剛才還以為我走得很辛苦，但相比他們，這根本是微不足道。

And here’s our guide who accompanied us on both days. Although his is quite small, he is really strong and nifty, not to mention really funny and kept our spirits up during the trek.
這是一直陪我們走的導遊。他雖然個子較矮小，但他力氣不少又敏捷，性格非常風趣。在我們走得累時會，多得他逗我們聊天和鼓勵，才不覺得那麼辛苦。

Next time, I will share with you the remaining part of my trek to Machu Picchu. Please stay tuned.
下一次，我會跟大家分享我餘下的馬丘比丘行程。