And now, back to civilization.
After navigating through over 50k of dense Peruvian Jungle and Cloud Forrests for the past few days- we've decided to take it easy in Cuzco today.. maybe even get a massaje or two.
The Inca Trail is a vast road comprised of slick, lichen-ridden boulders complete with massive amounts of altitude change.
Sitting here, even now, my calves and quads continue to echo with the incessant pain of thousands of ancient stairs.
The rain was relentless. The altitude sometimes hovered around 14,000'. "Dead Woman´s Pass" was a nightmare, as you could imagine. Additionally, with our track-record of withstanding extreme backpacking conditions- we were prepared for ANYTHING and, therefore, brought WAY too much with us. Our packs were around 20kg- which just so happens to be the Legal Limit for the Porters who carried other people's packs... can you say badass??
That being said, the Inca Trail was THE highlight of our trip so far!! Aside from the adverse conditions, the trail really wasn't that hard and the Inca Ruins (six separate sites) we visited along the way were truly a treat.
Again, conditions aside, this was the most luxurious camping we have ever experienced. Pancakes and porridge in the morning, afternoon tea (complete with fresh popcorn), and gourmet lunches and dinners that would make even Wolfgang Puck a very jealous and sad man.
Our guide, Rubens, was a very interesting individual- and, for the sake of keeping this site clean, I will spare details.. lets just say that he´s had more than a fair share of coca leaves in his day.
Our group was so much fun! There were fourteen of us from Canada, UK, USA and Holland.. we all got along very well and I´m sure that we´ll stay in touch for years to come.. and always remember that certain special train ride home.
Needless to say, Machu Picchu was somewhat of a spiritual experience- There´s a reason why it's one of the world wonders. Machu Picchu really was one of the most beautiful cities I´ve ever seen. So stunning, in fact, it gave me the chills..
As for tonight, partying at the Loki Hostel, yet again. We just cannot seem to escape this place.. too much fun. Tomorrow, we fly back to Lima at 7 am, stay there for a night, then fly to Santiago and stay there for a night. Then its off to New Zealand, baby!
South America has been a blast but there´s a whole other world we´ve yet to visit......
After navigating through over 50k of dense Peruvian Jungle and Cloud Forrests for the past few days- we've decided to take it easy in Cuzco today.. maybe even get a massaje or two.
The Inca Trail is a vast road comprised of slick, lichen-ridden boulders complete with massive amounts of altitude change.
Sitting here, even now, my calves and quads continue to echo with the incessant pain of thousands of ancient stairs.
The rain was relentless. The altitude sometimes hovered around 14,000'. "Dead Woman´s Pass" was a nightmare, as you could imagine. Additionally, with our track-record of withstanding extreme backpacking conditions- we were prepared for ANYTHING and, therefore, brought WAY too much with us. Our packs were around 20kg- which just so happens to be the Legal Limit for the Porters who carried other people's packs... can you say badass??
That being said, the Inca Trail was THE highlight of our trip so far!! Aside from the adverse conditions, the trail really wasn't that hard and the Inca Ruins (six separate sites) we visited along the way were truly a treat.
Again, conditions aside, this was the most luxurious camping we have ever experienced. Pancakes and porridge in the morning, afternoon tea (complete with fresh popcorn), and gourmet lunches and dinners that would make even Wolfgang Puck a very jealous and sad man.
Our guide, Rubens, was a very interesting individual- and, for the sake of keeping this site clean, I will spare details.. lets just say that he´s had more than a fair share of coca leaves in his day.
Our group was so much fun! There were fourteen of us from Canada, UK, USA and Holland.. we all got along very well and I´m sure that we´ll stay in touch for years to come.. and always remember that certain special train ride home.
Needless to say, Machu Picchu was somewhat of a spiritual experience- There´s a reason why it's one of the world wonders. Machu Picchu really was one of the most beautiful cities I´ve ever seen. So stunning, in fact, it gave me the chills..
As for tonight, partying at the Loki Hostel, yet again. We just cannot seem to escape this place.. too much fun. Tomorrow, we fly back to Lima at 7 am, stay there for a night, then fly to Santiago and stay there for a night. Then its off to New Zealand, baby!
South America has been a blast but there´s a whole other world we´ve yet to visit......
No comments:
Post a Comment