One of the highlights for most people who come to Peru, or even South America, is to do the four day hike to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. There were seven of us from the group that were hiking the Inca Trail together, along with 9 porters, a cook, a guide and an assistant guide. The hike is about 44 km in total and goes over three high passes through the Andes Mountains, following the original trail laid by the Incas in many portions along the way.

Day 1: The first day arrived to the starting point of the trek and the porters sorted out what each of them was going to carry. Also at the drop off point were many women selling sticks with embroidered ends to use as hiking poles. I had sent my trekking poles home with Karen after Kili so I bought one for 3 soles (about $1). We hiked around 12 km to Wayllabamba, an altitude of 3000m. Along the way our guide, Hugo, explained the different trees and plants we passed and how the Incas used them to make food or medicines, and he also explained a bit about the other Inca Ruins we passed along the way. About half way we stopped for lunch, where we quickly learned why the 7 of us needed 9 porters. The lunch set up was impressive. There were individual bowls and hand towels set up for each of us, along with tables and chairs inside the "meal tent." When we arrived to the Wayllambamba campsite, it was simple, but had a very nice view of some Inca ruins that a few horses had decided to graze on, as well as a small "shop" that sold water and assorted soft drinks. It was not that strenuous of a day, but from what I had heard, the 2nd day is meant to be the hardest, since it climbs to an altitude of 4200m. Had my first night of camping since arriving in S. America. It was good to be back in a tent!

Day 2: The terrain for the 2nd day of the hike varied from forest along the water, to valleys between the mountains, to the last stretch up to the "Dead Womans Pass," as it is called because there is a formation in the mountains that looks like a woman laying on her back. I looked at this stretch of mountain and I could never see the woman... oh well. The hike up to the Dead Womans Pass was "steep and unrelenting" as it is described by the guidebook of one of my fellow hikers. Getting to the top seemed to take ages, but it was a relief to have made it without feeling any altitude sickness. Looking back, it was a good thing to have flown into La Paz and dealt with the altitude sickness in the comfort of my hotel room, rather than while hiking the Inca trail. It was a tiring climb, but the scenery was nice, with llamas grazing, and a nice view of the valley. Once at the top, it was downhill from there, to our lunch spot, where the porters had arrived way before us and were already preparing our meals. Right after lunch, it started pouring (not too suprising since it is the beginning of the rainy season in Peru) and the rest of our downhill climb was in the pourning rain to our campsite at Pacaymayo. I managed to keep mostly dry with the $1 purple poncho I purchased from the same ladies selling sticks at the beginning of the hike.

Day 3: Having rained almost the whole night, the morning of Day 3 was pretty muddy. We set off for our 14 km hike to our last campsite, Winaywayna. After hearing all these things about how day 2 was supossed to be the hardest, I was expecting day 3 to be a piece of cake. It wasn't. The first couple of hours were climbing uphill on Inca stairs. For people who averaged about 5 feet 5 inches in height, they sure built stairs that seemed to require having really long legs. By the time the morning was finished, my legs were burning pretty badly. But the view from the top of the pass was very nice with some Andean peaks in the background. We also explored around some other Inca Ruins that we passed along the way to Winaywayna. Also, at Winaywayna, there were more Inca Ruins that we visited just near our campsite. In the evening, the porters introduced themselves to us (not sure why they didn't do it at the beginning of the trek). This was the most special part of the whole Inca Trail experience, I thought. Each of them stood up, one after another, and proudly announced, for example:

"My name is Fransisco, I have a wife and 5 children, and I carried the kitchen tent, table, chairs, and the gas!" Then we all applauded and whistled.

The porters all spoke in Spanish, and Hugo translated for us. It was a very nice moment, seeing how proud they all were to be porters. Hugo told me later that the porters earn about $25 USD per 4 days of hiking the Inca Trail. You couldn't pay me $25 to carry what they do for 10 meters let alone 44 km over 4 days! Most of them didn't have proper hiking boots. Some had shoes with actual soles on them, but many wore sandals similar to the ones that the Masai in Kenya wear that are made out of old tires. It was amazing how they would literally run past us as were were slogging along the track. I had made each of them a little macrame key chain type thing (most of them ended up hooking it to their backpacks or their jacket zippers) that I had learned to make in Cusco from a woman at the markets.

Day 4: The last day of the hike was fairly easy, only about 6 km, mostly downhill. As we approached the overlook to Machu Picchu, there were some llamas grazing and sitting around on the grass, paying no attention to the hundreds of people that were about to walk past them. The trail approaches Machu Picchu from above and since we got there around 7 in the morning, the fog had not yet cleared. We waited around for about half an hour, and when the sun came out and the fog lifted, we saw the classic view of the Lost City.

We decended into the ruins, and Hugo took us for a tour. Since the Incas did not leave any written records, not much is known about Machu Picchu, its former inhabitants, or why it was abandoned. It was discovered in 1911 by American historian Hiram Bingham who was leading an expedition from Yale University. When he found it, he was actually looking for the village Vilcabamba, the last stronghold of the Inca Empire, but instead found Machu Picchu. There are a few theories about what Machu Picchu was in its day: a city for royals, a retreat for sacred women (virgins), or a military stronghold. The city was completely self sufficient, with the surrounding terraces being used for agriculture to feed its inhabitants. The ruins are about 80% restored, and was very easy to tell what was original Inca wall and what was restored. It is still a mystery how the Incas were able to cut the stone blocks and assemble them so perfectly.

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