I survived the Inca Trail!

Well, after 4 days of the most physically challenging walk I’ve done I am still in one piece and I actually even enjoyed myself - though I am not going to tell my body this as it’s still quite sore!!!

The Inca Trail is one the steepest walks I’ve done. It’s either straight up small narrow steps, or it’s down them at the same pitch. Our most challenging day was the second when we walked to a pass called ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’ at a height of around 4,200 meters above sea level. During the first part of the day, we were walking through some lovely surrounds – forests and trees with steams running through and I saw some humming birds in the wild as well. The second part of the day’s walk was just plain hard work! It was steep, dusty and the altitude made walking very hard - it was almost like you could only walk 2 steps and then you had to stop to catch your breath!

The third day was a long day – we covered 16 kilometres, but the walk was very scenic with a number of stops at Inca ruins. Again we were able to see some stunning surrounds with beautiful flowers, orchids, mosses and views. The entire time we were on the walk it felt as though we were on the top of the world, as we were near the top of the Andes with snow-capped mountains all around us. Needless to say it was bloody cold!

The highlight, of course, was yesterday morning when after rising at 3.30am we arrived at the sun gate over looking Machu Picchu. It had rained during the night and the valley was covered in fog, but by 8am it had all cleared away and we had the most stunning views of the ruins. Our guide gave us a 2 hour tour of Machu Picchu and then Coly and I still managed to spend another few hours walking around.

We are now in Puno - the jumping off point for lake Titicaca with an overnight stay at a local family’s home. I will let you all know about it when I get back…

Keep on smiling!

Cathy