This trip was not a success. In fact it was a pretty major disaster. At the time I was very scared, but in the end it was a positive experience which I have learnt from.

Before I set off on my hike I did some research. Some of the blogs I read about doing the Salkantay without a guide were:

Flynn Travel, Sayonara Pushek, Backpack Forver, Machu Pichu Trek

I thought if you can do it with kids, how hard can it really be. I didn’t go into it lightly though. I did my planning.

I had 3 weeks in Peru, 2 with my brother and his girlfriend then I headed to Cuzco alone. I spent 2 days acclimatizing and prepping my food/gear. I would have liked to have spent longer, but I had limited time as I had to get back for work. If I had managed to continue with my trek I think this short amount of acclimatization time would have hindered me. Even walking upstairs was exhausting. I had not experienced hiking at altitude before and I underestimated it.

Having spent 3 months in Argentina and Chile the previous year I naïvely expected the same feeling of safety. When in Iquitos – northern Peru – I had felt quite safe to walk around with just a base level of awareness for my safety. In Cuzco there were a lot more westerners, but I felt a lot less safe. I was heckled multiple times when I was walking around town. At one point my way was blocked and a man grabbed my arm. It wasn’t overly concerning, I just shrugged him off, looked him in the eyes said no! in a strong angry voice then walked back to my hostel. It was clear this city wasn’t one too be underestimated.

The morning I set off I got up around 4am (still dark) got the first bus to Mollepata. It had been difficult trying to confirm bus times. The best place I found in Cuzco to help was IPeru next to Portal Belen. I used my limited Spanish to get the minibus. They chucked my pack on the top of the van and bundled me in the back. It was actually surprisingly easy.

I arrived in Mollepata to realize there were no cash points. I did know this and I had some cash on me, but I thought I would need it once I reach Machu Pichu (note this wasn’t true because there are ATM in Agua Calientes). This meant I had to walk to Sorayapampa. The walk was long with my unacclimatised body. You walk along a road for a lot of it and a few taxi’s and cars yelled fairs at me as they went passed. I said no due to my lack of cash flow. After an hour or so of walking, I ended up giving in and hitching on the back of a truck driven by two guys. They kindly gave me a lift to Marqoqasa.

My pack felt so heavy,  even though I only had 5 days of food. I took it really slowly, with lots of breaks. I saw a sign for toilets and a lookout up the hill to the right.  The trail seem to continue straight, so I grabbed my water bottle, I put my pack in a bush and headed up the hill to investigate. My pack is dirty green and pretty camouflage. The whole thing took less than 5 mins, but when I came back there was no pack.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I now think I was an idiot for leaving my pack, but I was hiking. I always feel safe hiking. I was in Patagonia mode, not Cuzco mode. Most importantly, I was exhausted and not thinking. In reflection, I reckon someone was following me, so I’m not too sad that they took my pack without me ever having to interact with them.

So here I was, mid hike: I have my wallet (debit card, driving license, a little cash), a water bottle with about 400ml water and my camera. I’ve lost everything else including my passports.

I didn’t know what to do. I ran one way… nobody. I ran back… I found a tourist group. They felt bad for me, but were complete not useful and waved me off. It’s strange when you meet “non-hikers” on a trek. They were people there who could have offered me food or water or advice but they just looked sad at me and walked on.

I had to decide which direction to walk in. I convinced myself someone may have thought it had fallen of a donkey and taken it to the next camp. Ever the optimist. I knew I was lying to myself, but I needed to keep my mood up to finish.

I started walking. Even without a pack it was a tough trek, particularly with no food and rationed water. Before I realised my pack was missing I ran into a woman with a child. She was talking at me in Spanish – I couldn’t understand her. I decided she knew where my pack was.

A friendly guide offered to help me when he saw me crying. He watched out for me all day as we kept leap frogging. He even gave me some cola and a little water. We caught up with the woman and child and he translated for me. She said she didn’t know anything about it.

Finally at the end of a 10 hour day of walking I got to the camp. The kind guide gave me some broth and taught me the Spanish for backpack – mochila – I went round the guided groups with my best Spanish, asking if anyone had seen anything. No luck. But they recommended going to the Mountain Lodge and calling the police.

On my walk there I ran into a unguided group of 3 boys. They filtered me some water and gave me a clif bar, as they had “too much food anyway”. They improved my day so much and made me laugh. They will never know how much I appreciated that interaction.

At the lodge I was told they couldn’t call the police – the reason wasn’t clear why, I think there was no service. But they made me a cup of tea and some sandwiches. I then sat there for like 2/3 hours. They told me I could stay in their staff beds and they would send me back to Mollepata in the morning. They gave me some broth dinner. The kitchen staff were extra kind and fun with me and I went to bed.

I did a lot of crying in bed. I had no idea what I was going to do without my passports. I was very scared. But I got to sleep in the end.

In the morning they gave me breakfast and sent me back in the food van. It was the same guy who’d offered to taxi me to Sorayapampa the day before, who I’d said I couldn’t afford to go with. He dropped me off at the police station and left.

I dealt with 3 policemen while I was there. No one spoken any English at all. My Spanish is very broken. The first policeman was friendly took my information, but didn’t know what to do with me. The second, was obsessed with my relationship status and kept laughing at me. He was derogatory and nasty. The last policeman was perfect. He was kind and useful. He took me on the back of his motorbike to the trail. He asked around the local people. We went to the local houses and looked inside to see if they had my pack – this felt odd and assuming, but it was very interesting.

After a good effort we gave up and returned to Mollepata. I got a police report then got a mini bus back to Cuzco. To top of the journey, while resting in the mini bus with my head down, the man next to me decided to run his hand through my hair, which was met with a very angry glare but I had no escape in the back of the packed mini bus and just had to sit there glaring until he got off.

The next week went really well, as I had my debit card and drivers license. I could catch the train up to Aqua Calientes and walk from there to Machu Pichu. I caught an early flight to Lima and got 2 x emergency passports (British and Australian). I just turned up, gave them my ID, new passport photos and paid the fee. Although not recommended to lose your passport, it was not nearly as hard as I expected to get a new one. This also forced me too spend more time in Lima. Which as a city, I totally underrated the first time around.

I did a lot of things wrong this trip. But it all turned out ok in the end. I had an amazing experience even if it wasn’t the one I had planned. I would strongly recommend not leaving your bag unattended. Keep your passports on your person and the saving grace for me was keeping my wallet on me. Finally, I never remember the police in situations like this, but sometimes they can be really useful, the quicker you go the better it is.

It is worth mentioning, when I got back to Cuzco I met 2 women in my hostel. I found out they had also set off the same day at me and had bailed after the first day, as it was a lot more challenging than they’d expected. Although I think this walk would be totally achievable unguided and solo. Don’t skip acclimatization. Be ready for long and challenging hiking days. Keep your wits about you.

Oh and a last note, I had travel insurance which didn’t cover the unattended passports, but it covered most of the gear. So buy insurance and keep your receipts.