There are many strange and unusual sites up here, but
the six intrepid travelers from around the world are ready for them, though.
This is one of several Inca outposts along the way which were used by the communication runners. These relaying, pony-express like forefathers of our porters could deliver important messages to Machu Pichu in a matter of several hours across the distance which will take us several days to traverse.
Walking here and looking around convinced me I had never seen any landscapes similar to these in my life. Sorry to ruin the view with my presence in the picture, so feel free to crop me out.
After hiking essentially non-stop for the whole day, one of the greatly anticipated treats each night (along with sleep) was a gourmet meal
prepared by Oscar, our propane camp stove chef extra-ordinaire, pictured here in his super hero costume.
Now, after sleeping in the snowy summits we begin our descent into the steamy, tropical jungle removing our layers of clothing as we go like so many snakes shedding their skins.
Snow flurries may change to warm showers, but nothing delays the massive load bearing porters from their sprint along the Inca trail. They must reach the next campsite hours ahead of us in order to set up our tents and have another delicious meal waiting for our arrival. We eat and then drop dead tired asleep listening to them cleaning up and laughing about how weak we seem. We seem that way because compared to them we are.
Unless you are truely exhausted, you have no idea how wonderful this site is and I mean the tents with air mattresses and sleeping bags not the beautiful mountain ranges behind them. This day we hiked 12 hours to make up for being one day short of our original plan.
Then, the next morning we got up at 4 AM and raced up and down giant stone steps in the dark wearing headlamps in order to get to the Sun Gate before dawn and be able to watch the morning break on Machu Pichu.
Before entering the sacred city we all made a wish in the traditional way by each placing a coca leaf under a rock on the Sun God's stone altar.
Nobody was saying it was easy or that they weren't tired, as a matter of fact nobody was saying much of anything. We just looked at each other with smiling eyes and lips silently congratulating one another for a job well done.
We were on top of the world in God's house,
Machu Pichu -
home of the Celestine Prophecy,
visiting a lost time.
A place without a beginning or an end
an all-powerful site that just is
and, for a time, we are all there.
Walking here and looking around convinced me I had never seen any landscapes similar to these in my life. Sorry to ruin the view with my presence in the picture, so feel free to crop me out.
After hiking essentially non-stop for the whole day, one of the greatly anticipated treats each night (along with sleep) was a gourmet meal
prepared by Oscar, our propane camp stove chef extra-ordinaire, pictured here in his super hero costume.
Now, after sleeping in the snowy summits we begin our descent into the steamy, tropical jungle removing our layers of clothing as we go like so many snakes shedding their skins.
Snow flurries may change to warm showers, but nothing delays the massive load bearing porters from their sprint along the Inca trail. They must reach the next campsite hours ahead of us in order to set up our tents and have another delicious meal waiting for our arrival. We eat and then drop dead tired asleep listening to them cleaning up and laughing about how weak we seem. We seem that way because compared to them we are.
Unless you are truely exhausted, you have no idea how wonderful this site is and I mean the tents with air mattresses and sleeping bags not the beautiful mountain ranges behind them. This day we hiked 12 hours to make up for being one day short of our original plan.
Then, the next morning we got up at 4 AM and raced up and down giant stone steps in the dark wearing headlamps in order to get to the Sun Gate before dawn and be able to watch the morning break on Machu Pichu.
Before entering the sacred city we all made a wish in the traditional way by each placing a coca leaf under a rock on the Sun God's stone altar.
Nobody was saying it was easy or that they weren't tired, as a matter of fact nobody was saying much of anything. We just looked at each other with smiling eyes and lips silently congratulating one another for a job well done.
We were on top of the world in God's house,
Machu Pichu -
home of the Celestine Prophecy,
visiting a lost time.
A place without a beginning or an end
without an up or a down...
an all-powerful site that just is
and, for a time, we are all there.
Then, we went our separate ways back to Ireland, Portugal and Ecuador as that same sun the Incas worshipped set on the beach of Lima, Peru the following evening.
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