salkantay part 4

Salkantay part 4

This day we should maybe call the “hangover day”...well for some of us....basically the guys. If they weren't still drunk, they definitely weren't feeling up to another 6hours of walking in the heat. Still in our tent, Victor let us all sleep in a bit... I think he needed it too. Michael was afraid to get up, not knowing what might happen if he moved, luckily he made it. This was our last night in a tent and our last day of trekking. We said goodbye to our camp chefs Maria & Edgar here...these guys really were outstanding, cooking in the rain, passing us on the trails like it was nothing....and my birthday cake was awfully thoughtful. The day was hot and our trail was a road, a bit dusty. We were to trek to the hydro-plant and then along some railroad tracks to the town of Machu Picchu! The end was getting nearer with every step, and we could feel it, even through the giddy delirium we all had.

Machu Picchu they say is at the eyebrow of the amazon basin and the flora change was incredible, lush Andean mountains like towers above the Urabamba river, an incredible ecosystem. Tons of orchids and ferns line the tracks we followed, along with coffee and banana crops. It felt like a leisurely pace, oh maybe because we were allowed to send bags on in a van, so all we carried was light rain gear and water, and it was completely flat. A few hours later we were approaching the town...with the promise of a hot shower in the hostel our tour provided, there was a little burst of energy....little. Although, none of us had clean clothes left, we piled into our hostel, and relished the luxury of a well earned shower, real pillow and mattress! A few of us went out in search of the market where we gathered lunch fixins for the next day at the Machu Picchu ruins. Our last dinner together was at a restaurant overlooking the river, Victor went over the plans for our last day...another early morning, we were to meet up and ready in front of the hostel at 4:15am to hike up to the ruins. So after long, hot and dusty day along the PeruRail tracks and a good meal and a hot shower we all went to bed...early.

salkantay part 4, a set on Flickr.