Okay I´m obsessing over the prose again, and I just need to finish this entry...
So we just got back from walking the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu (MP). It was my first trek ever and it feels good to have it under my belt, thought it will probably be the easiest one that I'll ever do (read: porters). I think Simon's gonna talk about most of the details of the trek, so I'll just skip to my thoughts.
Hooray for endorphins.
It was really, really, really, nice to finally be active. I feel like I've been slogging through everything since we've gotten to Peru. Our treks in the jungle were pretty laid back in terms of physical exertion, as we had to wait for our guides to hack through with machetes so it was slow going. And we were definitely a little slothy in Arequipa and Cusco as we adjusted to the altitude. (It's for real.) I definitely got a little bit of an exercise high these last few days. And it feels good. I was pretty sore by the last day. The third day was a lot of decending and I was so chicken shit about it, that it took me forever. It was like hours on end of pilates down these tiny inca steps. Hopefully Simon will upload a picture of these steps our guide called the "gringo killer."
And of course to add insult to injury, there was this aussie girl Joyce on our trek. She shows up for the trek in Lee jeans and a pair of trendy Adidas tennis shoes, and some book bag you would have used in high school. Me on the other hand, I've got all my REI schwag on, and we pretty much were going at the same pace more or less. I was undoubtedly more comfortable than her, and she definitely seemed worn out at times, but it didn't slow her down in terms of pace.
Getting there is more than half the fun
Don't get me wrong, MP was really nice, but honestly, it was really the process of getting there that I enjoyed. Simon and I weren't particularily excited to be seeing the ruins, not nearly as much as we thought. The valleys and mountains were beautiful. And for those of you how know me, will be surprised to hear that I had no problem getting up at 5 am in the morning everyday to start the trek. I loved the parts where I was walking alone and couldn't hear anyone.
I also had a great time climbing up Wynapicchu a hill next to MP. We were exhausted by the time we were done with the tour and we had a huge lunch which included a coca cola for me since I was so tired (we got up at 3:30 am to make sure we got to the peak of a mountain so we can see the sun rise over MP. And of course, it was completely foggy.) Armed with the caffiene we had about two hours to climb the mountain and make it back in time to catch the shuttle and train back to Cusco. I was pretty amped up as we climbed this moutain that was essentially Class 4 climbing - lots of scrambles and ropes and cable railings along the way. Simon went ahead and I tried my best to follow him. When we got to the top of the ruins, you really did feel like you were on top of the world. I am also slightly afraid of heights and we were sitting essentially on three slabs and nothing else and I started to freak out a little. It also started to rain, so we took a quick picture and then raced down the mountain to catch the bus. I am chicken shit on descents, but I was so worried about the bus that I raced to the end. The whole thing took an hour and a half and it was a pretty amazing adrenaline rush and one of my favorite parts of the who trek.
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