Inca Trail, Peru
I´ve decided I´m in this for the long haul no matter what. There´s no turning back! In the morning, though my stomach is still clearly bad, I´ve regained much of my energy. I will need it for this day - for the steep climb over Warmiwañusca, aka Dead Woman´s Pass (1,272 ft.).
The trail is steep, and the main focus is on getting oxygen into one´s lungs while making progress on the trail. I take slow steps, and rest every few minutes. We climb for about five hours towards the pass. My stomach remains much of my focus, but I begin to feel a part of the immense landscape around me, and finally take out my camera for the first time as the Pass comes into view.
As I reach the pass, condors are flying overhead through the clouds, around the snow capped peaks. Tired trekkers and chaskes are resting weary muscles and bones. A group of some ninety school boys and their teacher are singing the national anthem and shouting, "Viva Perú!". Today is Peru´s Independence Day. I am feeling relief that I have made it, and have not had to turn back on the trail. This is the point of no return. Once you have passed this spot, the only way is onward.
The two hours left before reaching camp are downhill. I take it slow, and enjoy the surroundings, as the landscape turns closer to the cloud forest - the transitional ecosystem between the Andes and the rainforest. I focus on the stones beneath my feet - laid by Inca hands some 800 years ago, and the ever-changing array of plant species at my sides.
Descending to Camp
Camp at Paqamayu
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