Harrogate Mum Conquers Machu Picchu
Diane Margis has written us a very moving account of her recent Challenge trekking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. We are very proud of her for doing this and for taking on her next challenge to walk the Great Wall of China in 2011. These challenges are organised from National Office and so the money raised goes to them to fund nationwide projects and invest in research. If anyone would like to sponsor Diane or to hold a jewellery party for her, or even to take part in a challenge yourself, please contact Anne Pratt. See below for Diane's story.
Diane's Story
After my husband Mick was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in October 2003, I regularly visited the MND Association website to gain as much information as I could about this terrible illness, to read about how other people coped, and also kept an eye on the various fundraising activities they organised.
After he died in March 2007, I kept myself busy by taking up jewellery making, and decided to sell some to friends to raise some money for the Yorkshire Dales Branch who had helped us so much during Mick's illness. This turned out to be quite successful, so I decided to put my name down to take part in one of MND's International Fundraising Challenges - to trek The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in September 2009. As I love to travel to different places in the world, this was an ideal opportunity to visit somewhere I never thought I would get to on my own. I would have to get myself much fitter to complete it, but most of all I would be raising money for and awareness of MND.
In May 2009 everyone on the trek was invited down to London, where we all got a chance to get to know each other, and were told more about what the trek entailed by the lovely Elaine, our MND co-ordinator, and Adrian, our Tour Guide from Classic Tours. Everyone was so excited, and friendships were made straight away. Even though the majority of us didn't know anyone else before we signed up for the trek, we all had the common bond of either losing a loved one to MND or knowing someone living with MND, so it made it easier to start talking to people we had never met before. We also came away realising this was going to be be no walk in the park, and would certainly take some of us well out of our comfort zones!!
Fast forward to September 2009, with the money raised and fitness levels increased we were on our way. We had two and a half days to acclimatise to the altitude in Cusco, where we had one and a half days of organised sight-seeing tours arranged for us, a practice trek, and one day to ourselves, which was ideal for us girls to hit the shops, try the local food and drink and generally have a lovely day together wandering around Cusco. The following day was Day 1 of the trek.
The weather was beautiful and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Clear blue sunny sky, with lush tropical mountains nearby, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. We were all excited and set off in groups of 12 chattering away in the sunshine with our Guide stopping us every now and again to pass on his Inca knowledge to us at various spots. That evening we arrived at our first (and best) campsite which was all set up ready for us, and had a lovely two course meal made by the excellent chefs travelling with us. We shared some beers and sat out that night gazing up at the Milky Way and millions of stars lighting up the sky - wow!
My first night camping wasn't very successful as I hardly slept a wink all night, and it turned out I was coming down with a very bad cold, as the next day I was really suffering by lunchtime and was going hot and cold all the time. My energy levels fell to zero as my lack of sleep, the heavy cold and the steep incline of steps towards the highest point of 4200m at Dead Woman's Pass took its toll. I broke down in tears at lunchtime, but was immediately taken care of by my fellow trekkers, and after a short rest, was persuaded to stay at the back and take it easy. What a struggle it was for about 10 of us to get through Day 2. But we all helped each other, making sure no-one was left behind. Elaine was an amazing inspiration to us all, she kept us all together and we were only taking 10 steps at a time before we had to stop and get our breath back as we approached Dead Woman's Pass. It was a very emotional moment for us all as we linked arms and dragged ourselves up the last 10 steps together, to cheers from some of our friends who were waiting for us.
We all knew that was the highest point, so the hardest part was now done. The 3 hours descent seemed a doddle after that, but it did take its toll on our knees and feet as it was uneven steps all the way down. That night I collapsed on my small mattress in my tent, missed my evening meal and just slept through till the next day (as did a few others).
Day 3 was a slightly easier repeat of Day 2, but felt easier for me as I had a good night’s sleep and felt much better. The scenery every day was different, and kept you going when you felt a little low. We all kept stopping along the way to take photos, but it was also a sneaky excuse to stop and get your breath back!
Day 4 we were woken up at 4.30am and had to get up and on our way to reach the Sun Gate by approximately 7pm. This was another emotional moment as we all waited at the Sun Gate for the sun to rise above the mountains on one side to then shine down and light up the lost city of the Incas at Machu Picchu down below us. A magical moment, where we all felt everything we had gone through was so worthwhile. We had done it!! It was the moment we all remembered our lost loved ones and the reason we were all there.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the site, took a bus to the local town for a celebratory lunch, and managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the local thermal baths. Having not had a proper wash for 4 days, this was heaven!!
After a long drive back to our hotel at Cusco, we had about45 minutes to get washed and changed and out into Cusco for our last celebratory meal together. We were entertained by a lovely Peruvian band and some great local dancers all in colourful local dress. We then all went to the local nightclub for a dance and ended up back in bed at 2.30am (remember we got up at 4.30am that morning!).
The next day it was all over and we were on our way home. It seemed like such a whirlwind tour, we seemed to pack a two week itinerary into 7 days, with only 7 nights sleep. We were all exhausted coming home, and there were tearful farewells at the airport. We had all gained so much from the experience, and I will remember the camaraderie between us all, and friendships made forever. We all pushed ourselves much further than we thought possible and felt such a sense of achievement at the end. Four hard days struggling to keep going, when you wanted to give up was nothing compared to the struggle people living with Motor Neurone Disease go through every day. The pain was soon forgotten, and a few of us were immediately talking of signing up for another challenge.
We had a reunion in London last weekend, and it was great to see everyone again, although some of us have kept in close contact since we got back. Elaine announced that as a group we had raised the staggering amount of £190,000 - a record! Quite a few of us are going to sign up for trekking the Great Wall of China in May 2011, as Adrian told us if we can do the Inca Trail, we can do China.
So the fundraising started as soon as I got back from Peru and through my jewellery sales up to Christmas I have already raised £2000 for the £3000 minimum required for China. If anyone is wondering whether to do one of these challenges I would definitely say "Go for it!" - it is an amazing experience you will remember for the rest of your life, and, more importantly, you are raising money towards trying to find a cure for this terrible illness.