Hiking the Inca Trail with a 5 year old

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Taking off from the hotel with butterflies in my
stomach, I wondered if Kevin had convinced me to do
something that was totally out of my league of fitness
and parenting. Could I do this trail and take care of
my daughter all at the same time.

After having a rough briefing the day before from a
gentlemen that wasn´t exactly encouraging about the
situation....I really didn´t sleep or feel well. I
almost cancelled.

But 5 am came soon enough and in walked a peppy young
guy named Marco excited to meet the first 5 year old
to hike the Inca Trail. He was so exicted that it
became contageous. He immediately began to befriend
Serena and was chatting up a storm with the team that
would be accompanying us.

THE TEAM...I should stress was quite large. 9 people
to be exact. It seems that somewhere in the middle of
booking this and arriving, we ended up with a private
expedition. YES...for all of you who are laughing at
me, we had 8 porters and one guide assigned to us. I
wasn´t sure if I was supposed to be thrilled or
embarrassed. I decided to be thrilled. With that
many people around they could carry me if I wasn´t
able to hack the 53 kilometer hike over thousands of
stairs and steep grades. At this stage all i needed
was a chair for them to carry me in and I would be
perfectly content to go forward with this.

Driving to Kilometer 82 was a beautiful journey
prefacing the calm before the storm...and then it
began. YIKES!! Onward and forward.

Having the flu during a time where oxygen wasn´t
exactly bountiful wasn´t exactly the best way to start
off this hike. My first day was spent fighting for
air, and no matter how many coca leaves I chewed, I
gasped at every step. YIPEE...i had 4 more days of
this.

For some odd reason Llama Path, our Agency,
accidentally scheduled our camping places
incorrectly-- causing us to have to walk 11 hours in
one day. So after some heavy negotiating, Marco the
guide, got us a cushy spot on some private property
belonging to Victoria, a fabulous traditional Andean
woman, in order to break up the 11 hour day. Victoria
raises guinea hens for their delicacey--the Cuy-- and
sells soft drinks to passerbys. She was very
intrigued with Serena.

After a few hours, Serena moved into her house and
played with what would be someone´s dinner the next
day...I didn´t have the heart to teach her this
cultural lesson. Victoria was generous with her
resources, and acommodated anything and
everything--and before you know it...she asked me if I
would come back and baptize her son. YES...be a
godparent to her son. Sure why not....?

So off I went, distracted with questions that needed
answers regarding my reentry into the Inca Trail, in
order to come baptize my new godson. (which meant
having to hike in again for another 6 hours!) I still
hadn´t finished this hike and was already adding more
time to it. This was such a random happening that it
would be worth it.

Our second day was painful....in fact to say the word
¨painful¨ is an understatement. On our first day we
were already seeing hordes of hikers walking back
--not good. (I was hoping one of those disappointed
faces wouldn´t be mine) So to hit the D-day hike
which had me terrified was not something I was looking
forward to. I walked slow and wheezed a lot. Oxygen
was hard to find at that altitude.


Then the worst thing that could have happened did.
Terrential downpour. Serena was immediately swooped
up by Alexandro the porter, and Marco, who took charge
of the situation. Serena was in solid hands. All
Kevin and I needed to do was get to the campsite.

It was cold, nasty and WINDY! So as I saw Kevin facing
his own demons I kept having to walk forward. SHOULD
i turn around? Too late, i already sent my child
forward...no turning back for me. So I had to
perservere the painful steps and steep grade to Dead
Women´s Pass. So as i hiked up the stairs gushing
with water that pass for waterfalls in the United
States, I was terrified about whether I could make it
or not. Small hail was coming down on me and the rain
on the slick rocks was precarious to say the least.

BREATHE..BREATHE...BREATHE...one foot in front of the
other. EVERYTHING was going to be fine. Then I saw
our team. Of course, Alexandro, with his steady
footing, ran the trail to get Serena up during those 6
shaky kilometers. She was safe. Our team did
whatever they could to accomodate the now "Princessa"
of the Inca Trail. When she spoke they jumped and run
to meet her every need. Which I was grateful for,
because i could barely walk, much less jump.

After being pampered by our team, it became more
familial, the socio economic divide broke down as did
the walls made of tarps created to separate the
classes.

We bacame a family. Serena was the glue that held us
together. EVERYTHING circumvented her ability, her
mood, and her every whim. We hiked according to her
clock and according to her body language. After that
everyone´s pace became rythmic. Marco was her hiking
partner--- running and laughing with her the whole way
while he held her hand. He was always careful to wait
for me in order let me see that she was still smiling,
after he spotted me they would wave and run off.
Giggling and singing was all that was left in the air.



Gone were the butterflies and worries that i had at
the beginning of the journey-- joy and pride started
to fill my heart. Serena was passing some of the
fittest hikers on the trail. She and Marco were the
talk of the trail. It was fun to hear people saying
¨"Hi Serena" in multiple languages. Everyone seem to
know her. She gave everyone something to smile about
as they struggled thru the never ending rocks that
become a monotonous as the pain during these 53
kilometers. So after 5 days of climbing up and down
stairs it was great to finally finish.

We have a new family in our lives. This family was
built on the need to work together in order to keep a
5 year old girl who had the courage to hike the Inca
Trail safe and sound.

Our final night was spent laughing and drinking rum
(yes..i managed to find some mint along the way for
some mojitos) We laughed and learned Quechua and
English and Spanish and toasted every 5 minutes to a
Fabulous New Year. I am grateful for our LLama Path
team. Without their dedication and strength this would
have been a miserable trip. Somehow, freezing, being
and staying wet, soaking bruises, popping blister
after blister never felt so sweet.

Would I do the Inka Trail again? As soon as my
blisters harden. With one condition....that we have
the SAME exact team that was so perfectly fitted to
meet our needs by LLAMA Path. I am grateful that we
used their services...words cannot explain my
gratitude towards the most equipped and successful
team on the trail. All other expeditions paled in
comparison.

I didn´t really take many pictures...the weather
didn´t not permit. You will see Marco in most of the
pictures as he played the Parental roll for the
duration of the 5 days. I snapped photos at every
turn possible, which wasn´t often and were usually
shot with a zoom, since we were all walking at our own
pace.

I hope everyone had a Fabulous New Year...I know that
ours was an unforgettable one...

www.sandrarenteria.shutterfly.com

If you click no the first photo it will take you to
the large album that I uploaded tonite

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