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Published: July 29th 2006
Proof
I finally made itI made it! 6 days ago I started my journey across the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (the reason I traveled more than 4,000 miles to Peru) Every minute was incredible! Sunday morning we began at 6am and stopped along the way for breakfast where we could see the Salkantay Mountain, one of the highest of the Andes Mountains (almost 21,000 feet / higher than the Swiss Alps / no one has ever survived trying to climb to the top). Starting our trek upwards we got closer every minute and camped close below. At night it got down to below freezing so we were all huddled in our sleeping bags by 8:30pm. The night time view was just as incredible as we looked out at the milky way and different constellations never seen anywhere near Houston! Day two began early (they woke us up with hot chocolate!) and we faced a 3 1/2 hour climb straight up. By the time I got to 15,000 feet I thought I was in hell. 😊 Nearly every 20 steps and I had to stop for a break because the air was so thin and my heart was pounding like crazy. At the top we
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At the top: 15,000 feet made an offering to the Mountain Spirits (the Apu's) and started back down. It was steep and every step was a knee killer but it was better than the way up! We hiked/climbed/descended a total of 7 hours that morning before we made it to the lunch site. All of us were completely exhausted. I could barely sit in a chair...all I wanted to do was collapse on the ground. We added another 2 hours of hiking to our camp site and finally got some rest! All of the meals were incredible...the company I chose turned out to be wonderful! We had 17 hikers and 9 staff members who ported our things, set up our tents, cooked our food, and guided us through. On the third day we got to the high jungle and hiked through waterfalls, saw all kinds of different plants, fruits, and birds. Again we hiked around 8 hours but luckily we didn't have the same terrain as the day before. Day 4 came and passed with all the anticipation of finally seeing Machu Picchu. We woke up at 4:30am and headed up the mountain to see the hidden city of the Incas. As we stood there
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By the time I arrived to the lunch site (7 hours of hiking) I couldn't even sit up!! We were all exhausted! in the dark we could see the outlines of the surrounding mountains. A few moments later we turned the corner and there it was--heart stopping. There is some sort of power in Machu Picchu that I don't know if I can explain..but it was absolutely breathtaking. Even after 6 hours at the site as we turned to leave everyone just kept looking back, not wanting to take their eyes off of the lost city. The engineering of the Incas was unbelievable. I have finally completed my mission--
Jen
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Ruth from Wales
Ruth John
Great pics
Hi there, This is a great blog, love the photos. I am thinking of doing the Salkantay Trek - could you tell me which company you went with? Many thanks and happy travels! Ruth