When
I was younger, I wish I would have appreciated nature the way I do now. Too bad
I took things for granted, but I think this is also part of the journey. By now,
we all know that outdoor experiences not only improve your physical health but
also your mental health. Before getting pregnant, my husband and I wanted to do
one last adventurist trip, and we chose the Inca Trail in Cuzco, Peru. Oh my
God, what did I get in to?!
It
was June 2007, and in order to prepare for the Inca Trail we did a lot of
hiking here in beautiful Colorado. We did one 14er and probably my last one. We
walked and walked and hiked and hiked just to be accustomed to the intensity of
walking for 3 entire days on the trail. If I knew what was waiting for me, I
probably would have trained differently. But it is done, and I survived.
We
planned this trip for months. We invited three other couples on our adventure
to know more about my country Peru. We contacted a travel agent and got everything
set up. In July 2007, we arrived Lima, stayed a few days there to see my family
and headed to Cuzco. Cuzco was having some protests going on, so we had to be
more careful than usual. Our friends all went in different tours, but the tour
we chose had these other 2 ladies from Australia with backpacking experience.
On
Thursday July 12, 2007, we started our hike. I thought we were just 5 people: my
husband and I, these 2 other girls, and the guide. I was wrong; we had more
people called the Sherpas to bring everything else like tents, food, gas,
chairs, tables, water, etc. I have to say that the Sherpas were amazing. We
were all starting to walk and all of a sudden they literally disappeared. They
did not walk or hike; they ran! In their thin, open shoes! Very impressive.
What
a feeling I had that moment when we knew it was time to start. Little did I
know that I was already pregnant. I have never in my life had that kind of adventure,
so I was hoping for the best and safety for all. It was very early in the
morning when we started. We all carried backpacks with our clothes and water.
The backpacks were heavy, but it was doable to walk with them.
The
first day was amazing. I got to see so many beautiful places, ancient places,
so much culture and so much of nothing at the same time. It felt like a dream
for me, not just because of what I saw but because I never thought I would do
something like this. We all had our backpacks and walking sticks, but my
backpack started getting heavier and heavier after the hours went by. I wondered,
“How can I walk 3 more days with this?” So I made an executive decision, LOL. I
asked one of our Sherpas if he could carry my backpack for me, and I would pay
him later. He told me that it would be 60 dollars, thinking he meant 60 dollars
a day. But no, it was 60 dollars for the rest of the hike. Totally worth it! Oh
my God, what a great deal. I got the money, and I became lighter.
We
walked and walked for many hours. I usually was the last person of the group to
make it, but my guide was extremely patient with me. What was amazing for me
was that when lunch time was approaching, the Sherpas already had everything
set up, tables, chairs, shelter and the wonderful food. They really made the
food tasting and looking delicious. My body was hungry, and I really enjoyed each
feast.
After
lunch we started again on our long walk while the Sherpas would pack everything
and run ahead of us to be ready for dinner time and bed time. We kept walking
that first day. I heard that we were going to go to bed around 7pm, and I
thought that was extremely early, but by that time of the day, we were beat up
and so ready to go to bed. Our tents were already set up with our sleeping
bags, etc.
The
next day was Friday the 13th; I found that out while writing this
blog. Thank goodness because that day does not sound good with this kind of
adventure. The second day was brutal; everything was going up, and while I
trained a lot in Colorado hiking, something I did not do was to go up and down
stairs. I spent the majority of that first part of the day complaining why I did
this and questioning if I would make it through. My guide kept telling me that
I had to do it because there was not a way back. After lunch, I felt better
just knowing that there were just a few more hours until I would be sleeping
again. And I heard too that the third day would not be as bad as the second
one.
The
bathroom situation was not the best. We just had holes on the floor to do our
business, but I remember one day just walking on the trail and seeing this
woman come out from what I thought was the hole bathroom, and she opened the
wood door. Yay! I saw a toilet. It was a private bathroom for that house, but I
still approached the woman and told her I would pay her 10 dollars just to go
and use the bathroom as a normal person should, LOL. What a pleasure to be
seated on a white, cold toilet.
The
third day was great. We were all excited that our adventure was almost done and
that the next day we were going to finally see the amazing Machu Picchu. We
just walked, talked, ate, and took many, many pictures. What a blast! The
experience of just being alone in those mountains with no distractions of
modern life was, to be honest, amazing.
Finally,
the next day Sunday July 15th, 2007 we had to get up around 4am to
make it to Machu Picchu at around sunrise. All these days we got up with our
mate de coca tea already prepared by the chef. We were so spoiled and taken
care of. We were treated like kings and queens, in spite of just peeing in a
hole, LOL.
So
we started walking to our final destination. We took so many pictures and kept
looking at we all we had seen in magazines, photos and movies. But just seeing
far away we couldn’t believe that we were that close. We finally made it! What
an accomplishment for me. I literally couldn’t believe it, but what was even
more amazing is the beauty I had in front of my eyes to the point of tears just
because it was that beautiful.
That
hike made me be grateful for nature, grateful for endurance and most importantly
grateful for the love that was there. You can feel the energy of that place
just being there hugging you, telling you, “You will be fine.” What an
experience! Back then I was not as spiritually awoken as I am now, so I think
if I would do this again it would be even more powerful.
This
blog might be not as interesting as others or as controversial, but I just
wanted to share with you one of my more important adventures. Just pushing
myself a little bit more from what I thought were my limits was amazing, so
because of that my husband has planned an easy backpacking trip of 3 days here
in Colorado, just flat walking but plenty of hours to push through. I am
excited about it and also a little worried, but I should do it. I just have to
remember that feeling from the past. I will be journaling through this trip
coming up in June to share with you.
Don’t
forget the amazing feeling of accomplishment
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