Trek Day 3
7.14.08
Each day we´ve been woken in our tents by Admiel…last night we were camping near a village community that had a rooster that woke us bright and early before Admiel came with morning cocoa tea to our tents. We´ve been spoiled, getting tea in bed, and hot water to wash up right outside our tent. We are actually traveling with a contracted-out company, Andean tours. (So when I mentioned Trek America or Footloose divisions at first, I´d forgotten to mention that some of the trips are contracted to other local companies.) Anyway, it´s been fabulous! Though we are getting up around six each morning, it´s been easier with the tea and positive people waking us up with a ¨Buenos Dias!¨. We are usually hiking after a breakfast of rolls, jam, tea, fruit and either pancakes, or eggs… typically by eight a.m.
Today was much much easier on our legs. And beautiful scenery! Carlos gave us lots of historical insight on the Incas. Though I´d studied the history before this trip, it was just amazing to see the ruins and hear more tid bits about how the Incas lived. When the Spanish came, the Incas welcomed them. The Incas tried their hand at training wild horses, but were not successful. They believed the universe was divided into three worlds, the earth, monitored or managed by mother earth, a spiritual god that was the organizer of everything, and a spirit of the underworld. They believed in this sacred trilogy, which makes sense why the Spanish introduction of Catholicism flowed fairly well for the Inca. Interestingly, the Inca buried their dead in the fetal position, as they believed in something like reincarnation where the dead were born into eternal life. Also, on earth, when a man and a woman married, they were not husband or wife, but rather named one another´s ¨compliment¨and worked together. Great way to think about it, and live as a partnership! Any written records kept by the Inca were destroyed by the Spanish, and the Incas escaped from teh mountains little by little as they realized that the Spanish were not interested in joining their culture and meshing their ideas as had happened before with other people who had come into contact with the Incas.
Anyhow, the day was filled with history and just fabulous landscape… and not to mention more amazing food! (Check out the presentation by our camp chef Benadicto! He is amazingly talented! Can you believe some of our “camp food” is like this?! More tomorrow!
Tags: Travel
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