The Worst is Over.

Dec 21^st

Woke up at 5:30am and left at 6:30am. We had an hour and a half hike straight uphill. Then we finally got to even ground! Today was much easier in terms of steepness; most of the hike was slight up and down, but nothing drastic like the days before. We stopped at several Inca sights where I continued to be blown away by how advanced these people are. They planned everything out so neatly. I feel like this could have been a civilization that we studied in my “community planning and development” classes. Today it rained or misted almost the whole time we were hiking. It was interesting to see some of the slights, then all of a sudden not be able to see 10 feet in front of you because you were literally sitting in a cloud. We stopped for brunch around 10:30am and had a pancake with dulce de leche. I loved it, despite many of the people in my group not liking it. We continue to hike for other 2-3 hours most of which was downhill. I was able to keep up with the group, which was nice. Mario even commented that I impressed him. We arrived at the camping site around 2pm and had a late lunch. My stomach was very upset so I picked a little at lunch but gave my food to the Canadian guys to eat. After lunch I enjoyed my first shower in 3 days! For those of you who know me well, know that on any given day in the states I may take 3 showers, so you can imagine what it was like for me to go 3 days without showering. The campsite has a pay shower for $5soles (about $3USD) it was the best investment that I could have made. After I was clean I took a nap for just over an hour. I haven’t been sleeping almost at all at night so the daily naps are what save me. I woke up at 4:30pm just in time for afternoon tea. Afterwards we all decided that we were still thirty and that we should go to the local restaurant at the campsite and grab some beers. We sat outside and enjoyed the view of the beautiful mountains that quickly disappeared in the clouds. We went back to the campsite just in time for dinner at 7pm and enjoyed chicken with rice and veggies. I still had a little bit of a stomach ach so I didn’t eat too much. Afterwards we collected a pool of tips for our 22 porters since we will part tomorrow morning. We also donated items that will be useful to them since many of them don’t have appropriate gear. I felt bad that I didn’t have more to give, but I gave one of my t-shirts (may be helpful for them, as well as help to promote myself). We said our goodbyes to our porters and shook their hands; many of them kissed us and seemed very thankful. I hope that our tips were enough for them, they work so hard for us! After we said our good byes we decided that we should enjoy each other company a little bit more and have a final beer together. We all talked and the time passed quickly. At 10pm we headed back to the campsite and called it a night. I went to bed at 10:30pm. We are getting up at 3:30am to be the first ones to Machu Picchu. I have been having a blast this entire time (minus the pain I am in from hiking), but will look forward to sleeping in a real bed with my own private bathroom. I am counting the minutes till I get to Ogunquit. I can’t believe that in just 3 days I will be back in New England celebrating Christmas with my family and friends. I have been having so much fun traveling but will be excited to see everyone when I am home.

Bye for now.

Love,

Katie