Inca Trail, Day 3: “Yah-Ma” Selfies
So, I think this might be the last time I go camping. Last night we basically slept on a pile of rocks. Or I should say, tried to sleep… I think Britt and I got a total of 20 minutes combined. Even bundled up in a sleeping bag that’s supposed to be good up to -8 Celsius, I was frozen. And I’m over the bathroom situation. Having to squat over a hole is the worst part of this entire experience. I just don’t understand why it’s that hard to add a toilet bowl, lol. Everyone is bred differently, and I wasn’t bred to be a camper.
But the breathtaking views and the company of our hiking “fam-a-lee” makes the camping part of this journey all worth it. Our group is starting to get to know each other better and we’re all bonding as we go through this experience together. 
Day 3 is our long day… We have 15km to cover and aren’t scheduled to arrive at camp until 5:30pm. Whoever said it was supposed to be easier than yesterday… They lied. We started the day with an hour and a half of straight uphill and after yesterday’s climb, my legs felt like jello and I had nothing left in the tank. I’m sure the exhaustion from not sleeping wasn’t helping either. Although a lot of this, like anything else, is mental and you just have to tell yourself you can do it and push through. So onward ho!!
We arrived at the second pass, Qochapata, at 12,916 feet. From here we had another breathtaking view, this time of the glaciers both to the east and the west. Percy shared an Incan ritual with our “family” and had each of us leave an offering to Mother Earth. It was a touching moment that made all of us stop and appreciate this journey we’re on. Further down the trail, we visited Sayaqmarka, a well preserved Inca town high up on a cliff overlooking the valley below, before we continued on to our campsite for lunch. Oh and Go Terps! Thought we’d show our Maryland pride in the Andes 🙂
Our lunch break was speedy because we still had a lot of ground to cover and we wanted to arrive at our campsite before dark. The third pass on the hike was extra memorable because it gave us our first view of Machu Picchu peak. The ancient city we’ve been trekking all this way for, is just on the other side of that mountain. Aguas Calientes was also visible down in the valley. But the best part of this pass… Llamas!!!!!
Ever since we arrived in Peru, all we’ve wanted was a selfie with a llama or an alpaca. We thought it wasn’t quite authentic enough to pay for a photo op with someone’s pet in town, so we held out for the real thing… Mission accomplished!! “Yah-Ma” selfies por favor!!
After a stop at the Inca site of Phuyupatamarka, we still had two hours of hiking ahead of us. This part of the trail is the original Inca trail, so it’s very rocky with narrow, steep steps. The vegetation drastically changed as well and we clearly had entered the jungle. It was beautiful scenery as we weaved our way downhill, going through tunnels and down an impressive spiral staircase made entirely of rocks. We arrived at Intipata, another Inca site, this one consisting of terraces built into the side of a cliff. The setting sun was shining on Machu Picchu peak, which was encircled in clouds and it provided some surreal scenery. And at the bottom of the site… More llamas!! Which obviously means more “Yah-Ma” selfies!!
We arrived at our last campsite, Winay Wayna, just as it was getting dark. Ever since we booked this hike, we were looking forward to this camp because we heard there were showers… And a bar!! In fact, we were told to forgo the shower to enjoy a nice adult beverage (or several) at the bar instead. We were really bummed to learn that the bar had been shut down by the government about three years ago due to several drunken accidents. Well I’d like to have a word with the government because I was really looking forward to a cold cerveza. But after seeing this campsite, which is a tiered layout with steep drop offs, I can see why serving alcohol here would be an issue.
A few bold members of our group braved an ice cold shower, but Brittany and I figured, at this point, what’s another 24 hours?? So we passed. We had our last “family” dinner and guess what was included on the menu?!?! Potatoes!! 🙂
After dinner, all the porters and our chef were called into the tent and introduced themselves to all of us. We thanked them for everything they’ve done to make our experience memorable and handed over the tips we had pooled for them.
After two more visits to the “hole in the ground” today, I’m getting used to this. Don’t get me wrong, I still find it beyond disgusting, but if this is necessary in order to have this incredible experience, than so be it. If we thought we had early wake up calls up to this point, this last one takes the cake… 3:30am tomorrow. The plan is to arrive at Sun Gate to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu. Homestretch!! Can’t believe we are six hours of sleep and two hours of hiking away from laying eyes on this infamous sacred village!!
This blog entry was originally posted on www.MayerTwinsTravel.blogspot.com