The trek...part 2

...grass. Grass was the word that the last post was missing.

So anyway, after stuffing our faces, we promptly began our trek. The first day was supposed to be easy, but after 3 minutes of climbing up hill, I was concerned that the altitude was going to get the best of me. I know it seems that I blame everything on the altitude these days, but trust me. Breathing did not come easy as we climbed into the clouds.

The beautiful thing about this particular hike was that we were the only gringos. So the only people we came into contact with were the natives, men at work in their yards, children smiling innocently hoping we'd hook them up with some candy, and women in their traditional dresses, trying to sell us llama-print hats, bracelets, and beer. They sure know how to cater to tourists. The hike that first day was amazing, even despite the fact I couldn't breath. We walked next to the alpaca and llamas, through beautiful flowers, across waterfalls and streams, and literally by the time we reached our campsite, our heads were in the clouds.

Naturally, after all that uphill-ness, we were starving. So the girls all crawled into my tent, where we devoured a bag of trail mix.  We were then called for "tea time." We were all still far more interested in the snacks I had dragged along, until our guide mentioned hot chocolate. At which point, we sprinted toward the kitchen tent. We were not only greeted by hot chocolate, but there was also popcorn and a bottle if rum that Tim so graciously shared. I'm not sure that I can adequately express just how excited I was to see popcorn on that table. I'd say it was equivalent to those little kids along the trail getting Oreos and suckers from Tonya. Pure joy. So we ate like kings and hit the sack.

The next morning started with yet another amazing meal. Yes, food will be a common theme of this post. Then we started our 5 hour trek up, up, up. It was tough. So tough that Kelen and Kim decided to throw down a pile of soles so they could ride horses up. I only point out the fact that they rode horses because it makes me feel better about the fact that I was continually trailing behind the crew. I don't know when I became the slow girl, but it happened. However, with the help of Zach Brown and coca candy, I made it. By the time we stepped to the top of the mountain, snow was falling down in us, which made the whole experience feel a lot more intense. Unfortunately, reaching the top of the mountain, did not men we were done trekking for the day. After 4.5 more hours of strolling through the snow, sleet, and rain, we made it to our campsite. The beautiful thing about the rain was that I got to rock my poncho. That and the fact that my camera was tucked away inside my bag, so I actually had to look up and take in the beauty around me. And let me tell you, it sure was beautiful.

Day three was sort of a joke. I wouldn't call what we did trekking. It was more like taking a leisurely stroll, followed by a bus, followed by a train.  The train took us to an adorable town that rests under Machu Picchu. We were pleased to find out there were more hot springs, where we could rest our muscles. We were quickly disgusted by the infested pools and teenagers making our all around us, do decided to pretend the hot springs never happened and settled for a hot shower instead. Yes, a hot shower! A hot shower with pressure! It was glorious! I had clean hair for the first time in weeks. It didn't last long, but it was wonderful while it did.

That night we were all a bunch of nuts. Kelen so eloquently equated us to a bunch of lunatics getting ready for the apocalypse. Do we have enough granola bars? Bug spray! We need more bug spray! I think I'll pack an entire gallon of water just in case! Sunscreen! We should probably put that on before we go to bed! Ha. I assume we were just excited.

3:45 came early. Maria, the Aussies, and I began our trek for 1/28th of the Inka trail. We hustled like I have never hustled before. Maria was concerned about beating the sun up. I was determined to beat Kim, Kelen, and the Irishman to the gate, so we hustled!

It was my first night (well, I guess early, early morning) hike with a headlamp. The headlamp made me feel intense. So we hustled and were 5th in line at the gates. Kim and Kelen arrived 15 seconds after us. It was perfect. We won! This also meant that we were among the first tourists to get a look at the ruins as the sun was rising. We snapped our pictures before the rocks were infected with gringos.

Naturally, 10 minutes into our tour, I was ready to pee my pants, and it turns out that its not acceptable to drop and squat on these sacred ruins, so I had to go all the way back outside. By the time, I got to the bathroom and found our group again, the tour was virtually over. So I missed it. I ended up just making up my own stories. I feel like I'll have to do some research before I go home. I feel like I missed out.

It was beautiful though, tour or no tour.