Choquequirao

Our final destination, seen from afar late on our first afternoon

This story started 8 years ago. John Gunther wanted to take his family to the Galapagos Islands and found it too expensive. So he rented an entire boat, found 12 friends to join him (Andy and our daughter, Alison, included) and saved a lot of money. He organized a great vacation for all of us and I always felt that if I ever had the chance I would do the same for others as a way of paying back his effort.

So in July, 2007 when Olga and I began our sabbatical in Arequipa, I sent out emails to all our friends offering to organize a vacation in Peru that would include a 5-day trek to Choquequirao, one of the last Incan redoubts, high above the Apurimac River Gorge.



Choquequirao, although not as large as Machu Picchu, is much more difficult to reach. Our final party of 9 consisted of an 8 year old, our two children (Andres and Aiko) in their twenties


The Pletches

and a collection of academics and professionals ranging in ages from 48 to 61 - John Gunther, Alison Nash, Charles Kulter, Kate Dvorkin and their son, Dorje and David Clarke.
The Gang Starting Out

The trek to Choquequirao starts in the small village of Cachora, nestled in a beautiful verdant valley that eventually spills like icing over the edge of a cake into the Apurimac River Gorge, 1400 meters below. We started walking soon after lunch. We walked for 10 kilometers on more or less level land and darkness found us still several hundred meters above our destination for the night, a camp one hour above the Apurimac River.

The Apurimac Valley from Cachora

Walking on level ground, or even downhill, you could easily forget anything so automatic as breathing, especially when you begin to feel the pain in your knees. Walking at night adds an extra layer of caution and stress to everything else. We finally arrived at our camp at almost 9PM; tired and stressed but met with a great meal from a great cook whose presence we appreciated throughout our 5 days on the trail.

The next day we faced the eastern side of the Apurimac River Gorge. It is a daunting 1500 meter climb up a long series of 30 to 40 degree switchbacks.

Day 2 before-lunch climb
The end of Day 2 brought us to within 30 minutes of Choquequirao. The ruins themselves are only partially revealed. It is a work in progress. Day 3 was spent resting, visiting the ruins, exploring. Perhaps the most spectacular single feature of Choquequirao for me are the andenes (terraces) called the “22 Llamas”.
22 Llamas
I am not an expert on Incan ruins but I have never seen other ruins with designs created by using different colored stones. You can tell from Figure 4 that the terraces have only been partially uncovered. The terraces reached at least as far as the lookout from which the photograph was taken.

On Day 4 we started back. Once again we were going down, back down to the Apurimac River. Oh, my aching knees! The walking sticks were a great help.

Finally, on Day 5, we began our climb back to Cachora. I set out in the morning before everyone else determined to turn my breathing into a meditation. I did not stop to rest but rested while walking. Small, steady steps, favoring my left knee when I needed to. Inhale, inhale and a long exhale.



In all my years of doing yoga, ujjayi breath never felt so much a part of what I was doing physically.

Day 5: Going Up