Into the Peruvian Wild

Within 36 hours of arriving in Cusco, my brother and I departed for the Salkantay Trek, leaving ourselves little time to acclimatize to the altitude. Sure enough, our first day was a challenge - constantly short of breath, we took many breaks as we made our way to 4000 meters in altitude. This left us trailing behind the group; however, our guide, Marco, reassured us that we would make it to the top, using humor to ease our apprehension. My 170-lb brother almost had to be carried by Marco, however, piggy-back style. Through all this, we were amazed by the mountainous landscape, which rapidly changed from glaciers to jungle within the 5 days of the trek. The cook did a thorough job of introducing us to Peruvian food. I was not expecting such savory meals during this journey, but we were spared the usual peanut butter and jelly sandwiches typical of Canadian excursions into the wild. My favorite part was journeying along the Inka railroad toward Machu Picchu, which was very storybook-like. My least preferred part was waking up to the call of roosters as there is no way of hitting the snooze button. All in all, it was a lovely experience!