Peru // Inca Trail: Part Three
/After the emotional and physical toll of Day Two, Day Three was a breeze, relatively speaking. The last full day of hiking before we arrived at our long awaited destination is often said to be most people's favorite days given the scenery and the number of Inca sites you get to visit. The first part of Day Three looked a lot like the picture above -- a scene out of Lord of the Rings (I have no idea what that means because I have never seen the movies, but it sounds like something mystical). In retrospect, I wish I would have taken more pictures because the breathtaking (and not just because I was still out of breath) was when you could see.
More stairs.. weird.
The first part of Day Three looked a lot like the picture above -- a scene out of Lord of the Rings (I have no idea what that means because I have never seen the movies, but it sounds like something mystical). In retrospect, I wish I would have taken more pictures because the breathtaking (and not just because I was still out of breath) was when you could see.
This is real life.
I'll take flat wet rocks over climbing and descending any day.
The Incas were all about building their ceremonial sites in the shape of animals and objects that were important to them. Thanks to the clouds (damn you rainy season!) we really didn't get to appreciate all of them since you have to be a ways away to grasp the whole picture. Here's a picture of a their version of a tumi knife.
Looking back towards Runkuraqay -- which is in the shape of a tumi (a knife used for sacrificial purposes).
But really you didn't have to search very hard to find interesting/beautiful things. Here -- take this perfectly shaped hole:
What's this you ask?
A handrail.. obviously
Oh hey guys!
I personally thought the coolest ruin we visited was the last one of the day: Intipata (the Sun Terraces).
These terraces were mainly used for agricultural reasons.
More stairs.. weird.
How cool is this picture?
There you are, Urubamaba River!
Our last campsite is somewhere beyond those clouds.
When we got back to our campsite we geared up for a freezing cold shower. I unfortunately do not have photographic evidence of such events but let's just say it wasn't the Four Seasons but it also wasn't a scene out of Slumdog Millionaire. Yes, the shower was freezing cold, yes it was a dark cave like structure but after three days of not showering it was well worth the four minutes of freezing that occurred. Some of us handled the cold better than others (read: one of us was screaming and howling so much that everyone who walked past the shower starred and wondered if the person inside was being mauled by a llama).
After we all took our respective showers it was time to have a meeting of the minds and discuss our finances. Night three is when you have your final meal with your porters and go through the tipping ceremony. These guys work hard and honestly we were happy to give them their tips. Unfortunately during the course of Day Three we happened to run into someone who we thought we were paying to be our porter wearing another tour group's uniform. When we confronted David about it he tried to make up some sort of tall tale but by then we were done with him. It's sad to say but that whole situation tainted our last night. And also, there was no cake. Every other group was cheering and eating cake and we were busy discussing how they tried to rip us off. And did I mention there was no cake?
In the end we were so tired and so excited knowing that tomorrow we would finally be on our last stretch of the trail that we got over the whole rip off shenanigans and hit the hay. Or the very hard dirt floor. Really glad we paid the $20 USD for the sleeping mat. Tomorrow -- Machu Picchu!