On December 6, 2004 Lisa and I set off on a four day three night trek to Machu Pichu along the famous Inca Trail. Due to relatively new regulations by the Peruvian government you have to complete the trail accompanied by a registered guide. You also need to reserve your spot 30 days in advance and the park limits the number of people allowed on the trail to 500 on any given day.

We booked our trip though a highly recommended company called "Ratones Unidos" or United Mice. For the price of the trip you get English speaking guides, all the camping equipment that you might need, three meals a day as well as porters to carry the builk of the load. I cannot stress enough how awesome these porters are! Wearing nothing but little one-strap leather sandals these guys haul HUGE loads, do all the dirty work, and prepare top-notch meals. And they do it all in redord time! A typical scenario would be that we would finish a meal, say breakfast, and start on the trail carrying our sleeping bags and a change of clothes while the porters stayed back to clean up and pack. Within 10 minutes or so of walking these guys would jog or RUN past us with all the stuff and be waiting for us, hours later, at the next stop with everything prepared. One of the common contraversies about the trail has been the treatment of the porters: Before it became more regulated it was not uncommon for a porter´s load to be as much as 50 Kilos (about 120 lbs)! ANd the wages for a porter can be bad even by Peruvian Standards. One of the reasons we chose United Mice was that they use a regular staff of porters (instead of just hiring whoever will work for the least), and they pay a good wage.

So on to the trail. . . It was Amazing! It is about 42 km long and passes from about 3000m (1000 ft) up to 4200m (13500ft) before descending to Machu Pichu wich is at about 2500m (8000ft). I mention all these elevations only to help convey the idea that the trail passes through many different climates; from high desert to alpine to cloud forest. That, and it is HARD. You try breathing at 13500ft with a pack on your back - there ain´t much air. ¿Como quisera poder vivir sin aire?

Along the way we saw amazing views, exotic birds and plants, beautiful flowers and 6, count 'em 6, Inca sights. Our guides, Jaime and Silverio, took lots of time to explain the history of the trail and the Andean people (both Incan and pre-Incan). There are over 20,000 varieties of Orchids in the world, 15,000 of which can be found in Peru and there are over 5,000 varieties in the Machu Pichu National Park.

One thing that I think made our trek special was the group that we had. We were a total of ten , which I think was a good size, and each member of the group complimented each other well. We also camped in different locations than the other groups which really gave us the sense that we had the trail to ourselves. In fact, it wasn't until the third and final night that we were really aware of the presence of other groups on the trail with us.

That final morning we woke up at 4:00am (rest assured the porter's had a pancake breakfast ready to eat at 4:30am) and prepared to make the final push to the sacred city. After an hour or more of hard hiking we arrived at the sun gate overlooking Machu Pichu just as the sun was cresting the mountains. It was truly a blessed moment and the culmination of a magical few days. Truly, the Incans were on to something when they built this place.

Even without the ruins Machu Pichu is a mystical and powerful place. The mountains shooting up everywhere hung thick with vegitation, the wispy clouds and the river that curves in an almost complete circle around the sight. Amazingly, Machu pichu wasn't discovered by the Western World until 1911 and so the structures remain in excellent condition (about 60% original 40% restored). ANother sight only 6km from MP that we visited on the third day was not discovered until 1940 and is almost 100% original.

We spent several hours at the sight, including a walking tour. We soaked in the major temples: the temple of the sun, the condor and the temple of the three windows all hewn from massive granite stones that were intricately cut and shaped.

Later I climbed Waynu Pichu, the mountain that looms behind the sight, while Lisa and most of the others rested sore legs from the difficult treck. CLimbing that peak was more like climbing the side of the empire state building and just as scary, but the views at the top were well worth it.

Finally, exhausted and satisfied we left the ancient site and slowly started our return to a more common life. But those four days walking with the Inca will remain in our hearts for quite some time to come.

Breaking camp in the morning (day 3)

The Evidence, guys