Peru!

Throughout much of the trek, I both looked and felt like an old lady. On the last day, the walking sticks that were my saving grace going both up and down the VERY steep and VERY uneven stone steps looked more like the canes of a woman who had just had a full hip replacement. The second day of the trek was a grueling 4 or 5 hours uphill in high altitudes (up to 13,776 feet) and a knee-jarring 2 or 3 hours downhill. The night of the second day was bitterly cold (damn the woman at REI who convinced me to buy a sleeping bag that is comfortable only to 25 degrees rather than to one comfortable to 0 degrees). I spent the large part of the night alternating between a somewhat warmer fetal position and a much colder back position where I could stretch out my tired legs. But I had a real sense of accomplishment that night. I was also so excited about the third day of the trek – which was supposed to be much easier and filled with Incan ruins – that I was awake and dressed well before the porters “knocked” on our tent at the leisurely hour of 6:00 a.m. to announce it was time for Wake Up Tea. And the fact that I woke up well before the alarm that day, as well as several days in Cusco, excited about exploring this great country, reminds me of all the times I woke up early on Christmas morning when I was a kid. So I suppose I´m not that old after all.

The third day of the trek was astonishing. It was a simple 4-hour hike, mostly downhill, through cloud forest and a number of visually stunning Incan ruins hugging the hillside. And we arrived at the campsite for lunch, hot showers (!!) and had plenty of time to buy a couple of beers at this well-equipped site and then head off to visit another ruin. It was heaven.

On the fourth day, we heard the Wake Up Tea call at 4:00 a.m. so that we could get to Machu Picchu as the sun was rising. Yes, Machu Picchu is spectacular, and I hope you can all see it some day. But honestly, we were so exhausted from the trek and had spent the past three days overloaded with indescribable views of snow-capped mountains, cloud forests, mountain jungle and Incan ruins, that we frankly weren´t as moved as we expected. But it really is something.

On a side note, the food on the trek was amazing. The porters carried up fresh vegetables and meats, and we had a 3 or 4-course dinner every night. It was the best food we´ve had here, and we´ve had some damn good food.

After hot springs and heavenly massages at Aguas Calientes, the town just down the hill from Machu Picchu, we took a train back to Cusco. This morning, we hopped a bus to Puno and are now at this city along the shore of Lake Titicaca. There was a little mix-up at the bus terminal and we apparently missed the bus we were supposed to take, but some other bus company took our tickets and gave us new ones for the next bus. I don´t always understand everything that´s going on here, but the one thing that is crystal clear is that the people are helpful and friendly. I´ve really enjoyed trying out my Spanish and very few people have pointed and laughed. Oh, and after the food we ate on the trek, it didn´t even surprise me that a lady brought practically a whole pig onto the bus, which she chopped right there with her huge cleaver and sold to our fellow passengers.

Tomorrow are the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca, the next day we head to Arequipa, and from there we fly to Lima on the Lan Peru flight at 3:00 p.m. on June 30. We hope to post some more photos soon, but not tonight. Tonight we are tired and headed for bed. After all, we just finished the practically super-human feat of trekking the Inca Trail. And we´re proud of ourselves. We discussed it and decided it was a good thing our parents didn´t come along, because they never would have made it. They´re even older than I am.

Love to you all. Anne

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