The Ultimate Peruvian Experience

Good company, gorgeous glaciers, and a meandering trail through indigenous villages made this hike the pinnacle of our travels. We took our blistered feet and sore calf muscles on this amazing trek only one day after returning from the Inka Trail, but the experience was worth the effort. This trip was less extravagant and more hard core, especially for Cullen and Ryan who carried much more weight than the legal limit for local porters!

We took local bus transport to the start of the climb, then began our long walk along rivers and between towering rocky peaks. We camped among the misty clouds and curious cows on the first night, placing our tents virtually on top of eachother to create shelter from the frigid winds. After attacking a large communal bowl of spaghetti, we retired to our tents and spent the next 12 or so hours shifting between sleep and trying to sleep. When the dawn at last rescued us, we began hiking through the most outstanding stretch of trail we have yet seen in South America. After a short hike we spent the next hour or so walking a comfortable grade with alpine lakes and massive glacier-capped mountains greeting our gaze. Eventually we crossed a pass and descended a long way down to another small village with homes of stone and roofs of straw. After stopping to buy some hand-woven goods from the little girls who ran to meet us on the trail, we started the big climb over our last mountain pass. It was a tremendous ascent to make at the end of the day, but looking back I am happy that Peru gave us this last chance to spill our sweat here. In some way those hard climbs have strengthened the bond we made with the culture here- and gives us a window into the campesino (farmer) appreciation for the energy given by pacha mama (mother earth). On the third day, we walked downhill for a few hours until we reached a natural hot springs ¨resort.¨ After soaking in the murky but pleasingly hot waters, we finished our walk to the town of Lares. After catching the bus and eating some Top Ramen (both were incredible feats of their own), we made it to the town of Pisaq to shop and dine among the hustle and bustle of the giant Sunday market...

And that concludes our final adventure here in South America, although the journey for all of us continues. Welcome back to Colorado Ryan! We will spend tomorrow in Lima and will be back in the USA on Friday! Thank you everyone for visiting our blog and sharing your thoughts with us along the way. Please stay posted as we will continue to add new photos and stories of adventures to come.

Con mucho amor, Melissa & Cullen

Inka Trail

5am pick up and we were off for a backpack trip unlike any other we had experienced before... The five of us (including Ryan, ourselves, Ivan, and Sasha) set off from Cusco in a van towards the Sacred Valley. After a luxury breakfast (the first of many delicious meals prepared seemingly out of thin air and presented on a table with tablecloth, real silverware, and chairs), we began our journey toward the Inka`s sacred Macchu Picchu.

For the next three days, we climbed up and down valleys, through several smaller and beautiful Inka ruins (more respectfully known as constructions), passing through a range of climates from arid to jungle to cloud forest. After reaching the summit of ¨Dead Woman`s Pass¨on the second day, we began the endless rock staircase that would eventually bring us to the Sun Gate overlooking Macchu Picchu.

Maybe it was the spirit of the Inkas still conveying love and reverence for the mountains, or maybe it was the afternoon tea and cookies, but somehow the days passed like a dream and we arrived at our destination full of energy. On the last morning, we arose at 4am to eat breakfast and hit the trail in time for Cullen to be the first person to reach the Sun Gate (Ryan and I were unable to follow his deft manuvers past the slower but steady train of climbers along the narrow cliff-edged trail). We spent a long and calf muscle-burning day ascending and descending every possible staircase inside Macchu Picchu. As the sun was setting over the hill-perched remains of the majestic village, we sat quietly for a moment letting the immensity and beauty of a bygone world leave its mark on our souls.