Inca Trail, Day 3

---

It was up at 6 AM again today anticipating our longest day on the trail - 9 miles. Breafast was hot chocolate, omelettes, banana fritters, and toast. We began our hike on a steep uphill but soon came to our first stop at a set of ruins which consisted of an egg-shaped lookout complex. After that it was more uphill past several discouraging false passes until we got to the second pass of the trail. It was a nice downhill hike to our next ruin of the day which commanded a beautiful view of the entire valley and mountains. Marcello, our guide, informed us that the rest of the trail that day would be 95% original built by the Incas. As such, he said, walking it would be a "piece of cookie" (an obvious affront to cake lovers everywhere).

He was correct - a nice stroll led us to a lunch of chicken salad, beet salad, mini pizzas, sweet potatoes, and garlic bread. Oh, and don't forget the jello - there's always room for that. We had about 10 minutes to digest this feast before we started the hike uphill to the third and final pass of the trail. It was not too difficult, and we were accompanied much of the way by the talkative 14-year-old Sebastian (brother to our quiet 16-year-old companion Lucia from the day before). After making it to the top of the pass, we hiked down a short but very steep set of stairs to the next set of ruins. They had an amazing fountain that still had flowing water to this day - a testament to Inca construction.

After this we were free to walk at our own pace the rest of the way to camp. Seeking more adult conversation (or perhaps merely a little less conversation than the always-amusing Sebastian had provided), we fell in with Duncan, Heidi, Dave, Melinda, and Lucia. The trail was a pretty good downhill but was very enjoyable not least of all for the compaionship. We passed through two tunnels with stone staircases that the Incas had carved. Our conversation - and humor - was compared to that which one experiences after staying up until three in the morning at a sleepover. In other words, great goofy fun.

The final approach to the camp consisted of many steep switchbacks, but we were rewarded there by real, honest to goodness flush toilets. Of course, they didn't have seats and you had to provide the toilet paper, but let's be realistic - this is the Inca Trail, after all. We had survived the downhill known as the Gringo Killer, and we were proud. At tea time, the ever-generous Duncan bought not one but two rounds of Cusquena beer for the two of us - what a guy! Dinner was noodle soup, beef, broccoli wrapped in chicken, fried yucca, peaches (which Marcello teased us were condor eggs), and hot sangria. Afterwards we had a tipping ceremony for our stellar porters and got to shake all of their hands. We learned that they were all from Pisac where we had been at the market ealier in the week. Then it was off to bed for our last night and an early wakeup the next day.

---

Photos

View starting day 3
This is the view from our tents on our third morning - chilly, but beautiful!

On top of the world
Most of our group, plus our guides, at the top of the third pass.

More uphill?
You can see the trail cutting across the mountain, and going at a pretty sharp angle too.

View from the second pass
It is almost worth the grueling hike just to see the views from here. Almost.

Don't look down
In the bottom right you can see our camp from the night before, and the trail from yesterday across the valley.

Ruins on day 3
Ruins are a two-for-one deal: they are really neat, plus it's an excuse to rest for a while.

Inca doorway
The fact that these stones were still standing after several hundred years is amazing, considering we were barely standing after a 30 minute hike.

View down on Inca ruins
This is the egg-shaped ruin that we visited first, just as we were leaving it.

Andean lake
A tiny little lake created by the Incas. This was on our way to the top of the second pass.

Altars
It is Inca tradition to carry a stone from the valley up to the pass to make an altar for Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).

original Inca Trail
This is part of the trail to our lunch on the third day. Very pretty, and notice how intricate the stones are in the path. Amazing.

More Inca Ruins
These guys could really build. This is one of the more impressive sets of ruins we passed on the third day.

Inca fountain
This is an original Inca fountain, still flowing after 500 years. Simply amazing.

We made it!
Chris and Mark cutting up on top of the third and final pass.

Tough guys
Nina and Duncan flex their muscles in response to the third pass.

Our fantastic support crew!
Guides Percy (left) and Marcello (right) with one of the amazing porters in the middle.

Inca tunnel
Sarah and Chris emerging from one of the tunnels the Incas created for the trail.

Gringo killer
Hiking up is bad, but going back down these steep stairs isn't too much fun either.

Inca Sarah
Sarah storms the Inca ruins with her trekking poles. Watch out, Incas!

5-star dining
This is our lunch the third day, but is definitely representative of any typical meal on the trail. Yummmm!

Tea-time : not for tea-totallers
After reaching our final camp, where they actually sold beer in the wilderness, there was a little merriment... note the condor egg (actually peaches) in the foreground.

Porter tipping
No, it's not like cow tipping...this was the big thank you ceremony for the 25 kg (50+ lb) packs these guys slogged for us all week.