Inca trail

Our group ready to start Inca trail

4 days Inca Trail was rainy, a bit demanding, but unforgettable to really understand and follow the footsteps of Incas on their marvellous road system. Still some parts of the trail to Machu Picchu are 80-90% of original Inca trail. I'm 100% sure there were not a single fat Inca existing, when walking these trails up and down it askes a lot of endurance and exercise.

Our guides Carlos and Mauro

Machu Picchu was as amazing as before and this time I managed to climb Wayna Picchu next to Machu Picchu. What a way to start a new year to visit Machu Picchu on 1st day of the year. When I climbed steep Wayna Picchu next to Machu Picchu I reached a top of the mountain, which consists only of big rocks and very steep slopes 1000 meters down to Urubamba valley and river. The rocks were slippery after the rain and I was sitting one of those, when young girl was trying to climb the same stone, where I was firmly sitting. Unfortunately she loose the grip and fell down and started to slide down the rock into her death. However she managed to grab her hand on my left arm, which stopped her falling. I was able to keep both of us on my right hand on top of the rock and she thanked me for saving her life. What a good start for this year!

Machu Picchu and steep Wayna Picchu behind

Now I'm back at Quito, because the plan was to use Inca Trail as preparation and acclimatization trip before trying to climb Cotopaxi. However I got cold after the Inca Trail and am having flu right now. Therefore I have to skip Cotopaxi climb totally, cause it's not wise to climb that high mountain if you are not 100% health and in good physical fit. Instead of Cotopaxi having sightseeing at Quito and it's surroundings.

Our magnificent cook made this delicious cake for the new year's eve dinner on the last campsite (SAS was the trekking agency, not the scandinavian airline :))