Sick in the Sacred Valley

Warning: not for the suggestible stomach...

It’s been a rough couple of days. The last time I wasn’t in a state of constant nausea was in the Amazon. I got sick again as soon as we got to Cusco, which I assumed was altitude sickness. Cusco is so high that the hotels offer 5 free minutes of pure oxygen and you can buy more after that.

We landed in Cusco a couple of days ago, had our Lares Trek briefing and went off to a family-run Planetarium. If you’re ever in Cusco you should see this place. It’s adorable, as is the young woman who animates it. Unfortunately, every one of us was struggling with the high altitude with headaches, difficulty breathing and dizziness. Then we went to a place where they make the solar system whirl around over your head. There were lots of heads in hands.

The next day was the Sacred Valley tour. I was a hot mess clutching handsful of barf bags as I got in the bus. That’s what the driver and your companions want to see. Someone with pissholes for eyes bringing a bunch of puke receptacles for a long bus ride. 

The scenery was gorgeous beyond compare. Mountains of all colours, ancient Incan terraces, patchworks of fields in the valley. People in colourful traditional dress just living their lives and hanging out with their llamas and alpacas. Even sick, I was in complete awe. We stopped at the entrance pass to the Sacred Valley to take photos. I took a bunch of snaps, marvelled at the scenery and promptly kneeled at the edge of the cliff. There was nothing in me but water and I like to think I was like a water fountain cherub spurting water down into the Sacred Valley below.

We went on to see Incan ruins, Potato Park where they grow 1,300+ kinds of potatoes and save the seeds for seed banks. I sat outside in the sun while the rest sampled potato varieties and potato sours (a drink made with fermented potato). The group has been impressed with the food here which makes me a little bitter. We saw a woman selling guinea pigs on a stick and there’s guinea pig on the menu in many restaurants. I’m fine to miss out on that.

One thing that strikes you is how hard rural Peruvians work. They are often breaking up their fields by hand with rudimentary hoes and some people will rent out their bulls to plow the ground. 

Speaking of bulls, it doesn’t take long in rural Peru to notice a particular household decoration. Many houses have two clay bulls on the roof, perhaps with a cross or a number of other symbols alongside them. When a couple get married and build a house the bulls are put up there to symbolize the two of them facing the future and pulling together as a team, much like bulls work the fields.

I also love the variety of regional costumes. For women there’s usually a knee-length skirt that may be heavily embroidered, some leg warmers for the cold, a bolero jacket that is usually embroidered and many many styles of hats, which probably denote village and marital status. So many colours. They make their dyes from eucalyptus leaves, herbs, moss and dried beetles in various combinations and additives to change the shade. The textiles available here are colourful and so soft to the touch.

We spent that night in Urubamba in a gorgeous rural hotel. My awesome team of companions met to hang out the last night before treks began the next morning but I just couldn’t. I was supposed to start the 3 day Lares Trek the next day but I was in too rough shape. My calves were cramping and I couldn’t keep anything down. I had to make the sad and expensive decision not to trek, but to go back to Cusco. 

The next morning I got up to bid goodbye to my would-be trekking companions and stuck out my lower lip as they set off. Instead, our reduced crew got in a van and continued exploring the Sacred Valley. We went to the salt pools, which were super cool. There’s a salty mountain stream of unknown source that pours out into pools carved into the hillsides by the Incans and when the water evaporates the local community harvests the salt to sell it. The top layer of salt is for human consumption, the second for medicinal uses and the third for animals. Everything is crusty with salt and a little hot to the touch. 

We also got to see ancient Incan circular agricultural terraces that look like alien landing pads. I got so excited that G & I fumbled the camera hand off and my brand new camera went flying off the cliff edge. I started down to get it but the guide stopped me and he rescued it instead. It wasn’t as bad a fumble as the sherpa’s toilet but it is making a bit of noise when I use the zoom.

We ended up back in Cusco for a few days where our smaller group got to hang out and bond and I stayed in my room and developed a fever in addition to the nausea. Some sleep, antibiotics and flu meds later and I’m now good to go...