Inca Trail, Peru, May 2008

After the Galapagos Islands and a quick stop in Quito, we headed to Lima, Peru. The capital of Peru bears no rain despite its coastal location. We visited a ruin site called 'Huaca Pucllanna' and took a city bus tour where we saw colonial architecture design throughout the city. An hour flight the next day took us to Cusco where many would board a train to Machu Picchu. As we got acclimatized to the high elevation, we tasted our first guinea pig.

Day 0 of our Inca hike happened to be my birthday. After visiting Pisac ruin, John and Menna surprised me with a traditional milk cake during lunch. We spent the night at Ollantaytambo where we walked around the village and handed out pens to the kids. They were very appreciative.

Day 1 - We woke up early to head to Km82 where we entered the checkpoint into the park and porters luggages are being weighed. Coca leaves chewing began. First day hike was rather easy and mostly flat. Ironically, just right before we arrived at campsite, someone was selling chica on the side. Of course we weren't going to miss that. We ended the night drinking beer sold by a little girl at the campsite.

Day 2 - It is a notorious tough day with an elevation change of 1100 meters upward and 350 meters downward with a 30% grade. The dead woman pass summit was steep to hike up to and cold and completely fogged in once we got there. Once we got to the top, we could not resist a good shot of Pisco to warm our soul. After about 2 hours of straight downhill, our knees were quite shocked and we could hardly walk to the toilet from the tent. Unlike the first night, this campsite is shared among all tour groups and therefore, it was quite crowded.

Day 3 - After a day of exhaustion, the last thing we wanted was hiking more uphill and we got more uphill to hike. : <>
When we paid our 5 soles to take that shower at the campsite, though the water wasn't really that hot nor abundant, it felt like a million dollar. That night, a rain storm came through, providing us a nice lullaby to sleep with.

Day 4 - We began the day at 3:45am as the first group to arrive at the checkpoint to start our 45 minutes hike to the sun gate. The feeling of being one of the first people arriving at the sun gate with a great view of Machu Picchu was surreal. It was a good time to reflect on the life of the Incas. The city is completely surrounded by much taller mountains, providing a perfect protection from invaders. Terraces of farming developed along the hillside. The buildings were seismically sound with boulders to hold down the rooftop. When we looked around from beautiful lawn of the city, we couldn't help but to imagine what life must have been like 500 years ago.

The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, May 2008

This May, we traveled to the Galapogos Islands 600 miles west of continental of Ecuador. We stayed on a sail boat along with 14 other travelers and a handful of crew for a few days, sailing from island to island. We saw some of the most incredible animals, visited the Charles Darwin research institute, ran on a beautiful white beach, snorkeled with sea lion pups, dropped off our postcard on the island of Florena, swam in a freezing cold lava cave on Santa Cruz island, and ate some delicious meals. And we can't forget the hawky-reproduction session we witnessed! Everyday was filled with activities and new things to see. Even the stars at night are brighter and closer. After a few days on the boat, not only did we drink up all the beer on the boat, John has officially become the bartender.

A fellow traveler and a poet, David Haskins, wrote us the following poem:


"Everything is so close. To be in the company of animals who don't fear us or feel threatened by us - this must have been what the world was once, and here we have perhaps the only opportunity to relive that experience, the only one that makes sense for the planet. Such a privilege we have fled from in our mad dash to conquer and acquire everything that insulates us from this.

Manuel, almost 7 years old, knows about it. He plays in the surf, sits on the sand among the sea-lions, runs barefoot along the water's edge with Walter, his father and our guide, in what must be an idyllic childhood.

And for a few days, we are like him, given the chance to get back what we have turned away from, a sense of ourselves under the stars that hang over these islands, these hemispheres, and all that exists equally in the universe, and for that we are grateful.

Tonight the stars cleared the clouds away. I looked for the Southern Cross, but I couldn't be sure. But Orion, Ursa Minor, many of the stars that hang over these islands shine on my home also. So may the possibility of Galapagos."