Day 9: The Chicken's Got My Snacks!

Official Itinerary Day 4: Wayraccmachay – Colpapampa

Morning view at the Wayra lodge, just before
setting off

Today’s itinerary: On this day we enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Wayra lodge.  The day’s trek leads downhill above the Salkantay River, until we arrive at Colpa Lodge where we are greeted with a Pachamanca lunch, a special Peruvian Barbecue.  We spend the afternoon relaxing in the outdoor Jacuzzi, walking in the surrounding area or visiting the orchid garden.  Dinner and overnight at Colpa Lodge.

What a beautiful day’s hiking today.  It felt like it was our reward for the labors and hard work of the last few days as it involved a nice leisurely descent from the Wayra Lodge up in the mountains, down through the transitional zone of Puna, and into the lush, insect-ridden cloud forest.  I forgot to mention yesterday that “wayra” means “where the wind lives” and I think that, of all the lodges, the Wayra lodge was my favorite so far.  Maybe it was the circular shape which meant that, no matter which way I went to go somewhere, I was always heading in the right direction.  Mumsie, I think you would have probably moved in!

Top Brit indulges in a little light photobombing

Anyway, breakfast was at the civilized time of 7.30am, with a departure time of 8.30am.  The hike down to Colpa lodge was estimated to take us about 4hrs, with the first hour and a half on the same crappy, rocky shale-y nonsense that we endured for the last hour of yesterday’s monster marathon.  Then the trail, according to Liz, was going to be nice underfoot for the last couple of hours as we descended into the rain forest. 

Um, right.

 It was, indeed, crappy for the first hour and a half (which turned into two and a half hours because the group (myself included, but mainly Mountain Goat) kept stopping to take pictures of absolutely everything) and then it became more of a packed dirt track with fewer rocks and stones so was much easier underfoot.  But THEN just as you thought you were almost home free, it went completely rubbish again – even worse this time, as it was much looser underfoot and I almost came a cropper at least 3 times.  Both Lisa and I were thinking fairly mutinous thoughts at this stage (“the trail was supposed to be GOOD here!) so we were definitely over the flora and fauna for the last half hour of the hike, and just wanted to get to the lodge and off this stinking trail.  My rarely-spotted grumpy face made a distinct appearance, especially right at the end when we rounded a corner and saw a group of buildings that we thought was our lodge, only to be told that, no, that’s not our lodge,  its still about 20 mins away, after hiking down to the river, crossing the river and hiking back up the other side.  This was not the news me, my knees and my overloaded bladder wanted to hear (I’d been waiting to go til we got to the lodge, to guard against the possibility of getting bitten on my bum).  But, with this piece of information, I finally caved, gave in to the call of nature and ended up having a pee on a patch of alpine strawberries.

Brilliant staff at the Wayra lodge

Other than the ever-present threat of imminent ankle-twistage and subsequent Emergency Horse deployment due to the treacherous conditions underfoot, the trek itself was gorgeous.  The group spread out a bit more than on previous treks so there were parts of the morning where I was hiking completely by myself, so could enjoy the solitude of my own thoughts and the sounds of the Andean landscape around me.  It really was lovely.  The rest of the time, the Brit Pack hiked together or I hiked with Lisa and managed successfully to stay out of earshot of Captain Obvious and Mountain Goat who liked to talk A LOT while hiking.

The road ahead

After the first 2hrs we stopped for a snack break at this little mountain hut, which was surrounded by a herd of chickens and a very pretty, if a bit rangy, golden dog.  The chickens were a bit persistent, coming right up to us and seeing whether we had any food they could scavenge – I guess they must be used to trekking groups coming through pretty much on a daily basis, so they knew the meaning of those little beige Mountain Lodges of Peru bags that we all collectively dug out of our rucksacks.  And one little clucker in particular took advantage of a slip in my attention because, before I knew it, he’d actually physically run off with my snack bag!!  Cheeky clucker!!  He’d pecked at the clear thin plastic bag that had my nuts and dried fruit in it, and scarpered!  And, after the initial surprise at being Chicken Burgled had worn off, I chased him!  And so ensued about 30 seconds of my chasing this chicken round the enclosure before I finally cornered him and he dropped my bag and ran off!!  Of course, I didn’t then eat the rest of the nuts in the bag, so fed it to the Chicken Pack anyway, but I guess that was how I could tell I’d finally acclimatized to the altitude – the ability to chase down a chicken who violated the sanctity of Snack Break.

On the trail heading down from the mountains into the cloud
forest

And yes - apparently photos do exist of this little episode - Top Brit took some, so I will post those as a a post-trip wrap-up after I get home.

Anyway, after that excitement, it was time to lather on the bug spray as we were descending into the cloud forest proper.  I think its named for the actual clouds that spill over the tops of the mountains a little like the fog used to roll over the hills in San Francisco, but it could also be due to the clouds of bitey insects that invariably would gather around Lisa and I as we strolled through the valley like vast mossie smorgasbords.  At the time of writing, I don’t think I’ve been bitten too badly – and I can’t really afford to fly home looking all chewed up and welty, given I have to get back on a plane the day after I get home and fly to a business conference!  Not sure that would be my most professional look!

Almost as cloudy as a summer's day in San Francisco

When we finally reached the lodge, we were once again greeted with a cool towel and hot drink (Mumsie, take note) and also a special treat for lunch.  Today, the lodge staff were preparing a pachamanca for us (meaning “earth oven”) which is a Peruvian version of a barbecue, used for celebrations and special occasions.  Rocks are heated over burning wood, then the wood is removed, the rocks moved to the side and the first layer of food added, in our case, about 5 or 6 different varieties of potatoes.  Hot rocks were interspersed with the potatoes and then more food was added, the meat wrapped in foil packages (locals wouldn’t bother with the foil, that was for our benefit and more delicate stomachs).  More rocks were added and a final layer of beans and plantains were added, followed by the last few rocks.  Then layers of cardboard from broken down boxes were placed over the top, followed by a couple of heavy tarps, and then dirt was shoveled over the top of the whole lot to seal in the heat.  The whole mound was then left for 35mins after which time the clever chaps who’d built it, came back to dig out the food and the chefs (in their chef’s uniforms) were there to receive the piping hot and steaming potatoes, tubers, meats and plantains.  It was very impressive. (I did take a video of the whole thing which I'll load up when I get home - it would take forever here over this internet!)

Site of the now infamous Battle of the Snacks

And, as it happened, very tasty too!  The food was served buffet style, with bits of salad and tasty sauces and the meats that had been wrapped up in the silver foil were revealed to have been chicken, pork, lamb and – yes – guinea pig!  And yes, I tried it.  The skin was a bit chewy and thick, but the meat itself was tasty enough, a bit greasy, but not very strongly flavored (yes….it did taste a bit like chicken!). I’m not sure I’d order it at a restaurant but I can now say that I’ve tried it, so that’s one more to check off the Authentic Peruvian Experiences list (along with making a Pisco Sour and trying a Peruvian wine (we washed down the guinea pig with a Peruvian Viognier/Chardonnay – that was pretty tasty too!).

All in all a very enjoyable and chilled out day (15 mins of Grumpy Face, notwithstanding).  Now, I’m all comfy and snuggled in a beanbag as I write this, with about 10mins to go before we’re shown a video of some Peruvian things and stuff (as you can tell, I wasn’t paying attention earlier when Liz explained what the nature of the video was going to be).  I’m not sure I’m ever going to be able to get up out of this thing as I think my knees are buggered, but for now, this is a perfectly peachy place to be.  On the books for tomorrow: coffee plantations!! 

Today’s scores on the doors (note: the average mph and total time is a bit buggered up as I forgot to pause the recording due to chicken distraction).
Start time: 8.43am

Duration: 4hrs 43 mins

Distance: 5.02 miles

Training benefit: recovery training

Avg. HR: 90 (51%)

Max. HR: 137 (77%)

Calories: 799

Fat burn % of calories : 67% (WHOOO-HOOO!!  I am disappearing before my own eyes!)

Average speed: 1.1mph

Maximum speed: 3.2mph (AKA breakneck speed careening down the hillside barely under control)

And now, for the botanical section of this blog:

Typical pose for Mountain Goat

Liz giving us a lecture on the local flora and fauna
as we enter the cloud forest

The chickens start to gather....

I know how this chicken feels.  Nice to see bad hair
days exist elsewhere in the animal kingdom..

Lisa and Grumpy Face at the end of the day's hike

Its a river and a bridge.  Are we there yet?

Mumsie - take note.  Being greeted by our cool
towel and hot drink bearers

The lodge

Guess what this is?

You may see this scorched face in your dreams now.
You're welcome

Lunch - chicken, lamb, pork and guinea pig

Things you can make from simple purple corn