The ruins of Drukgyel Dzong in Bhutan

A crumbling stairway at Machu Picchu, Peru.

The ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru are also immensely appealing to me. It was unfortunately more crowded there than at Drukgyel Dzong. It is the kind of place where I wish I could be there all alone, just to sit and contemplate.

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Fountain in Plaza de Armas and Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, Cusco, Peru

Honestly, I think we ended up with the world’s best guide on our trek. Narciso knew so much about both the history of the area and about the plant and animal life, not to mention having a vast store of practical knowledge. He could answer any question we threw his way, and he gave very sage advice about focusing on what surrounded me rather than my struggles on the trail. We were in very good hands.

Dried beans and other produce for sale in the central market, Cusco, Peru

The trip home was uneventful, although we had a long and annoying layover in Lima until our midnight flight to Georgia. At the airport, I managed to eat an actual dinner, so I knew the sea level altitude agreed with me!

If I had it all to do again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Of course, I would prefer not to starve for four days again, but the trip was worth it in every way. Should the opportunity to visit Peru arise, I recommend jumping at the chance.

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Sunrise at Machu Picchu

While I sat on the bench and enjoyed the panoramic view of the ruins, numerous people came and went next to me on the bench. Mid-morning, a guide sat down with a woman to whom he was giving a tour. I don’t recall how it came up, but he started telling her about the people who had died on his tours. That was not exactly what I wanted to hear!

Machu Picchu

We said goodbye to Machu Picchu and headed back down to Aguas Calientes at around 11 a.m. At noon, we met Narciso for lunch at a local restaurant. He had arranged for them to make a bowl of plain boiled white rice for me. I was really hoping to be able to eat it. It looked and smelled good to me. While Stephen and Narciso were at the buffet, I took one bite and immediately threw up. Luckily, the restaurant had just opened and we were the only ones there at that point. My next strategy was to wait for it to cool a bit, then I took tiny bites and chewed them endlessly before swallowing. I am normally a slow eater, but Stephen and Narciso were practically ready for dinner by the time I was done. I managed to eat maybe a little more than a quarter cup of rice. This was a huge triumph for me.

After lunch we went to buy an “I Survived the Inca Trail” t-shirt for me, which we all felt I had earned. Stephen wanted me to buy one that said “I am Survivor Inca Trail”, but I just couldn’t bring myself to wear a grammatically incorrect t-shirt. He insisted that this was somehow more authentic, but I didn’t fall for it.

In the afternoon, we started the long train ride back to Cusco. Stephen and I mostly slept. I enviously stared at another passenger’s Pringles, so I thought that was a good sign. We ended up back at the Hotel Tikawasi at about 9:30 p.m., and watched a bad Antonio Banderas movie while I tried to eat a few Club crackers. I think we both slept quite well that night.

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Porters and guides near kilometer 88 on the Inca trail.

Going down steps was really hard on my stomach at that point. We passed through a really cool steep tunnel, and at the bottom, I threw up for the first time while out on the trail. I knew there was something funny about it because it was so dark and I had nothing in my stomach, but I was too out of it to figure it out. But then our cook, who was hanging around to make sure I was okay, said, “sangre”. I don’t know a lot of Spanish words, but I know that one. I had been having a lot of acid reflux since I stopped eating, and so I knew the acid in my stomach was probably having a field day. Even when you know why it’s happening, vomiting blood is still pretty scary. But at that point, there was nothing to do but continue. We did a brief experiment with the assistant cook trying to carry me on his back in the traditional Peruvian manner, but I immediately decided that was much less comfortable than walking. Besides, I was about a foot taller than the poor guy, and I was afraid he’d have permanent damage to his back. I’m not exactly a petite girl.

We passed Phuyupatamarca, and from there, it was a steep downhill climb to Winay Wayna. At that point, I don’t know what was keeping me going. Every time we turned a corner and I saw another switchback, I wanted to cry. By this time, the cooks had gone on, but Narciso kept two porters with us, just in case I collapsed. All I could think about was lying down. Finally we reached Winay Wayna for our lunch break. A friend of Narciso’s who ran a concession there sent her little boy to buy some Gatorade for me from another stand. In the meantime, Narciso gently suggested that perhaps it would be better if the porters carried me the rest of the way on a stretcher and I tearfully agreed. There were only three miles left and I desperately wanted to walk it myself. While we rested and those who could eat (read everyone but me), ate, and I managed to drink the whole bottle of Gatorade and kept it down.

Terraces northeast side of Machu Picchu

When we arrived at Machu Picchu, Stephen and Narciso wanted to head up to one of the higher areas so Stephen could take some pictures. I knew I was fading fast, so I headed down to the entrance to wait for them. On my way down, I ran in to Claire and Eric heading up to catch the sunset! We talked briefly, then they went up to talk to Narciso and Stephen and I sat on my rear end until it was time to catch the bus. I very discreetly threw up on the bus, but that may have been more due to motion sickness. Narciso showed us around Aguas Calientes, and took us to our hotel. We were to meet him for dinner later, but I kept throwing up, so I sent Stephen to meet Narciso and stayed in bed. Before I got in bed, though, I took the most wonderful hot shower I’ve ever had. Even my dirt was dirty, and my normally thick and luxurious hair (really!) was flat and limp. I watched some Sandra Bullock movie in Spanish and attempted to drink more Gatorade.

It was SO nice to sleep in a real bed that night. The only downside was that we were supposed to get up at 5 a.m. to get up to Machu Picchu for the sunrise.

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Mules used by locals on the Inca Trail

Stephen and I were ready first, so Narciso, recognizing that I needed a good head start just to keep up, sent us on up toward the first pass. Some time later, when he was ready and caught up with us, he said that our partners in crime had turned back to go to Machu Picchu via train, along with their guide and a couple of the porters. I later told Narciso that had I been a betting woman, I would have bet on me being the one to turn back and he agreed. But I understand why Claire and Eric turned back. One of their main interests was bird watching, and one does not need to drag one’s self up a mountain to do that. Plus, it was their 20th anniversary, and if it were me, I would prefer something a little more relaxing. We certainly missed their company during the trek, though.

The Inca trail passes through a cloud forest

Stephen and Narciso were starting to get a little anxious about my lack of food, so after a brief nap in our dining tent, I attempted to eat a bowl of tomato soup, which is one of my favorites. I kept it down for about two minutes. Narciso decided that he would ask for permission for us to camp at the next campsite after the next pass, as he didn’t think I would make it the extra two miles to the original campsite before it was pitch dark. I think I did a little better in the afternoon, but the stretch on the downside of the second pass was made up of very steep steps, so I moved quite slowly, afraid that my legs might not hold me up since I hadn’t eaten in a couple days.

As we got close to the bottom of that stretch, several of the porters ran up and applauded me for making it that far. Honestly, at that point, I think everyone was surprised I was still upright (I know I was surprised). When we arrived at camp, the rest of the porters gave me an ovation as well. You know you’re in sad shape when people applaud you just for walking. I headed into the tent for my nightly appointment with a baggie, and didn’t even consider the possibility of dinner. I tried to keep down some water, but I knew I was starting to get a little dehydrated. After lunch, Narciso told me to stop taking any medications I was on – so I quit the malaria pills and the altitude sickness preventative. Taking medicine when you’re barely even drinking water isn’t such a hot idea, but it didn’t even occur to me.

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When we sat down for breakfast, the trouble began. Just looking at the food turned my stomach. I managed to eat a cracker and saved one of the rolls for later in the day. I just made sure our water bottles were full and figured my appetite would return at lunch. With my cold and the fact that I am not in the world’s greatest shape, the morning was a struggle for me. However, although it was definitely harder than I expected, I didn’t see any reason that things would get any worse. Clearly, I lack psychic abilities.

What a view. And this is what it looked like in every direction. Beautiful!

Claire and Eric kept up a pretty good pace, while I lagged behind. Stephen had to slow his pace for me. It was only during the last couple hours of that day’s trek that the altitude and strenuousness of the hike hit Claire too. We took turns stopping and resting, and finally made it up to the campsite about an hour or so before dinner.

Honestly, I don’t know how the porters do it. These guys carry about 30 kilos (66 pounds!) on their backs up and down the mountains. They bring all the tents, the trekkers’ duffel bags, a portable toilet, a kitchen with all the food, a dining table, chairs and a dining tent, among other things. I had trouble with my own daypack.

This is one of the many porters we saw loaded down on the Inca Trail.

Anyway, I staggered into camp and right into my sleeping bag. As would become my habit practically every time we stopped to rest, I threw up (thank goodness for Ziploc bags). It was not particularly cold, but I could not stop shivering in my sleeping bag, and apparently Claire had the same problem. Narciso brought me a hot water bottle and I finally managed to warm up a little bit. I tried to drink water as much as possible to stay hydrated, but nothing agreed with my stomach. I managed to fall asleep, but I think Stephen and I both slept quite restlessly.

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This is our guide, Narciso. Yes, I know it's a picture of his back, but I thought it was a beautiful photo.

We got our things settled into our tent, then headed for morning tea. The campsite was run by a man who had moved to Peru from Germany, and it had a nice dining area, as well as the best toilet facilities we would encounter on our trek.

The manager was a skilled carpenter and his tables reminded me of my Swedish grandfather’s carpentry style. We discussed this a bit, and I happened to mention that my grandfather and his father built much of my mother’s hometown. Claire politely inquired about my mother’s hometown and when I responded that it was Mount Pleasant, Iowa, their jaws both dropped open. Eric is from Mt. Pleasant as well. That is not the end of it though. I mentioned Eric’s parents’ names to my Mom when I called her a few days later from the Lima airport. Not only did she know his parents, but it also turns out we are related! My family has had an annual family reunion every year since 1900, and Eric’s mother was actually the secretary for the reunions for a number of years. I later found out that our Great Great Grandfathers were brothers. I still can’t believe we ended up in the same group!

After our morning snack, we set out on an approximately four mile hike around the Q’Ente ruins. A lot of this was uphill and I struggled with breathing in that altitude, not least because I had a cold. Apparently my nose turned a bit blue from lack of circulation, but I managed the hike. I tend to be overly cautious when hiking downhill/downstairs because I always feel like I am going to fall, so Narciso recommended a walking stick for me so I would have more confidence that I wouldn’t fall. I was pretty winded when we made it back for lunch, but it wasn’t too bad. However, when we sat down to lunch, I didn’t have much of an appetite. For dinner that night, I enjoyed some fabulous pumpkin soup and managed to eat a little of the beef they served.

Our tents were nice and roomy. It wasn’t too cold at that altitude and we didn’t have too much trouble falling asleep.

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This is one of the many, many stray dogs in Peru. Some of the dogs were a little skittish, but we never witnessed any agression at all.

I don’t know how we managed to get so lucky, but our guide, Narciso, was absolutely amazing. I may be slightly biased, but I am convinced he is the best guide in the history of guides. He went over the details of the trek with us and also gave us some great news. We were to be paired up with another group and their guide – a total of only four trekkers, which would be really nice. Of course, in addition to the guides, we would have about 14 porters and two cooks. We said goodbye to Narciso until 5:30 a.m. the next day and headed off to dinner.

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Urubamba River

Coca tea is extremely popular in the Andes. The locals swear it helps people cope with the altitude. It is a nice mild tea and we drank a lot of it while in the Andes simply because it was offered so often.

After lunch, we headed back to Cusco and the Hotel Tikawasi. We basically just had time for dinner, and dined at the Inka Grill at Elmer’s suggestion.

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Inkaterra took our luggage to the airport at 4:30 a.m. Thursday and checked us in while we ate breakfast at our leisure. They picked us up at the hotel at 5:30 a.m. and by the time we arrived at the airport, we were simply walk through security and get on the plane. They really took good care of us. Security at the Puerto Maldonado airport was a hoot. No one ever looked at our passports/ID. The x-ray machine was not turned on (broken, I assume), so they just gave each bag a couple of squeezes, then pushed them through the disabled x-ray machine for someone on the other side to catch. This gave me a huge boost of confidence.

We actually managed to make it to Cusco, and Elmer from Explorandes met us at the airport. We dropped our bags at the Hotel Tikawasi, and headed straight to the bus for our overnight trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. While driving around to other hotels to pick up people for the tour, our bus driver hit another bus and the other bus’s side mirror smashed through one of our windows. I was surprised that this was the only accident we were in while visiting Peru, as people drive like maniacs there.

At the Pisac Market, we found a few of the many women and children in traditional clothing who will pose for pictures for cash in Peru.

We bought a few gifts there and I bought one of the few things that I got for myself on this trip. A woman had big bowls of brightly colored powdered pigments, and I bought a set of the pigments just because they looked so beautiful in the bowls. Don’t know if I’ll actually get around to painting with them – but they just appealed to me. It was 10 soles (about $3US), and including that, I only spent 37 soles ($11.38US) the whole day, so I wasn’t really a big spender. I did get a beautiful little watercolor painting that I am going to have framed for our living room. I wanted a bigger one, but I just didn’t think I could get anything bigger home safely. One guy was haggling on the price of a painting that was about 10 soles, and honestly, I thought it was a little insulting to the artist. Thankfully, she didn’t budge on the price (he didn’t buy it). How can anyone be that cheap? He was haggling over 2 soles (about 61 cents).

These are some of the bowls of beautiful pigments I saw at Pisac Market.

Next, we had lunch in Urubamba and Stephen was feeling miserable. It was too hot on the bus and he felt pretty nauseated. He sat at our table while I had the buffet for lunch and the fresh air soon perked him up. There was a band playing Peruvian music at the restaurant, and they were quite good, so we bought their CD.

We really enjoyed Peruvian music and we bought this band's CD.

After lunch, we headed up to the ruins at Ollantaytambo. We got pretty winded walking up all the stairs, but it was an amazing view from the top. The Inca construction (not just at Ollantaytambo, but everywhere) is astounding.

We're really going to climb up there?

We stayed at the Hotel San Agustin in Urubamba, which was nice and quiet. We had a little trouble communicating with the guy at the desk though. I asked him if we had any messages because we were waiting to hear back about our river rafting trip the next day, and he said he would get back to me in about 20 minutes. After waiting nearly an hour, I finally went back downstairs to the desk. He saw me and said, “it’s $30/hour”. I was pretty confused until I realized he thought I asked for a massage instead of a message. About a half hour after that we got the information regarding our rafting trip.

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