#253: The Inca Trails (2nd Ed pg 1043)

May 2006

I have to add this picture in because it is such an integral part of our Incan Trail experience.

This cursed meal!

We've gone over it a hundred times, and all of us are now 100% convinced that it was here we contracted shigella.

But of course, it doesn't hit you right away. It festers and then hits you with a violent vengeance!

So, the morning after eating that fateful meal, we started the Inca Trail!

Ready to go for the hike of a lifetime!

And..... it hit!

During our first night on the trail, Carrie and I woke up with the most violent, unrelenting nausea, vomiting and diarrhea we've ever experienced in our life.  We legit thought we were going to die.  It went on, and on, and on.  No bathrooms, no plumbing, no fresh water, no bed.  We were on our own. However, due to the fact that new people start the Incan trail to MP every day and there are only a certain number of people allowed on the trail, dying or not, we were told we had to get up and hike the next day.  They said we could hike down or hike up, but we had to hike.  We figured,  as long as we had to hike, we may as well hike toward our destination, so we put one foot in front of the other and eventually, these two half-dead women made it over Dead Woman's pass, the most challenging part of the trail.

I honestly don't know what we would have done without these awesome porters helping us!  They carried all the camping equipment and set up our tents at each of our three primitive camp sights. 

I'm still not sure how we survived, but somehow we did and lived to tell the story!

And were rewarded with spectacular views every step of the way!

Verdict:  Absolutely!!  Of course I wish I could re-live this experience without the most intense intestinal illness of my life, but it still goes down as one of the most amazing things I've ever done.  I'm so glad the 2nd edition puts "Incan Trails" as a separate entry.  Most people just take the train up to Machu Picchu.  But the hike on the Incan Trail was an experience in and of itself, and in my opinion, was an even more amazing experience than seeing the site itself.  And you appreciate it even more once you get there.  You've earned that view!  You've worked for it! And MP, while absolutely a must do as well, is a several hour experience and you're done.  The Trails is a several day experience, so you soak in so much along the way.  In fact, if there was a Top 100 in the world, this would make my list - it was that amazing!

#99: Machu Picchu (Page 844; 2nd Ed pg 1042)

May 2006: And the journey begins! I am to the right of the sign with Dave and my brother and his wife, Carrie are to the left of the sign. The trail head starts at 10,000 feet elevation.

Dave and I at the official start of the Incan Trail. We bought these walking sticks in Urubamba and they turned out to be lifesavers when hiking up or down the steep parts of the trail.

The Porters are absolutely AMAZING!!! From this close-up shot, you can get an idea of the heavy loads they carry on their backs and the open-toed sandles most of them wore while the rest of us wore sturdy hiking shoes.

This is my brother Ryan passing by a water station for the Porters.

Our first day of the hike. Notice we all had smiles on our faces. That was about to change......

During our first (of 3) nights camping on the trail, Carrie and I got BRUTALLY sick. We spent the ENTIRE night with horrible nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Oh my gosh, we've never been so sick in all our life. We found out later (after we got back to the states and got tested) that we had contracted shigella, a brutal food born illness while eating in Cuzco. But we were stuck on the trail. We could hike up or we could hike down. But we had to hike either way, so we kept hiking up. Miraculously, we made it to the top of Dead Woman's Pass on our second day of hiking, stopping as needed to get sick. We were SO sick this second day. I honestly cannot believe we were able to hike. And it was very appropriate that we did Dead Woman's Pass, since that is exactly how we felt!

In our group, it was only the four of us, which was awesome. But, we had A LOT of help. Here we are with our porters, cook and our guide. All 8 of these people hiked the trail just for us and stayed with us the entire time. They helped to carry the tent and all the cooking supplies. And they cooked for us every night and tried their best to help us while we were sick.

Dave got nailed during the second night, so of the four of us, my brother Ryan is the only one that escaped the horrible sickness. Luckily, at least the nausea and vomiting part of it started to subside by Day 3....

And miracle of all miracles.... we made it to the top! What a breathtaking, heavenly sight!

We did it!

Here is a picture of all 5 of us at the top. My sister Maret decided to do the Rainforest instead of the Incan Trail, so after her Rainforest adventure, she took the train up to the top.

Verdict: YES, YES, YES!!!! Admittedly, I wish I could have done this without being deathly ill, but this adventure was truly one of the highlights of my life. We all absolutely loved it. Machu Picchu is absolutely something everybody should see and experience in person. It is absolutely amazing. And to think that the trail and the "town" was built so long ago without any modern day machinery or technology is just unbelievable. And if you're able.... do the hike! Earn that view!

#98: Cuzco (Page 840, 2nd Ed pg 1040)

May 2006: A trip of a lifetime -- Dave and I flew to Lima, Peru where we met up with my sister Maret and my brother Ryan and his wife Carrie. After spending our first night in Lima, we flew to Cuzco. Here we are overlooking the city.

We saw these cute little babies being toted all over the place wrapped in these colorful cloths attached to their mother's back.

Shopping in Cuzco

Another photography disclaimer -- Oh, to do this trip over with a nice SLR digital camera! Not only did we use a 35 milimeter, but after we developed the film, we realized it was old film and the pictures all looked grainy. What a travesty on a trip like this! Thankfully, my brother took some video and that turned out better!

The Baroque cathedral in the Plaza de Armas.

Verdict: Maybe. Here's the thing... Cuzco is the birthplace of the Incan Empire and was founded in the 12th Century. It's a VERY cool city! Even so, I wouldn't necessarily put it as a MUST SEE before you die.... except for the fact that it also happense to be at 11,000 feet above sea level. And therefore, would-be hikers of the famous Incan Trail to Machu Picchu are advised to stay in Cuzco for a few days to acclimatize to the elevation before beginning the hike. And hiking the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu is an ABSOLUTE MUST DO BEFORE YOU DIE. So, when (when, not if!) you go to hike the Incan Trail.... stay a few nights in Cuzco!