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Published: July 20th 2015
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In August of 2011, I headed to Peru with a friend to ultimately see Machu Picchu. Our journey would begin right out side of Lima in a ocean side suburb called Miraflores. The taxi was a bit lost when searching for the hostel, making wrong turns down dark sketchy alleys with looks given from the outside wasn't the most welcoming feeling to Lima, but we would eventually arrive to my first hostel of my traveling ventures. Miraflores is a very modern suburb with a lot of upscale restaurants and shopping centers that are perched upon a cliff that over looks the pacific. Surfers take wave during the high tides of the winter while paragliders sore over the cliffs taking in the ocean side view. Which was I to do? I figured it was a bit risky with high winds to be flying around here, but again, high winds bring high tides... Surfing it is. My instructor had me practicing with my wetsuit on in the dirt how to make the proper strokes and stances so I could be somewhat successful out there. If I knew how big these waves were from down on a even level... I'd probably go back to
paragliding. Making my decision looking down from a cliff wasn't too bright. In all, I caught one wave for about a 3 second stand, I had no idea how tiring surfing could be.
From Miraflores we were headed to the airport to reach our next destination, Cuzco, a remote city found high in the Andes. With my broken Spanish, I was able to find my way to the llamapath meeting post where we were to pay our final dues, meet our guide Marco and hiking companions who will accompany us in a 4 day trek through the Andes mountians - destination Machu Picchu. It took a couple days to become acclimated with the altitude in Cuzco, which they wanted us to before we ascend to 13,800 ft. After the gasping for air while wondering the city had subsided, it was time for us to embark on a path that the Incas created that rivaled the exquisite road work of the Romans.
After several hours of traveling, we arrived to the start of the Inca Trail which we are to hike for 4 days. There were about 10 others who were joining Dana and I on the journey to
Machu Picchu, not to mention the "Red Army", our porters, who we did hire to haul about half of our stuff. We were told that, "llamapath", was a great organization to go with and they were! Well orgainized, a personal chef, and reasonably priced we felt secure with them. Day 1 was easy in the beginning as the terrain was doable, but that would change to a constant incline climb for about 5 hours. Dana struggled something terrible and we were told this was nothing compared to what was to come tomorrow, Day 2, as you make the first of two mountain passes, all an incline. We decided to turn back, Dana and I, after the struggle and respiratory issues she had been facing and we were guided back to a small village called Ollantaytambo. Two days later, we caught a train to another smaller town called Agues Calientes, which was located at the base of the mountain of Machu Picchu. Eventually, we would bus up the mountains zigzagged course for a early misty entry of the Inca ruins and soon to meet back with the rest of the exhausted group. A bitter sweet moment, I do see myself making
another run on the Inca trail in the near future.
The the cities visited; Lima, Miraflores, Cuzco, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu and many other small villages and towns that I just don't remember. A well done trip.
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