The Finale: South America

Real life comes as quite the shock after 3 monthes of traveling. We had no time at all when we got back to Cusco after our trek to Machu Picchu, so I planned on writing a post about it when I got back to LA. Instead, friends, work, and the calling of the sunny sands at the beach got in the way. South America seemed to be a surreal experience. Now that I'm planning a new trip and new posts I'll be writing, I want to conclude my last trip. MACHU PICCHU TREK AND THE LAST FEW DAYS: I had been looking forward to the trek as someone looks forward to a final exam- I was prepared, well studied, and knew it was going to be hard. Despite my family's affinity to the great outdoors, and my own love for climbing, hiking has always been the bane of my existence. I have asthma issues, I trip a lot, I usually end up twisting an ankle. Needless to say, the day before the trek began I was hoping for the development of some new tropical disease so I didn't have to go. Looking back, I'm so beyond grateful that I didn't spend those days in a hospital and got through the trek. Yes, it was physically demanding. Yes, I was the second to slowest hiker in the group. Yes, I did end up twisting my ankle. And yes, I have never had such issues breathing (although no asthma, we were just at 15,000 feet in altitude... try taking one step without panting and I'll pay you good money). But I've never seen such devastatingly beautiful, untouched nature in my entire life. Every day I could swear I saw something more beautiful than the day before. Even my photos couldn't capture the feeling of being somewhere that you could only find in that place in that moment. Day one of the trek we did an extra hike to see a bright turquoise blue mineral lake surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks, Day two we passed by Salkantay's peak, and the last few days we saw some of the most gorgeous views of the jungle we'd seen on the trip. Once we actually reached Machu Picchu, I was kind of actually shocked to find that I had been so awed by the natural beauty we had seen while trekking that I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be by one of the world's wonders. Every day, the trek was a struggle. My legs hurt all the time, we never seemed to get enough sleep (especially the first night when our sleep was interrupted by cows grazing two feet from our face and several avalanches from Salkantay nearby), and it was hard to breathe. One day was optional- the hardest day of hiking, three hours straight uphill, three hours straight downhill. My ankle was tender, my calves were on fire, and Eli coerced me into sucking it up and doing it. Even though I was ready to cry by the end of the hike, when we all piled into the train that took us to the town closest to Machu Picchu where we'd get to shower and sleep in a real bed before seeing the great site, I've never been so proud of myself. Each day was a mental and physical struggle, and every day I completed the hike without being (too) whinney and too down on myself. Machu Picchu, while not as stunning as I imagined it would be, was well worth visiting. The intricacy of the site was astounding- we'd all just learned first hand how hard it was to trek there from Cusco, and the original people there somehow were able to bring those stones up there to build a city. Huayna Picchu was actually the hardest part of the week- imagine the steepest stairs you've ever been on, meant for people with feet half your own size, and then imaging climbing those for an hour and a half without pause after trekking 50-60 miles over the course of four days. OUCH. Again, at the top, I've never been more proud. Thanks to the encouragement of my friends, I hadn't turned down the opportunity to see Machu Picchu from above. After a full day of exploring MP, we headed back to Cusco to wrap up Carpe Diem business, have our final dinner at a great restaurant off of Plaza de Armas called "greens", write everyone in the group quick letters, and pack for our flight for the next day. Throughout the trip I learned a lot about myself. Consumerism had become a natural part of my life while I knew very little about the US government and the destruction it has caused abroad with our foreign initiates to "help" develop other nations (read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I did while experiencing first had the destruction the damn in Banos, Ecuador has caused to the wildlife and fishing industry). The trek, however, reaffirmed my belief that I can do anything I set my mind to. Even if you're like me and swear that you hate hiking, believe me, I'd do it all over again to feel the pride I did when I reached the top of Huayna Picchu. THE AFTERMATH: I still have the scars from the bug bites and from my Machete incident in the jungle, but staying connected with my travels and the lessons I learned there has been difficult. It's hard to answer "How was it? Tell me everything!" because how do you describe the weirdest but most incredible experience of your life? I struggled, a lot, when I was uncomfortable with the living conditions, when I was sick and didn't have my family around to baby me, and when I missed my friends back home. Traveling with a group of people was way harder than I expected too. But looking back, those hard times were the best times. How do you tell someone living in a dirt floor cement house with people who barely spoke the language you had just started learning was the most incredible 10 days of your life? I'm still working on figuring out a way to tell people, but I know what counts is that I'll never forget a minute of it.