The hills surrounding Cusco through an alley.
I recently spent some time in Cusco, Peru and hiking along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. If you haven’t been, go.
May 20th.
It’s been just over a year since my Nicaragua adventure with Raymond and it’s time we went on another. This time it’s off to Peru.
More specifically, we’re heading to Cusco to hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. Four days of strolling through the Andes and high-lighted by climbing over Dead Woman’s Pass.
The conclusion of our efforts will be to arrive first thing in the morning at Machu Picchu, a religious and agricultural center of the Inca empire nestled high in the mountains.
But a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Or in this case, with the first of three flights.
Like any trip, I’m excited for the adventure, for being outside of my box and being unplugged from all the usual emails, phone calls, and ads that are forced upon us in a steady stream of information (most of which is useless).
Sometimes it’s nice to just unplug and recharge. But before any of that can happen I have about 17 hours of travel time ahead of me.
I think it’s time for a nap.
The Plaza de Armas in Cusco.
May 21st.
Buenos noche. I made it. It took a while but I’m here in Cusco, Peru and, to be honest, I’m exhausted.
It’s about 7:30pm local time and even adjusting for the change in time zones there is no way that I should be this tired. Raymond and I even took a two hour nap this afternoon.
But, if you figure in the 20+ hours of travel, the three hours of combined sleep I managed to get while flying and the 3,400m change in elevation then it starts to make sense.
We still managed a bit of walking around and grabbed a bite in a couple of touristy places, including an Irish pub.Our reasoning is that with our hike starting at 6am the day after tomorrow it would probably be in our best interest if we kept the early to bed, early to rise routine going.
The plan tomorrow is to take it easy. Maybe check out some of the sights that are close by and pick up a few odds and ends that we’ll need for the trek.
So far, the altitude sickness that I’ve been anxious about for the past month seems to have manifested itself in a couple of hours of light-headedness, fatigue and a bit of shortness of breath when walking uphill.
I figure another day and a good night sleep and we’ll be ready to tackle the Andes. Not that we have a choice.
Time for bed.
~Kbshea
