A Trip of a Lifetime

When we boarded the plane in Minnesota on the way to Lima, Peru, in July of this past summer, I was still in shock that Peru was our actual destination. My friend Shirley and I had anticipated this day for many months, preparing gear and clothing, passports and visas and the permits necessary to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu. The reading and researching I had done in preparation was the cause of the uneasiness, more like downright terror, I felt this whenever I thought about that ominous hike of the 28 mile walk through “Dead Woman’s Pass to a elevation of 14,000ft. Was I really doing this?

Cuzco's Square We arrived in Lima after a stopover in Atlanta, at 11pm and found a place to rest our weary bodies…on the cold stone floor of the airport with a backpack for a pillow. Our connection to Cuzco, our final destination and the capital of the old Inca Empire departed at 5am. What a wonderful old world city is Cuzco! The people, many of whom are descendents of the Incas and who are called the Quechan people, are wonderfully friendly and joyful. We stayed at a small hotel, Los Ninos, which is quite adequate and clean but certainly not luxury. However the knowledge that their profits support the most amazing after school program for kids without family, resources or support of any kind, was hopeful to our group of 16 women, most of whom are teachers.

So we spent 3 days in Cuzco, shopping and acclimating to the 10,000ft elevation before embarking upon the climb and hike to Machu Pichu. So many details I could elaborate upon about this place! But we learned so much about the Inca culture and the Spanish invasion…the world is and was full of those who dominate and claim power by force vs. those simple folk who live day to day. But I suppose my bias is showing!

On day 5, July 6, we began the trek to Machu Pichu. What I thought was a physical endeavor also became a spiritual journey. The trail is unlike anything I have experienced in the USA, rocky and steep, no safety precautions but a re- creation of what the Inca people did as a pilgrimage. We walked for 6-8 hours per day from 8am until 4-5 pm on a trail created in the 1400’s with no guardrails, no switchbacks but just a constant up and down. Temperatures ranged from 60s – 70-s daytime to freezing at night. I wore my down skiing jacket at camp each night. No showers or washing hair for the 4 day trip. We camped in 2 person tents each night and relished the early morning wake up with warm water for face & hand cleansing and cocao tea- not coffee- for wake up.

For me at age 63 ½ this was an incredible physical journey.. I made it but it wasn’t pretty! I was physically & mentally exhausted to the point that I was dependent upon the others in our group for help…a very humbling but growing experience.

Machu Pichu structuresIt is so hard to describe the feeling of arriving at Machu Pichu for the sunrise. It is indeed a spiritual place from antiquity. The purpose of the place for the Incas, as we learned, was to train young people from the empire for leadership positions. So much I learned about ancient people! We think we are so advanced but we are so disconnected from the environment. Anyway, Machu Pichu itself is a revealing place, a place of truth-telling about our modern connection with science and mystery. This place was uncovered by an American in 1911 but was known to locals much before that time. It was the place where the Incas formed their future leaders and educated them in the disciplines of art, science and literature.

We stayed and shopped in the local town, Aquas Calentes, for a few hours and then took the train back to Cuzco. A few of our group of 16 women continued on to Lake Titicaca, supposed origin of the Inca gods, and others of us spent the remaining days at a health Spa.,.recuperating and reflecting upon the trip. We rode Peruvian horses, toured more ancient Inca ruins, visited the local Sunday market and walked to town to experience local culture. An amazing journey – both physical and spiritual – one that I will never forget.