Friday, February 25, 2011

on the inca trail: DAY THREE.














This was probably the most challenging day for me personally. I didn't sleep well with a migraine from not drinking enough water at such high altitude and our tent began to make me feel claustrophobic. Pounding rain started up in the early morning and I woke Walker up convinced the stream we were camping nearby was going to overflow and wash our tent away.

The rain did not let up. It rained and it rained and it rained. Rain bursts were welcome and refreshing on the first and second days, but getting ready at 6am in it and slugging through it all day is terrible. Everything gets wet, everything you brought. You literally begin to walk up waterfalls, learning to deftly maneuver in a poncho.

Eventually you accept that you are soaking and embrace it. The cook packed you Oreos as a trail snack which taste like heaven. And your surroundings turn into dense jungle, the rush of the Urubamba River, with Incan ruins popping up to let you know you're on the right path.

After lunch, it did finally let up. And the camp site on the third night includes a lodge that provides showers and beer which make it feel like paradise. (Even though I had a shower mishap that included a long line and the water being shut off).
Plus we got a cake at dinner in celebration of our last meal together.