Reflections on the Inca Trail and Peru trip

I had a strange reaction to this trip and I'm not sure quite why. I tried to articulate it on the phone to Peggy but, "its complicated".

There were a number of firsts for me;

• I had never before flown to a foreign country alone. I've done some travelling since George died but always either with someone or with someone there to meet me. I had arranged for G Adventures to pick me up but was still pretty anxious about that happening - it did.
• I had never been to South America before.
• I had never gone on a tour before.
• I had never done anything this physical before or this "out of my comfort zone". Hiking in the past had been "walking" really, except perhaps the 6 Glacier Hike with Chris about 17 years ago and I don't remember that as being too tough.
• I had never dealt with high altitude before.
• I had never "prepared for" a trip like I did for this one; walking, training (?), buying equipment, reading about the hike and the equipment.

What happened was, that after it was all over, it still sort of possessed me. If my mind wasn't occupied with something it kept going back to the hike. It filled my head before I went to sleep and when I woke I knew I had been dreaming of the hike - and it was always uphill. There was no strong emotion attached to either the daytime thoughts or the nighttime dreams but it was just always there. It was a week and a half before other things began to creep in and I no longer felt that it was the only thing in my life.

Photo by Danny or Fiona

So maybe it was because I did so much prep. or maybe because it was so different for me or maybe the zone that I got into when hiking just wouldn't leave. I don't know (and I'm not happy about that statement either). I like having memories of trips and mentally, bringing them out to look at them now and then and I hope I can do that with this trip because it was fantastic and the scenery was stunning but I am very glad that it no longer consumes me.

So that having been said, here are some other thoughts;

• It was very nice to be on a tour. To have someone to pick me up at the airport, someone to ask questions of, someone to help me with my lost baggage and someone to help me shop if it hadn't turned up. The tour itself was well organized and went like clockwork (except for the New Years Eve glitch when the briefing started well before the stated itinerary).
• South America was fascinating and I hope I have the opportunity to go to Peru again. The people were friendly and cheerful. The culture was colourful and different than Spain or Mexico although there were certainly elements of each. The Andes were beautiful!
• Cusco is a lovely little city it has parks, squares, fountains, museums, churches, restaurants (at every $ level), markets, artisan areas and all around, the mountains. I always felt safe even walking alone at night. The abundance of "tourist police" may have helped that.
• The group you are with can really make or break a tour and ours was great. There were just the 7 of us, so essentially 2 families. The Australian family were lovely. Ryan and Casey were energetic, kind, enthusiastic, interested, involved and conversed with us as adults. Never a complaint or bickering with each other even though they were sharing a tent or a hotel room. Fiona and Danny were all of that and exceptionally considerate to me too. The first night we talked at length about where they lived in Australia, aboriginal issues, education etc etc until we realized that the porters were waiting to sleep in the dining tent. After that it was bits and pieces of conversation as location allowed. On the last day as we all finished up shopping and prepared for the next stage of travel they shared all their pictures with me and made sure they were at the hotel to say goodbye. A lovely family on an exciting adventure and I plan on staying in touch.
• G Adventures met my expectations. They ran a good tour and I found that I enjoyed and learned. The Planterra Foundation locations were very interesting and they didn't make a big deal about the funding aspect, not tooting their own horn, just a statement that the people were able to fund their community projects with the money they made from these tourist businesses.
• I wish I had had more energy on the last day to really explore Machu Picchu. I hope to go back sometime and do that. I will be one of the clean, sweet smelling tourists who take the bus up and walk around without a pack on my back and spend all day there, sketching and taking pictures.