IV to Inca Trail

Cusco

Following our brief stay in Lima, Sabrina and I departed for Cusco where we would spend a day and night before beginning the 4-day Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu. Cusco, Peru is at an altitude around 3,400 meters so it is recommended to spend a few days acclamating oneself to the high altitude in preparation for the challenging Inca trail trek. Unfortunately, with our timing, we weren't able to devote more than just about 24 hours. We checked into the Loki hostel, note: do not stay here if you are not interested in partying until 4 am with masses of Israeli travelers, maybe it wasn´t the best location for a 6:30 am pickup from the tour... Regardless, the staff was great and after settling in we set out to explore the city. 

Cusco has some beautiful sites like the ornate Plaza de Armas and winding streets with tucked in restaurants and shops, but it seems to be a city created souly for tourists with every street housing either hostels, restaurants, outdoor gear for trekking, or local artisan goods. We spent some time at the main artisan market gathering our fill of the infamous Peruvian sweaters and scarfs and walked the city. I definitely began to feel the altitude right in the beginning of the day, although at that point it was nothing more than tingly hands and feet and a slight dizzying feeling. 

loading up on Peruvian gear

After an orientation for our trek, we had an awesome dinner at Jacks and headed back to the hostel. It was at this point that I started to take a bit of a turn for the worse. My head started pounding and I had a slight stomach ache, but I naturally blamed it on being tired, acclamating to the climate and perhaps over-eating. We packed up most of our things for the next morning and tried to get some rest before the next four days ahead. After a few hours of tossing and turning, my health really started to go downhill. I`ll spare the specific details, and 
I´ve never had the flu, but I imagine that this is what it would feel like; vomiting, fever you name it, I was experiencing it. I honestly still didn't know if it was solely the altitude, if I had food poisoning or something worse....after 2 hours of being sick, I woke up Sabrina as it was only getting worse. We went to talk with the staff downstairs who confirmed it was likely altitude sickness and I would need to seek medical attention at a clinic. This was now around 4 am, our tour was picking us up at 6:30, things were going to have to turn around real fast.....Sabrina flew into mom mode as I was having trouble even walking at this point, we threw together the rest of our gear and headed to the clinic. Upon arrival I tried to ignore the conditions of the facility and just prayed I wouldn't get more sick by being treated there...The 24 hour staff spoke no English so I did my best to explain what was happening, they promptly put me in a bed, confirmed I had a fever, and stuck me with needles for an IV as I tried to explain I need the baby needles, luckily they were clean! About an hour in of being hydrated and receiving medicine through the IV, I was starting to feel a little better but still super weak. Sabrina headed back to the hostel to meet the guide and explain the situation and see what was possible in terms of adjusting our trek. Unfortunately she came back with less positive news. It was not possible to start the trek at a later day because our entrance to Machu Picchu was for a specific date thatis reserved with a permit months in advance. We could either forgo the trek and take the train up to Machu Picchu to meet the group in 4 days or we could take a little more time at the hospital and take a taxi about 2 hours away to the starting point of the trek where they would be in 4 hours. After discussing back and forth we decided it wasn't an option to miss the trek so I would rest for another 2 hours, do another round of the IV bag and we would try and go. 2 hours later I was feeling much better, my fever had broke and I was able to get up from the bed and walk. The doctor met with me and of course tried to tell me I shouldn't be leaving but I promised I would return if the conditioned worsened. After loading up on Gatorade and any pills the doctor would give us, we set out to rejoin the trek. A few hours later we finally made it  via taxi, our guide Jose was not so thrilled to see us as I imagine he didn't exactly want responsibility for someone whose health wasn't 100%. Nevertheless we rejioned the rest of the group which included a couple from New York, three women friends from Spain, and a mother-daughter team (Shari and Rachel) from Philly. As soon as we met Shari and Rachel it was a huge sigh of relief, right off the bat we could tell they were not only fun women to share the next 4 days with (how could I not love a vegan sporting all lululemon gear) but it was as if someone was like, ok here is a substitute Jewish mother for the next few days so don't worry you'll be okay...even after a quick second guess of myself after lunch based on how I was feeling, I knew I needed to at least try the first day and see how it went. Sabrina, the rockstar, graciously held my day pack, and Shari kept me company at a slow and steady base. 4 hours later we made it to camp, and although, I wont lie, it was definitely difficult and I wasn't feeling great, I felt really accomplished and just wanted to get some sleep in the hopes of feeling even more back to normal the next day. 

Post-hospital, rejoining the group and beginning the trek

surviving day 1 

Day 2 is known as the hardest day as it is about 5 hours straight of uphill trekking followed by 2 hours of downhill stone stairs and the highest altitude of the 4 days. Everyone knows I love a good physical challenge but between not feeling great and the altitude, day 2 really kicked my ass. Thank God I had Shari to share the challenge with and keep me positive and entertained the entire time. You definitely get to know people while hiking for hours in the middle of nothing but mountains! We constantly joked they should make all the world leaders do this together, could solve a lot of issues....

Our entire group and porters at camp

By day 3, I was feeling almost back to normal even after sleeping through a night of thunderstorms. The trek was a mix of up and down, but it was the longest day we had in total, taking us about 9 hours until we were settled at camp that night. The next morning we were woken at 3:30 am in order to get to the waiting point to let us in to the final hike to Machu Picchu, after 2 hours of sitting in cold rain we began the 1 hour climb to the Sungate, where you typically get the first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Unfortunately our view looked like this: 

Disappointment aside we continued the 2 hour hike down to Machu Picchu where it eventually cleared and we were able to witness this wonder of the world we had exerted so much energy to reach, it was pretty astounding! What´s interesting is that much of the history of the Incas is relatively unknown in comparison to other ancient cultures as they have no written language and few artificats were ever found beyond the ruins. However, just viewing the immense structure that is Machu Picchu is quite breathtaking and the fact that human beings created it almost solely by hand...unreal. I felt even more accomplished that I had overcome the physical challenge after having to seek medical attention just days before. I really couldn't have done it without the never ending support and concern of Sabrina and the daily reinforcement and new friendship of Shari and Rachel. Love you guys!
Following the tour we departed Machu Picchu for Aguascalientes, a small tourist town at the base where we took very hot showers and went to sleep very early in preparation for out next adventure beginning the following day!

The dream team: Rachel, Sabrina, me and Shari

For those thinking about the trek, here are some must haves I would recommend packing:

- Waterproof bags, ponchos, rain coat. Even in the dry season the mountains are a microclimate so its very common to have a range of weather and temperatures all in one day, layers are key! 

- Hiking socks and good hiking boots

- Power bars/gus for snacks and quick energy

- Wicking fabric clothing for under layers

- Toilet paper (no bathrooms have)

- Face wipes if you are in the habit of washing your face daily

- Headlamp

- Sandals to rest your feet at the camp

- Altitude pills!

we did it!