Four of us flew down to Peru to hike the Inca Trail. The weather was great for us, rain only one night which never affected our trek. It was four nights and five days on the trail that would take us to Macchu Piccu, the ancient civilization which was dug up from being buried. There is still more excavating to do it is told. It was a remarkable route that the Incas created to get from village to village. Lots of steep steps up and down the landscape, along the mountains, up and over. Our highest point was about 14,000 feet at Dead Woman's Pass. Beautiful scenery. Our guide Washi and his assistant Lucy took great care in seeing all of our group make it to the end. All we carried was our day pack with our day's snacks and bit of clothing and water for the journey. Our porters carried everything else, the tents, the gear, the propane tanks. They would watch us leave for the day, then pass us along the way to arrive ahead of us at the next camp. As we came to the camp, they stood in line applauding us as we entered. The dining tent, our sleeping tents, mats, bowls for washing up, hot beverage, meal, everything was ready and waiting for us. Each morning we would be awoken by a tap on the tent and a voice telling us to get up, then we were handed a cup of tea and a wash basin with warm water was sitting outside our tents. The porters were remarkable, friendly and of good cheer, always ready to help.
When we arrived at Macchu Piccu, it was the morning so we could see the sun rise over the mountain and down upon the village. That morning was cloudy, however, it created a mystical effect where the clouds would open and we could see the landscape and the village. As we descended, the clouds parted and we could see more. Here we had the opportunity to explore the village before descending down the mountain by bus to the village below where we would have lunch and shortly after depart by train back to our starting point of the trek.
Two of us, while in Macchu Piccu, were able to climb the mountain next to the village and enjoy the view from there. This was truly spectacular. The cliffs, steep and narrow steps without railings, the narrow steep paths that had a rope alongside and iron bars to assist in the ascent and descent from the mountain were amazing.
