Advertisement
Published: April 13th 2006
Well here it is...the much-anticipated post-trip final blog. I know, I know, you were all on the very edges of your seats waiting for this one, and my apologies for taking so long to get it together. I trust it will be worth the wait.
Let me begin with sharing with you the drama that befell me the night I left Lima.
I had spent the bulk of the day not feeling very well after eating something at dinner the night before that I really shouldn’t have (don't ask). I managed to ignore it for most of the morning, but finally succumbed after breakfast and a trip to the market, spending the rest of the evening laying around the hotel and watching the BBC’s
Pride & Prejudice with Spanish subtitles.
Around 10pm, Nancy returned from dinner with Kirsten and Aileen and we grabbed a taxi to the airport. As we were entering through the sliding glass doors, I reached into my purse to take out my passport only to discover it wasn’t there! Under normal circumstances this would not have been that big of a deal - after all, it’s not like I’ve never missed a flight...I’ve even
lost my passport before (in Amsterdam where it fell out of my backpack somewhere between the hotel and the market and I thought I was going to have to apply for a new one when, miraculously, someone turned it in to the US Embassy). But like I was saying, under normal circumstances, I would have experienced that wretched sinking feeling, but ultimately I would have known that the worst case scenario was I’d have to stay in Lima a little longer and get a flight out the following day. However, I was still not feeling well not to mention being tired and worn out from being sick all day and all I wanted was to go home. So as you can surely imagine, my reaction to the prospect of not being able to get on my scheduled 12:05am flight was just about the worst news I could have been given at that moment. And, as the proverbial straw on the poor camel’s back, this was all it took to push me over the edge of reason and into total tears.
With the hotel 45 minutes or so away, there wasn’t enough time for me to take another taxi there
and get back again, so instead Nancy and I both tried calling the hotel. I had trouble getting through with my super-helpful (read: condescending) international operator who was so patronizing that I ended up hanging up the phone on him after yelling “Thank you!” into the receiver (Defense Exhibit B: Additional evidence of me being past my ability to cope). Nancy had better luck with her angel-of-an-operator and reached Aileen, explained the situation and asked if she and/or Kirsten could jump into a cab and run my passport over to the airport.
I waited by the door while the minutes ticked by…10:45…10:55…11:00…11:10… At 11:20 or so I started breaking into a cold sweat when finally I caught sight of Aileen running across from the road waving my wayward passport above her head. I started crying again (this time in relief) and after checking in through the first class lane, took off running for my gate. Some kind people at the immigration checkpoint allowed me to jump in front of them and I made it down to my gate with about 5 minutes to spare. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been more relieved to have made a flight in
my life.
And so 8 hours later, I found myself back in EWR and navigating my way through baggage claim, Air Train, and finally NJ Transit to Princeton Junction where my friend Sharon was willing to come and shuttle me back to my car. PHEW!
Now for the fun part - jokes, thoughts, and experience-based trip tips…
In my first blog before the trip, I talked about three relatively major concerns that I’d like to address briefly using that 20/20 hindsight that we all know and love:
1) Altitude Sickness
2) The Inca Trail
3) The Packing Dilemma 1) Altitude Sickness This was a tricky thing, especially since there’s really no way of knowing if you’re going to have trouble before you get there (however they do think that whether or not you have difficulty can be hereditary - however none of my family had ever spent any significant time that high up, so I couldn’t ask around). I ended up not having any major issues - no headache or nausea (the two symptoms I was the most nervous about getting). Instead I was just completely exhausted for a couple of days
On Streets of Cuzco
Me & Nancy the day before we left for the Sacred Valleywhich is still related to the altitude, however it’s totally manageable. Nancy had a harder time, especially with headaches, but once she started taking the altitude medication she brought, I think she was better pretty quickly. Moral of the story: I would say be on the safe-side and just take the meds. However, if you don’t have time to go to the doctor and get a prescription before you arrive, no worries - they sell plenty of them there. Just look for the fantastic poster that’s hanging in most Cuzco drugstores which shows a family visiting Machu Picchu (we found this hysterical) - three of them are standing on a hill above the ruins beaming, while one is keeled over with his head just outside of the frame. Guess who didn’t take his altitude meds?
2) The Inca Trail Best described in my blog,
A Walk in the Cloud Forest, but to just to sum up: To-date, this was the hardest and most rewarding physical challenge I have undergone in my life... Then again, my life isn’t over yet!
On this same subject, I want to also quickly document some of our groups little “Moments That Matter” which kept us in good
The Streets of Cuzco
An alley running past some original Inca architecture stead and laughs through the course of The Trial...uh, I mean
Trail...
*******************
On our ride to the trailhead, the truck that blocked our way had the word “KEVIN” written across the top of the windshield. When the back of the truck lifted up and began to dump its 5 ton load of dirt, Kirsten stood up in her seat and exclaimed, “That Kevin’s a bit of a jerk!”
As with money, there is apparently also an exchange rate between the way Peruvians (read: Carlos) measure time, and the way the rest of the world does - in fact, the difference can be more than double. For example, we quickly learned that when he said we’d be hiking for another 45 minutes, that this should properly be translated as 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Additionally, Carlos’s idea of a “slight incline” or “gentle slope” was roughly on par with the vertical grade from the Cliffs of Insanity (for those of you familiar with
The Princess Bride - and for those of you who aren’t, I have three words for you: go rent it).
When told on The Trail that chocolate pudding is being served for dessert,
The Road to Camp
At the end of Day 2 I don’t care how much a chocoholic you think you are, unless you actually SEE a Jell-O Instant Pudding box, take my advice and pass.
As I wrote in
A Walk in the Cloud Forest, we were told that Dead Woman Pass was thus named because it supposedly looks like a dead woman lying on her back however, we found it more to be the case that it just looked like a giant boob. What I
didn't mention in that blog was how, upon first seeing the pass from a distance, Nancy exclaimed, "Wow - dead woman had a nice rack!"
On Day 3 we were having tea at the campsite while Carlos was giving us some ideas of things we could do with the extra time we had, having arrived at the campsite earlier than on the previous days. “There’s also a stuff-ed animal museum up a little ways that you might want to visit,” he told us. We all sat quietly for a second before Jason asked, “When you say
stuffed animals, do you mean like teddy bears, or taxidermy?”
Upon discovering that the meaning of Winay Wayna was “forever young”, Kirsten announced that she wanted to be called that
from now on. “Sure,” Nancy said, “only you should be called ‘Winay
Whiner” . This conversation was happening behind me as we were following Carlos out to the ruins of Winaywyna. Carlos then turned to me with a confused look on his face and asked, “’Whiner’ - doesn’t that mean someone who drinks a lot?”
Jason was apparently so taken with our porters that he announced his singleness to them our first night, just in case. 😊 (To the shagrin of his girlfriend, Heather I might add!)
During our descent to Machu Picchu from Sun Gate, Kirsten was asked by an exploring stranger who was hiking up the trail but unclear of exactly where it led, “Where am I going?” To which she responded promptly, “Machu Picchu.” I’m sure the girl was relieved to have run into someone who knew so precisely where they were.
*******************
3) The Packing Dilemma If I could go back knowing what I know now, there were definitely some superfluous items in my supremely-well-packed (read: overstuffed to the point of being obese) duffle bag as well as some things I wish I had brought. For anyone reading who might
be wondering what to bring, here in a pistachio nutshell are the primary items I would make sure you bring:
Water-resistant wicking convertible pants - I fell in LOVE with mine which I picked up from REI for about $70...SOOOO worth it.
A fresh pair of hiking socks for each day you’re on The Trail - Nothing beats being able to put on a clean, dry, pair of socks every morning.
Head lamp - Nancy had one of these and I wish I’d had one too...especially great for night trips the bathroom.
Plastic Ziploc freezer bags (the 1 gallon kind) - I actually brought an entire box of them and used pretty much every one...great for keeping things dry (like your socks!)
Daypack w/a water reservoir - Mine didn’t have one and I REALLY wish it had b/c carrying around a 2.5 liter water bottle slung over one shoulder got really annoying.
Giant poncho - A few of us had these and the rest of the group was envious...even though you looked like you were wearing a tent, they were fabulous at keeping yourself and your daypack dry.
Fleeces - I brought two, but I wish I’d brought one more.
Hat & gloves - I was surprised at how often I needed to pull them out, especially at night and while sleeping.
Thermarest - I brought mine which was ultralight and came with its own stuff sack. They do rent them in town as well, either way I’d definitely recommend having one for The Trail.
Baby wipes - Some of the brilliant people in our group thought to bring these and I think they were cleaner and fresher for it.
Large camping towel - I picked up one of these a couple of days before I left...didn’t think I’d need such a big one, but it was pretty small when rolled up in its stuff sack so I figured why not? Turns out you can take a shower at the Day 3 campsite and I was REALLY glad I had that towel.
Flip-flops or Teva-like sandals - I’d left mine at the hotel in Cuzco, but they would have been great to have for after that Day 3 shower.
Walking stick - This became my best friend on The Trail. You can buy bamboo ones in Ollantaytambo for next to nothing. I had brought one I got from LL Bean that had a good leaning handle and rubber tip which I think was particularly helpful when going down slopes with wet rocks (the tip really seemed to grab and stick to the rock).
Swiss Army knife - Two things on this: If you get one to bring, make sure you pack it in the bag you're checking so they don't confiscate. Secondly, if you have any interest in drinking wine, get the kind that comes with a corkscrew - mine came in handy more than once.
All that said, despite my fears I had pretty much everything with me that I needed.
On a more somber note, my grandfather - who I’ve mentioned several times over the course of my blogging this trip - passed away the Monday after I returned (4/3). I promptly flew down to Atlanta to be with my family the next day and was there until just this past Sunday. Thanks to all who were praying for him and us all - it’s still hard and we all miss him terribly, but there is great comfort in knowing that his trials in this life are over and he is now with the Lord, having finally entered into his rest.
Before I wrap-up, there were also a few humorous episodes that took place on the Amazonian Rainforest leg of my adventure that I feel are worth sharing... Hopefully I can at least PARTIALLY convey the humor of the moment, but I fear most may end with a trailing thought of guess-you-had-to-be-there tacked on. And with that disclaimer, here goes nothing...
*******************
In discussing what we might be seeing in the jungle, Aileen informed us that one of her son's had given her instructions if she were to see a jungle cat. "If you get mauled by a puma," he told her, "just make sure you keep your camera on so you can get a good shot of it." So with that in mind, her plan was initially to have Kirsten close by so she could grab Aileen's camera and take a picture of her getting mauled by a puma. After careful consideration she decided that it might be better if she just made the puma maul Kirsten so she could get a good shot of that for her son and escape getting mauled herself. Two birds, one stone. Kirsten then stated that she would never allow herself to be mauled by a puma - that she would sooner maul the puma. We all agreed that getting a picture of Kirsten mauling a puma would be much more interesting, so that became the final plan: Get Aileen's camera ready, find a puma, and then sic Kirsten on it.
The puma siccing story made its way to one of our first conversations with Daniel (our guide) where we asked him before our night walk in the jungle if we might see any. He almost laughed at the question and said it was unlikely. Dissatisfied with that answer, Kirsten asked if we might at least see a kitten. The joke then evolved from Kirsten mauling a puma, to Kirsten getting mauled by a jungle kitten.
Our last morning in the jungle, we were sitting in the dining hut having breakfast when Daniel pointed out the screen window with an excited, "Look! Look!" Fluttering just a few feet from the door before crossing over into the trees was the stunningly beautiful endangered
Blue Morph Butterfly. 'Thrilling' doesn't
quite capture the moment, but it's close. Anyway, after we all sat back down in our seats, Kirsten said, "Imagine eating breakfast and seeing that outside your window." Everyone began to laugh as Nancy responded with, "We don't need to imagine - it just happened!"
*******************
And so ends this adventure's blog. I’ve enjoyed keeping it almost as much as I enjoyed my time in Peru - and I hope you all have enjoyed at least a few of them as well! I’m about to begin work on my deepest, darkest Peru holiday movie, but with all the upcoming weddings, etc. I have over the next couple of months, I have no clue when I’ll have this completed. In the meantime, does anyone have any thoughts on what some good background tunes might be? Suggestions are always welcome!
For my next short trip, I’m going to Oregon (Portland, Bend, & Crater Lake) over Memorial Day weekend so until then…adios amigos!
And now I'll finish with an encore presentation of some favorite pics from my previous Peru blogs...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.436s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 23; qc: 113; dbt: 0.2007s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.3mb
Joanna
non-member comment
you are a nut
No head lamp? Josh and I have 3!! Good grief. Anyway, love love love the pictures. They are of course beautiful. :)