Peru Adventure Day 4

We woke up at 4:30. Had to get up and pack our stuff and eat breakfast. We started hiking at 6 am. This is our long day. 10 miles up almost 4 k feet then down 2,500 feet. Then up 2,000. Then down 1300 to our third camp. This was a very long hard day. But very fulfilling. I got to know my shoes real well, it was very tiring and very awesome. 

We hiked for almost 3 hours before we had direct sunlight. That is one nice thing about himingnin a canyon. The problem was being too hot from the jacket and too cold from the weather. I opted for a hat and gloves and carried my jacket just in case. I used it a little here and there. 

Eli loves waterfalls.  We found this one. 

Not in jungle but as we got closer and higher it got wetter and greener. 

We had a nice break. 

I forgot to look up name of this flower. 



The backdrop was amazing. 



We thought this was the top. We got so excited. We thought we only had to go another 20 min. This was deception and disappointment pass. Eli started to cry. So close yet so far away. 





Here we are on the top. Dead Woman’s Pass. 13779 feet. The highest I have ever been. Eli celebrated with an Inka Kola. 

Inka Kola gave him tons of energy. No more complaining after lunch. It was still a good hike and he did well. But the Inka Kola made it easy for him. 

Group photo!  That really was a tough hike. 




Wonderful and needed lunch break. 

Second half day was super pretty. Way more stairs. Way fewer horse poops. The first half of trail is still used by locals that live up in the sticks. 

I can’t even remember the names of these valleys and what not. So we will just call it day two. 

Inka stairs. They were very pretty. Hiking through tunnels of trees. 

These were the ruins at Runkuraqay. They were like a hotel. Or military bunk/stopover point for travelers on trail. They did not use money, so you would generally just stay there. But you were only a traveler if you were in government business anyway. 







We hiked through like 4 tunnels on the trail. I always wonder why it is easier to tunnel through rock rather than go around. 



Coming down into the cloud forest and amazon from elevated peaks. 

The above and below picture are at Sayaqmarka. It is Inka for “we don’t know” or “mountain city” they have lost all records of what this place is or was. It has no agricultural work Temple and is as big as a castle so they think it was a military outpost or massive hotel complex. There are five Inka trails coming in. And this position defends the trails and also has view of distant Machu Picchu mountain. So signals could be seen. On a cloudless day. 




See Eli and his doppelgänger. 

Here is our night tent. 

Peru Adventura Day 3

So. Here’s a funny story. I am an idiot. I had been working nights for a week before leaving. I got off work Sunday morning. Slept for 3 hours then we went to church, a family function, then to airport. Flight was cancelled so we slept from 10-6. Then got up Monday. And Monday all night was spent sitting on floor in airport. Basically my body was used to being up at night. We slept Tuesday night just fine but had been up for almost 24 hours at that point 

Why am I telling you this? Well. Last night at expedition check in, I set an alarm for 3:45. Unsure if I would be sleepy or wakeful. We came home. Packed and showered and (by the way Eli used all the hot water, I took a cold wakeful shower) went to bed. But I couldn’t sleep. So. I took a Unisom. And dozed off. Still feeling tired I dreamed of missing our bus to the start of the trail. Well at 3:58 I heard something in the street ( it is Cusco festival week) and I figured it was just partying. But in my dream, I thought it was our tour guide. So I looked at my phone and had a full adrenaline surge. 

“ELI GET UP THEYRE GONNA BE HERE IN 2 min”

He was out. I shook him awake. We dressed and headed out. 

So yeah. Working nights is hard. But switching back while traveling. And setting an alarm for 3:45, always check am or pm. 

As I write this in the bus to starting point he is asleep on my leg. 

So we finally met up with the group and took a 2 hour bus ride to the start of the trail. They fed us a banana pancake and gave us granola bars. They went through all the safety stuff and walked us to starting point. It was Peru’s winter so cold in the 40’s at first then warming up during the day. 

Here is our big group 16 signed up 14 hiked. 


Look at how fresh and clean smelling we are. Note the lack of trail dust. 

Still so full of hope and mystery. 

So these are the porters. The real men. They carry 55 lb up in the hill. Like it was nothing. One of the guys was 65 years old. He carries the toilet. 


This was a break point. 

The backdrop was amazing. Note the snow in the background. 

These are the ruins.  The first that we hiked too. It was a produce and storage facility for the Inka trail from Cusco to Machu Picchu and amazon. They stored potatoes. Beans. Corn. Clothes and weapons here. 

I think it was Wayllabamba. 




We had lunch. 

Camping at Ayapata. 10829 feet. 



Here is our camp site. They introduced us to our porters. All are Kichwa, they speak Spanish as a second language. kichwa is a local dialect, an Inkan dialect. May even predate the Inka. These guys were super awesome. 



What a beautiful evening.