The four day walk to Machu Picchu must rank as one of the most fantastic experiances of my life. It was also great to share it with Tony, Jen and Austin.
However, please let me put the achievement of our children into context. The four day version of the Inca Trail is 45km of hard walking. In a recent SMH article a ¨celebrity chef" described the second day of the Inca trail as the most difficult achievement of his life. On the second day the trail rises over 1200m to ¨dead woman´s pass" at an altitude of 4200m in a single morning. As Phoebe ascended this section she was singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" while passing adults who were literally in tears of pain. When Phoebe, Holden and Austin reached the pass in good spirits without being carried one inch, fellow walkers waiting at the top in exhaustion burst into spontaneous applause when they saw the kids strolling by. By the end of the walk the kids had become minor celebrities on the trail and we were being approached by strangers wanting to photograph the amazing kids who had walked the trail. All the children walked the whole trail without being carried and without complaint and I am so proud of them.
The trail itself is incredibly beautiful, with the 500 year old cobbled track winding its way through the Andes connecting increasingly impressive Incan ruins. Machu Picchu is almost beyond description in its stunning location, extraordinary engineering and unique religious significance. We also became very used to having an army of porters to spoil us, making camp before we arrived, providing extraordinary meals and waking us with cocoa tea in our tents at the beginning of each day. The only way to camp.
We are all very sad to be leaving Cusco, but are also very busy finishing off our projects in Pumamarca and packing up. Tomorrow we have the closing ceremony for the Pumamarca Olympics and will hand out prizes and gifts to the kids.
Will try to get in another blog before we leave for Lima on Friday.
4 comments:
Bravo! Fantastic achievement and I'm so proud (and envious) of you all, especially Holden & Phoebe. But Tiff, remember you walked 22 km in one day, including crossing a dangerous river, when you were 8 and we trekked in Irian's Baliem Valley. Your children are keeping up the family tradition. I guess the sadness of leaving Cusco is tempered by the excitement of visiting USA. We are so much looking forward to your next posting on Deepest Darkest.
Sounds fantastic, can't wait to hear all about it and see the photos when you get back. Great to know Phoebs is still, well, Phoebs! Hope you had a great B'day Andrew. Have a great time in New Orleans. Missing you all!
Justine
Breathless, and very proud of you all, said the altitude fittness would make you giants, So glad Phoebe has a head for tunes! Hol &
Austin. will have a lot to share. Look forward to Jen's return.
Have another great trip in the States.
Sounds amazing. Wish I could have been there... Go kids! At the moment Jen, Tony and Austin are somewhere in Costa Rica. I can only assume they're having a great time, sipping cervezas and resting their weary legs on a stretch of unspoilt beach. Hmmm, anyway, back to work I go. See you all when you decide to come back...
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